stubborn, nappy mare please help (video to show u)

hannah_xx

hannah_xx

Safi
Jan 2, 2009
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Essex
uk.youtube.com
I have recently started loaning a 13.3hh new forest pony and she is soo cheeky!..She will NOT hack out and is just so nappy. In the school she just wants her own way all the time, wont trot when i ask, so have to tap her with whip which then she gets more annoyed about and sometimes does pathetic little bucks (nothing serous). i Hate whipping her, i really feel bad but she is SOOO stubborn. she will trot round quite well once she has got over herself but then suddenly put her head down and pull me to the middle of the school, she is very head strong. and she ALWAYS pretends she has an itchy leg! =/
i know my riding is terrible in this video, but i got a little stressed and had no energy left what so ever. and she does not look that bad in the video, but if you rode her you would understand..i dont care about the refusing of the jumps because she loves jumping usually but this day we had both had enough of each other. Oh and my jumping position is not usually that bad! ILMAO!
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=n-t0J-nzuow&feature=channel_page

I have better videos of us if you want to see her being good..http://uk.youtube.com/user/xXxequestrianxXx

Basically she just always wants her own way =[
 
How long have you had her?
Have you had back, teeth and tack checked?
How varied is her work - she could simply be going sour?
Have you done much groundwork to build up a relationship and trust?
Is she fit enough to do the work you are asking?
How old is she?
What was she doing before you took her on loan?

Basically she just wants it her own way
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Not necessarily, she may be trying to tell you she isn't happy about something
 
OMET said:
How long have you had her?
Have you had back, teeth and tack checked?
How varied is her work - she could simply be going sour?
Have you done much groundwork to build up a relationship and trust?
Is she fit enough to do the work you are asking?
How old is she?
What was she doing before you took her on loan?



Not necessarily, she may be trying to tell you she isn't happy about something
Click to expand...

I have only been loaning her a week, but i rode her 3 times before that.
As she is not my pony, (i loan her) i don't know if her tack or teeth has been checked, But if her behavior carries on i will say something to her owner. But im pretty sure all that is fine, but its definatley something to look into.
Her owner hardly ever rides her or anything. She lives out 24/7 and had not being getting proper regular work. i now ride her 3 times a week. Im only doing walk and trot with her at the moment (however she sometimes decides she wants to canter) and a little bit of jumping because she enjoys it. never big jumps only tiny. plus i only jump about once a week.
she is 8
and she has always acted like this =/
 
I would agree on ruling out any physical reasons why she is like that. If she has not been in regular work then I would imagine her saddle is no longer (assuming it was in the first place ) a very good fit, she would certainly have lost muscle tone if she has been out of work.

Out of interest why does the owner no longer ride her?
 
Just my opinion but from the tail swishing and mini bucks it looks like she has back pain. Our mare started to behave like this and she has now had intensive physio under sedation and remedial farriery under the care of our equine hospital vets.
I would get her back and saddle checked for starters. As someone else said if she has been out of work her shape will have changed and her saddle may no longer fit and could be causing her back pain.
 
pedilia said:
I would agree on ruling out any physical reasons why she is like that. If she has not been in regular work then I would imagine her saddle is no longer (assuming it was in the first place ) a very good fit, she would certainly have lost muscle tone if she has been out of work.

Out of interest why does the owner no longer ride her?
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yeah i will talk to her owner about getting her tack checked, but i don't want to make it sound like she not looking after her pony propally.

Her owner does not get time for her anymore, she rides her every now and then, but poor Romany is just out on loan to people all the time. I think Romany is fed up with different people riding her and not getting the attention she deserves. Her owner wants to sell her too =[

How much would it cost to get her back and teeth checked..and also to check her saddle fits?
 
NoviceNic said:
It would cost you around £40 for the saddle fitter call out and then the cost of any flocking would be extra. Dentist will cost you anywhere between £20 - £30.
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Thankyou, i hope her owner will help out with the costs as i have only been loaning her a week and only do her 3 times a week and think it would be unfair for me to pay all that!
 
the pony doesn't isn't in front of your leg. By this I mean, the pony has no respect for your leg aids, and is not taking you forwards willingly.

Assuming there are no major physical issues (and tbh, in a chunky welsh type, living out 24/7 with no major workload, they aren't that likely...) I would make the work simpler, clearer, and be much more focused on getting her responsive to the leg. Ignoring the leg shouldn't be an option - if she ignores a little leg aid, make a stronger one, if she ignores that she gets a tickle with the whip. If she ignores the tickle she gets a smack - and horrid as it is, I will keep increasing the aid until I get a hint of the response I want. If you are consistent and logical about it, the horse will learn to respect the original small leg aid.

Also try not to turn her to get her to move - if you want to go in a certain direction, you keep the pressure on in that direction - there is no other option than to go where you want to go. Don't get angry, just keep the pressure on until you get the desired response. Horses understand better when the instructions are very, very clear.
 
