she wont stop trotting!

I recenty got an 8 year old quarter horse mare. Her previous owner's daughter used to get on and just canter right away. So now when I get to go and get on her she likes to trot right away. I've tried circles, lunging before riding, making her back,keeping a tight rein, and every time she goes to trot I make her stop then we start back up again .none work.she also doesnt like a bit, she throws her head (i use a simple d ring snaffle).tried a bosal but she doesnt turn well with it. Please help me slow her down in a kind way

This has the potential to get tedious, but you HAVE to stick with it. And it will probably take more than a few rides for it to totally kick in. Be patient.

What do you mean you've "tried circles?"

This is what I recommend, which may or may not be what you've already tried, but if you do it right and stay consistent it will work. Every time she breaks into a trot turn her into a circle to slow her down. Repeat this EVERY time she breaks into a trot. You should switch right and left circles. Horses don't want to do more work than they have to, and once she figures out that she's going to be asked to turn in a circle as soon as she breaks into a trot, she will stop.

The first few times you attempt this you might only go 500 yards and do a ride of all circles, but that's ok. Consistency is key.

Also, when she does move forward in a walk be sure to vocally reward her and give her a pat.

Subbing! I have a mare who does this too.

If she's allowed to have done this for years for the previous owner, it IS going to take lots of TIME to fix the issue. And it may never go away completely, and you may always have to "keep an eye on it".

As far as her issues with the bit, has she ever had her teeth worked on by an equine dentist? She may have a mouth issue.

Since you say she doesn't turn well in a bosal, I would treat this horse as if they were never broke to ride. Go back to square one. That means teaching her good ground manners when being led. That means teaching her to give to pressure in a halter while leading and being handled. Teaching her to stand still when you saddle her, bridle her, and mount. Teaching her to give to the bit or bosal (from the ground first), because if she doesn't turn well, she needs re-training.

For the trotting issue, serpentines work wonders. That way you aren't hanging on her mouth with both hands the whole time, making her ignore the bit. Use one rein at a time to serpentine her back and forth. I do this with my horse who is VERY HOT and can go all day. You've just got to be able to last longer. When she walks nicely, leave her alone. When she picks up a trot without you asking, serpentine to slow her down. This will be a long process to break her of, if her previous owners let her do whatever she wanted.

I did this for a year, and just ended up with a trotter in really good shape.

My horse used to break into a trot as soon as we entered an arena. So I let her but then we trotted about 15 min longer than she wanted to. Did this a few times and now she walks in and stays at a walk.

I personally think this might work better with the OP's horse than circles. Every horse is a little bit different, and since circling isn't working, it might be better to take the approach of, "Okay, you want to trot? Let's trot until I say we're done." The key here would be to continue your regular workout as per usual after the extra trotting.

I used to have a horse who would try to back up on trail rides when she didn't want to cross water/ditches/etc, and so every time she did it, I'd back her really quickly for about 10 yards, and then ask for forward motion again. She eventually learned that when she back, we were going to keep backing up, and then after, we were STILL going to cross over the water/ditch/whatever -- she gained nothing but extra work by backing up.

I also agree with a previous poster that she probably needs some ground work done first to teach her to give to pressure and soften her mouth up.

I just want to say that this can work in most instances, but you've got to be careful about the few horses this will backfire with.

My horse is one of them. HE WILL NOT STOP on his own accord, if I ask him to keep going. He's like the energizer bunny. He'd clunk over dead before stopping. His mind is a constant state of GO.

So for him, simply going 15 minutes longer trotting would do nothing. It just makes him hotter and makes him want to keep going faster because he's getting to do what he wants.


Hence why I like serpentines better than circles. Circles are much easier than serpentines, which take more direction change, and more work.

It still won't solve the problem immedieatly, but I did a couple days of walking only with my horse. If he want any faster than a walk, we did serpentines. We were riding for almost two hours but didn't get any more than 1/2 mile from the barn. It took him a few days to understand, but he finally did.

And I still have to remind him of that once in a while, as he'll start drifting back to old habits of going as fast as HE wants, instead of what I am asking. So we do a "reminder day" every once in a while and that keeps him in check.

Legs are engaged but you need to engage her brain. The trotting is to get the workout over with. I'm guessing she is bored.

Set up obstacles, ground poles, etc. Give her something to think about.

Ive had several horses with this issue. They THINK you always want them to GO GO GO. I've had good luck with walk only until they "get it" Get on.. only ever let them walk. Never ask for anything more. Pull them back til they walk every time they try to break gait. After they are reliable about walking work on asking for a trot.. and bringing them back to a walk as soon as you ask for it. And keep progressing through gaits.