# Trail riding Help please!



## joseeandjade11 (Oct 12, 2012)

Hey guys!

I have this issue where my mare is in a hurry when we are on our way back home  what can I do? 

One more thing, if trot or canter, i ALWAYS have to keep my reins tight because she only wants to go fast...I would very much like to just trot or canter without having to tight my reins to hold her back...Is there anything i can do to make her slow down? (it's worse when i am trail riding with other horses because she's competitive and wants to be first...)

Any suggestions will be much appreciated! Thank you!!


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## BornToRun (Sep 18, 2011)

Sounds like you need to walk, walk, walk, and walk. And then when you're finished, stop, stop, stop, and stop. Practice stopping and backing up where ever you are, even if you're just leading. I did this with my herd bound mare, I walked her in hand, and then I ground drove her, and now we are riding out peacefully by ourselves, and she will stop and back up instead of rearing.


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## joseeandjade11 (Oct 12, 2012)

I should have also specified that on our way home she also walks fast, and i would like to have a slow relaxing walk. I have tried LOTS of check and release with my reins, not working. Have tried doing circles, not working either. When i keep holding my reins tight, she starts to jerk her head up (something she never does)


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## Iseul (Mar 8, 2010)

Turn her back around and walk back out as soon as she starts to speed up her walk. Check and release worked with one of mine, but I had to use the turn around method for a couple others. My current mare just has an energetic walk (constant, I like it though, lol).

The jerking her head up is probably to get away from the pain the bit is giving her. I can't use a single joint with my mare because she has a low pallete and when I have to up my rein pressure, she loses it. With a double jointed bit without the nutcracker action it's much better, but she just doesn't like a snaffle so will still do it on occasion, but her head isn't constantly up with the single joint.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## toto (Mar 3, 2013)

Id keep her on a loose rein and when she takes that first quick step id calmly give the reins a tap to slow her and the more she speeds up id tap her back down to a slower gait till she walks calmly then id let her walk again on a loose rein calmly-- id keep doin that till she understands you want her to walk-- when youre tensed up shes tensed up.. keepin the situation calm is what you want.

When she tries to take off with the other horses id do the same- dont anticipate her runnin off- stay calm and tap her into a walk.. keep her focused on you- not the other horses.




Shes excited to get home so youll get off her back untack and let her go back to graizing or whatever she likes to do.. id also tap her into a slower walk at the first quick step and when you get back into the slow walk you want.. when you get home you can walk her around more after you dismount and let her eat some grass then untack. Dont just get home and untack and put her away.


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

^^^ agreed. And also make sure you are in a slow posture. Not hyped up yourself. Relax those hips and maybe exaggerate it a bit so she will get it.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

You need to do an exercise at the stable that I like. Use an arena with a gate. Lope (or canter) away from the gate and make your way 1/2-way around, then half-halt to a trot the next 1/4-way, then half-halt to a walk until you reach the gate again. Immediately canter off and repeat, repeat, repeat. It's as if you are saying we're going back to the barn, well, maybe--NOPE we're running away from the barn. When you have lathered your horse up--a good hour of this works wonders, on BOTH reins, then dismount at the farthest point from the gate, and hand walk back to the barn. Tie your horse up, untack, and let him sit and think about this for an hour while you much out his stall...or read a good book. Don't leave him out of earshot.
A horse that runs back to the barn is very dangerous. My horses have a shelter that would knock my head off if one decided to run back and duck inside. I spent some sessions with my 16'3hh gelding last summer. I positioned my DD with a lungewhip at the entrance to the shelter. My horse didn't know she was there. We moved out away from the shelter, then slowed down coming towards the entrance. She walked forward with the whip horizontal to the ground in both hands and pushed him away. We will do more of this THIS year. I want my horses in no uncertain terms to know that there is probably a monster that lives in their shelter when I am riding, and you don't want to go there. =b


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## VaqueroMedina (May 18, 2013)

What I would do is take her head away (softly) every time she goes faster than YOU want and move the same leg to her hindquarters so she moves around in a tight circle. Also, try to keep your other rein loose. Have your riding buddies stop when you are doing this so she isn't trying to think you're cutting her off from her friends. Keep doing this and eventually she will get it. The truth is it won't be a one time thing, but she will soon learn that when you want a nice slow walk, she has to walk or she has to do stuff she doesn't want to.

Another thing I do (when they get really gun-ho) is to run them and create so much extra energy when they want to run and then when they slow down create more energy for like a minute longer until you give a slow/stop command. This is kind of dangerous, I'd probably do this on a western saddle only. This teaches them that the slow down command is a good thing and then they'll seek that in you.

Whatever you do, DO NOT go for a bigger bit or go harsher on her mouth. That's just a cop-out and both you and her will learn nothing.


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## CatrinaB87 (Dec 29, 2008)

When you get back to the barn, DON'T put your horse up. Instead, do some really intense arena work! Do this every time you come back to the barn, and she wont be in a hurry to get there any more. Most horses speed up or become "Barn Sour" because they know that the end is near, and that you are going to give them the ultimate reward: time off! So as soon as you get back to that barn, make her butt work. Go into the arena and get her good and sweaty, then do your cool down routine. Keep us posted on your progress!


