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Post by alibel on Feb 1, 2015 16:04:06 GMT 1
My 6 year old cob mare who has been with me since last July finds it hard to stand still at junctions when out hacking. In the school she will come down her transitions quietly and will stand when asked. Out hacking I try to ask her to stand a few times out on a ride but only manage to be successful about twice out of about 6 attempts. I'm now not sure if I am starting to give negative vibes to her and making the problem worse. In my head I could be thinking that she isn't going to stand so therefore she doesn't. Are there any exercises I can do to help?
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Post by avril on Feb 1, 2015 18:33:13 GMT 1
Hi alibel and welcome to the forum. Sorry to hear your mare has difficulty standing at junctions. She will be quite happy to stand in the school because she feels safe within her home environment but out hacking it's a different story. Horses pick up on our thoughts and feelings very easily so if you are thinking she won't stand, as you say, she isn't going to want to. It's best not to make an issue of it otherwise she is likely to get uptight and anxious at not being able to move. We will be making a training video on this subject as it's a very important one. It would help if to in deeply and slowly when asking her to stop and out again slowly as you ask her to walk forward. Be content with baby steps to start with and make sure to relax the contact when she stops, even a few seconds is ok. Ask her to walk on quietly before she decides to do it herself. Horse are affected by the weather, it's easier for them to stand on a hot day than a cold windy one. Wishing you good times with your cob, I'm sure you will make good progress together. Don't forget to look out for details of that particular video.
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Post by alibel on Feb 2, 2015 21:06:55 GMT 1
Thank you so much for your advice. I have come back to horse ownership after 20 + years and am so pleased there is a site like this to get reassurance from. On the plus side my mare is good in every other way and is a pleasure to be around. She wouldn't pick her feet up to allow me to remove stones etc when I first got her and I've managed to get her to trust me enough to accept that it is part of our routine. Hopefully we can slowly work this one out and I look forward to the training video on this subject. Deep breathes and positive vibes. Thanks again.
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