Making things interesting for my mare?

Question

Harper, my newest mare, is only 6 and has a much shorter attention span than I'm used to. All of my workable horses are 13+, most of them being over 16, and can pay attention for up to 30 minutes at a time. Right now, I have to longe her for a bit, then work with Beau (gelding she's in the pasture with) then let them graze, then work with her, and on and on until we've finished what we're doing. She simply learns everything so fast that I have issues keeping up with her, and is easily bored with repetitive work.

Today I took her out of the paddock and down to where we are building. No nails involved, just some posts sunk into the ground. I weaved her in between those, and after a while she was actually doing it on her own and I could completely let go of the rope. She really enjoys that kind of thing.

So, while I build up her muscle and flexibility, how about some exercises I could use interchangeably to keep her engaged? She isn't quite ready to ride yet (rescue mare) but she's doing wonders on the ground. I'm also looking for some that will help her "find her feet" since she is not all that coordinated without the TWH performance pads on yet.

Thanks!

Answer 1

If she enjoys weaving through those post she would probably like pole bending  

Answer 2

Well first of all your being a good horse owner and challengeing your horse so she doesnt get bored!

To answer your question I would do lots of lunging and maybe eventually flying leads. I think that once she learns the basics she will be able to have a saddle on her back and get ready. If she already can have tack on her, then maybe do some loose jumping off a lead or lunge line! Hope this helped! (Oh and on the loose jumping thing, when you open the jar of jumping there is over a million things you can do!)

Answer 3

I have been working with a young, rescue mare, and I have had to come up with ways to keep her challenged.  I bought balls and cones, clickers, and tug of war ropes.  They all worked to some degree, but they were mainly for amusement.  A student of mine suggested that we teach her gymkhana games: cloverleaf, keyhole, pole bending, etc. for balance and response.  They worked great.  We weren't going for times, just finesse.  I recently found this site: http://www.horsetrainingsuccess.com/  but I haven't used too many of their suggestions, yet, but it may be interesting to read.  

There are top trainers like Pirrelli who have extensive programs that keep horses challenged, but they can be quite costly.  Feed stores have books that have training games, and I'll bet your local library does too.  Good luck!