*$&%^(@ MARES!!!

[MarePower]

Okay...I am mad! Here is the scenario: new barn with lots of trails...figured it was good for the girls to get some fitness up by trail riding. Less stress/more fun. HA!! That was the plan at least.

Took Mattie out...got down about 4 driveways and she turns around...I turn her around...she turns around...I turn her around. This of course is getting faster and she and I are both getting more annoyed. Pretty soon...we are getting a little light in the front end. I am NOT going to lose..so I push her forward and ask her to go until I asked her to turn around. We go past my driveway and turn around again when I ask. Did I win? Not really. But at least a little win on my part.

Today I take Ami out. Ami is an ex-eventer and fearless. Of course this seems to be only with other horses...ACK! Do they now have eventing with groups? I think NOT! So...off we go..starts off great...nice relaxed forward walk. Then she stops and turns around. Not even as far as Mattie went yesterday! So I turn her around. Then it turns into a battle. We are backing up, tossing our heads, refusing to move forward. BLAH BLAH BLAH. This time I came prepared. I have a dressage whip AND spurs. Oh no dearie...you are NOT going to have your way. Back, back, back....WHACK!! I push her forward and reinforce with whip. Well...you'd never know. She is still backing! And getting really close to someone's fence I cannot afford to pay for. So after backing into the fence and the road...I make her go 3 steps MY way and we turn around after I ask her to stop and back up.

These girls have got my goat BAD. How the heck do you fight this? Any ideas? When out with others my girls are the best of trail horses...quiet, can ride on the buckle and rarely spook. I know that I should get my way or I can get myself into trouble..but how do you get your own way when you are a little nervous and they are both pulling out all the stops? Please also tell me that someone else has had this problem. LOL

signed....frustrated in Florida

[Einstein]

Thank goodness I have geldings! Nate is marish enough on his estrogin, can't imagine owning the real deal ;D

BTW, I JUST figured out that it's you Tracy! I started to seriously think about moving to Sarasota. Is Florida unbearable in August? I need to not be in Colorado anymore.

Sorry, I'm no help ;D

[niaru]

;D gotta like those small victories!! If someone should chime in right now it would be Kmmom. She has a 'backing-up specialist' in the person of her big mare. Not only backing-up anywhere (even down ditches - yikes) but also rearing. And it is a big, powerful, strong-willed mare. Just because she decides she's had enough and isn't going forward anymore!!

Well, I have watched Kmmom try the spurring/whipping (but carefully, considering that mare can buck you off in a heartbeat)/turning/bending away from offending place etc. etc, which did work at times, but not always. So she decided that whenever her mare would do that she'd get off and give her a good spanking with the whip LOL.
And lo and behold, it worked. The mare must have been so surprised that she decided it was easier to just comply!!
I should add, tho, that sometimes the only way that mare would go by a scary 'troll' would be by backing up by it! :loon: Psycho mare... ;D

[Katmease]

Sorry you had such a bad day but even geldings get barn sour.

[chrisnstar]

It's not a mare thing! Geldings do this too! You've got to work over the barn sourness.. it takes some practice, but perservere and you'll get through it. It helps to have someone to ride with whose horse isn't barn sour. If you can't do that, then ride a small circle away from the barn and come back, then a bigger circle, and come back, keep widening the circles, until you are out of sight of the barn.. Once the horse figures out that no matter how far away you go, she always gets to come back, she'll quit worrying about it...

another tack to take is to make coming back to the barn more work. after a ride away, when you get back, just tie her up at a hitching post and let her stand there for awhile. Or lunge her and work her at the barn, so she eventually learns that coming back to the barn doens't mean tack comes off and she's free to go...

chris

[ZenRider]

Yep, geldings too, my friends horse Picasso (the Paint/Belgium) has that problem, but he looks real pretty when he acts up. Does the niftiest little Piaffe's and side passes. LOL

[CatB]

Oooh, this can be SO frustrating and it’s not just a mare thing, either, let me tell ya! It’s an “I don’t want to and you can’t make me” thing. I’ve run into this problem when crossing bridges, especially for the first time. Granted, bridge crossing can be an “I’m scared” issue the first time, but after a few times, it can become a resistance issue. To solve it, first and foremost, you must acquire the patience of Job (not exactly my forte, either!) and schedule out a chunk of time when you don’t have to be anywhere specific. What I do is, when the horse gets to the point where they want to turn around, I’ll pull (not yank or done severely) its nose all the way around (a 360) until its back in the direction we were originally headed. I will also turn them in the opposite direction they want to go – I need the horse to pay attention to ME. If it starts backing up, keep it backing (as safety allows) until YOU tell it to stop. Trust me, the horse will get tired of that real quick! To get the forward motion - although, I don’t typically use my spur or whip – I don’t like to turn it into an ugly battle, I “kiss” and squeeze, even pushing my seat forward, over and over. If the horse takes the slightest step forward or even leans in the right direction, I relax and give it a scratch and a coo. This is enough of an annoyance that the horse is going to make some sort of move. If the horse locks up (balks), then I will pull its nose around and disengage the hindquarters – you want to get those feet moving. This is the part that can take a lot of time. The first time I tried a bridge with Tucker (as a 3-yr old) it took about 20 minutes, and then I crossed him back and forth several times before we went on our way. The way I look at it, it all starts with that first small step. Say your mares want to turn around at the third driveway. Make it your goal to go to the fourth driveway and stop, lavish the praise on her – you might even take some carrot bits to give her. Then turn around and go home. The thing is to end up on a good note and not ask too much, too fast. Hope this helps!

[MarePower]

Thanks for the suggestions and support. I know it is not a mare thing...it a horse thing but I just happen to have mares so I made it a bad mare post. LOL I will keep trying with the suggestions from you nice people and see where it goes. I will forgo whip and spur (don't worry...I usually don't use either and certainly wasn't really using them this time either..with the exception of one slight whack on Ami...I am usually in trouble for being too nice to my horses...ie I am a wimp!)

I will try again with rewarding forward behavior...and try and find the patience of job. Shouldn't be too hard. They are really the best of girls...this is really (besides Mattie's rearing) our first little hurdle.

Thanks for the help...I'll keep on trying! Thanks for the great ideas!

[Moo]

Maybe there is something you don't know that's scaring them out there...doo dee doo dee... no seriously though, if they both did it ? Maybe they're spooked about something.
I'm with the others, and maybe you could have someone ride one mare while you ride the other, so if they're better with other horses they'll be better together and eventually ok on their own.