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Veteran
Posts: 233
 
| Mare feels like the second I have a leg on each side, it's time to go to work. Trot poles, roll backs, playing around barrels . . . She doesn't care as long as we do SOMETHING! the walking warm up isn't for her. As she gets fitter, she gets more enthusiastic about her job, so I'm not keen on lunging before riding.
What are your favorite exercises to do with a horse with too much energy to engage the brain while the body warms up? |
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 Serious Snap Trapper
Posts: 4275
Location: In The Snow, AZ | Watching, my mare is the same way. We do lots of drills, direction changes, lots of loping circles to relax her. We pull tires as well. Typically I incorporate several days a week of long trotting and mountain climbing on the trails. But with our daughter off for the summer, I'm stuck pasture riding. Could use any help! |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| I had a little mare like that. Is she in a pasture or stalled all day? I kept mine in a pasture where she could move around all day. She didn't like walking around much either, so when the weather was warm, which is every day here, I would go ahead start in a trot, then try the walk. Or, walking down the road was ok with her, so then depending on what we needed to do, we continued down the road working on stuff or went back to the pasture to continue or the arena.
Also, I hate a piddling walk, I like them to move out at the walk from the very start of the ride. Once she realized that, it got a little better.
As for exercises, we have a lot of brush in our pastures, so riding around and through the brush really gets them paying attention to you. If she wanted to rush, we weaved in and out and around the brush. The direction changes and the solid brush in front of her, got her listening pretty good to me.
Edited by GLP 2017-06-20 1:49 PM
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 Expert
Posts: 5293
| I have one just like that to. Her name is " Hot Sauce" for a reason. She is a finished horse so needs no drills , no nothing. WHen I ride her I just let her pick her own speed no matter what that is. SHe never walks, she just prances along. I Usually pony her off of my other horses I ride and just basically saddle her and go on race days. She needs no warm up! LOL She is a top level horse and gives her 10000% every time so I don't pick on her.. |
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 I'm Cooler Offline
Posts: 6387
Location: Pacific Northwest | My gelding is like that. I don't pick at him as long as he's listening. I avoid drills with "fast" movements, like rollbacks. My issue with him is there's no cooling out while on him. Even on a relaxed draped rein his natural walk is extremely fast. I always have to handwalk to cool him out, he turns into a slug the instant you dismount lol |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 602
| Serpentine drill. Seems to keep em' thinking without picking on them. or trotting up hills. |
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 A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | Lots of trail riding when my horses they were hot, less drilling on them is the best thing for them, when they know their job theres no need to be drilling them.. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-20 3:09 PM
Lots of trail riding when my horses they were hot, less drilling on them is the best thing for them, when they know their job theres no need to be drilling them..
Amazing what wet saddle blankets and long trail rides can do for a horse, isn't it? |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 966
Location: Loco,Ok | Take the trap off their head. When you trap a horse all they want is to save their life. I work them on cattle. Flag. Quit pulling on their head. Support your feet with your hands. They will work.off your foot. I get them here regular to ride. Pull the.junk off and put one my hackamore on and let them work. Because a horse is an animal of flight. |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| clampitt - 2017-06-20 3:45 PM
Take the trap off their head. When you trap a horse all they want is to save their life. I work them on cattle. Flag. Quit pulling on their head. Support your feet with your hands. They will work.off your foot. I get them here regular to ride. Pull the.junk off and put one my hackamore on and let them work. Because a horse is an animal of flight.
I don't have facebook so I thought I might highjack this thread for just a moment. I have a horse given to me that I haven't rode yet. We are working on some soreness issues. I was told he was really strong in the bridle, he wouldn't run off with you, but needed a chain ported bit and a tiedown. I am not going to ride him in that rig, we believe that is a big part of his soreness. He really works his tongue when he is anxious - feeding time, etc. Do you think your hack would be a good idea for him? He was a barrel horse and a head horse, but we will most likely only use him to gather cattle and trail ride. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | GLP - 2017-06-20 3:44 PM Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-20 3:09 PM Lots of trail riding when my horses they were hot, less drilling on them is the best thing for them, when they know their job theres no need to be drilling them.. Amazing what wet saddle blankets and long trail rides can do for a horse, isn't it?
