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Expert
Posts: 2685
   
| I ride my horses in the pasture that they live in 24/7. This mare is a finished, been there, done that horse. She has done this ever since I got her but its getting worse, like way worse. She does just fine in this pasture on a normal basis, but every time a saddle is involved she won't quite staring at the neighbors pasture.
She is not a huge fan of cows so every morning when I feed breakfast and the neighbors cows are up, she stares at them but it doesn't affect her eating. Now, every time I saddle her and ride, she pays so much attention to the cows that it has started to negatively affect our rides. She is faster in the corner that is on that side, she is constantly staring over there and ignoring my cues until they are annoying, then she gets mad because I have increased the pressure (rein/leg- whatever cue it may be) due to her not responding. By then, she's annoyed and over-reacts.
Today after a way to complicated ride, I had enough and tied her to a tree in the back pasture nearest the neighbors fence so she could stand and stare all she wanted. I am assuming all I did was make myself feel better honestly.
My first thought in fixing this on a normal* horse would be to make them work every time they made the neighbors pasture (not paying attention) an issue (going faster in that corner etc) BUT she just GOES. This horse doesn't have an ounce of quit in her. I have spent hours trying to use a more Clinton Anderson approach (move their feet) and it gets me nothing but a horse that is probably over worked and overly hot, maybe even sore. I am not willing to injure/put her health at risk over it but JEEEZZZZ
Any input is welcome. I would like to add, in case anyone is concerned, her health is 100% in check. Joints, teeth, belly- the whole 9.
Thanks for reading... | |
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| I have a really hot mare that gets pretty looky on one end of our neighbor's arena, and she will do the same thing- cut the corner, speed up, etc. and it makes for an unpleasant ride. I tend to work her like I normally would, and once she's calmed down and is really supple and listening to my cues, I walk her along the entire arena fence, then go back to what I was doing, so she sees the jaunt along the fence as a reprieve from the actual work she has to do, and she has become more comfortable walking along that corner.
She can still be hot, hot though, and some days it's tough just getting her to walk on a loose rein anywhere.
ETA: this mare is 12, has been hauled and ran just about everywhere- finished barrel horse that knows when it's business time.
Edited by madredepeanut 2019-01-22 10:55 PM
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| Thank you! This sounds just like mine. I had wondered about just plain avoiding that area on “bad” days, but I didn’t know if that was giving in or letting her get away with it or just picking my battles. My mare is 13 this year so I highly doubt I’m going to change her...
Thank you for making me feel not so alone lol | |
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Location: Not Where I Want to Be | Have you tried riding the nieghbors pasture?
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 Reaching for the stars....
Posts: 12704
| I live in more of a neighborhood than farm area. I have three neighbors on one side of my arena, with the other side a creek with a thick tree line so no distractions there. It is always exciting to ride my hotter horses out there. There is always something new and distracting! One of the old neighbors right next to the arena rode 4 wheelers non stop and oh boy! The horses thought they were horse eating monsters. That took a year to get past and on to normal works again. New neighbors right next to arena now have a huge fowl operation started. When the larger birds (turkeys, guinea hens) get to running around and making loud noises that is a source of distraction. We'll get past it.
I make the horse having problems slow down and listen to commands. I keep feet moving but will ask for counter arc usually. I will do 2-3 strides one direction, then the other, all the way up the side. Sometimes we will do small circles all the way up that side. Eventually the horse will settle. Some. The 4 wheelers took longer since they would come zooming up erratically, sometimes headed straight for the horses. I don't get mad when a horse responds to that - but I work to make them see it isn't going to get them. I would do circles for those times.
The worst spook I have had to date in the arena was when one of my barrels broke and I put it outside the gate. OMG - Xena was strung tight as a harp on that one and she turned and bolted when we were about 30 ft from it! Good thing she liked to stop as much as she liked to run!! | |
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Location: in the ozone | RoaniePonie11 - 2019-01-22 7:46 PM
I ride my horses in the pasture that they live in 24/7. This mare is a finished, been there, done that horse. She has done this ever since I got her but its getting worse, like way worse. She does just fine in this pasture on a normal basis, but every time a saddle is involved she won't quite staring at the neighbors pasture.
