Please help!! I have a VERY unruley mare!

by **primrosehc** on Mon May 26, 2008 2:01 pm

I have a just turned 4 year old tb x nf mare. I have broken her in myself and i have her on loan but with no contact from the owners. I am 16 years old and have 11 years riding experiance, i have riding a very wide range of horses and broken in 2...When riding, she is very strong, unruley, fast and fizzy. Amazingly i havnt fallen off yet in the year i have had her!! I feel very confident on her even though she messes around all the time. She rears when i want her to stop, never walks, always very tense and never likes going away from the other horses at the yard. She is proving to be a very difficult horse and i really want to take her to some shows this year. Please help me with ANY advise because i am running out of ideas!! So far i have, changed her bit, got a different saddle, a new girth, giving her homeopathic tablets, getting on in the stable!, riding with others and gentle encouragement/riding. I hope i have covered everything! Please reply :)

primrosehc xxxx

by **MOF-TA** on Mon May 26, 2008 2:20 pm

The only advice I can give you is to try a mixture of natural horsemanship. A bit of parelli, a bit of monty roberts etc. Try it all, no shouting, no raising your voice and no 'smacking' Just firmness and lots of tlc.

Failing that I have a number for a great trainer but he doesnt come cheap.

by **Dobbies owner** on Mon May 26, 2008 2:23 pm

Oh dear sounds as if you've got your hands full with this one!!!

Have you had her checked over to make sure there is no pain causing this behavior? If you have and there is nothing obvious wrong then it could be worth getting some extra help from an instructor or someone with a bit more experience dealing with the odd problems that occur. It maybe just that you're missing something that a fresh pair of eyes could spot.

Good luck.

by **Vix** on Mon May 26, 2008 3:23 pm

if after being checked out maybe she needs turning away so she can mature a bit)

by **Butterfly** on Mon May 26, 2008 4:26 pm

she is still really young so may be down to u to teach her some of her life lessons. perhaps some schooling would do some good, for example plenty of downwards transitions and circles so that she can understand that not everything is done fast.

also maybe try parelli, good luck!

by **joss68** on Mon May 26, 2008 5:21 pm

i too have a 4 ( rising 5) year old who has been quite a handful- very full of himself- I am sure you know the type. Following advice ( from the back woman) , I have put him on a magnesium supplement and he ( fingers crossed) is much calmer and easier to handle. Don't get me wrong, he isn't perfect but it has made a massive difference. My friend has done the same with her mare and seen even better results. Apparently magnesium acts as a muscle relaxant so that your horse is less tense ( the brain is a muscle too!) and your horse is then more likely to be in a calm state where you can work together rather than battling all the time. Believe you me , I know- my horse was a thug and I have been at the point of selling him several times.

I would strongly recommend you give it a try. i feed it with a handful of cool mix.

by **Pads** on Tue May 27, 2008 10:31 am

Try not to worry with the joys of spring everything seems a little excitable at the moment, I am currently trying a magnesium calmer but early days so waiting to see if it takes the edge off

You mention changing bits have you had her teeth checked?

Depending how bad things have got and if you are still enjoying her, have a little think all this hard work and risk for someone else to get the benefit, it may not be the case in your situation but it frustrates me when young horses are put out on loan for someone else to sort all the problems - a service owners normally have to pay for :)

by **h4hat** on Tue May 27, 2008 4:37 pm

anouther feed supplement which is extremely good that i have used in the past for my bsja ponys is nupa feed (google it) you have to have it by mail order!

and you have to feed it correctly for it to work, its magnesium based and its fantastic, and its legal!

but i wouldnt suggest using calming supplements if these are proper problems, the only reason i used it was because my ponies used to get so excited we couldnt even walk when off the box they would trott every where bouncying and whinnieing and shaking with excitment and they got dangerous because i couldnt control them in the ring! but it was pure excitement, wanting to jump fences from a standstill and would drag me to the nearest fence all they wanted to do was jump jump jump it was like they were on speed!

