# Mare Wont move forward. Flicks tail, Kicks up, Tosses head...



## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

So my 7 year old mare is green broke. She used to go so well walk, trot and canter . But lately when riding her she won't move forward. She will stand in spot or go backwards. Tosses her head, swats her tail… i usually have a whip in hand but don't use it unless. Sometimes if i flick it she will go forward but now she just gets more mad… I need help not sure what to do . scared she will rear and start a habit. ALSO on the lunge she is good walk, trot and canter no problem listens well but as soon as i get on her cant get her to do anything.


----------



## gssw5 (Jul 30, 2013)

If she used to go and she doesn't you need to figure out why. 

First thought is pain. The saddle may be pinching her, maybe she needs her spine adjusted. Check her teeth, her feet, perhaps she has ulcers. 

Once pain is ruled out, or found and fixed then look for training issues.

Some horses will ride despite being in pain, others won't. Maybe she has always had pain and now she has had enough, or it is something new. Horses like people have different tolerance for pain. Since you say the behavior is new then look for the why, before you look for the how.


----------



## xXEventerXx (Nov 27, 2010)

i rode her most of last year and she had all winter and summer off. Ive never noticed her lame before. Only thing i noticed different she is a lot fatter and the saddle slides a lot while riding her. Sometimes she seems way off balance and leans. Ive started her on a diet And separated her from my Gelding. She has always been a stubborn mare. Even before when i lunged her it was a pain for me to get her to go forward she would always turn and face me. Even when she was first broke she was a pain to get moving you would kick and she would always kick up… I guess its not NEW but one day she will be awesome the next a brat


----------



## tcvhorse (Oct 14, 2012)

I'll bet the saddle doesn't fit right anymore. Why not have a saddle fitter out and get it checked? Second the recommendation to assess for ulcers. Possibly think about getting a fecal.---> My horse was found with a massive load of worms on a fecal, and she WAS getting wormed every 2-3 months. Good luck!


----------



## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

I just think she has your number. You have only put enough pressure on her to **** her off and not enough to make her go forward. It is escalating because every time you fail to get what you ask for, it emboldens her to be a little more sure of herself and less sure of your ability to do anything about it. 

She is now firmly in charge and knows it. Rearing IS the next step in having a horse lose forward impulsion. Good forward impulsion is the single most important kind of respect you need to get anything done at all under saddle. What you have done on the ground is not relating to work under saddle so it probably will not in the future. 

The only ground work that might help would be ground driving in long lines. Ground driving spoiled horses is a real skill. It is not something that is easy to do. Like riding, people that are very good at it make it look easy, but it is not. It does, however, relate better to transferring to ridden work than any other kind of ground work. I have not had a single horse stall out under saddle that did also not try to stall out in driving lines. When they stall out in driving lines, you are in a safe position to force them to go forward.


----------



## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

I love ground driving. I can recall when I was breaking in a young horse how many miles we ground drove first.. all tacked up and ready to go. With a driving whip (not a lunge whip.. the lash can be a PIA) and driving lines you can teach your horse a huge amount.. including what happens if they balk a bit or rear. 

If you keep on with this horse the way she IS she will escalate her refusal to go forward. If she develops a true balk, that is very very hard to fix. A true balk is typically a confidence thing but regardless.. and real balker (more common in the days of working harness horses) is real bad news.


----------



## sorral3 (Jun 7, 2013)

I know some of the more touchy-feely folks are going to not like this, but:

Pain or not, you asked for movement and she better move! What if you both were in danger...she better move you out of harm's way. I doubt it is pain, but instead a protest against being put back to work. 

I rarely ask a horse to go straight forward, I usually depart at an angle. I find it harder for the horse to protest and even harder for them to go vertical (buck or rear up). Reward the smallest try at first, but make her build on success. 

good luck


----------



## CASugar (Oct 17, 2014)

Goodhorsekeeping.com blogspot search gastric ulcers. review the list of supplements that can be added and how much, to daily feed naturally. Maybe consider the advice here concerning feed, things to give and things to avoid for a healthy gut.


