# Horse doesn't seem to want to ride?



## Rachy20089 (Apr 22, 2012)

Flo is a 14hh 14 year old. She's a bit (maybe a little more than a bit!) overweight. I don't own her, I just groom, muck out, ride etc., so I have no control over what she eats. She's very greedy and stubborn, and she doesn't like other horses.
In saying that, she's a lovely horse. She has a very sweet personality with people, and she would never buck or rear. The only time she would bolt is out of fear. I would often sit in the corner of her stable and she'd come over and rest her head on my knees (or start licking them!)

She just doesn't seem to enjoy riding. And I have a few things I'd like to ask for help about! 
The first is tacking up. Putting her bridle on, she throws her head high in the air and you have to hold her nose to get it on. I don't like doing this, but it seems to be the only way. The other girl who rides her is ten, and she isn't tall enough to reach her head when she throws it up, so has to wait for Flo to put her head down. She moves away from you in the stable when you try to put her saddle on, and she paws at the ground when you put it on her back. Sometimes she won't leave the stable until you really yell at her, or someone pushes her from behind!
The second is mounting. Usually if you have her around the yard, you could just leave her standing there untied, and she wouldn't move a muscle. But as soon as you get on to the mounting block, she moves away. After I've tried to mount about 5 or 6 times (wheeling the mounting block over to her), I have to get someone to hold her for me.

Then there's riding. I am very much a beginner rider, which could have a lot to do with it. I would ride her two-three times a week for about half an hour, and the other girl would do similar. So that's roughly three hours a week, which isn't really a lot, and the rest of the time is spent either in her stable (during the night), or in the field (where she does nothing but eat). 
All I'm doing right now is walking and trotting. The other girl is more experienced, and would be cantering and doing small jumps every so often.
When you go into the sandschool, she does a very slow, sluggish walk. My sister (who's an experienced rider and gives me tips/short lessons) tells me to give her a kick (I know you're only supposed to squeeze, but everyone who's ever given me a lesson has told me that I NEED to kick Flo or she won't respond) and when she doesn't respond to that, use the whip. I'm the kind of person who uses the whip sparingly and lightly, because even though I know it won't hurt her, I just don't really like doing it! That had been working, but recently, no matter what I do, she won't do any sort of forward going walk. It's the same in trot. She used to trot for me after a stride or two, now it takes a full length of the sand school to get her to trot. She trots slowly and sluggishly, with minimum effort, and I can't get her to move forward. The only way she'll move is if someone chases her, and to me she always feels tense and jumps around a lot when people do that, as if she's scared.
I've heard people say that horses aren't lazy, they're just bored. This could be true for Flo, but I can't think of anything to do about it. I can't hack her, she won't go out the lane without both her daughter (who my sister rides), and someone leading her, and I don't have anyone to lead her. She won't go on a horsebox, as she nearly died on one a few years ago, and even the sound of one pulling up the lane causes her to panic and bolt. I can't ride her in the field because at this time of year there's other horses in them. And I can't think of anything much interesting to do in the school, because I'm such a beginner rider. I also feel a bit limited in what I can do with Flo, because I don't own her!
I just want her to enjoy herself more, and it's also starting to take the enjoyment out of it for me, because I have to be constantly kicking her, using the whip, or shouting at her. Whenever I praise her, vocally or with a pat, she has it in her head that it means slow down/stop.

I know I've just written a huge post, but I was just looking for some help or advice  Thanks to anyone who replies!


----------



## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

I think Flo needs a bit of work on manners and generally who's in charge.

I would recommend a very consistent approach specifically targeted at each individual problem. For instance, concerning mounting: get someone to help if necessary and keep her in place (put her back in place if necessary) consistently as you mount time after time. Consistency and repetition and never even once letting her get clean away with misbehaving at the mounting block will bring her around. Target each of the other problem spots individually and carefully and consistently and they should work out as well. The big thing to remember is to not let a given issue slide at all. If you do, then she's learned that she can indeed get away with it.

Be careful!


----------



## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I know it can be difficult to take advise from a sister, but I think she might be right in this case.

This little mare sounds lazy and a bit spoiled. Please try giving her some strong cues (kicks, taps with the crop). As she learns you WILL make her move forward, she will begin to respond to softer cues. 

You really aren't doing her a favor by not getting her to move forward or respond however you need. She will end up more spoiled, more out of shape and less healthy, and less well liked in the barn.


----------



## Rachy20089 (Apr 22, 2012)

I agree with both of you, and thanks for the help  

Flo is pretty spoilt, I know that for certain!

It's just that she had improved so much! She used to do all of those things when I first started with her, but then I worked at them, and she stopped ALL of the bad habits mentioned above. She was like that with the riding (unwilling to move forward) when I first started to ride her, but then she improved signifigantly. I haven't been doing anything differently recently, people even tell me I'm improving, and yet she just seems to be getting lazier. Every day I ride her, I notice that it takes longer to get her to trot. She's starting to slow down when we get near the gate again, which she hasn't done in a long time. She'd stopped throwing her head up and moving away from the block, and now she's back to doing it. I just don't really understand why, after months of working on these things, we're suddenly back to square one.


