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So, I've recently taken my new mare, June, home. A few days after she was trailered home from where she was purchased, I went to visit her at the boarding facility and decided to take her for a hand walk in the indoor arena. I wasn't planning on doing this, but I decided to just because her stall was only ten feet away from the arena. Anyways, when I tried to bring her back into her stall, I faced some issues. I ended up having to ask the stablehand to help me get her in. I tried having someone go behind her, luring her with treats, turning her.. no success. The stablehand had to push on her hind and put pressure on her side to make her enter. And when she did enter, she ran in, almost trampling the other girl who was leading her. I have ideas as to why she was doing this, but resolving the issue is another deal. My ideas of why she did this include the following: The aisle that the stall is in is a tight fit. The stall was darker than outside.
The mare is only four years old. I felt very uncomfortable in this situation because it was a tighter space and I was worried that she'd rear or go up, as she had done that earlier. I luckily was able to move her to a more open barn on the property, and not the arena stalls. However, she still is hesitant going in, and I'd hate to be in this situation again. I'd rather not be trampled or see her go up. |
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Trivia Team
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Work on getting her confident going through tight spaces. This will translate into loading onto a trailer better, being comfortable in the barn, etc. What I do for horses like these is set up obstacles, such as tarps tied across jump standards, to give her the sense of walking through something narrow and dark. When on the ground, work on the ability to "send" her off. While on a lead rope, if you point, she should walk forward. Sort of like lunging, but nothing faster than a walk, and it's off the lead rope. This helps her confidence, since she'll have to walk ahead of you and lead her own way. Once she's good at this, start sending her through the narrow spaces on her own. At first, keep them wide. She should be able to comfortably walk between the tarps without any claustrophobia. Once she's confident with this, you can start narrowing them. In the meantime, work on changing both of your perspectives. Don't worry about the stall door. Worry about keeping her at your shoulder, about keeping her relaxed and focused on you. The rest will come with time and patience. Hope this helps! |
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It definitely does! luckily, we had no issues with her in the trailer. She walked right up with no hesitation. thank you, Puck!
FirstLightFarms said:
Work on getting her confident going through tight spaces. This will translate into loading onto a trailer better, being comfortable in the barn, etc. What I do for horses like these is set up obstacles, such as tarps tied across jump standards, to give her the sense of walking through something narrow and dark. When on the ground, work on the ability to "send" her off. While on a lead rope, if you point, she should walk forward. Sort of like lunging, but nothing faster than a walk, and it's off the lead rope. This helps her confidence, since she'll have to walk ahead of you and lead her own way. Once she's good at this, start sending her through the narrow spaces on her own. At first, keep them wide. She should be able to comfortably walk between the tarps without any claustrophobia. Once she's confident with this, you can start narrowing them. In the meantime, work on changing both of your perspectives. Don't worry about the stall door. Worry about keeping her at your shoulder, about keeping her relaxed and focused on you. The rest will come with time and patience. Hope this helps!
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Dont know her back story, which that always helps.. but I did have a horse with this same issue. Making it difficult when they refuse, and letting off pressure when they take even a small step towards what you want? Completely did miracles for me, even in more situations than this. :) |
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i absolutely hate it when horses do this because they are so unpredictable and you never know if they are gonna trample you on their way into the stable... At my yard there is a small step that the horses have to go up to get into their stables, and when i bought my gelding he didnt want to go into his stable because 1, the stable is darker and 2, the step. An excersise i did that helped a ton was to se up two wide, ideally dark coloured jump wings with a narrow space in the middle of them in an arena. then you just make your horse walk through them, i used a small dressage whip as encouragement, just tapping it on the ground. It helps them to learn that going through doors and dark narrow spaces isnt always too bad. Also found that holding a carrot on the other side of the two wings helped as encouragement. Good luck with the new mare! |
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