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Starting to try dominate me...

2K views 11 replies 4 participants last post by  horsesroqke 
#1 ·
My TB mare, Molly, is starting to try and dominate me. When brushing she'll pin her ears and try bite if im not scratching her itchy spot. Or if i walk up to her she'll sometimes pin her ears and walk off. I used to hand feed her treats, but have cut them out completely. She cant stand tied(Will freak and break free) So i am starting to just try and hold her with her head up. She is always rubbing on me and trying to get her head down for grass. I yank the lead and firmly say "STAND" when being to pushy. When she tries biting me on the ground i give her a smack and firmly say no. She's great under saddle though, but I've been thinking about doing some ground work, like lounging and leading work. She is very much on the fat side but since she's in work shes gets a scoop of coolade after riding or at night.

If anyone has any better suggestions please help me!
 
#2 ·
Sorry for the novel guys!
 
#3 ·
Definitely do ground work- she sounds like she's quickly losing respect for you as the leader. I found that lunging really helped with my own mare- hopefully it'll work for you too. I'm sure others will have loads of helpful stuff for you, so I'll leave that to them. :) Good luck, and I hope everything works out!
 
#4 ·
You all ways need to correct this at the first signs, not when it's starting to bother you. The longer you put up with it and wait to see if she’ll stop
(she wont) the worse and worse it'll get.

If this were a horse I was working with I would be doing lot of ground work on respect and space. So lost of turns on the fore, the hocks and back up. The horse must realise that if I move in they are to move out. Never ever turn the horse into you during this time as you will send mixed signals. If your horse goes to nip you in this time. you not have to be hard, but this needs to be done very calmly, sharp and quick, give them an elbow in the jaw. This method is far better than smacking; ive never had a horse become head shy as you are not smacking the face with your hand. And then immediately drive the font end away from you(turn on the fore). Respect will not happen over night. And you need to be consistent with thins training. Even if you are just leading her from her paddock to a tie up bay. She is not to walk into you, lead you, and you should still not turn her into you. The more you apply this to everyday handling the more respectful your horse becomes and you’ll enjoy being around her.

Depending on the horse you may want to lunge prier, you don’t want to be doing thins with a horse who has too many beans. It’s just tiring.

Goodluck and keep us posted =)
 
#5 ·
Thanks guys.

So im planning on lunging her tonight, so about a half hour of trotting is what i would normally do. Is that OK? 15 minutes each way. Also Is it OK if i go for a ride afterwords or just groundwork?


 
#8 ·
lunging will depend on the horse it self, you know your horse. so if you normally do 30min, than do 30.

riding or ground work?
like i said "You all ways need to correct this at the first signs, not when it's starting to bother you. The longer you put up with it and wait to see if she’ll stop (she wont) the worse and worse it'll get.

 
#7 ·
I'll repeat what I've been told- horses attention spans are rather small, and it's best, when teaching something or training, to limit the real work to about a half hour. If it's a little over, that's okay. So it's up to you. Are you going to be really working during your ride? If you are, then save it for another day. If you just want to have a relaxing ride, then I don't see much of a problem.

If your mare starts getting frustrated before your half hour is up, try to end on a good note, then end early. Once a horse gets upset and frustrated, it's difficult to get them to refocus. I don't mean quit the second she's flipping out and still being disrespectful, but if she's minding you but seems a little frustrated, praise and end.

Does that make sense? Sorry for the novella. :P
 
#9 ·
Horseluver2435, yes, but i might save it for tomorrow because it's a real cold southerly here and quite windy, and I've had days of school with a bad chest cough. She'll have energy though, we haven't ridden for 3 days- Typical Tb's xD

But definitely if it's a nice day tomorrow will get down and do some lunging/light riding. I might not even feed as i was told that i should only hard feed if she has been worked as she is very round.

Also, whenever she turns her head to bite or whatever, she immediately flips her head and backs up because she knows she's gonna get told. So she obviously knows shes being naughty-not in any physical pain. And i can just see it in her eye.

Grrr.. Horses aren't as easy as they look!

Thanks so much for the advice guys.
 
#11 ·
Me and my 2 mates are going for a ride today will tell you how she goes.

And also apparently the biting when brushing is a TB thing coz they are thin skinned and are sensitive, so brought a real sheepskin grooming mit ill try her with.

Ill post later!:-p
 
#12 · (Edited)
Weathers been trashy for a couple days now, but the other day i did end up lounging her, she really didn't wanna work, when i asked for trot she pinned her ears but by the end end she was submissive enough for me to call it a day. It was also feed time so all the horses were eating while she lounged in the paddock next door. She always tries pulling to the gate but i urge her forward and praise when she goes past. She was walking half the time, but i didn't mind as long as she was focused on me.

I'm planning to hard out ride the next good enough day, next 3 days supposed to be rain /= Urghh. Winter officially sucks!

Even though shes fat,im still keeping her unrugged and fed up for when winter really kicks in. I got Molly at the end of winter last year so I've never had her thru winter, but I hope she hold's her weight OK. Also we are over-grazed big time and this location is my only option, so hard feeding is a must for now.

Sorry for the rant, it's good letting everything im thinking out!
 
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