Question about neck reining and trips away from "home"...

[lurath]

My mare, Deli, is at the end of a rehabilitation track for a popped/fractured splint bone after being kicked by a pasture mate and to stay off boredom (for both of us) I have been teaching her to neck rein. I know HOW to neck rein, but I have never trained a horse to do so

Comments

[a_quick_one]

A huge part of how your horse acts off property is down to you - if you're nervous about how she'll act up, then she'll act up. If you're not, that's a HUGE help. I try to think about my weak points and concentrate on being correct myself (especially as if I'm correct it positively effects my horses), rather than what they may do (thinking about what could go wrong is NEVER helpful!). For me, it's to stay in my lower leg and not baby my bad ankle (I fell off and broke it and two surgeries later) - for you it could be something completely different. You mention in an above post that she sees you as a leader. I'm not into NH at all, but I still see that as a HUGE advantage. If you're nervous, she is. If you're not, then she'll at least think about it before losing it (and that split-second is helpful if she does).

And as far as taking your horse to other barns - call and be ready to pay an arena fee. It shouldn't be large, and it's worth it because the more she sees, the better. Take every opportunity you can to get her places if getting her relaxed about it is a goal. I try to go to clinics as much as possible because there it doesn't matter if my horses flip, and I try to expose them as much as possible - and hunter paces are the best because there's tons of activity and no one cares if your horse is totally fresh because many others are, and there's no judge.

[lurath]

Thanks for the advice.

My horse feeds of my emotions like you wouldn't believe, so that is a concern too. She is a rescue, so she also has her own emotional baggage to work through (with my help, always!). I suspect this is a fundamental issue we will come back to again and again, though I wouldn't have it any other way. Having such a sensitive horse means I always need to be aware of myself, which has been great for MY confidence.

I'll have to check and see if there is any kind of hunter pace where we could just do figures in the grass - she tends to dislike buildings and whatnot MORE so that may be a good transition place for her.

This would ALL be so much easier if i had my own truck and trailer! Ugh...