What price peace of mind, eh?
The Wee Foal test cost me about $30.
The Wee Foal test cost me about $30.
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I rode June today. Shes got a bad attitude. Well I guess it's not that bad, she just tosses her head a lot. I wanted to ride her in the pasture but the head tossing freaks me out so I kept her in the arena up by the barn and just worked on fine tuning some things. Whenever I'd try to turn her and she'd start tossing her head I'd pull her head all the way to the side and make her keep it there, by the end of the night she wasn't tossing her head anymore. And then I worked on making her just stand still and not walk until I said so. I think the only thing that "trainer" she went to did was just try and get her to lope all the time. I can tell that she just wants to speed up as soon as I get on her, and I know she doesn't like going fast so she's also cranky about riding now.
So anyways, I'm gonna keep working with her in the arena because it feels like we just need to take some time to get to know each other again.
And I can keep her on a diet while she's up there since she's a fatty
Just remember, with horses, do whatever they DON'T want to do. So, if they want to run fast, make them work primarily on slowing down and relaxing for a day, if they want to stand around and sleep, wake them up and make them run some. If they are acting spooky at something, you have found your exercise for the day, making them not spook at that object.
I agree with Peepers on the mounting, teach them to flex around and touch their shoulder slightly in front of where your foot would be when mounted when you touch the rein, do this on the ground until they are pretty light (not having to haul them around), then when you mount, flex all the way around to the left shoulder, mount, hold the flex for a second or if they moved hold the flex until they stop moving around and then hold for a second more, then flex the other way, if they move when flexing left, make them hold the flex until they stop moving, then flex right, then back left, make sure that the last time you flex in each direction they simply flex around and don't move their feet. Once you are content that they are standing still and not trying to rush off, go ahead and straighten the neck and walk off.
Something else that is NICE to have in your tool box is a good 1 rein stop. If the horse isn't expecting to be 1 rein stopped, and you try it for the first time while being run away with, you can cause the horse to go down with you on top, so it is MUCH nicer to teach them before you need it. To do this, once you have gotten them flexing nicely and walked away from the mounting block (or wherever you got on), sit a little deeper in the saddle and randomly (random as to which rein) pick up one rein and flex them around to your boot while they are walking, don't give any leg aids, and hold them there until they stop moving their feet, once they stop, flex them a few more times (you left rein stopped, flex right, left, right before moving off again) so that they don't start moving off as soon as you let go of a flex. Do this at a walk until you are comfortable that the horse is starting to stop pretty quickly when you flex them around at a walk with either rein. Once you are comfortable with that, you can move up to the trot. I would also suggest pairing the 1 rein stop with "whoa" once you get them stopping pretty good, so, the sitting deeper will be their 1st cue to stop, then the verbal "whoa", then if they still didn't listen, being pulled around. This will do a few things, it will teach the horse to rate back and stop off of your seat alone, it will teach them that the word "whoa" means to plant all 4 feet and don't move a muscle (I use "easy" if I want them to calm or slow down, "whoa" is only for STOP NOW!), and it teaches them to be light on the reins.
I was riding Stud with a friend riding Lolli one day and a big tree branch fell in the woods, Lolli spooked which spooked Stud, I was caught a little off guard, so Stud got in 2 big canter strides and was working on a buck before I got him flexed around, but all I had to do was grab mane with 1 hand and pull one rein and he flexed to my boot, spun in a circle about 3 times and came to a halt. When I got him stopped, I looked for Lolli and he was at the other end of the ring being pulled to a stop, so the 1 rein stop got him stopped faster, and he didn't bolt as far as the more trained horse that doesn't have a 1 rein stop. I held Stud flexed until he relaxed a little more, then I flexed him back and forth a few more times, and walked off on a loose rein.
I rode June today. Shes got a bad attitude. Well I guess it's not that bad, she just tosses her head a lot. I wanted to ride her in the pasture but the head tossing freaks me out so I kept her in the arena up by the barn and just worked on fine tuning some things. Whenever I'd try to turn her and she'd start tossing her head I'd pull her head all the way to the side and make her keep it there, by the end of the night she wasn't tossing her head anymore. And then I worked on making her just stand still and not walk until I said so. I think the only thing that "trainer" she went to did was just try and get her to lope all the time. I can tell that she just wants to speed up as soon as I get on her, and I know she doesn't like going fast so she's also cranky about riding now.
So anyways, I'm gonna keep working with her in the arena because it feels like we just need to take some time to get to know each other again.
And I can keep her on a diet while she's up there since she's a fatty
It's not a teeth issue, it's a "hasn't been ridden since December and doesn't want to turn away from the herd" issue lol. By the way she was working yesterday it should only take a day or two to finish working through it. Head tossing has always been her go to when she doesn't wanna do something, even when I first got her and would ground work her with a halter on, if she was mad she'd toss her head.The crankiness, rushing and head tossing could be a pain/teeth issue. When were her teeth last floated?