Where I board my horse, she has a large pasture with a walk in barn. So I have to work with her in the pasture. Once I catch her I bring her to the gate. So I don't have to walk too far to get stuff out of my car. I would take several steps through the pasture she would meet me. I would love on her. Then start walking to the gate. Once at the gate, I would put the halter on her. Then do whatever I planned for that day.
Yesterday she followed me to the gate like normal, but once we got to the gate she turned around and took off running. I grabbed the halter and lead and went after her. She walked right to me. She didn't give me any more trouble. I went out again today. Once we got to the gate she turned around and took off again. But then I went to catch her she walked right to me. I have ruled out that she is trying to get out of work. Because she loves working. And because she is so easy to catch. Could it be a respect issue? We have had trouble with respect when I first started training her. She didn't use to do this. It has started yesterday and would like to fix it before it gets worse.
I have been working on free leading (By that I mean leading without a halter or lead. I don't know what you actually call it) with her and have recently been perfecting leading while trotting. She is doing so well. I worked on it some today and it went very well. So I don't get why she is running off when we get to the gate. I am going to try working her in a different spot tomorrow and see if that helps.
But any suggestions will be much appreciated! Or better yet if you have had experience with something like this I would love to know what you did to fix it. Thanks!
Why not halter her , when you first go out to get her?
She knows you really have no control over whether she leaves or not, until you halter her.
Perhaps, she has second thoughts, once she gets to the gate, perhaps you are confusing her, and perhaps, if you continue doing this, she might decide to leave way before you even get to the gate.
HOw do you 'love on her' ? Do you give her treats? If so, she might be expecting more, as she follows you to that gate, then leaves, when there are no more, then maybe hopes you will give her more, when you walk up to her again.
I am just guessing, as you might not be feeding treats at all, but I still see nothing useful, in working at 'liberty leading esp as she is finding out she can leave, whenever she feels like it
My horses are all easy to catch,but that does not mean that I necessarily believe they are just dying to work, or to go on a day long trail ride!
My goal is to do whatever I want without any tack (especially the halter).
When I love on her I pat her her on the neck or rub her face and give her a treat. Should I stop giving her a treat first thing?
I don't really see the point at working on liberty leading either. But I have a passion for it. So that's what I am working on.
I say she loves to work because when I go and work her the next day she is easy to catch when I just love on her or give her treats she is hard to catch the next day. Have tried this a few times and get the same results.
My horse will do this. I think she is just amusing herself. Treats can help with this issue -- they only get them AFTER the halter is on, never before.
In my limited experience I have found that horses can develop a habit quite quickly. If something scares them at a certain spot they can spook again at the same spot the next day if care isn't taken to make sure they know that nothing is really scary there. So, maybe because for whatever reason she decided to run away from you she just decided that running away at the gate is the thing to do. That is why it is best for horses not to make some decisions on their own.
If I were to say what my horse really likes to do, it would be eat. But maybe your horse likes to "work". I don't know. Most horses that I have met like to eat, not really "work".
I would do as suggested and halter the horse as soon as you go in. I would skip the loving for now and keep your orders clear cut so as not to confuse the horse in any way. Horses don't think like people do and sometimes all the loving we are giving them is really for us not them.
As for the free walking, I wouldn't do that at all. I will free walk my horse etc but only in a closed arena. If you have ever seen what can happen to a horse that takes a spill on pavement, you won't free walk your horse anymore. They are so big and so reactive and unpredictable that it is bound to result in a wreck sooner or later.
How old is your horse and what was the problem you had with respect before? Also what kind of horse?
Horses do develop habits quickly. That's why I made this post. I would've have made this post yesterday but I thought I might have spooked her. (A sticker got stuck in my hand and I jumped) So I didn't think that it would have been a start to a problem.
I work her one day next day she's easy to catch. I just give her treats and love on her the next day she is difficult to catch. That's why I say she likes to work.
Where I board her don't have an enclosed arena. They only have pastures.
I really want to improve in my training and get to the point where I can do anything with her without tack. I know it's a lot harder in the pasture. Especially a large pasture with a walk in barn. But I work hard and don't give up easily.
She is now 32yrs old arabian.
She used to be bad at getting in personal space, giving people the butt and was really bad at pushing people.
Oh, okay. I understand better now. Sounds like you have done well with her. Sounds like you two have bonded. I would still be really careful with the free walking. I know from experience. Be careful with the tackles riding as well. I rode my horse bareback until I talked to the vet and she suggested I don't anymore due to a lack of topline from age related muscle loss. So, now I use a saddle always. Better for her. My mare is 23.
Good on you for wanting to fix it before it gets worse.
I would halter her at first and bring her to the gate with a halter and lead. You can go back to free leading later but for now lets do this. I would throw the rope over her neck to give her some freedom but grab it if she starts to turn. This way you are essentially free leading but you have a back up, just in case.
Also, if you use treats in your training, the gate is now a place for a treat...once she stands nicely and is no longer thinking about running. Of course, I only advise using treats if your horses is respectful and knows food boundaries.
If you see her start to look away or think about running give her something else to thing about: back up, forwards, turn, yield hind end, head down and so on, until you have her focus and she is mentally with you. Then back away and let it sink in, during this time she should be calmly watching you. Once you think she gets it, go back to her and give her a good scratch to reward her efforts.
You caught this early so it shouldn't take long to get back to normal.
So, she is 32 years old?
Well, perhaps time to just play at some liberty work, and just 'love on her'
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