Best thing for a hot one is to get them out and let them see theres more to life then being drilled every time a saddle is thrown on them. Sometimes I would just saddle them up and just let them set under a tree for a while and dont even get on them.. |
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A Somebody to Everybody
Posts: 41354
Location: Under The Big Sky Of Texas | clampitt - 2017-06-20 3:45 PM Take the trap off their head. When you trap a horse all they want is to save their life. I work them on cattle. Flag. Quit pulling on their head. Support your feet with your hands. They will work.off your foot. I get them here regular to ride. Pull the.junk off and put one my hackamore on and let them work. Because a horse is an animal of flight.
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 929
| Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-20 1:09 PM
Lots of trail riding when my horses they were hot, less drilling on them is the best thing for them, when they know their job theres no need to be drilling them..
this. The more drills and stuff you do, the hotter my mare gets. She's not dangerous and she will always turn, so even though we could clean it up a bit...it's just not worth fighting her. If I need to practice we use a tree, a tumbleweed, lope circles on the trail in a field.
Before a race we just get her moving and warmed up and then get off. Get on about 2-3 girls before us and then attempt to walk. (Usually it's a jig-jog at that point.) Then run, get off, loosen her cinch and hand walk her. If you stay on she just gets hotter. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 889
Location: on the fine line between insanity and geniusness | Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-20 4:15 PM
clampitt - 2017-06-20 3:45 PM Take the trap off their head. When you trap a horse all they want is to save their life. I work them on cattle. Flag. Quit pulling on their head. Support your feet with your hands. They will work.off your foot. I get them here regular to ride. Pull the.junk off and put one my hackamore on and let them work. Because a horse is an animal of flight.
This! People get so consumed with perfection that they forget to let horses be horses. Everything at my house has a job. There is nothing here that is solely a barrel horse, they pen cows during the day, get roped on etc. Too many drills and too much barrel work is what causes "hot" horses in my opinion. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 710
| Go ride in the hills and lope out there if you can. It does wonders for the brain. I was riding a lot of reiners that have never been outside of the arena, and a lot of their issue was just being stuck in the arena for so long they never got to be a horse and it lead to them being grumpy or not liking their job, going out into the mountains was the best thing for them imo. I think it's the same for barrel horses because people drill on these horses so much they just turn into machines and eventually burn out for some of them. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 966
Location: Loco,Ok | GLP - 2017-06-20 4:11 PM
clampitt - 2017-06-20 3:45 PM
Take the trap off their head. When you trap a horse all they want is to save their life. I work them on cattle. Flag. Quit pulling on their head. Support your feet with your hands. They will work.off your foot. I get them here regular to ride. Pull the.junk off and put one my hackamore on and let them work. Because a horse is an animal of flight.
I don't have facebook so I thought I might highjack this thread for just a moment. I have a horse given to me that I haven't rode yet. We are working on some soreness issues. I was told he was really strong in the bridle, he wouldn't run off with you, but needed a chain ported bit and a tiedown. I am not going to ride him in that rig, we believe that is a big part of his soreness. He really works his tongue when he is anxious - feeding time, etc. Do you think your hack would be a good idea for him? He was a barrel horse and a head horse, but we will most likely only use him to gather cattle and trail ride.
Call me anytime
580 333 1949 |
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I just read the headlines
Posts: 4483
| clampitt - 2017-06-21 6:48 AM
GLP - 2017-06-20 4:11 PM
clampitt - 2017-06-20 3:45 PM
Take the trap off their head. When you trap a horse all they want is to save their life. I work them on cattle. Flag. Quit pulling on their head. Support your feet with your hands. They will work.off your foot. I get them here regular to ride. Pull the.junk off and put one my hackamore on and let them work. Because a horse is an animal of flight.
I don't have facebook so I thought I might highjack this thread for just a moment. I have a horse given to me that I haven't rode yet. We are working on some soreness issues. I was told he was really strong in the bridle, he wouldn't run off with you, but needed a chain ported bit and a tiedown. I am not going to ride him in that rig, we believe that is a big part of his soreness. He really works his tongue when he is anxious - feeding time, etc. Do you think your hack would be a good idea for him? He was a barrel horse and a head horse, but we will most likely only use him to gather cattle and trail ride.
Call me anytime
580 333 1949
Thanks, I will as soon as my grandbaby decides to grace the world with his presence, lol.  |
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Veteran
Posts: 286
| I do lots of one rein stops (each direction) with all of my horses that have too much forward motion and "forget", ha ha, to wait on my cues.
I also do lots of walking before I ever ask my horse to trot or anything else...Whether I am in the arena or out in the pasture. I do this because I don't want them thinking "go go go'. I expect all of my horses to walk on a loose rein. They all know that if they start to trot, etc. they will be doing one rein stops as long as it takes until they are totally chill and waiting on me.
