How do i get the pony i ride to stop shying in one corner of the ring?

Question

ok i dont know who read my last question but it was on the same pony: http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AozBOdPbtV3yA86VZFztL5bsy6IX;_ylv=3?qid=20080617163130AArkLiR

but basically he's getting a lot better and now he only takes off or shys in one corner of the ring. he doesn't do it every time so i never expect it, and he does it from both directions. i think he thinks that something is in the bushes over by that corner, but since he doesn't run away from it everytime i don't know. and he only runs away when we're trotting or cantering, never walking. he's new to the barn, he's only been here for a month but he's been injured so he's actually only been in that ring for a week. do you think he'll get used to that corner eventually and stop freaking out? any suggestions?

thanks!

Answer 1

I have a problem with my pony that she seems to think that there is a monser in the bottom of the school! She works beautifully and behaves wonderfully untill we get to the "monster" courner and then shes a right stroppy mare.  So i lunged her in the school at the top where she is completly comfortable and she doesnt think that there is a monster then i gradually work my way down the school to where the "monster" is and she has started to acept that there is really no "monster" in the bottom of the school.  So now she settles much quicker in the school as previously she would fly out of the "monster" courner but now she has decided that there is no monster.

Good luck

Answer 2

Ha Ha, I know just how you feel!  I had this big toughguy horse for a while and he started shying around one corner.  I knew it's because of a door banging just a little onece, but he was still scared and shied whenever he had the opportunity.  So much for the Toughguy facade!  Anyway, there are two things you can do.  First is spend as much time as possible in that area.  I always walk once around the arena to relax and let the horse show me the monsters before I get on.  Then I get on near the scariest area.  If you need an assistant, get someone to hold him for you and face him to the area that he reacts to the worst.  Letting him face away will encourage him to run like h**l if he gets the chance, facing it will give you a little more time, especially if you have a holder.  Then just stand there with long reins until he chews.  Then when you are working, keep him busy in that area.  Do downward transitions, small cirlces, change rein, etc.  I used to take the horse I had the problems with and go to the scary area and pat him hard and tell him how brave he was until one day he walked away from me while I was fixinng my stirrups and he went to the area so I could tell him how brave he was.  It had turned from a scary thing to a place where he got praise and enjoyment!  God I loved that horse!!!

Answer 3

To do a short answer ( i am pressed for time):

1)Walk him and do some ground work in that area. Everytime he gets "flighty" do some SERIOUS groundwork. The kind where he is huffing and puffing and is really responding to you and not the object.

When he "calms" down, rest him in that corner and let him know that it will not eat him.

2)Let him inverstigate the corner by walking him around, to and from the object(s)/corner. First do this on the ground.

3)Then when you are in the saddle; do the same as #!. Make him do some serious work in that corner when he shies. This could be from heavy trotting sessions in a figure eight pattern, turnarounds, trot-canter-trot transitions, etc...

4) do the same thing as #2. just undersaddle this time

Answer 4

you always have to be one step ahead of your horse, always think that everytime you get near that corner hes going to do it and give him a swift kick to the side to keep him going or a tap of your whip. Circling him isnt going to help its just going to have him understand you will pay attention to him more when he startes to do a bad behavior. enforcing it with a tap of a whip or a stern kick to keep him going will let him understand you mean buisness. He is shying to that corner to see how well you can handle him. We had a horse like that at our barn and all I did was kept him going the way I wanted him to and he finally stopped. Its him asking you for confidence as he is scared or he wants to be in control of you. So its a two part thing, you have to figure out which it is.

Answer 5

He'll probably settle down and get used to that corner if you just consistantly ride him past it.  Also might help to work him in the opposite end and give him his breaks there. He'll soon actually start preferring to be there.

Don't make a big deal out of it or tense up. If you tense up expecting him to shy in that spot then he's most likely going to shy. He'll do this because he feels you tense up and he'll be looking for what you are afraid of and the smallest thing will set him off.

