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Wont work counterclockwise

1K views 5 replies 3 participants last post by  ESPIE413 
#1 ·
As winter has ended and spring has started I have started working with my mare again to get her back into shape. The past couple of times I have lunged her, she is excellent going clockwise however once its time to switch, she wont. I use a whip to guide her out counterclockwise, she starts at a trot so I try and slow her down to a walk first but once I get her to that point she switches directions. (I do not use the whip other than use directing her out because she is sensitive to it) I do not have a round pen so she must be on a line. I also noticed this when I got on her the other day. I am stumped and don't know what to do. When this past fall ended, this was not going on. Any training methods or advice is appreciated!
Thanks in advance.​
 
#3 ·
I can't tell you exactly why your horse is doing that but I can tell you the two scenarios where my horse does this.

A. Are you sure you're not accidentally blocking her in that direction? If I get too ahead of my horse on the longe, he will change direction or stop because he thinks that's what I'm asking for. Can you ask someone else to longe her and see if it happens?

B. Your horse could just be fresh. I roundpen my horse sometimes and when he's being fresh he will challenge me by trying to choose the direction he goes in. For me and my horse this is what it is most often, in which case I will apply a lot of pressure in the direction he insists on going in, make him switch, and release some of the pressure when he goes the direction I want.
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#5 ·
After reading your A and B. she could be both. I might be too far ahead of her while lunging her and I do have someone that could lung her this weekend so I can see if that is it. Also she might be just fresh. She can she all her buddies eating grass and relaxing while being worked. Maybe not the best situation to be working her in but its the only one i have. Thanks for your help!
 
#4 ·
Often someone works them in one direction and little on the other. Horses do have a direction they prefer and are often quite resistant on the other until shown that it's ok to go that way. Even the muscles need to recondition to the new direction. Have you tried bending her head around with a finger on the halter? You will likely find the same resistance on one side.
 
#6 ·
The amount of time I spend on each side might be different. I will make sure I do the same and for the same amount of time on each side. Also I have tried to bend her but I dont think I paid that much of attention to see if one side was harder for her or not. Heading there now so I will try this out!



I was also reading someone else's thread that was similar to mine. I am using a new saddle on her than I was in the fall. I took all the proper measurements but maybe the saddle is leaving more pressure on one side then the other. So with that being said I have started researching different saddle pads. Has anyone had this issue and got a certain type of pad that helped correct it?
 
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