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## joseeandjade11 (Oct 12, 2012)

Wow those are all great advice!! Thanks everyone!!! and as for the bit, no worry i ride in a bitless bridle  Also i am sure that making her work when we come home might just work to get her to slow down BUT when im trotting with friends, she gets competitive and goes fast what do i do then??


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## CatrinaB87 (Dec 29, 2008)

joseeandjade11 said:


> Wow those are all great advice!! Thanks everyone!!! and as for the bit, no worry i ride in a bitless bridle  Also i am sure that making her work when we come home might just work to get her to slow down BUT when im trotting with friends, she gets competitive and goes fast what do i do then??


I think that is probably a respect issue. My horse loves to break out running when those around me do, and it's herd instinct to want to do that. You've got to work to get her to focus more on you than the other horses. Maybe talk to a trainer at your barn about getting her more responsive? My guess is that's the majority of the issue is her just not wanting to listen, because she'd rather go play with her friends!


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## trailhorserider (Oct 13, 2009)

I think your horse just needs a lot of miles. Some of the excitement wears off when they go out trail riding regularly.

I personally like to make them work (by trotting, climbing hills, etc.) on my way OUT on a ride. Get them good and tired and then ask them to walk back. Sometimes it takes several days in a row of this to settle my mare when she is ridden alone. 

I personally have never had luck containing a really fresh horse to a walk the entire ride, especially if it isn't hours and hours long. I don't mean a "normal" horse, but a horse like my mare that is barn sour and nervous without other horses. It would never do me any good to walk her going out because the minute I turned for home her adrenaline would be up. So I work her going out and then make her walk coming home. Hopefully she has burned off a little energy by then. But walking the entire ride just isn't something she will do if she's really fresh. So I would rather burn some of that energy off on my own terms than fighting her all the way home.

By the way, there's nothing wrong with walking fast coming home. As long as they walk, I am happy. You are still getting the gait you want....a walk. That's better than fighting and jigging. I really think hours and hours and miles and miles on the trail is the only thing that really makes a good trail horse. I really haven't discovered a shortcut.


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## Boo Walker (Jul 25, 2012)

I love the suggestion to go for a nice long trail ride then rather than putting her up, head to the arena for some more work. It kind of reprograms the brain- sounds like it's worth a try!


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## joseeandjade11 (Oct 12, 2012)

I agree there is nothing wrong with walking fast going home but i like to walk slow and just relax  it makes sense that she does need more hours on the trails, she is turning 6 this month so she's still young. I wish i had time to go trail riding every day but i don't so i will try to do longer trail rides when i go and when i get home, work her off in the arena, let's hope it works!


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## franknbeans (Jun 7, 2007)

Catrinas idea is the one that works. That was exactly what I was going to suggest. Let her go back...then work her butt off. then go back out a little bit and get off there. She will soon get the idea that being out is not so bad!

You could also try working first...HARD, so that the walking trail is a welcome relief, and if she is still in a hurry to get home-work her again!

I change my routine every time. I never take the same way home twice in a row if I can help it. And we might be headed home-then turn around......my horse probably thinks I am nuts, and I am fortunate to have miles of trails to work with at our barn.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

joseeandjade11 said:


> I agree t*here is nothing wrong with walking fast going home*...


Yes..there IS.


joseeandjade11 said:


> ...*but i like to walk slow and just relax * :grin:


YOU are the herd leader and determine, in your little herd of two, WHAT speed to go.
2 experiences:
1) My old herd, who had been there and seen it all, would ALWAYS know how to get back to camp after a trail ride on paths that were new to me and new to the horse. This can be quite useful if you ever get lost on a trail ride, so I appreciated it.
2) I met a lady at the Black Hills horse camp that we like, with a 13yo QH that she had worked to death to pretty much JUST walk on the trails. Her horse would trot and lope for her, but EVERY TIME I saw her return from a trail ride, her MARE was "at the mosey."
JUST decide what you want from your horse, be patient but be persistant, with praise for effort, and don't settle for less than the best!


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

OP...You have lots of good information here. 

I hesitate to single out a particular trainer but I have a book by Julie Goodnight, Goodnight's Guide to Great Trail Riding (see her website). It covers a lot of what you are dealing with. I have ridden for many years and I find this reference handy to go back to. Right now I have a green horse and I don't want to screw up the works with her. Many of the issues you are dealing with are exact duplicates of another horse I have. Methods mentioned in this thread and in this book greatly improved the situation. Just know that some of these issues take time, patience (boy, howdy) and consistancy to correct. 
Good luck to you and your horse!


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## joseeandjade11 (Oct 12, 2012)

When you guys say work my horse hard, like what exactly should i do? Lots of circles (trot, canter), from halt to canter, and exercises like that??