RachelEvent said:
the pony doesn't isn't in front of your leg. By this I mean, the pony has no respect for your leg aids, and is not taking you forwards willingly.

Assuming there are no major physical issues (and tbh, in a chunky welsh type, living out 24/7 with no major workload, they aren't that likely...) I would make the work simpler, clearer, and be much more focused on getting her responsive to the leg. Ignoring the leg shouldn't be an option - if she ignores a little leg aid, make a stronger one, if she ignores that she gets a tickle with the whip. If she ignores the tickle she gets a smack - and horrid as it is, I will keep increasing the aid until I get a hint of the response I want. If you are consistent and logical about it, the horse will learn to respect the original small leg aid.

Also try not to turn her to get her to move - if you want to go in a certain direction, you keep the pressure on in that direction - there is no other option than to go where you want to go. Don't get angry, just keep the pressure on until you get the desired response. Horses understand better when the instructions are very, very clear.
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Thankyou for the advice, yes i agree she does ignore the leg and if she does not listen i do tap her with the whip, but then she gets more annoyed lol..But after a while she does listen and can be really good!
I cant wait till monday now..im really going to try my hardest with her, be patient but gain her respect lol
 
Take a step back

Be careful before you jump to the conclusion it is the saddle. This can be a very expensive and sometimes frustrating route to take. Looking at the video, I can't help thinking she is objecting to the bit. It looks like an american gag, which can be very severe. Has she alwasy been ridden in this?
 
I'm going to agree with Rachel here and say that she's taking the p assuming all physical issues are ok. Obviously, please disregard this if you find something wrong with her! A couple of times in that vid I could feel myself starting to get frustated, God knows how you felt! A few little points...

When you jump her through the double at 2:35ish and indeed most of the jumps she ducks out of, I could have told you from the start that she was a) going to drift out and b) you were going to let her ;) Your reins aren't short enough to bring her round to the right when she starts to duck out and you just let the whip lay on your thigh - I am in no way suggesting whip her into submission but use it as it's meant to be used, as a back up to your leg, when she's not listening to it.

If you ask her for a pace, then she gives you the pace. No questions asked, no slowing down and no speeding up, definatly no dropping out of it! Don't be afraid to say 'Oi, listen!' to her - and if she wants to banana her neck, fine, but she stays in the pace and you can push her onto the track later. Ride her forwards, keep the pace up and forget about what the head is doing (my old loan used to do it a lot. My RI at the time told me to 'YANK THAT HORSES HEAD AROUND NOW!' but there was no need to, and I certainly never did. Just focus on where you're going, and get her there. To get her to the track, try using your inside leg as gentle pressure against her side - horses will move into the pressure and she'll go to the track (it doesn't work from a long way away, but will help push her into her corners and back out again).

You are pretty much constantly changing direction with her in the clips - Might just be the clips you chose but it seems that sometimes you go 'Right, you won't go that way, ok, we'll go this way... Oh, not that way then, this way' which is just confusing (don't worry, I tend to try this too - it doesn't work!) She goes in one direction, the direction you say, until you change the rein in your own time. If she's planted her feet, by all means, ask her to move to one side to move again, turn her in a circle to get her going again, but keep on in the same direction.

She doesn't look like a monster at all, really she looks like a sweet thing, just the kind of pony I like! A bit of a challenge! You'll get there, get the physical checked first and then work on the ridden.
 
erm, id say just get the checks done and if she has nothing wrong then lots of time and persictence (sp?)
have you got a RI to help you

also , nothing to do with the op but have you got a martingale stop on (3:12)

and your saddle looks quite small from your other videos and a bit far forward.

good luck with her :D
 
eek lots of replies lol Thanks for the advice everyone

"It looks like an american gag, which can be very severe." Noo! shes not in one of them, she is in a hanging cheek lol

"Might be worth getting teeth checked" yes going to suggest this to her owner aswell as back and saddle =]

"Your reins aren't short enough" eek, i know, honestly i was having such a bad day..i had NO energy left to even care what she did at that point =[..the next day i had the Flu =/ (no excuse i know!) but seriously i was not happy, tierd and ill lol

"You are pretty much constantly changing direction with her in the clips" I don't let her chose what direction, if she suddenly turns, i turn her back the way we was going (but she is very head strong!) :rolleyes:

Thankyou again for the advice everyone! But i must say today when i rode her she was brilliant!..I am going to speak to her owner about teeth/back saddle checks ect, i hope she does not take it the wrong thinking that i think she is not looking after her pony =/
 
She doesnt look happy with the bit at all and a few times you pulled her in the mouth on landing and she threw a tamtrum, fair enough to her if she got hurt.

I would cut out all jumping as you have only had her a week and only ride three times a week. Do some ground work, then slow, controlled flat work and try to come to an understanding with her, about how you are going to work together, maybe for a few weeks...............then, go back to the jumping and fast work, when you are gelling better together.
 
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