----------



## calicokatt (Mar 5, 2012)

One of our horses has a real problem with mounting.... He likes to just walk off, sometimes before you're even off the ground. I work on this EVERY time I ride him (he is my inexperienced daughter's horse, but without me riding him regularly, she cannot handle him) I mount and dismount 4 or 5 times at the beginning of every ride, correcting him if he moves a single foot. I do it again in the middle of the ride, never know when you're going to have to get off to pee in the middle of a trail ride and I want him to stand still no matter what. After I've ridden him for a few days, he'll do fine for a few days and then gradually start walking off again. It is my daughter's fault as she won't correct him for that first step as she says "its not that bad". 

If you nicely ask the horse to trot, the horse should have (about) one stride to do it in before you escalate your cue. If kicking is your chosen next step, don't wait very long to do it, you're just prolonging the inevitable and letting the horse know you don't really mean that she has to do it RIGHT NOW. 

If the kick doesn't work, same thing applies, don't take your time before you apply the crop. It doesn't sound like your horse is terribly sensitive, so if you need to use the crop, MAKE IT COUNT! Don't apply a light little tap if you already know its not going to do anything, give a good sharp smack. Its going to sting a little, but you'll end up having to use the crop less if you make it count when you do use it.

Good luck, and enjoy the horse!
Kathy


----------



## FaydesMom (Mar 25, 2012)

Rachy20089 said:


> I agree with both of you, and thanks for the help
> 
> Flo is pretty spoilt, I know that for certain!
> 
> It's just that she had improved so much! She used to do all of those things when I first started with her, but then I worked at them, and she stopped ALL of the bad habits mentioned above. She was like that with the riding (unwilling to move forward) when I first started to ride her, but then she improved signifigantly. I haven't been doing anything differently recently, people even tell me I'm improving, and yet she just seems to be getting lazier. *Every day I ride her, I notice that it takes longer to get her to trot. She's starting to slow down when we get near the gate again, *which she hasn't done in a long time. She'd stopped throwing her head up and moving away from the block, and now she's back to doing it. I* just don't really understand why, after months of working on these things, we're suddenly back to square one*.


It sounds like she has figured out you don't like to be forceful, so she has just gotten more and more lazy. Because you won't MAKE her do things and will just get frustrated and quit and let her go back to her pasture to eat, she has decided to be bad.

You really do need to use your legs and WHIP if that's what it takes to make her go. It won't take long for her to realize you really mean business now, and she will start going back to the nice little horse you enjoy riding.

Also, you need to work on getting her to lower her head when putting on the bridle. Put steady pressure down on your lead rope and hold it firm until she moves her head even the smallest bit downward. As SOON as she gives even a little bit, let go of the pressure and rub her shoulder for a few seconds as a reward. Repeat the pressure, release until her head is hanging down at your belly height. Keep asking and rewarding until you can put your hand on her poll and she will drop her head to take the bridle. 

Be VERY sure no one is banging a bit into her teeth or are bending her ears painfully when pulling the headstall over them, or she will be very reluctant to let the bridle near her face.

She sounds like a nice little mare that just needs a firm leader. Good luck with her and let us know how she is doing.


----------



## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

I think a significant number of horses will "drift" on the standing-still-for-mounting issue unless you have a zero-tolerance for it. The fact is that you're training whenever you're interacting with him, no matter what you're doing. If you let him get away with a step or two, then you're training him that SOME movement is OK. He needs to be trained very consistently that NO movement is acceptable while mounting.

Gotta be consistent!
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## Radiowaves (Jul 27, 2010)

Also, that's good advice about "escalating your cues" relatively quickly in order to get the proper response. You want to convey "I want you to do this now" rather than "let's discuss the possibility of doing this"... 
_Posted via Mobile Device_


----------



## oh vair oh (Mar 27, 2012)

LOL what horse _does_ want to be ridden? All horses want is to be away from pressure, but everything about riding involves pressure, and work. 

"I've heard people say that horses aren't lazy, they're just bored."

This is completely not true. Each horse has a different personality type, and one definitely includes being lazy. Who _wants_ to exercise? Especially, what horse wants to exercise when she can simply take advantage of her rider and not have to exercise at all?

I'm sorry to tell you there is no "lovey-dovey sweetie-baby" with lazy horses, there is no "please" with lazy horses because they simply do not care about you. The only way you are going to get a horse to respect you and trust you is to be the herd leader and be a firm leader. It's time to cowgirl up and use that crop a whole lot harder. 

"uses the whip sparingly and lightly, because even though I know it won't hurt her"

That is not gonna cut it. It's like a fly landing on her back, and you've probably desensitized her to the whip because you haven't backed it up with some pain. Do you know how hard horses kick each other out in the pastures or the wilds? I was in a show once, and my horse was a bit fresh. We were going along and passing this other horse, who was grumpy and pinned his ears and shook his head at us. Faster than I could gather my loose reins, my horse picked up and kicked out SO HARD that it left a perfectly shoe-shaped black bruise on the rider's calf muscle. 

Tough horses take tough leaders. In that scenario, my horse was presenting himself as leader of the herd. Pinning ears and shaking the head was a sign of disrespect, so my horse asserted himself. Likewise, if a horse ever threatens you, or doesn't do what you want out of disrespect, you have to take it upon yourself to _make_ the horse respect you. In comparison to a hoof to the rib cage, a hard slap of the whip is nothing to a horse, who is build out of leather and muscle.

EDIT: For the record, I was not proud of my horse kicking another person, but the psychology of the horse remains. They are sensitive to reactions and quick to act and then simply carry on. I learned my lesson on what "not enough warm-up means" and the girl is fine.


----------