She is not a huge fan of cows so every morning when I feed breakfast and the neighbors cows are up, she stares at them but it doesn't affect her eating. Now, every time I saddle her and ride, she pays so much attention to the cows that it has started to negatively affect our rides. She is faster in the corner that is on that side, she is constantly staring over there and ignoring my cues until they are annoying, then she gets mad because I have increased the pressure (rein/leg- whatever cue it may be) due to her not responding. By then, she's annoyed and over-reacts.
Today after a way to complicated ride, I had enough and tied her to a tree in the back pasture nearest the neighbors fence so she could stand and stare all she wanted. I am assuming all I did was make myself feel better honestly.
My first thought in fixing this on a normal* horse would be to make them work every time they made the neighbors pasture (not paying attention) an issue (going faster in that corner etc) BUT she just GOES. This horse doesn't have an ounce of quit in her. I have spent hours trying to use a more Clinton Anderson approach (move their feet) and it gets me nothing but a horse that is probably over worked and overly hot, maybe even sore. I am not willing to injure/put her health at risk over it but JEEEZZZZ
Any input is welcome. I would like to add, in case anyone is concerned, her health is 100% in check. Joints, teeth, belly- the whole 9.
Thanks for reading...
Is it just this area that she gets that way? Or does she "find" a part of an arena, part of a trail, etc that is her bogeyman on most of your rides and gets rattled about "those" things & then gets worse if you try to push through or even if you get after her? If it's other places, times & things - sounds like a PX horse to me. | |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 502
Location: United States | She needs to focus on you and you need to exercise her with fast changing drills that don't give her an option to look around. In situations like this I make my horse turn left, turn right, stop, back, trot forward, start loping 3 strides, break down to trot, turn a different direction, change directions again. Then do this at the lope, keep switching directions, small circles, bring circles, transitions until she tires and realize that when under saddle her job is to listen to you. Try taking her back to rail work and if she goofs off again, back to work with drills that make her think. | |
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 Expert
Posts: 5290
| If she is a " Been there done that" finished barrel horse as you say she is, leave her alone. So she is " Looky". I have a mare that is so high Strung and " Work work work" that you CANNOT just ride her in the pasture or trails. She will trot and bounce you the entire trip!!! you cannot ride her down, or tie her out.. she will outlast you!! BUTTTTTT you ask her to make a run and she gives 10000000% ever trip or back her in the box and you can rope on her all day and not miss a lick. If its a colt thats learning, thats one thing.. if its a finished horse, thats how they are. No amount of boring " Drills" will fix it. | |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| 1DSoon - 2019-01-23 8:27 AM
Have you tried riding the nieghbors pasture?
At the risk of sounding one way or another, the lady that owns the property is.... hard to get along with and I highly doubt I would be allowed to ride on her property. | |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| FLITASTIC - 2019-01-23 12:15 PM
If she is a " Been there done that" finished barrel horse as you say she is, leave her alone. So she is " Looky". I have a mare that is so high Strung and " Work work work" that you CANNOT just ride her in the pasture or trails. She will trot and bounce you the entire trip!!! you cannot ride her down, or tie her out.. she will outlast you!! BUTTTTTT you ask her to make a run and she gives 10000000% ever trip or back her in the box and you can rope on her all day and not miss a lick. If its a colt thats learning, thats one thing.. if its a finished horse, thats how they are. No amount of boring " Drills" will fix it.
This is pretty much where I'm at. I don't think I'm going to change her, and like yours, she WILL outlast me lol. | |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| slipperyslope - 2019-01-23 9:50 AM
RoaniePonie11 - 2019-01-22 7:46 PM
I ride my horses in the pasture that they live in 24/7. This mare is a finished, been there, done that horse. She has done this ever since I got her but its getting worse, like way worse. She does just fine in this pasture on a normal basis, but every time a saddle is involved she won't quite staring at the neighbors pasture.
She is not a huge fan of cows so every morning when I feed breakfast and the neighbors cows are up, she stares at them but it doesn't affect her eating. Now, every time I saddle her and ride, she pays so much attention to the cows that it has started to negatively affect our rides. She is faster in the corner that is on that side, she is constantly staring over there and ignoring my cues until they are annoying, then she gets mad because I have increased the pressure (rein/leg- whatever cue it may be) due to her not responding. By then, she's annoyed and over-reacts.
