# Mare won't follow



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

I would never point out that you are a poor rider or trainer. Gosh, there are just tons of horses that fall into the description you have made of your mare.
Better to have that than the horse that won't lead, at least that is my opinion.

What ever you do, don't force her to stay in any one position endlessly. So, if you and your riding partner can change order regularly, this will help her to not get really anxious about having to follow for long periods of time.

Also, you can turn her the other direction and walk the other way for a bit, then turn back to the front.

You can bring her to a complete halt, even back her up a few steps and when you then go forward, if she speeds up too much , do it all over again.

I would keep her really busy doing things. Whatever you do, DON"T ride the brakes. Don't ride along with constant pressure on both reins. She will zone you out so fast and then the reins mean nothing. If you pick up the rein, ask for something , get it, and drop the rein, even if you know she will certainly speed up again.


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## LetAGrlShowU (Mar 25, 2009)

I will be following this post. My gelding is always up the horse in front of us rear end. If i try to woah him to a stop, he just keeps going. If i circle him, he gets antsy and trots back up to where he was... hoping to gain some insight on this.


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## Darrin (Jul 11, 2011)

I have a gelding that wants to be in front at all times, doesn't help that he's extremely fast. Lets just say it took a ton of patience and miles upon miles upon miles (100's of miles actually) of practice to keep him behind other horses at a reasonable distance. 

How did I do it? Stuck him behind other horses and kept bumping him back to a reasonable distance. He eventually caught on, still doesn't like it, keeps testing me but listens now when I tell him to back off. Give him an ounce of inattention and a wide spot on the trail and he'll pass in a blink of an eye.


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