pushy on the ground.

[madeyemads]

Okay. I have had my TB/Australian riding pony mare, Lexie for just nine days. So far she's going really well. I have ridden her six times. Three times in the indoor arena and three times in the outdoor as well as walked her around the property. She's seven years old and 15.2hh, a nice mare without extensive training but with the basics and a

Comments

[penella22]

yeah...I'd do some kind of ground work with her that builds more respect...clicker training is great! So is Linda Tellington Jones work, or Parelli Natural Horsemanship. With spooky unfocused horses like that, I think some of ti can just be that they are in a new place, and so of course they haven't fully attached and bonded with a human yet. Of course they are bit obsessive about where other horses are.

Mares= being in heat possibly? I suggest Moody Mare if it seems to still be a problem down the road and not just part of settling in.

With horses that may bolt like that, I would want a rope halter, and at LEAST a 12' line, so they have room to move and not feel claustrophobic, while still being online and somewhat controllable. With shorter lines they zoom away from you and are then LOOSE. With a 12' line you can give them some room to move and have their little freak out without completely letting go of them.

And obviously refocus her attention on you as soon as it starts to wander...any simple request will do...to back up a few paces (which will force her to use her brain and calm down...hard to freak out when you're trying to coordinate your own feet) or by asking her to move sideways a step or two (again if you get her to really cross her legs as she moves over she'll be using her brain more and freaking out less). Ask her a few things in a row until she focuses on you again. Make your requests stronger, or use a crop to back up your requests if she still won't focus.