# What Should I Do?



## Ponies4Paige (Jul 21, 2009)

well i would say get one of your friends and get them on a four-wheeler or something and take them with you.... IMPORTANT! the one rein stop. the most useful tool for you (and your horse) to know and understand. if your horse in the unfortunate event does run away with you hang on to ur saddle and pull ur horses head around to ur foot....dont jerk!!!! pull easily untill she slows down.

to answer your question. no i wouldnt go out alone unless you get that issue worked out. the fields may have holes that could break your horses leg in them so be sure to walk on them untill you know the ground well enough. 
there are also some excersizes u can do to help her with that issue. ok...... wen ur riding if she goes faster than u want her to, pull her around and stop her then start agian.im saying if your trotting and she starts trotting faster stop her. ANY change in gait! my grama trains horses and i have a barrel horse that does the same exact thing so dont think im telling u crap i read from a book  it works

if you have any questions about anything just send me a private message


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## Painted Horse (Dec 29, 2006)

I have been riding my horses alone alot lately. A couple of the horse lack some confidence and are herd sour. By taking them out alone. The learn to trust me, They learn to progress down the trail with out the horses being around.

Yes the first few rides, they are looking at every rock, shadow stick as a troll who is going to eat them, But in time they get over it. My goal this year is to have the timid horses that my daughters ride, being very brave. Being able to be the first horse to cross the stream, the mud puddle, the bog etc. And rides alone are one of the best ways to teach this confidence.

Don't be afraid to go out alone. But do be prepared. Make sure you can control your horse and go have fun.


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## Cheshire (Oct 17, 2009)

Perhaps you can get her ready by handwalking her through these areas a little first? Another idea, if it's practical for you -- start doing smaller laps around your property instead of just heading straight out, lengthening the size/length of these laps with each ride. That way the newness for her will have worn off a bit, it'll be more routine and she may not be so prone to totally spazzing out with joy.

Also do you longe? If so, I would put her through her paces on the longe line a good 15-20 or so minutes before heading out, not to tire her but let her burn off some of that extra feel-good energy that has accumulated through a long restful winter.


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad (Jul 2, 2009)

Painted Horse said:


> Don't be afraid to go out alone. But do be prepared. Make sure you can control your horse and go have fun.


I love to ride alone. I don't have to please anyone but myself. I always start young babies alone out in the open.
If you are riding is a snaffle add a running martingale for far more control or get a curb bit. a tom thumb and good curb chain. Ride with soft hands but if the mare suddenly takes off haul her back harshly.
DON"T CANTER EVER.. Just nice easy jogs. Teach the horse that getting out isn't an excuse to run. NEVER let your horse run flat out, ever.
Spend alot of time just jogging, building up your confidence , your horse's stamina and quiet way of going. 
Walking is too slow, too boring but a nice working trot works both you and the horse and keeps her from getting bored and keeps her from getting hot headed.
Go out and just ride:lol::lol:


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

RiosDad said:


> DON"T CANTER EVER.. Just nice easy jogs. Teach the horse that getting out isn't an excuse to run. NEVER let your horse run flat out, ever.
> Spend alot of time just jogging, building up your confidence , your horse's stamina and quiet way of going.
> Walking is too slow, too boring but a nice working trot works both you and the horse and keeps her from getting bored and keeps her from getting hot headed.
> Go out and just ride:lol::lol:


Exactly. I know many (young) people that love to 'let their horse loose' into that flat out run....and then don't understand why every ride through a field becomes a 'hang on for life' ride.


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## ilyTango (Mar 7, 2010)

Ok, I'll do my best to respond...

Ponies4Paige: Thanks for the one-rein stop tip...I've heard about it, but never actually used it (when it would have come in handy many times). 

Painted Horse, RiosDad & PaintHorseMares: There's no way I'd EVER go out without having total control over her first. If I ride her just around our sheltered farm it might show her some things that she'd encounter, and of course, it would be a good, safe place to learn. Definitely won't be letting her run anywhere out there for a long long time (thanks for that tip!)

Cheshire: Yeah, I walk her most places that I plan to ride later...very rarely will I send her into an unknown environment without seeing her reaction on the ground first (well, at least not near home). I don't usually lunge, and it's been a while since we last have, but if she's eager to go and I'm thinking of heading out, I'll definitely consider it.


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## Skipsfirstspike (Mar 22, 2010)

I am in a similar situation in that I don't have anyone around me to ride with, so Spike and I always ride alone around home. Also, there are very few trails, so we are on the dirt roads alot. Spike can be tricky by seeming to be very sedate and lazy on the way out, then suddenly become a firecracker when his nose points toward home! I attribute this to 'spring fever', because it only happens this time of year when the weather turns nice, lol! 
Anyway, if he is in such a mood, I find that distracting him works well. If I just try to keep him walking when he is so pent up, I find he gets frustrated and angry, and will tend to want to bolt. So I let him move, but under my terms. Lots of changes in direction, big zig zags and diagonals, that sort of thing. We have a shallow ditch along the shoulder of the road, about 4 inches of water in it. Last year we trotted all the way home in that, splashing all the way. But it kept his mind off running!
The warm weather is just getting here where I live, so I know my 'spring ride from hell' is fast approaching... then I will have my nice horsey back again, lol.