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## toosexy4myspotz (Oct 7, 2007)

I dont know much about your current riding conditions or where you ride. Im going to compare two of our horses though, my husbands and my primary riding horse. My mare is worked all the time at home around the barn. We do lots of ground work and saddle work. On a trail, she will never go any faster than I have asked her, period. If ten horses run by galloping, so be it. They go by she keeps walking. One the way home her pace doesnt change at all. If I say walk slower than a turtle she walks slower than a turtle. Now, my husbands horse. Only trail ridden. Never worked at home around the barn. He ALWAYS speeds up on the way back to the barn. Whether we are at home trail riding or gone on a trip, he always speeds up to a fast paced walk. This leaves me and my mare behind because she will not even attempt to keep up with another horse. I personally believe working at home around the barn has tons of benefits. Yes it may be a boring and only so many places you can go and do but the foundation on your horse is what counts. I dont believe in just trail riding. I love the trails, my favorite place in the whole wide world but they are not fun with an uncooperative horse. My suggestion would be to work her around the barn more or in the pasture. In my pasture in order for the horses to get back to the barn they have to come up a really long and steep hill so we practice on that. It only takes a couple times of coming up that hill and there is no fun to rushing to back to the barn. You will have to just work with your horse and figure out what works best for her.


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## toosexy4myspotz (Oct 7, 2007)

joseeandjade11 said:


> When you guys say work my horse hard, like what exactly should i do? Lots of circles (trot, canter), from halt to canter, and exercises like that??


Keep her "mentally" busy and focused. By keeping their mind we are exhausting their physical state as well. So its not just running the hooves off a horse. You can physically wear them out but that doesnt mean they learned anything mentally. Keep her mind focused with lots of w/t/c transitions, turning, backing, leg yeilding, or whatever just to keep her attention and keep her focus on your cues. If my horses decide to quit paying attention to me we zig zags, transition, lots of leg yeilding, stoping and turning very quickly to regain focus then we go back to what we were doing.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

joseeandjade11 said:


> When you guys say work my horse hard, like what exactly should i do? Lots of circles (trot, canter), from halt to canter, and exercises like that??


Transitions between gaits.
Transitions within gaits.
Full halts.
Half-halting from canter to trot, trot to walk, walk to halt.
Backing.
Circles with changes in directions.
Spirals at the walk and the trot and the canter.
Walk to canter, both reins.
Counter Cantering.
Haunches in.
Shoulder in.
Collection at walk and trot and canter.
Side passing.
Teardrop change to the inside to change reins.
Turning towards the rail to change directions.
Riding with another rider, and mimicking what they do with their horse.
Enough?


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## nvr2many (Jan 18, 2011)

Corporal said:


> Transitions between gaits.
> Transitions within gaits.
> Full halts.
> Half-halting from canter to trot, trot to walk, walk to halt.
> ...


Makes me not want to go back to the barn :lol:


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## joseeandjade11 (Oct 12, 2012)

Thanks Corpoal! Yes those are great examples that i will try when working her hard.

Thank you for all and everyone's suggestions. I can't wait to try them with my mare


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## CatrinaB87 (Dec 29, 2008)

Good luck! Keep us posted! Hope it doesn't backfire and make her not want to go to the barn


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## LouieThePalomino (Dec 15, 2012)

joseeandjade11 said:


> Hey guys!
> 
> I have this issue where my mare is in a hurry when we are on our way back home  what can I do?
> 
> ...



Oh this one is fun to fix lol. You shouldn't let a horse even WALK quickly back to the barn because eventually it turns into a full on gallop. What we usually do is: when you get back home keep working her and *don't* get off as soon as you get home (getting off rewards her) or you could do circles while she tries to rush home, try to walk a perfect circle and make her walk quick in the circle and don't let her trot.


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## Celeste (Jul 3, 2011)

I would only let her trot or canter on the way out; never on the way home. I would walk the whole way home. I never feed or treat the horse as soon as we get home. When I was a kid, I used to feed my pony as soon as we got back, and she wanted to run home. She was terrible.

My horse was much like your horse. I was determined to ride her on a loose rein. So for the whole ride it went like this. Loose rein. Go too fast. Pull back and slow her down. Loose rein. Over and over. For a year. Now she gets it. She doesn't jig at all. 

Another thing you might want to consider; the bitless bridle just may not be best for her. If she won't work politely on it, maybe it annoys her. I have had horses that hate them and would work quietly in a snaffle.


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## joseeandjade11 (Oct 12, 2012)

Well to keep you guys posted, i went trail riding yesterday night and tonight all by myself and she was walking home just how i wanted, not too slow, not too fast, it was very relaxing and i liked it that way. This was also a test to see how she behaved alone and much much better than when riding with other people! 

I don't have anything else right now to ride with and i can't put a bit i just got her checked by the vet to give her vaccines and she has one wolf tooth...i don't have the budget right now to get it removed so until then ill ride with my bitless, i have ridden in it for a year now.


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## KailynDuggan333 (May 14, 2013)

Whenever I trail ride, the horses always get excited to go back to the barn, so when we're about 3/4 of the way back, we turn them around and walk a ways back down the trail, so they think they're not done. If you do that a few times, they won't know when they're actually going back. I always like to walk back, because horses always get excited to get back to their herd.


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