frustrating horse

[jvicars]

i picked up a new 10 yr old mare qh. i dont know her background but i was told she use to work cattle. seems has an eye for them and walks right up to them to push them.

she is great in the round pen and know commands. a bit sloppy on the whoa but we have been working on that.

once i get her out in the pasture she just likes to stop at times and turn around. i give her the left rein to go back the direction i want. she will but then just stand there. it takes a lot of kicking to get her going.

a few times i have had to reach back for the rear clinch strap and ask like i am going to hit her. ( i dont and she moves).

granted i am new and wanting for my lesson coming this week.

i cannot understand why she works so good in the pen and then just does her thing in the pasture.

besides lessons what else should i do to get her doing the right thing.

i am using a hackamore. she has given me fits getting a bit in so i use a hackamore to keep from freaking her out.

i dont baby her. but i am not rough either.

comments?

 

[Jim62]

Sounds like she's testing you. Smack her on the butt, and see what happens.

 

[flaboy]

I agree with Jim. She can tell the experience of rider on her back if she has been ridden much. Did you try the spurs yet?

 

[jvicars]

when i reach back for the back strap which is not being use she moves. i dont even have to hit her with it.

i have not used spurs yet. i really want a more experienced rider to try it first since the last time i got thrown i fractured my hand and its pretty sore. i am not ready to go down .

i am having a cowboy friend come over and give me some lessons. she is no good to me if i cannot get her to operate when needed.

at this point its me . operator error.

 

[Miss Daisy]

when she turns around is it in any direction or is it always back toward the gate or her pen? if its the latter its sounds like she may be "barn sour." if that is the case just keep going never give in or it gets much worse. it is also very likely she is testing you, once again MAKE her go

 

[hayray]

in the round pen you are just free lunging her, you are not actually using a aid that will transfer to the saddle. You have a horse that does not go forward from the rider's aids, she just goes where she wants to and then when you try to make the mare go somewhere she does not want to go, for example away from the herd she stops. She does not go forward from your legs because this driving aid has not been properly established in the training, a lot of people just assume horses automatically do this but they don't. You are re-affirming this by trying to turn her head around in order to make her go forward - rein aids and turing do not make a horse drive forward. You can fix this problem in short order by training the horse to go forward from the voice and lunge whip while using a lunge line outside of the round pen. Then use those same aids under saddle to support the leg. The aids must be used independently of each other in the order of voice, whip, spur - avoidance conditioning by using separation of the aids.

 

[Miss Daisy]

i guess i misunderstood what you meant by "she is good in the round pen". correct me if i am wrong but i thought you were riding her in the round pen not just lunging her. completely disregard my first reply if you were just lunging and not riding in the round pen

 

[Hippie Rancher]

Hey jvicars, if it isn't too rude of me - how old are you? I admire your willingness to try new things, but livestock, inexperienced rider, and a couple of also inexperienced dogs? :shock: Be careful out there, huh? Maybe an english riding helmet? I would be afraid of a heck of a wreck. Maybe focus on one thing at a time - the cattle are going to make you money - get them working for you on foot and paying their way, then think about rodeoing on horseback.

 

[jvicars]

i am 35. i am not doing them all at once on cattle. i use the dogs and have ridden my horse with the dogs out in the pasture. i have not pushed either. i have a plan but nothing makes up for experience so that is what i am getting. i use this forum for questions so i ask everything i can think of and it has helped a lot. thanks for advice and concern.

 

[flaboy]

Although I have used a rope on the butt to get one to move, it is NOT the preferred way. If continued too long it can cause a horse to react to your hand movement. She will see your hand move and think you are about to smack her with the rope. This can be bad latter if you are throwing a rope or making any hand motion. I use it only in extreme cases where they are barn sour or just plain stubborn. My advice is work her on a line to get her used to voice commands. It may be necessary to use voice and spurs until she "gets it".

 

[jvicars]

its a work in progress for certain. the good news is my dogs and me on foot can work the cows into a tight bunch. i am working with them every day so the cows get used to the rountine.

i lounge the horse daily and she is a champ on everything except stopping on a dime. i will keep this up and plan to get lessons started soon.

 

[ArrowHBrand]

Whoah is the first thing I teach when training a horse and will constantly reinforce it as the training progresses or if the horse doesn't stop as quick as I think she can. Brakes are a necessity when riding horses. First break your whoah cues down:
1. Sit back in your saddle moving your weight over your back pants pockets.
2. Lift your legs off of your horses sides and push your stirrups outwards.
3. PICK up the reins don't pull back.
4. Use the verbal "Whoah" command.
5. Gently pull the reins back until you touch the bit repeating "Whoah".

Do each step in this order as gentle as possible. Cranking on the horses mouth to get her to stop isn't going to work in the long run. By teaching Whoah in these steps your horse will eventually, and usually pretty quickly, realize that once you roll your weight back, she'll stop right now.
Make sure your horse has some neck reining training and some time just moving the cows around before doing anything too strenuous like cutting out calves for weaning.
Also keep in mind horses don't think like people think. If you are trying to train your horse to do something and she isn't getting it it's not because she has decided she's not going to work today, it's probably a mistake on your end. Be consistant, patient, and have fun!