----------



## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

I agree with Cherie, horse has your number.


----------



## Little Jane (Mar 7, 2013)

Rule out pain, to be sure, but I agree with the others: your mare is testing you. If she knows that refusing to go forward scares you, she'll continue to do it as long as she can get away with it. I've had to deal with the same thing in my mare. She wants to be in charge, and sometimes I'm far too soft with her. We can't let them get away with being in charge, because they will get dangerous fast.

My advice is this: make your mare GO. Start with lunging. When she goes for you lunging, ask her to go in the saddle. Have a friend put you on the lunge, if it makes you feel better. Have very, very soft hands, or even no contact at all. Keep a following seat and a quiet leg. Ask her forward with your leg, and if she doesn't move forward, give her a good whack with the whip. Have this attitude: I asked for forward, I'd better get forward, and NOW. She'll probably be all over the place: that's okay. Until she reliable goes forward for you, nothing else matters except the forward. When she moves, it's heaven: verbal praise or a pat, and then you can leave her alone. When she doesn't move, it's hell: give her a kick or use your whip. As soon as she's forward again, you stop bothering her. My mare learned fast 

It might seem mean at first, but it really is best for horse and rider. You need to be in charge. A horse who's in charge is dangerous. Once she moves forward off your leg, there are exercises you can do to increase her attention and sensitivity to you. The one I've been using a lot lately is to ask for trot, and then do a transition to the walk at the next letter (in a dressage arena). Trot at the next letter, and then walk again at the next. You can throw in some walk/halt and halt/trot too. Ultimately, the goal is to get instantaneous transitions off soft aids. But, this exercise will not be pretty at first. Your aids might have to be loud, but you have permission to be rude with your horse if she doesn't listen, because otherwise, she'll get rude with you.

I'm not a horse trainer, but I've dealt with a similar situation as you have, and this is what worked for my mare and me. Hope it helps!


----------



## dlady (Apr 13, 2013)

I agree with, this horse has your number. My horse, Vegas, did the same thing when I gave him a few months off when I was recovering from an injury. He was fine with being lunged at all gates, but didn't want to move once I was on his back. When he did decide to move, he would trot you back to the pasture where his buddies was.

I'm a beginner and needed help fixing this problem so I sent him back to my trainer. She worked with my horse while I worked with 1 of her horses. After a few sessions of getting his respect on the ground, she taught me how to get that same respect while in the saddle.

Get a trainer to work with you for a few lessons. Believe me it will make a big difference.


----------



## chinoerika (Jun 10, 2013)

If possible try to ride her without a bit just to see if she will move forward. If she moves forward, check her mouth. I see this happen from time to time. Equine Dental Service.


----------



## teakwood (Aug 20, 2014)

Before you start demanding her to move forward and work for you... rule out pain issues. Find a good chiropractor that works on horses. I have a mare that was doing great and then strange behavior started. Didn't want to move out, pinned her ears at me when cinching her, didn't want to be brushed - just a ****y attitude. Vet thought ulcers. We put her on gastroguard and she got worse! After a week of that, we had her scoped, no ulcers. Didn't rule out hind gut tho. 
I was sure it wasn't saddle fit issues because the saddle was made for her AND she was ****y without it on as well.
Had the chiro. come out and she had rotated ribs, neck was tight and needed adjustment, poll, many areas down her spine. She was basically - a mess. The ribs tho was the biggie. Very painful for some horses.
Outcome of my story... horse is fine now. She loves going out, moves out with gusto. I would have felt like a piece of crap if I had insisted she work for me or got on her case with the ear pinning etc.... 
This may not be the case with yours but it sure is worth checking into all other avenues.


----------



## Sabrine12 (Jun 2, 2014)

My mare was doing the exact same thing i figured that she might be in pain and it turned out that she was beginning to founder so i recommend you make sure that she is not in pain.


----------

