# Stubborn mare!



## MissEmilyy09 (Jul 6, 2012)

I have a 16.2 7 year old mare who sometimes just wont move!
She has been like that since they broke her, so obviously she's been allowed to get away with it in the past, and it doesn't help she was left to mature, so not broken until she turned 5, but I've had enough of not being able to get her to move if she decides not to respect my leg!
Sometimes she is absolutely fine, and its not that she's slow, or lazy, because when she does go, she is very forward. Its just GETTING her to move forward in the first place thats the problem!

Help?


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## CLaPorte432 (Jan 3, 2012)

Do you have a trainer?

Have she been checked over by a vet to make sure theres nothing physically wrong with her that could cause pain?

She probably just hasnt had consistent training and is still green undersaddle. Maybe isnt hasnt quite "clicked" that go...means go.
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## MissEmilyy09 (Jul 6, 2012)

Yes, I have two instructors, one is an international show jumper and the other is an affiliated dressage judge!

She had a 5* vetting before we bought her and has since been checked over and had her back/teeth done etc, all is fine!

I'm pretty sure by now she does know that it means go, as most of the time she moves off fine, its just when she gets her head stuck that she doesn't want to work!


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

Get a crop. When she ignores your leg cue, used the crop on her butt. Start with a tap, smack and a whack if needed. Be ready for her to take off like a banshee or throw a bucking fit. Once she learns you mean business, she'll start moving off your legs easier.
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## MissEmilyy09 (Jul 6, 2012)

Already tried! Sometimes works, sometimes makes her more stubborn!! 
Ride with a Whip and spurs incase needed all the time because I know what she can be like!


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

Do you lunge her? Does she do it then too? If so, work with her on that so she learns that pressure means to move. If not, she has learned that she can be more stubborn than you. Keep increasing the pressure or intensity of your crop until she moves. It will probably get ugly before it gets better. 

Another thing you could try is turning her back and forth when she gets "stuck". When she steps forward, stop and let her be. Let her walk off or stop for a few seconds. Then ask again for forward motion. If she gets stuck again, go back to turning her. This time, have her go in a full circle forward both directions before letting her be.
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## MissEmilyy09 (Jul 6, 2012)

Thanks! Will give it a go!


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## Shropshirerosie (Jan 24, 2012)

Ha ha I had one of those. Could move like sh1t off a shovel when she wanted; and could be as nappy as hell planted in the ground at other times. Over time, I mastered it but there was no one trick. I also rode with whip and spurs, I learnt to anticipate her moods and thoughts and actions, I made up the rules as I went along and always won, but sometimes by inventing the solution on the go. 

She's probably the alpha mare? You have to be more alpha. By which I don't mean beat her up, nor do I mean a lot of Natural Horsemanship ground work, I just mean that you have to always know in advance what you are planning to achieve, and never let her change your plans. Okay - so you might have to 'go a different route', but make sure she never wins a discussion.


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## goingnowhere1 (Jan 22, 2012)

I would use a squeeze to signal(I'm ready to go), then a hard smack with a crop(first warning), and then a kick in the sides with dull point spurs. I used this method on a horse I've had slow trouble with and she seemed to work harder because she didn't want to get hit.


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## MyBoyPuck (Mar 27, 2009)

This is why I got a gelding...:lol:


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## usandpets (Jan 1, 2011)

MyBoyPuck said:


> This is why I got a gelding...:lol:


Geldings can be just as stubborn if not more. My wife's horse is a good example.
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## Foxhunter (Feb 5, 2012)

As Shropshirerosie says sometimes you have to make the rules as you go.

Another thing you could try is just not making her go. Sit her out. Ask her to move and then when she will not just sit on her. Sit heavy with your weight towards the back of the saddle making it uncomfortable for her. Do nothing, eat your sandwiches, have a drink, picnic on horseback, she will want to move at one point or another and it might be a long time but when she wants to move, you make her wait for another minute and then ask her to go on your terms.

It can take over an hour (most for me was three hours) but each time it gets less and less.


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