I save several text messages, etc. to reply to once I get on a horse. If I get on and just sit there for awhile, the horses do not associate someone getting on as a cue that they are going to go somewhere and do something.
I like to start with a lot of walking and end with a lot of walking. It really seems to mellow the horses out and it helps with their over all conditioning.
I want to get on and have my horses listening to me immediately, waiting on my cues, and using their brain...with some of the most energetic horses, your patience and consistency will pay off...but sometimes, it takes a day or two to get there, especially on the really hot and/or nervous type of horses.
Be consistent....don't rush....be calm....and ___breathe___ and your horse will take their cues from you. |
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 Northern Exposure
Posts: 3919
Location: Wasagaming, Manitoba, Canada | GLP - 2017-06-20 3:44 PM Southtxponygirl - 2017-06-20 3:09 PM Lots of trail riding when my horses they were hot, less drilling on them is the best thing for them, when they know their job theres no need to be drilling them.. Amazing what wet saddle blankets and long trail rides can do for a horse, isn't it?
I live by this.
It is the best thing for their mind, especially on the sensitive ones. |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
| I have a mare that is too smart for her own good. She gets bored in the arena doing anything drill like, and she doesnt need pattern work. I have a big pasture that is a steady down slope. We walk down, and trot up a couple times. Then we lope up a couple times. We'll work on controlling speed, leads, bending, responding while moving so they remember no matter how quick we're moving she's alert to my cues. |
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 Georgia Peach
Posts: 8338
Location: Georgia | BFN - 2017-06-21 5:08 PM I do lots of one rein stops (each direction) with all of my horses that have too much forward motion and "forget", ha ha, to wait on my cues. I also do lots of walking before I ever ask my horse to trot or anything else...Whether I am in the arena or out in the pasture. I do this because I don't want them thinking "go go go'. I expect all of my horses to walk on a loose rein. They all know that if they start to trot, etc. they will be doing one rein stops as long as it takes until they are totally chill and waiting on me. I save several text messages, etc. to reply to once I get on a horse. If I get on and just sit there for awhile, the horses do not associate someone getting on as a cue that they are going to go somewhere and do something. I like to start with a lot of walking and end with a lot of walking. It really seems to mellow the horses out and it helps with their over all conditioning. I want to get on and have my horses listening to me immediately, waiting on my cues, and using their brain...with some of the most energetic horses, your patience and consistency will pay off...but sometimes, it takes a day or two to get there, especially on the really hot and/or nervous type of horses. Be consistent....don't rush....be calm....and ___breathe___ and your horse will take their cues from you. I agree with all this. My hot horses get walked for about 10 minutes before we do anything else. One of my mares got injured early in the year and I have been legging her back up. I've been taking things real slow. Mostly walking and trotting. It's amazing how this has brought her down a peg or two. I'm sure not running a patern in 4 months also helps. The biggest piece of advice I have is just to stay level headed. I used to get super frustrated with my horses when they wanted to get jiggy. But now I just stay calm and let them do whatever, respectfully. Occasionally I feel myself getting flustered and I just stop the horse, take a couple big breaths and continue on. Fighting with a hot horse gets you nowhere and it puts you a step backward honestly. As far as exercises go, I suggest lots of bending drills. It keeps their feet moving but without the need for forward motion. I rarely do these at a trot. I make my horse walk so she understand we dont always have to go fast. They need to be listening to your cues, not thinking about speed.
Edited by Runninbay 2017-06-22 8:41 AM
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Veteran
Posts: 217
| I'll have the oddball here. My super sensitive hothead prefers the arena, but I don't think she is as hot as some other horses. When she gets amped up, her bottom lip flaps, she prances a bit, and does this oddball gait when she's asking if she can run. She likes a constant when we ride. Going down the road she will relax after ten minutes of a minor panic attack while walking around. Going through the woods is her anxiety trigger. Stuff randomly touching her legs, or if it gets stuck. Just not her scene, and she's been through enough I'm not going to make her.
Took us two hours on a cool day to learn how to work on a semi loose rein to relax in a trot and not run off. To bring her head back to earth, I'll ask her to give her head to both sides, move her hips each way, and then her shoulders each way. This is what I do every time I get on her. If she's too worked up to focus, I'll have her side pass and counter bend figure eights to slow down her feet and then ask for the movements.
Getting frustrated with a hot horse doesn't work. Learned the hard way. Just have to think out the box sometimes. |
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riding the hot horse