Answer 6

he will get used to it. just keep doing what you are doing and really work him in that coner. spend alot of time there so he can desensitize to whatever is freaking him out. just be patient and calm, and he will learn that there is nothing scary. when i first bought my horse, she was SO afraid of the piegons in the rafters above the ring. i was afraid to go in there and avoided it whenever possible. but after a while, she got used to piegons fluttering everywhere (she used to be in pasture) and now she doenst even spook when an owl swoops in close to her head.

Answer 7

He'll probably improve with time.  Every time he shies,  I would circle him and work him in that corner until he relaxes.

Answer 8

yes

i suggest i move over there

and you teach me how to ride a horse

yes..yes...

i know im a genius!

:p

[this is the one question that im just completely clueless...and jesus the vocabulary!!]

Answer 9

As you aproach the "bad scary spot" in the arena, use your leg to push him away from the booger in the corner...both directions.  Horse thinks, hmmm, human is keeping me away from that spot, cool.  should solve your problem.

Answer 10

My horse loves to shy off of one certain corner, where all the bushes are. What i do is walk her around that area, without even paying attention to the fact she is looking over there. My trainer always says, if your horse is spooking, act like nothing is wrong, and ride ahead. It helps A LOT if you turn your head in a different direction, because the horse will most likely take his attention off the corner and look where you are looking. When you are trotting/ cantering ride off of your in side leg and out side rein. So when you are trotting, push off your inside leg and pull the horse toward the rail with your outside rein..

hope it helps

good luck ;]

Answer 11

I know during a lesson one night at my old barn, there was a golfcart outside the arena. And the pony I was on would look at it funny and try to avoid it.

So I would walk her up to the fence, as far as she would go until she stopped and then pat her and tell her she is a good girl. Then I would go around the ring, keep doing it until she would trot up to the fence, and put her head over it and stand there with no problem.

So, my advice is: When he does shy, don't let him get far. Shorten your reins, turn him in a circle and walk him past the problem spot. Then once you get past it, circle him again and trot him slowly past it and etc etc, until he is fine by it.

Obviously something is weird to him, and he just needs to realize what it is and/or it won't jump out and eat him.

Answer 12

i totally agree with "hwinnum". the only way to make them ignore whats "after" them is to work them through it. enough with this "ssssshhh, its ok" coddling-c**p. thats like saying "its ok you're scared, ill take care of you every time you shy, whether i want to or not, so go ahead and be scared!"

i would get a lunge line and lunge him in that corner until he realizes nothings going to eat him. if it takes a couple of days, so be it. just use positive reinfocement when he settles down.

Answer 13

i once knew a horse like that i would take him in the ring and work him on the ground at the corners and he eventully got used to the corners on the ground. I then worked him in the corners and after a little while he was fine

Answer 14

My horse had the same exact problem for a while, and I found that it would get worse when I stopped making him completely focused on working.  If you relax for a second and starts to relax and his mind wonders and then OMG THE NOTHING SPRINGS TO LIFE!!!! You should NOT have to take that c**p from him. The moment something startles him he should first and foremost listen to YOU for guidance. And, when you're trotting or cantering riders tend to ask more of their horses because those gates are so much more complex that your horse might just be trying to avoid doing what you ask because it makes him uncomfortable.

You could always longe him over and over and over and OVER in that corner so you can really drive him through the corner. Keep him focused...that should help. Silly horsies!! :-)

Answer 15

Well when a horse spooks after you should walk he/she around the area they spooked at. Tell them that there is nothing to be afraid of. Make sure you walk he/she over to that area and be prepared for something to happen. Have someone put you on a lunge rope or something so he can't go too far. After you walk around for a while pick up a trot and get him through the corner, While approaching the corner take up more rein and lean back more than usually. If he does freak out ask him to stop and then pick up the trot again until he won't freak out anymore. After some time do this at the canter with a lunge line on you make sure he does what you ask of him. Also consider contacting your trainer and see if she can work him through the problem. Maybe lunge him near that corner before you ride him so he shakes out all of his sillys. Do this for maybe about 20 minutes before your lesson. After he doesn't shy from the corner anymore reward him with treats.