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## Vidaloco (Sep 14, 2007)

I do feel sorry for you folks who live in areas where its hard to ride in the winter. I've had to go 4 months once without riding but that was an injury. 
When I did get back on I started out doing some bending exercises (both of us :lol from the saddle. Just very basic yielding stuff, and giving to the bit. I think it gets the horses mind back to what is expected. 
Try doing that before you take off cross country. Have confidence in yourself and bring a cell phone. Always make sure someone knows where and when you are going and when you expect to be back. Think safety first and then just ride ;-)


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

What's wrong with letting her run her heart out? If your potato fields are anything like the ones I have been around you won't make it all the way across before she is ready to stop. If I'm on a horse that wants to run I might let it and then push it past where it wants to run untill stopping is the horses idea. Don't worry about a ORS just let it happen and then keep the horse running untill it can't run anymore.

You also shouldn't ride expecting a problem. You can think about the problems and plan ahead but if you expect your horse to misbehave then you will not be disappointed.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

kevinshorses said:


> If I'm on a horse that wants to run I might let it and then push it past where it wants to run untill stopping is the horses idea.
> 
> You also shouldn't ride expecting a problem. You can think about the problems and plan ahead but if you expect your horse to misbehave then you will not be disappointed.


I've done both - not allowing my horse to run and I've tried keeping him at a run. I feel that there is more control in not allowing it - but that's me. I prefer Rio's method.

As for Kevin's suggestion, I'm fine with it except that stopping has to be my idea, not his. In this case I would keep him running and when he wanted to stop - I'd keep him running a little more then bring him up fast. 

Depending on the horse, running him may only make him hyper and he becomes a handful for the rest of the ride. That is a whole other issue and not the point of this thread.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

If stopping is only your idea and not the horses then it will be about as gracefull and pleasant as forcing as woman to dance with you. I may not have explained myself well enough in the last post. If you ride a horse past the point that they want to go on thier own then their mind changes and they start looking for a way to stop. When YOU are ready you give the horse a way to stop and they stop. 

That's all kind of off the topic and the point I should have made was that if you are worried about your horse running away with you it couldn't happen in a better place than a potato field.


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## ilyTango (Mar 7, 2010)

Kevin, your point about riding like you expect a problem COULDN'T BE MORE TRUE! Haha. Boy, have I learned that lesson. I'm just wondering what she'll do. Anyhow, I'd prefer just not letting her run in the first place, like RiosDad suggested...at least till I know for sure I've got control over her. She's definitely the type of horse that would run and run and run and just be totally excited and wired afterwards.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

kevinshorses said:


> If stopping is only your idea and not the horses then it will be about as gracefull and pleasant as forcing as woman to dance with you.


Having a horse perform should always the rider's idea and never the horse's. I never want a horse to decide what I want him to do. Bringing him up fast is hardly ungraceful as evidenced in any reining event ... perhaps I didn't explain it correctly.


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## PechosGoldenChance (Aug 23, 2009)

I tried that trick as Kevin mentioned about the..."well if you wanna run, than you got it." and run the absolute **** out of em'. Didn't work, it just makes them a handful as you stated. Next thing you know, you can't mount without them moving off, they always have their head wayyy up wanting to go, constantly dancing in place, spooky as EVER on and on and on. So I did the opposite. I made her do nothing further than a trot and kept her real quiet and calm, and she's doing amazing!! My horse was an ex barrel racer/pole bender and has a go button like you wouldn't believe. If I want her to go, she does, but I don't take her on flat runs anymore, thats for her to do in her own time in the pasture with the other horses. On trail, she's still a bit prancy so when I trot her I constantly have to check her and make her slow down or else she breaks into this very extended, hard to sit trot and than the next thing I know she's galloping. Just nice and slow and steady from now on, and as riosdad said, never canter/gallop. Just a nice slow, steady trot.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

I've had a horse or 2 (or 3 or 4) that were the same way, Pechos. Making them run only made them want to run more and they could outlast me. That's why any method needs to be appropriate for the particular horse and circumstance. No one method works every time for every horse but it does work under the right conditions.


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## PechosGoldenChance (Aug 23, 2009)

Yes! And my horse could definately outlast me as well, as I know because I've tried it. So are you saying that my method doesn't work? I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

PechosGoldenChance said:


> So are you saying that my method doesn't work? I'm not sure that I understand what you're saying.


No! Your method works for your horse and may for horses like yours (or mine). What I meant is that there is no "one way" to do it and if your way works - perfect.


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## PechosGoldenChance (Aug 23, 2009)

Oh, ok. Got ya


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