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 This is my QH mare Breezie. When you are on the ground with her she does perfect except for when lunging, she knows how to do it she just chooses to be a brat, so we are working on that. We got her as a green broke 7 year old, she had been on 5 trail rides and then sat in the pasture for 3 years, she was cared for, just not riden. When we got her she was perfect for a green broke seven year old except she wouldn't canter, but it wasn't a huge deal at first because we started with ground work and then slow riding, once she started cantering she was perfect, she had the best handle and would do anything. Then like three months ago maybe a little longer it was like a switch flipped, I rode her one day and had no problems, she was perfect like always, but then the next day she was perfect on the ground and for tacking but when I got on she was crazy. I made sure nothing was hurting her, and checked everything, but it was fine. As soon as she feels you in the saddle she is a lunatic, she won't walk, she just wants to trot, but she won't slow trot she always gets her really fast trot going and when I ask her to lope she busts off galloping, when I pull her down to where she would be in a lope she breaks to her fast trot. The only way I can get a walk is if I'm really on her face, I did it once to see but I done want to be on her face so i have been trying everything, but nothing's working, any ideas? |
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How many times has this happened? It could just be a one off or something that happens occasionally (all horses have their days). If this happens every time she is ridden, it may be worthwhile to have the vet check her out for any sources of pain that you can't find on your own. She may also need a change in feeding regimen, which your vet could make recommendations on. Also, how long have you had her? If she is fairly new then you may just be getting to know a side of her that hadn't shown yet. |
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EmeraldHillsFarm said:
How many times has this happened? It could just be a one off or something that happens occasionally (all horses have their days). If this happens every time she is ridden, it may be worthwhile to have the vet check her out for any sources of pain that you can't find on your own. She may also need a change in feeding regimen, which your vet could make recommendations on. Also, how long have you had her? If she is fairly new then you may just be getting to know a side of her that hadn't shown yet.
It has been happening every time I ride her for about 2 months (I usually ride her every other say unless something comes up). I had the vet out and he said that there wasn't anything that should be bothering her, he did advise getting a chiropractor out for her, which I had already thought about and so I have the chiropractor coming out this coming Monday. I have had her for 4 years! She is currently not on any feed and I am about to probably put her on a diet. She isn't unhealthily fat, but she is slightly over weight, which is surprising because she is only on pasture and hay in the winter... EDIT: That (Paradise Haven) is my side account. |
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Does she lope on a lunge line? I used to have a similar problem with my horse. She might just be out of balance, and it's hard to maintain a slow canter with an out-of-balance horse. Try bending and counterbending her at the trot, doing lots of circles. Let her wear herself out (if you have English tack, I recommend using a snaffle or kimberwick and trying to get her collected, and then doing an extended trot with her on the bit). Put the whole loping thing on hold till you can calm her down at the trot. |
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Another thing you could do is ride her while she's on a lunge line. Or get on and give her a very loose rein in an enclosed environment (like a small arena) and see what she does. If you're anticipating her being bad, or her wanting to trot, and tensing up on the rein or pulling on the rein she might think you're going to ask her to trot (my horse knows that when I shorten my reins I mean business). |
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I can definitely try some of those things. I do struggle to get her to canter on the lunge line, she somehow just speed up her trot. My friend suggested wearing her out, but she basically has never ending energy. |
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If she wants to go fast and not listen, make her bored. I have a barrel horse that wants to be all gas and no breaks, which is usually what I ask for to be fair, but if I want her to slow down and start really listening to learn something new, I'll pick a place in the pasture and just start trotting circles. I use both hands on the reins for as long as I need to show her where the circle is, then we I loosen up the reins and trot circles for as long as it takes for her to relax. I know she's relaxed when I can switch directions without contact on the bit and stop with minimal contact. By that time, she's doing a slow, smooth trot because she knows that she isn't really going anywhere and going fast isn't going to change anything. Then, we can work on whatever slow thing I want to work on with it. It's just a matter of letting her know that there's no reason to go fast and that she can have her head and relax. Works wonders for her. |
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Heaven on Earth said:
I can definitely try some of those things. I do struggle to get her to canter on the lunge line, she somehow just speed up her trot. My friend suggested wearing her out, but she basically has never ending energy.
Making her bored is one thing, another thing you can do is be unpredictable (so she's listening to you for instruction). I already mentioned bending and counterbending. If she does flying lead changes, I know an older woman who used to just do flying lead changes in a straight line (her horse was super well trained). The behaviorist that visited my horse did talk about lunging a little bit and she said that horses have an upper limit to how fast they can trot, and then they'll break into the canter. So you can try maybe just speeding up her trot to see if she'll fall into it (not ideal, but it's something) and then let her fall back into the fast trot. For most horses it's easier to canter than trot fast, so when she falls out just keep making her trot faster until she falls back into the canter. Eventually she should figure out that it's easier for her to just canter. (This is on a lunge line, not under saddle) |
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TenaciTea said:
Heaven on Earth said:
I can definitely try some of those things. I do struggle to get her to canter on the lunge line, she somehow just speed up her trot. My friend suggested wearing her out, but she basically has never ending energy.
Making her bored is one thing, another thing you can do is be unpredictable (so she's listening to you for instruction). I already mentioned bending and counterbending. If she does flying lead changes, I know an older woman who used to just do flying lead changes in a straight line (her horse was super well trained). The behaviorist that visited my horse did talk about lunging a little bit and she said that horses have an upper limit to how fast they can trot, and then they'll break into the canter. So you can try maybe just speeding up her trot to see if she'll fall into it (not ideal, but it's something) and then let her fall back into the fast trot. For most horses it's easier to canter than trot fast, so when she falls out just keep making her trot faster until she falls back into the canter. Eventually she should figure out that it's easier for her to just canter. (This is on a lunge line, not under saddle)
Okay, I have been working on lunging, but when this whole thing started her lunging got really bad, she went do it. I can get her to go for about one circle, but then she just spins her but to face me and if I try to step towards her but to make her go again she will just rear up and spin her butt again... I thought maybe getting a whip a d just keeping it out to keep her going would work, but she just jumps sideways and faces me again. |
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My friend has a trainer she uses on her horses that I am considering having come out and see if he has any tips or ideas. |
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