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Lease horse flaws, minor but how could they be fixed?

2K views 17 replies 11 participants last post by  mom2pride 
#1 ·
So the horse I'm going to lease has two small faults, the girl has said she is a little unhappy if she is tied for grooming or tacking up and can't see other horses. She will paw at the ground, nothing horrible like biting or bucking but how can this be fixed. Also if riding in big groups she is the 'lead mare' and might act a little grumpy pin her ears back, seem fed up.

Ways to fix these ? I'm not concerned at the moment considering I'm keen to work with this horse on a lot of things including schooling her with jumping so these minor things aren't a worry.
 
#2 ·
The girl who?.. Who owns her or who also rides her? If she's more than 5+ years old, heck, even 3+ years old, she needs to learn to stand still when grooming or tacking. And I mean like a statue. If she's not, try seeing if someone can lunge her and get her tired, there should be no reason for her to "want to look at other horses" or fidget at all during those two. If she paws at the ground, personally I'd kick her, but I don't tolerate pawing at the barn I ride at, and neither does ANYone else there.
If she rides in a big group, just ride with confidence, make it known that you're the boss while you're on her back, not her. You could get hurt that way if you don't :?
Good luck! :thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
Tie her to a tree away from other horses and until she stands like a Statue then she is to stay tied to the tree. If it takes all day, so be it. It sounds mean but teaches them pretty quick.
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#8 ·
You arent understanding though they don't always get tired from lunging especially if you rely on that after awhile it just conditions them. Also if done wrong all it'll do is make her more antsy at tieing. I lunge my boy but 15 mins tops lots of reverse and speed changes however this is not to tire him ao he will stand to be groomed/ worked it's simply to get his brain working it isnt however a necessary thing.
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#10 ·
Lunging is for training not just to run a horse around and get them tired. You just need to keep at it and tie her up. When shje paws you can say HEY and smack her shoulder. They will learn pretty quick and then they usually paw when you leave for a bit. nI also don't think you could titre out a horse enough to stop pawing
 
#11 ·
OK folks - you stated your opinions, now let it go and get back on topic.
 
#12 · (Edited)
Brittz it's just a matter of keeping on top of her distress. The best way is to slowly introduce her to her new herd: You.

Work with her on appreciating time with you. Take her out for grass away from other horses, give her a really nice curry down when she's tied, work on relaxing her by teaching her to lower her head from a whisper of pressure.

Pawing will eventually go away if you teach her that it's not okay to paw.

As for riding, you just have to also how her it's not okay to pin her ears. Usually I ask the horse to do more work. I say "hey we're going to do a nice big figure eight and slip some leg yielding in there" and as soon as she puts on her happy ears, quit working her and relax. If she does it again, same thing.. more work.

I don't like the idea of lunging the pants off of any horse. That is detrimental to their health (joints) and their mind (boredom & possibly fear) and maybe even to their training.

Lunging has it's place, but it is not a weapon. It's supposed to help a horse, not punish a horse or get it so tired that it basically gives up trying to protest.

But OP if you work on redirecting her anxiety and turning it into calm relaxation.. feeling secure with you rather than more worried by creating more fear, etc. then she'll stop her antics.

Now if she's being dangerous, that's when you up the anty and get after her.

Make sense?

You gotta know when to be direct and stern.. and when to be more of a helper.
 
#13 ·
Bottom line here ladies - this is a leased horse. Any form of training or correction needs to be approved by the owner of the horse.

Yes the horse should stand for grooming. Many times the anxiety comes from the handler. If you groom and don't putz, the horse tends to pay attention to you. Heck, our two year old will stand like a statue in the middle of the pasture if you start grooming her.

As far as being lead mare in a group ride - there are horses who lead, some who will only follow. It's a matter of working with the horse and finding what makes it tick.

Again though as a leased horse - unless you have permission to make changes, I would err on the side of caution and learn the horse for yourself before you decide she needs changing. She may be completely different with you.
 
#14 ·
Instead of lunging when she gets antsy about being away from other horses, which takes the horse out of the area the problem is occuring, do ground work like backing away from you, turn on the forehand, legyield etc to get the horses attention back on you. Show her your leader and attention should be on you at all times, not on the wearabouts of the others. You could try teaching the horse to ground tie too as this teaches them as soon as the rope is on the floor then have to stand, all day if they have to. I haven't tried this, but i can see in theory it would work!
 
#15 ·
My horse sometimes becomes antsy while grooming and starts to paw. If I say"stop" he knows what I mean and if I walk away and come back catching him doing it he looks at me all guilty. You can teach him that is not acceptable by telling him no and tapping him on the coronet of which foot is pawing. My horse knows this is not acceptable.
 
#16 ·
I will often use lungeing to teach a horse to stand still; it's the premise of making the wrong thing hard, and the right thing easy. Horses are lazy by nature, and if you are quick to bring on the correction (in this case, lungeing), the horse would learn quickly, that "if I fidget, I have to work...I better stand still." I use this on any horse I train to tie quietly. I will simply loop the lead over my arm and do what I need to do around the horse, grooming, picking feet, etc...if he moves, I am already in a position to move his feet, and move his feet I do. Always use a lead of atleast 14 ft. as well as a rope halter, since this is harder for him to lean on. Make sure you have taught the horse to lunge properly first, and it is always wise to work in an area you can safely lunge the horse. Now, when I lunge a horse, I don't just send him in one direction endlessly forever...this is where people think lungeing is a meaningless exercise in teaching a horse anything; change directions OFTEN!!!! Make the horse work!!! Change gaits often, as well, and incorporate backing often, especially if the horse tends to want to rush in to meet you when you stop him. When he will stand well with the lead over my arm without moving, I will start dropping the line (ground tying). If he moves off, I am still able to grab the lead and work him, because he's not held fast, which is my biggest problem with 'corrections' while a horse is tied...if he reacts to your correction, and you get in the way of his reaction, you and he could be injured. I like to avoid that possibility. It's the difference between invoking that fight or flight instinct.
 
#17 ·
The problem i see with lunging is two fold.

First is that it takes time to get the horse to a round pen or get a lunge line and start the work out - by that time the association is lost.

Secondly is that lunging becomes a punishment instead of a training exercise.

Better to make him work right there - turn circles, side step, or back up. The punishment is immediate and makes it associated to the habit.
 
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#18 ·
If you note in my post, when I am working with a training horse, I start in a round pen, or other safe area...I don't start in a barn, where I lose that precious time. Yes, you can do hip yields, etc, which I will do also, but I have found over the years, that the combination of the two (lungeing, as well as the other exercises) will usually get the point home to stand still alot faster than just one or the other, but that's just me.
 
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