The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

Pony won't go forward...HELP

7K views 30 replies 9 participants last post by  Avna 
#1 ·
Hey all,

three years ago i rescued a totally crazy, untouchable Brumby filly from the horse sales, she's now about 5 and a half years old, and I've broken her in myself, and we have one issue...ONE.

Never bucked, pigrooted, kicked, reared, anything...

But our one issue, is her refusing to go forward. If we're out on a trail by ourselves, she'll go a little while and then just stop, and refuse to move forward. Same, but to a lesser degree, in the arena. She's also difficult to get cantering for the same issue. She can be happily cantering alongside another horse, but as soon as that horse stops, so does she. I've tried using whips (not harshly, just as an aid), tried circling, tried to see if it's the saddle or bridle. her back is fine, her teeth are fine, she's not in any pain. She just refuses to go forward once she's decided to stop. She's generally fine out at shows and comp days. But in our own home environment it's a problem.
I've just started taking her out again, with my boyfriend bringing my dog along, (first ride in 8 months) first time she stopped a few times, second time she was totally fine. Taking her out again in a few hours so we'll see if she's still going well. But guarantee, take my bf and dog away and she'd have the same issues again

any ideas? Has anyone had this problem before?

Kayla x
 
See less See more
#2 ·
The gelding I ride did this for a while, as in would plant his feet and not move whatever you did, and I actually carried a stick. It was not like a branch, but one of those spindly little twig sticks that hangs out on the end of the branch. I'd try to push him forward with my body, then give him a small nudge, then a harder (not really hard) kick, then finally a small tap with the twig. I'm not convinced a crop would have worked on him because he was (and still kind of is) basically dead to strong cues like that. With him less is more 9 times out of 10.

I don't know if it was because it was a little picky on the ends or what, but I barely touched him with it and he moved forward. I immediately stopped all leg pressure and kept the reins loose. Had to use that less and less frequently, now I don't at all. I will give him a light tap with my legs and he usually responds. That slightly more forceful kick is all it usually takes even when he's being stubborn.

A bit unconventional, but hey, it worked!
 
#5 ·
Never allow a horse to decide when he will quit
Sure, as always, pain issues are ruled out, but after that, you must be the rider and not the passenger.
If you ride with some heavy reins, over and under her, soon as she decides to stall out
Make sure that when you ride with others, you in fact purposely ask her at times, to keep a different gait, then that of the other hrose, so she understands she must listen to your cues, and not just do whatever another hrose is doing
Get after her 'hard;, once or twice, versus nagging her, teaching her to ignor that crop
 
#6 ·
Hi,
First I'd like to ask Smilie, what do you mean by putting the reins over & under the horse?? How & why?

Next I'd like to ask OP, what do you do when the horse IS going forward when asked? Is she rewarded for it? Do you ever turn around & go back, or slow down before she gets to that stage?

I get the idea it's mostly her being nervous about going ahead out on the trail by herself? How much training has she had, how much has she been out & about? By herself? How is she going out on lead with only you?

If you're going to use punishment, I think it's important to understand what it is & what it's not, clearly, without 'fluffy' explanations & usage. If you're going to use a whip for eg, to get a horse moving, the motivation for the horse is that it's going to be very unpleasant if it doesn't yield to it. Ie. the horse needs to *learn* that whips can hit & hurt, otherwise there's no point in them. So while I don't find that much use in punishment in training, and I do believe in using the least possible, if you're going to use it, you need to make it strong enough to be *effective*, or else all you're doing is desensitising the horse to an unpleasant stimuli, teaching her to ignore your 'aids'. 'Nagging' ineffectually.

I'd first ensure the horse understood well, in a non worrying environment, what a whip 'aid' means, what happens when it's ignored and how to avoid the punishment by responding to it. Otherwise to use it in a 'situation' it's only likely to add to their angst, probably just make matters worse. Just something else Bad that happens at the time she is uncomfortable about going forward.

I wouldn't be using punishment in a situation where the horse was afraid to do what is asked tho. That just leaves her to choose between 'a rock & a hard place', and the way their memories & emotional associations work, she will only have a bad taste in her mouth about these situations & you, & her trust in you. Instead, if she's nervous going out alone, I'd be taking her out & about for lots of walks on lead & with other horses first, then when you do ride out alone, get off before she decides to stop & lead her further to something Good(bucket of feed, good bit of grass, a friend in a paddock...). And if she's nervous, don't go far before turning around, BEFORE it's all too much for her. IOW, make those situations into non events and do what it takes to get her thinking going out with you is a Good Thing for her.
 
#7 ·
I agree with smilie. Over and under is a term used that means take the ends of the reins, and slap her **** with them "over and under". As SOON as she gives you her signal that she is going to stop, give her a good hard slap. Even if she jumps forward, reward her in some way. Always signal with a squeeze of your legs first, that way she knows the squeeze is a LOT easier than what comes next.

We had a "staller" who would quit anywhere. One day he decided to "stall" in the middle of the main road. It was then that the problem was fixed. He got a good few whacks with the stock reins and was heeled quite hard. Once across the road he was allowed to walk slowly, graze a little, etc.
 
#9 ·
My green horse used to try stalling out. She'd also back up when she didn't feel like going forward. I tried various things that didn't work very well (circling, backing up in the "right" direction, getting off and leading; I do not recommend any of them. Since I ride with buckled English reins I don't have a popper or long heavy single reins. What worked was a barrel-racing crop which has a leather tab on the end -- makes a smacking sound. I never had to hit her hard enough to hurt her in the slightest (try it on your own thigh). But it completely fixed the problem very quickly. A key point is to relax, praise and give a loose rein when they *start* moving. You want the horse to really feel how much nicer it is to move forward than to stand there.

