I've been gone for a week and my horse seems to have forgotten who's boss?

Question

I just got back from a one week vacation without being around my horse. Today I went out to ride her and she walked all over me. She didn't want to do anything I asked her to and she reared serveral times and threw her head. So i decided to lunge her. I took her and and she automatically started to trot. without me asking. i stopped her and asked for a walk then trot and by the time i asked her to lope she would buck,gallop, and then bring it back to a lope. any advice? How do I make myself the boss again?

Answer 1

okay. if she acts up on you, when you ride if she starts to trot yank her head to your left knee hold it there until she settles. rearing do the same thing exept yank to the right and up. if she goes into a gait you dont want her to, yank back to a hault and start over. if you let her do what ever she wants she will continue. if she bucks while lopeing, pull back and back her up, stop get off and walk her bback and forth get back on. try it again if she continues email me at [e-mail] I am a horse trainer so I could help you with this problem.

Answer 2

X.X!!! Don't yank on a head if a horse is rearing! It will make it go backwards, don't yank if it goes faster, it will make it harsh to contact, good lord.

One rein stop is what some people are trying to say, it's not YANKING a horses head to your knee, it's gently pulling on the head until the horse stops, you start it on the GROUND so your horse understands it. Take one rein and lightly work the horse around you in a small walking circle, then take the rein to where your belly button would be. When she stops moving drop the rein and raise her! Do it on the other side then.

When you first catch your horse, make sure she does not turn her hindquarters to you, make sure she respects the fact you're boss. If she does turn her hindquarters towards you, it's disrespect and I immediately act alpha horse and drive mine away from me. None of my horses ever walk off from me or run off, in fact they happily come running :).

When first begining to lounge her, always demand she begin at YOUR tempo, when you say walk if she trots, don't get mad, but say "eeassy walk" if she doesn't, pul her into a tighter circle until she CAN'T trot anymore, then slowly let her go back out - be patient, though. She hasn't been worked in a week, so it's understandable, but she needs to learn you can leave and she has to behave.

When walking your horse, if she pushes you, immediately stop her, if she keeps shoving, hold a whip with you and immediately turn your walking into a small lounging. Move her hindquarters away from you and back her. If she pushes and charges you, turn and back her, she should learn how to back by you shaking her lead rope and walking towards her. Teach her this in her pen first, if she doesn't back off, tap her chest with the whip until she does, you can increase the pressure of the taps in incriments of 3, ever 3 taps increase the pressure until she moves back, even a step them rub her. Then do this everytime she pushes into you, so she learns where her boundaries are, always enforce this

Horses like to 'test the water', make sure she knows that you are alpha always. Also, if she starts bucking DON'T GET OF if you can handle it. Ugh, a real horse trainer doesn't get off a bucking horse, they learn how to feel when the horse is going to buck and disengages the hindquarters. I retrained an unridable horse that reared, bucked, bit, kicked - the works. He was going to be killed for aggression and I managed to get him over ALL of it, easily. Now he is as tame as a kitten.

Also, you can hook the reins through the saddle so that when she drops her head heavily to buck, she hits the end of her reins.

Mostly, lounge before working for now :) and email me if you need anything at all! [e-mail]

Answer 3

First and foremost, was your horse being worked while you were gone at all?  If not its most likely that your mare just has some pent up energy from not being worked.  If you didnt adjust the amount of feed and she did not get worked then she would have been consuming more calories (energy) then she was using in a day.

Second, if youre asking a question like this you should seek assistance from a respected and knowladgable trainer if your horse has behavioral issues.

Lunging her was a good idea. (Dont forget protective boots to prevent her from playing so much she injures herself.)

In a situation like this you really need hands on training.  You can get all the answeres you could read but you might not necessarily want to try them.

General rules when you have bad ground manners-

use a stud chain if youre experianced with them or a Blocker halter if you are unfamiliar with stud chains. (Its a halter with a cable built into it so that when the horse acts up pressure is applied automatically to the poll and nose of the horse and release automatically when the horse gives in to the pressure.  The more advanced model does have a chain attachment as well that works the same way.  But you DO NOT want to tie your horse in this halter.)

If your horse rears typically you will back them up a few steps.  Make sure you are not infront of them to avoid getting struck by their front end.  Remember while you are riding though: if you have forward momentum your horse can not rear unless you allow that momentum to stop.  So if you feel a rear coming on go forward, circles, serpentines, trot poles, etc.  get their attention back on you.

As for bucking, you want to pick up their head or front end and get your horse to engage her back end.  When she bucks, she needs to put her weight onto her front end in order to lift her back end.  Same concept while riding, if you feel a buck coming, pick up her front end and keep going forward.  Always keep the attention on you rather then bore her with mindless work.

As far as her behavior on the lunge line it sounds very typical of a horse that was just cooped up.  

But always remember that you want to use the least amount of force necessary to make any correction.  You need to be aware of your horses reaction when you ask her of something.  Starting with the least amount and lightest pressure and increasing that slowly until you get a response.  After all, would you want someone to smack you upside the head first and then ask you nicely to pay attention.  Same concept to remember when working with any one or anything.

Answer 4

I suspect on of two things.  Either she has just recently turned three (at that age they often take a spell of testing their handlers) or she has come into heat.  Another possibility is that she may have gotten little or no exercise while you were gone.  The result is that she acted up when you let her out because she wanted to go, go, go.  This last is especially likely if she was stalled the entire time.

Answer 5

Work on improving your communication with your horse.  It is unlikely that such disrepect surfaced only after a week.  There had to be some basic problems before and now for some reason, they have become exaggerated.  Sounds like you have some real issues that are very dangerous.  Get some professional help as you admit you don't know how to address this and resolve the behavioral issues.  Have you considered that maybe she injured herself while you were gone and needs to be checked by the vet?  Hope you figure it out.

Answer 6

Its called reschooling time.

For the lunging...

If that mare didn't want to walk then make her trot and trot and trot, when she tries to slow down then tap her if she wants to trot so bad then by god then she'll trot until you say that she's done. For  the bucking that a major no no, once you regain control, bring the mare in and have her lunge in a smaller circle. Its harder for a horse to lunge in a smaller circle, it'll also teach them to stop pulling on the lunge line. from the sound it it, I can guess the mare is pulling on the lunge line. That'll help fix that problem. For the first day back when I ride I don't ask a lot but if they throw their head, or rear then its not pretty. Its called too the lunge line and they'll lunge for a long time.

For riding...

When that mare wants to rear push her forward make her move. Make her do small trot circles, if your working in a arena and the make her work in the middle of the ring trot circles, once calmed down ask her to go to the rail. If the mare acts up bring her to the center or even do it where you are. Trot circles. Its a give and take lesson when the mare acts up you stop and make her do trot circles that teachs her when she acts up, she'll pay for it, but when she's good then get to work normal.

This is something that won't be fixed over night but, be firm in your actions and little by little you'll notice a difference in the mare

Answer 7

sorry to say but youll have to deal with her the same way you did when yuo first started trainig her. be firm but not to strict. give her an apple or carrot if she does something right. its almost like starting from the beginning but itll be easier once she remembers. good luck :)