How do you correct a horse on the trail from jigging and rearing?

Question

I've owned a 8 year old arabian mare for 2 yrs now she was started late and she's very hot and nervous she gets frustrated from all the collection in dressage and she gets pissy on the trail, when we are close to home she jiggs so i hold her back than she gets frustrarted and rears almost verticle how do i correct her behavoir?

Answer 1

Good question...arabs are work horses and will go all day long. they are generally a bit more on edge than most, a bit like a racehorse....try a different way home if possible and turn her in circles when she rears...make the circle severe with a good kick in the ribs but reward her when u straighten her by loose reins and a pat.....if all fails then tie her head down for an hour a day via a breaking/lunge roller...this has cured many a bad habit in my day, moniter her diet and try to cut the hot feed out for a while. hope u have success

Answer 2

The rearing you describe sounds like it is happening because you are rather heavy handed.It also sounds to me as if your mare's nervous behavior is something that you are afraid of. This may be why you are holding her back as she turns for home- you know she's going to get excited and start to jigg, because SHE knows she's headed back to the barn and her stall, and possibly some food. One solution to this is to take a different route home every day for a while. Once you are at home, DON'T unsaddle your mare- make her work,HARD, for a while in the ring or arena. This will teach her not to expect to be fed or get a reward right away when your ride is over- and it will also help to stop her from getting excited once she realizes that there is no reward and nothing to be gained by this behavior. If she learns that she is going to do more work when she gets home, then she will be a lot less anxious to go home when asked to, and she should become less nervous and silly. As far as the rearing goes- DO NOT EVER, I MEAN EVER, lean back when your mare does this. You can pull your horse over on top of you this way, and I had a good friend and classmate who was nearly KILLED doing exactly this. Instead, shift your weight as far forward as you can, and when she comes down, pull her head down and around to your knee on the opposite side. Then kick hard, and keep kicking for a few seconds as a punishment. You are trying to send the message here that this behavior is a real no-no, and this is one way to get your point across.Make the mare circle around, with her nose at your knee, until she stands still and is ready to listen. Then you can allow her to straighten up and walk out on a loose rein- and if she jiggs or rears again, repeat the process. Do this as often as you need to until she gets the message and stops the behavior. One other thing- since your mare is an Arab, I would avoid feeding her sweet feed. Sweet feeds have molasses in them that tends to make Arabs and other lighter breeds hot, stupid, and hard to handle and train. I have owned several Arabs and half-Arabs,.and in my experience the less sweet their feed is, the better. You will also want to limit the amount of alfalfa hay you feed- grass or timothy is much better for a horse of this breeding, as it has less energy but is still just as nutritious. Hope this helps you, and good luck !!

Answer 3

Show her who is boss take control do not hit her or she might get even more mad but just Handel her. When ever she rears hold the reins tight and don;t let her put her head down or anything. Sit in a good posture and show her who is boss!

P.S hope she is better on the trails good luck : )