By the way, I did not change what I did depending on what I thought her reasons were. Only exception was if I could feel that she was simply too scared and would explode if I forced her -- for example going past a couple guys chainsawing on a narrow logging road with a steep drop off. I just asked them to turn their saws off and stand still. That gave her the courage to move.

We've come a long way. I don't carry that crop any more.
 
#10 ·
Poppers work similarly, and is more about the noise, then any physical force
Guess I could sell min enow, as the horses I have left are all pretty solid, but I hang onto tack, for some reason.
I thus have yearling blankets, show halters, weanling slinkies, bits I have not used in ages, not to mention my Stubbin English saddle, that I have used only a few times in the last years
 
#11 ·
Thanks everyone

I ride her with a loose rein, have tried the noises, and she used to be completely fine with going out by herself. She's been out and about heaps, has had a fair bit of training, and she's a very confident, pushy (at first) pony, people have suggested to me that she may be nervous, but to me it just doesn't fit with her personality...

I'll try a few of those ideas again next time i take her out :)
Also, the few times I've managed to get her moving again, even for a few steps, i've turned her around and taken her home on a loose rein.
I"ll let you know how she goes

Kayla
 
  • Like
Reactions: loosie
#12 ·
Thanks everyone
....Also, the few times I've managed to get her moving again, even for a few steps, i've turned her around and taken her home on a loose rein.
....

Kayla
I wouldn't do that, myself. I want my horse to understand that going forward is not rewarded by going home, but by an absence of, well, whatever it takes to make her go forward. Sure, praise, and the freedom to move (as long as it is forward). The last thing I want is a horse who feels that every time she does something a little hard she gets to go home.
 
#13 ·
That is part of your problem-rewarding her when she refuses to go on, by letting her go back home
Never let a horse think she/he can decide how far you will ride, or soon, you will be going no further then the end of your laneway!
Your horse does not know how far you intended to ride, so if you can only ride her x distance, turn around just before the point you know she will try you, UNLESS you are sure you have the skills to ride her successfully past that point/
If you don't, then do some more training,in her comfort zone, until you can
Horses learn bad habits, just as well as good ones, as they are creatures of habit
Right now, you are teaching her, if she does not want to ride out, past a certain point, you will let her go home
Either really get after her, to keep going, and not just a few steps, or don't ride her out, until you can do so. Right now, your horse is training you!
 
#15 ·
That is part of your problem-rewarding her when she refuses to go on, by letting her go back home...
Your horse does not know how far you intended to ride, so if you can only ride her x distance, turn around just before the point you know she will try you,
Agreed. I think the first part of what you say above Smilie, is possibly what's happening - in the horse's eyes at least, while Kayla feels she's only rewarding her for going forward. The second part of what you said further explains what I meant by rewarding her by allowing her to go home. I would try to 'catch' & reward the 'good stuff' before it turns to Bad, but if it has already, while I'd absolutely reinforce/reward any few steps I got, to begin with, I wouldn't do it by going home automatically.
 
#14 ·
Oh, so 'over & under' doesn't mean you rig the reins in some bizarre way, just that you smack the horse with them?? That makes a bit more sense... tho I wonder why it's called that, LOL!

Yeah, I don't use split reins these days, but you can use the loose portion of joined reins to smack the horse's shoulder, or use a crop to smack their rump. But the point of punishment is to MAKE some behaviour happen... or stop it happening, so again, it needs to be strong enough to be effective. Along with too many 'side effects' when used in situations of fear, it doesn't tend to be that effective on it's own, and I use it as a sort of 'emergency measure' or 'short cut', to get(or stop) a behaviour quickly, which 'buys me time' to train that behaviour better with other methods.
 
#17 ·
That may work but it sure didn't with my horse. She felt that going in circles was far preferable to going where she didn't want to go.

Ultimately, the best technique is to keep trying things and if they don't make an immediate improvement, just a small one you can build on, quit doing that and try something else. Don't dig yourself a hole, in other words.

But don't reward her by going back to the stable!!
 
#19 ·
Get off and short tie the lead rope or one rein to the saddle horn. Eat a sandwich, take some pictures, check e-mail, whatever for five minutes. The horse isn't going anywhere. All they can do is go in circles. Repeat as many times as necessary. Works every time!
I take trails that loop rather than go out and return the same way for this reason.
NEVER BEAT ON YOUR HORSE!!!! This is why bullies love horses. They can beat on them and they don't fight back.
 
#28 ·
No one advocated to beating on a horse
In fact, if ahrose is trained correctly, you never even get to the point that the horse balks.
If you need to get off, tie the head around, while you eat a sandwich, because your horse balked, something along the way in your training program went wrong
A horse who trusts his rider, who has learned through correct application of pressure and release,been rewarded at the right times, does not balk ridden out
I have ridden many young horses out, by themselves over the years, and never had one balk, as by the time I rode them out, I had basics on them, so that the trusted and respected my leadership, versus questioning where they would and would not ride, or lead for that matter
Horses that truly lead, also load into trailers.
Horses that truly ride, cross rivers, even on their first trip tot he mountains.
A horse that is trained fairly, always given the chance to respond to the lightest cue to something he understands, before ever going on to a'louder demand', will become ahrose that never goes tot he demand stage, thus never balks in the first place
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top