Question: My mare always wants to lead when we trail ride. When we aren't in the lead all she thinks about is getting to the front. She doesn't seem to pay any attention to the trail or to her gaits. When she leads her gait is very smooth and her behavior is great, but in back she will trot lope stumble ride the other horse to close and won't relaxe. I have to hold her back constantly. How can I get her to calm down and enjoy the ride at any position?
From Panelist Steve
This is a common problem and in my experience, there is no easy fix.
I have
a mare who is DEAD by herself. Put her into the company of other horses,
especially strange horses, and she is up in the bridal and WILL not
be happy
until she is in front or near the front.
I think there are two ways to deal with this...easy and hard. The easy
way
is just to tell everyone in the ride that your mare needs to be in
front.
Most people will understand.They've been there and seen it in other
horses.
Of course, if there is another front runner in the pack, then you are
in for
a fun ride !
Plan B(the hard way) is to announce to everyone that you have a problem
with
your horse that you are trying to correct. Tell them what it is. Tell
them
that every time she acts up you are going to do tight circles with
her and
that when you do, they should stop and rest while you do it. After
a while
MOST horses (not all !) will get tired of the "pressure" of going no
where
while the others watch and will figure out that going along with
the
position you choose for her is the easy way out. Position her second.
Then
when she gets comfortable, try third and so forth. If she doesn't get
it, go
back to Plan A !
Stephen B. Chasko
From Panelist Erica
Practice playing Leap Frog while riding with another - this will give you the opportunity to have her in the back and in the front, yet she won't be stuck in one spot long enough to fight you the whole ride.
Erica Frei
