The Horse I'm riding wants to go back to the barn.?

Question

Have you ever had this problem? And when we get close to the entrance of the barn in the rink ... she wants to stop; and when I tell her to go forward she backs up.

Any help or advice would we greatly appreciated!

Answer 1

Well, does this happen everyday? Or was it just today. Maybe she is injured (I  doubt it) or maybe she just doesn't feel like it today. Horses can get lazy, and maybe she just wants to rest today. I would say let her rest today, and see if she acts that way tomorrow. I love horses and I ride them frequently, but I have had a few experiences like that. Sometimes the horses get in pissy moods, I'm sure your horse is fine. :)

Answer 2

Your horse is becoming barn sour. That does happen occasionally to some horses. Just remember that horses are like people in many ways. There are people who for one reason or another become tense and panicky when they leave the secure confines of their home and for one reason or another there are some horses who acquire a similar fear and become tense and panicky when they leave the secure confines of their stall. You must begin dealing with that situation immediately or the horse will become head strong and unmanageable. You have to gradually work the horse beyond the tension and panic that the horse feels when leaving the barn and the best way to do that is to repeatedly walk the horse a short distance out of the barn and then back into the barn and gradually extend that distance away from the barn. When the horse begins to tense turn around and walk it back in again and repeat the exercise again and again, extending the distance away from the barn even if only by a foot or two each turn around until the horse works past that tension. Don't be too forceful but don't take any guff either. Be dominant and firm but fair if the horse becomes too panicky. You will gradually work the horse beyond that tension or panic to where it will feel secure away from the barn. Then get the horse away from the barn or arena more often on pleasure rides.

Answer 3

it's because the horse is Sour and doesn't like doing what you want it to do. You wont be able to break this habbit. The horse wants to leave so it wont do what you want it to do.

good luck

Answer 4

Barn sour is relatively typical of horses that do not want to leave the safety of their herd...and their home, horses are not natural roamers, they have a home range and they typically do not leave it.  This can be difficult to break a horse of, but it can be done, I had a horse that was horribly barn sour for years growing up, but after some serious work with him he became a trail riding monster...any trail we hadn't traveled down he would often try to take, he actually started to hate going home.  The easiest way to break this habit is to try loading your horse onto a trailer and taking them trail riding, with an experienced horse and rider combination of course, somewhere far from your home stable.  In a new environment, without the barn to rush back to you can often, not always, overcome this problem.  That being said, sometimes barn sour horses will consider their trailer as their safe haven when taken far away and refuse to leave it.  I would recommend you find an instructor to assist you with this problem.