Having trouble with my Appy's attitude? 10 points!!!?

Question

I just traded my 15 yo QH gelding for an 8 yo Appy mare. She's gorgeous and she has a great temperment.. And up until yesterday... she was the perfect horse for me... but her and my sisters QH/Morgan mare have gotten farrrr too attached. I wouldn't even say attached because when they're in the field together they don't seem to want to be near each other but if you take one away from the other to ride they both go balistic and neigh their heads off. Yesterday while I was riding she started acting up. I would ask her to walk on and she would throw her head and trot or if I asked her to stop she would turn in the direction of my sisters horse and ignore my requests. I have never seen her buck until yesterday. After I got done riding I took off her tack and let her out into the field and she ran the fence line bucking and screaming the entire way. My sisters horse would neigh back but with no where near the same intensity as my horse. I got thrown from a horse at the beginning of June and fractured my pelvis and have been a little wary of high strung horses. I know that me being scared causes her to become more frantic but I don't know what to do. If she doesn't get over this I'm going to have to trade her back or something.

Sorry this is so long but I was just wondering if anyone has dealt with a horse that had separation anxiety issues and was uncontrollable if left alone or away from another horse. How did you deal with it and what would be some things I could try?

Could it just be that she's about to go into heat? I have never owned a mare before and don't really know what to expect. I've only owned geldings. My sisters mare is not your typical mare, if she's in heat you don't know because she's so laid back all the time and she doesn't have a mean bone in her body[plus she's about 14.2 H and has some slight arthritis so she has never even tried to buck]

My mare is about 15.3-16H and shes pretty big. I've never ridden a horse this tall before so that might have something to do with why she intimidates me so. On the ground she listens like an angel and yesterday was the first time she wasn't PERFECT for me under saddle.

Thanks so much in advance!!

BTW up until I got this mare she had never been in a pasture with another horse. She was always by herself unless she was being trail ridden. I'm going to try to ride her in the same pasture/area as my sisters mare today and see how she behaves.

Answer 1

Consider this behavior as a barn sour horse.  Work her in the area she doesn't want to leave.  Work up a good sweat.  Then ride her away.  When she's tired she's likely to be more open to leaving.

This would be a good time to cool her out.

Answer 2

my horse was like that, we have only three acres so it was hard to deal with but i put her in a field far away from the herd, then i started riding her by herself all of the time she seems to have gotten better.

if you have good strong fencing you could try separation, but if it is just wire and small posts, might not be a good idea.

sorry if it didn't help much

ttys

Answer 3

she does not have seperation anxiety. horses are natural pack animals so when she has your sisters horse as a "pack" being seperated isnt natural for her. when you take her out of the feild she doesnt have a pack. a lot of times you can be part of the pack. bond with your horse more and she'll wont do this cause she'll be with you. and when she ignores your asking its because she is the pack leader and you havent proven yourself to her yet. if you wanted to you could ride with your sisters horse loose if you feel comfortable doing that. it might lead to some problems though. good luck

Answer 4

ugh, my horses are the SAME way! my horse charlie, when i ride him would always turn back, but i just turn him in a circle and keep him going, he keeps persisting but i keep doing what i do, even though its annoying. and if he doesnt behave i extend the ride a little further down the road till he stops acting up, thats what i do. if she's barn sour, try riding her more often and take her on a trail she doesnt usually go on, to forget about going back home, i dont think she will forget, but try to extend the trail, till your so far away you can barely hear the other horses crying. try to keep her head straight forward so she can concentrate on the road and walking. i also have a horse that used to buck, if she bucks, be careful, you have to yell at her saying NO! as soon as she does it, dont do it after b/c she will think that you are yelling at her from walking or to stop, whichever action she does after bucking. watch your horse, her ears, what she's looking at and the pace shes going at, b/c when my horse is about to turn around he either starts slowing down and then turns sharply or swerves to the other side of the road and then turns. but just be careful, and ride with a helmet b/c you dont know what she will do next, expect the unexpected. sorry i wrote so much but i hope i helped, good luck!  

Answer 5

Definately seperation anxiety. Dont worry I understand your intimidation. I went from a 14.1hh arab mare to a 16.3hh 3yrs OTTB. Before I own this OTTB I was in a riding incident when I summersaulted off my mothers arabian (not mine) and was tramble and stepped of (she was basically doing ballerina moves on my body). In the end injuries were caused and I had a dire fear of getting bucked off. That is why I got rid of my young OTTB. He got frantic when he wasnt around other horses and began to buck. I didnt have the patience nor the time to fix him so I gave him away for free to a friend of the families who does group trail riding.

First try keeping them separate for a while(in different paddocks) and see if this helps out. Also try riding her near your sisters horse and slowly with time move farther away (if possible).

My best bet is to contact a local trainer and ask them to come out and help. They will offer you the best advice that meets the needs of you AND your horse.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

  I have a friend that has a horse that sounds very similar to yours.  He is a 16h bay roan QH gelding.  He is 3 years old and is sweet as can be....until she starts riding away from the other gelding.  She has taken him trail riding, to renissaince reinactments, and ride for life.  He has just recently started acting like an idiot.  She kept telling me about what her horse would do when she walked away from the others.  He bucked, spun in circles, he would even go so far to back the whole way to the barn..  So I went with her one day and yes I walked the whole time on my own two feet beside them.  When he started acting stupid she would turn him in another direction trying to get his mind off his friends.  She cracked him with a crop.  Just about anything you could imagine.  The horse pretty much learned he could get away with it, so I mentioned to her, let me ride him.  I'm not a professional but I have trained many and my grandmother was a horse trainer.  I got up on him and he started his same stuff.  I made him back (away from the barn) a good 30 feet before he got to take a step forward.  He did good for a little bit.  So I backed him them spun him around and kicked him into a trot.  Did good for a bit and then I bascially taught him to side pass (nonintensional).  By the time it was all said and done he finally started walking away from his friends.  Challenge her with different things when leaving her friend. If she still acts like an idiot then get down off and make them back until you are tired.  Get back on and make a figure eight pattern walking or trotting. Do all of this leaving the barn. On the way home make the horse go SLOW!  Never run home.  Hope it helps.  

Answer 7

I think this is actually fairly common.  However, you don't want it to escalate.  My best advice is to establish yourself as the leader.  Do some round pen work with your new horse and make her go when you say go, stop when you say stop, and change directions by turning towards you when you saw turn.  (It's important that she turns towards you because that shows she respects you).

I think you should let your horse and your sister's horse be friends, but don't make exceptions for them to be together.  For example, ride your horse where you want to ride.  If you encourage them to act crazy when they are apart, the problem is only going to get worse.  When she starts acting silly, redirect her attention to you and make her do something productive.  I've see horse's become overly attached to one another and it causes a lot of problems for the owners.