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Hello everybody! I have little puzzle I'm trying to figure out. I occasionally ride my instructor's beginner horse (she's so obedient if you know how to ride, she's loads of fun to do things on). She's an old school horse, so she knows lots of tricks. Her absolute favorite is to spin around at trot, and have her rider go over her shoulder. She'll test you when you first get on, and if she realizes you know what you're doing, she doesn't do anything. Now, over quarantine I rode her about once a week, because most of the little kids weren't riding. She had some good riders on her during this time, and she's being fantastic. But every single time I ride her, and only at canter, she'll take off or jump to the side. It's never a spook, just her trying to get me off. Out of the many, many riders she has, she only ever tries it with me. She never pins her ears or anything. It's always just out of the blue, she's trying to get me off. I'm pretty sure it's not the way I ride; Her beginner riders pull her around a lot with the reins, but I don't. She's been known to do her spinning trick when her riders are too rough on the reins, but I always make sure I have a soft hand on her, and she also never tries the spinning. I can get her going incredibly nicely. I can be moving along perfectly, she'll bend and circle for me fine, she'll (once I've been riding her enough) go into canter if I swing my hip forward. But without fail, she always tries to get me off at canter. Does anyone have any ideas on why she does this? |
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Also, my sister has rode her and she's always a perfect angel. My sister and I are close in size, and have very similar riding styles. |
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Is she an ex-racehorse or something? |
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Sometimes the things we do that instigate negative (or positive!) reactions in a horse are invisible to everyone but that horse. There could be a very small imbalance in your body that creates an "opening", in this horse's mind, for her to take advantage of. These can be really hard to get to the bottom of, and usually require someone on the ground who knows the horse really well and is able to experiment with you on ways to change your ride in small ways that may fix the issue. On the other hand, this horse could be continuing to test you as a rider. They're idiosyncratic like that. Don't let her spooking derail your whole ride. Get her under controlled as quickly as you can while remaining calm, and carry on. Same thing whenever she bolts. The more you ride her the more you will likely pick up on little "tells" that she is thinking of spooking or bolting, and you will be able to act preemptively. |
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Moderator |
100% this!
EmeraldHillsFarm said:
Sometimes the things we do that instigate negative (or positive!) reactions in a horse are invisible to everyone but that horse. There could be a very small imbalance in your body that creates an "opening", in this horse's mind, for her to take advantage of. These can be really hard to get to the bottom of, and usually require someone on the ground who knows the horse really well and is able to experiment with you on ways to change your ride in small ways that may fix the issue. On the other hand, this horse could be continuing to test you as a rider. They're idiosyncratic like that. Don't let her spooking derail your whole ride. Get her under controlled as quickly as you can while remaining calm, and carry on. Same thing whenever she bolts. The more you ride her the more you will likely pick up on little "tells" that she is thinking of spooking or bolting, and you will be able to act preemptively.
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Scobay Stud said:
Is she an ex-racehorse or something?
Nope. She's a slow little quarter horse XD
EmeraldHillsFarm said:
Sometimes the things we do that instigate negative (or positive!) reactions in a horse are invisible to everyone but that horse. There could be a very small imbalance in your body that creates an "opening", in this horse's mind, for her to take advantage of. These can be really hard to get to the bottom of, and usually require someone on the ground who knows the horse really well and is able to experiment with you on ways to change your ride in small ways that may fix the issue. On the other hand, this horse could be continuing to test you as a rider. They're idiosyncratic like that. Don't let her spooking derail your whole ride. Get her under controlled as quickly as you can while remaining calm, and carry on. Same thing whenever she bolts. The more you ride her the more you will likely pick up on little "tells" that she is thinking of spooking or bolting, and you will be able to act preemptively.
Thank you! This really helps :) |
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Maybe she's decided she wants to test you? My horse is a jerk to me but an angel with beginners. He's also fine with other riders of a similar and higher skill levels. He's picked up that I don't want to discipline him so much because I'm super attached to him, and he uses that against me. Maybe a similar situation? |
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Rumble Team |
I have a horse like kinda like this. I don't mind it as I like em a little spicy. He toe drags and plods along without a care in the world for the beginners but I get on and he's speedy and bucks. Just ride through it, she may be continually testing you, or maybe your have a small little habit that irks her. Have someone watch you on the ground. Also, after she pulls something, go back and think about exactly what you did just before that, maybe to it again, does she respond in the same way? |
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Do you get scared when you get on her or when she starts playing up if so she might pick up on your nerves and get scared leading to her trying to get you of. |
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TenaciTea said:
Maybe she's decided she wants to test you? My horse is a jerk to me but an angel with beginners. He's also fine with other riders of a similar and higher skill levels. He's picked up that I don't want to discipline him so much because I'm super attached to him, and he uses that against me. Maybe a similar situation?
I'm thinking it might be her testing me. She usually only does it once or twice each ride, and after she's done, she goes back to being her perfect little self.
HMH Reality Check said:
I have a horse like kinda like this. I don't mind it as I like em a little spicy. He toe drags and plods along without a care in the world for the beginners but I get on and he's speedy and bucks. Just ride through it, she may be continually testing you, or maybe your have a small little habit that irks her. Have someone watch you on the ground. Also, after she pulls something, go back and think about exactly what you did just before that, maybe to it again, does she respond in the same way?
I don't really mind it, but it's not a good habit for a lesson horse to get into. Or any horse. I certainly enjoy a lively horse, but I am just very curious as to why she only does it with me.
appa said:
Do you get scared when you get on her or when she starts playing up if so she might pick up on your nerves and get scared leading to her trying to get you of.
I'm 100% sure it's not this. I certainly don't mind a little thrill in the ride, so long as it's not a danger. I've never lost my seat on her, and even if I did, she's not too bad to fall off of, from what I've seen.
I'll definitely have someone watch next time I ride her. I don't think it's me doing something that irks her, but it certainly could be. I really appreciate all the help I've gotten XD |
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