it sound like you mare is just very pigish. have you turned her away for 6 months since breaking her? its really important you do this! breaking and training a youngster puts alot of pressure on them, they need time out, and if pushed and pressured they will rebell and go backwards instead of forwards! i suggest riding a youngster 4 or 5 days a week and a routine is VERY important!

feed at the same time everyday! its no good going up and 7 oclock one morning and them 11 oclock the next, if shes out 24/7 try bringin her in and get her to depend on YOU a bit more for feeding, this will help gain respect. make everything fun for her! hack out more try schooling out hacking! and once she behaves in the school or when being scholled leave her alone and call it a day even if you have been riding 20 mins! then try a bit more the day after and give her a break,

you have to make her listen to you and make sure she knows your the boss but you also have to have respect for her! listen to her, maybe shes being so unruley because she is feeling rushed and needs time out! babies are fragile there brains are like sponges! if you have galloped her out 5 times in a row she will expect that all the time, like a said make things different all the time, where are you based?

by **primrosehc** on Wed May 28, 2008 9:54 pm

Hello!! Thanks for all the advise, it really means alot. I am based in Somerset in the Taunton area. There is fantastic riding, but not always easy to get to! And i have to rely on my parents alot as i am 16. Can turning away a horse have negative effects? What if she forgets how to behave when ridden and is even worse? Write back xxx

by **primrosehc** on Wed May 28, 2008 10:03 pm

How much does Nupafeed cost? Does is have a build up effect, if so, how long does it take for it to take effect? Oh, and another thing, how long does whatever the amount last? Please write back xxx

by **h4hat** on Wed May 28, 2008 11:48 pm

http://www.nupafeed-uk.co.uk/index.htm?oc=rel&di=desc&subj=liquidcalmer

thats the website for the liquid calmer nupa feed. i think you give a initiall booster feed of it for like 6 days then you decrease it and you can increase and decrease it if your going to shows vets farrier etc it explains it all on the website and they are also extremely helpfull when you spek to them on the phone they give you the ammounts you need to feed your horse/pony etc!

i would suggest turning your horse away, it just gives them time out for a while, even if you turn her away for a month and then bring her in now and again to just do some fun work like easy lunge work for 10 mins every other day do some long reining, loose jumping hacking just do lots and lots of fun stuff with her.

i turned my baby away for about 4 months , he was still being brought in in the day when it got to hott in the summer and i was still feeding him so he still had my human contact then when i decided to bring him back into work i started doing him like he was being broken all over again quite lunging hacking long reining etc he came back much better and alot more mature, he had this whole "i no what im doing now this is easy" atitude.

by **h4hat** on Thu May 29, 2008 12:03 am

when you ask her to stop as soon as you feel her wanting to rear walk her forward. keep doing this , be really repetitive and make her stand then ask her to walk on, as soon as she listen's make sure you give her lots and lots of praise! do this in walk to trott trott to walk, trott walk halt .......just do loads and loads of transittions make it simple and repetitive. if shes realy fizzy try and leave the canter and fast work alone.

have you introduced half halts? maybe initiate a half halt then push her forward and slowly increase it to a halt then half halt again. then do some half halts in trott and trott forward then half halt into a downwards transition to walk . just do some basic stuff that will have huge effects but you have to be ontop of these and do it every time you school her!
if shes very tense try just working her on a long rein do some flexion work, walk her up the long side of the school keeping her straight and bending her neck to the left then do the same on the other rein bending her neck to the right. you can do this on a circle a square keep it quiet and simple, this may help her be less tense, and try to not ask to much of her too soon, this may be why shes so fizzy cos hses anticipating that shes ging to be asked to do something to hard and something she doesnt understand.
as for the nappy atitude you make her ride away from the yard and the toher horses! make her depend on you not her friends in the field!let her know that your the boss and your going to go for a ride if she likes it or not, she can rear spin and be fizzy all she likes do not turn her around or give up and go home even if you walk her down the road for 5 mins and turn her around and come back just as long as shes listening!

i hope this all helps ?