Today after a way to complicated ride, I had enough and tied her to a tree in the back pasture nearest the neighbors fence so she could stand and stare all she wanted. I am assuming all I did was make myself feel better honestly.
My first thought in fixing this on a normal* horse would be to make them work every time they made the neighbors pasture (not paying attention) an issue (going faster in that corner etc) BUT she just GOES. This horse doesn't have an ounce of quit in her. I have spent hours trying to use a more Clinton Anderson approach (move their feet) and it gets me nothing but a horse that is probably over worked and overly hot, maybe even sore. I am not willing to injure/put her health at risk over it but JEEEZZZZ
Any input is welcome. I would like to add, in case anyone is concerned, her health is 100% in check. Joints, teeth, belly- the whole 9.
Thanks for reading...
Is it just this area that she gets that way? Or does she "find" a part of an arena, part of a trail, etc that is her bogeyman on most of your rides and gets rattled about "those" things & then gets worse if you try to push through or even if you get after her? If it's other places, times & things - sounds like a PX horse to me.
This location is the only one I can think of off the top of my head. Can I do the 5 panel on her or is PX a different deal? | |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| pippy - 2019-01-23 11:59 AM
She needs to focus on you and you need to exercise her with fast changing drills that don't give her an option to look around. In situations like this I make my horse turn left, turn right, stop, back, trot forward, start loping 3 strides, break down to trot, turn a different direction, change directions again. Then do this at the lope, keep switching directions, small circles, bring circles, transitions until she tires and realize that when under saddle her job is to listen to you. Try taking her back to rail work and if she goofs off again, back to work with drills that make her think.
So this is basically what I did the other day (the way to complicated ride) and she got better but never quite looking over there. It took a long time for her to come down and quite throwing a fit. If I go to try to "fix" it every time, thats the fight I get- every time 0.o | |
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 Expert
Posts: 2097
Location: Deep South | FLITASTIC - 2019-01-23 12:15 PM
If she is a " Been there done that" finished barrel horse as you say she is, leave her alone. So she is " Looky". I have a mare that is so high Strung and " Work work work" that you CANNOT just ride her in the pasture or trails. She will trot and bounce you the entire trip!!! you cannot ride her down, or tie her out.. she will outlast you!! BUTTTTTT you ask her to make a run and she gives 10000000% ever trip or back her in the box and you can rope on her all day and not miss a lick. If its a colt thats learning, thats one thing.. if its a finished horse, thats how they are. No amount of boring " Drills" will fix it.
This is what I was going to suggest also.
I try really hard not to nit-pick my horses to death. If it's not affecting her performance, and not dangerous.... I ignore it. | |
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Expert
Posts: 5290
| RoaniePonie11 - 2019-01-23 10:45 AM
FLITASTIC - 2019-01-23 12:15 PM
If she is a " Been there done that" finished barrel horse as you say she is, leave her alone. So she is " Looky". I have a mare that is so high Strung and " Work work work" that you CANNOT just ride her in the pasture or trails. She will trot and bounce you the entire trip!!! you cannot ride her down, or tie her out.. she will outlast you!! BUTTTTTT you ask her to make a run and she gives 10000000% ever trip or back her in the box and you can rope on her all day and not miss a lick. If its a colt thats learning, thats one thing.. if its a finished horse, thats how they are. No amount of boring " Drills" will fix it.
This is pretty much where I'm at. I don't think I'm going to change her, and like yours, she WILL outlast me lol.
LOL oh yes, I don't even hardly ride mine.... Just pony her on my other horses... She is just a go go go type... LOL But so willing to please when she is asked to work. SO I just let her do her thing. Also, I had a firewater flit gelding few years ago that would SPOOK at a barrel if you were going ANY SPEED less than an extended lope!! Like stop, whirl away etc.. BUTTTTT if you made a " Run" on him, he inhaled all 3... Many many people told me to fix it, put a barrel in his pen at home etc... Once again, he gave me 10000000 % and he was a winning sucker so I just laughed. | |
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