You didn’t specify how hard the horse is worked, how long the sessions are, how long she is expected to hold some kind of “head down frame” etc… Horses without proper musculature and mental preparedness can get extremely stressed over being made to travel in some pre-designed frame.
This is why I like the dressage training scale for educating horses. You first establish rhythm and suppleness before contact. And collection is the LAST thing to be asked of a horse. Not trying to offend anyone, but a lot of western trainers skip right to snubbing the nose down to the chest, pulling it to the knee, and working the horse in collection. I swear if I open up another western magazine and see a horse cantering with its nose on the riders knee I will SCREAM. :mad:
First I’d rule out any pain issues (tack feet, teeth). Then I would look at taking a bunch of steps backward and establishing good cadence and rythm, coupled with balance under saddle before ANY attempt is made at working in any kind of “frame” or slowing the horse down. I get the feeling that this poor mare was just plunked in a ring with a trainer and “made to get her head down and go slow.”
If you don’t get the horse out of that situation and fast, you are headed toward mega trouble. Even more trouble than you have right now.
You can do under-saddle suppling, and conditioning in an arena without pulling the head down and forcing the horse to slow. Most horses “go fast” because they are trying to balance. They get hyper, they get nervous, they get tense, and they go faster and faster and faster. By trying to force the mare to go slow, you are setting everybody involved up for failure.
Based on only the info. you’ve given, if it were my horse, I would ride the mare in a field or outdoor arena with a bunch of obstacles set up. Bridges, tarps, cavaletti, cones, fun stuff like mail boxes, tires, etc. Have her walk and negotiate the obstacles. Back around cones, etc. She will have to slow herself down to get through the obstacles. She will learn to watch her feet, and listen to her rider, without being pulled down into a frame and having a rider using the bit as a “go slow” cue. If she tries to trot, then just aim her at a line of cones or a bridge. Use your voice in a soothing tone - I always say “Slooooooooow.” Reach up with your hand and squeeze the crest of her neck. Just gently massage it. No patting or “Good girl! Good girl!” Just keep it slow and quiet. Sit deep in your seat with heels down, and BREATHE! Breathe deeply. Establish a ryhthm with your breaths.
Another trick I do for my fractious Arab is to just plain talk to her. I just hold a conversation like she’s an old friend. “Do you see that bird sitting in that tree? Wow, look how shiny his black feathers are.” And I also sing. She seems to just slow down and relax when she has some kind of deep connection to the rider. Some horses are high maintenance under saddle and some are not. Mine also is a dancy prancy, wanna run all the time type. No amount of pulling on the bit with a training fork would EVER slow that horse down, and I suspect yours is the same. If anything, the more bit pressure, the more upset she gets.
If you absolutely cannot ride the horse without a bucking fit, work her on the ground through the obstacles. Teach her cues from the ground. Just plain ole’ have FUN with her. Show her she can trust you and that you aren’t going to be forcing something on her that she is not comfortable with.
Having said all that though, if you do all these things, and the mare still gets pissy and starts bucking when you ask for a trot, I would discipline her. She has to learn that bucking is not acceptable. You are not forcing her to do something, you are not hurting her. You can’t let the bucking continue to become a spoiled habit. I think it definitely started for a good reason, but if all the kind/gentle tactics in the world doesn’t get her out of the habit, then you need to crack down hard on her little behind and make it hurt like a son of a biscuit when she does it.
I only go to discipline as the very LAST step. After you’ve taken careful inventory of any pain or medical issues, mental issues, etc. After you’ve changed the routine and done everything you can to sooth the mind and body. If the horse has learned that bucking gets the rider off, or gets you to quit, then she has to be trained that it is not acceptable.
But I think you might find that will never get to the point where you need to do any disciplining.
Do you now if maybe she was made sore by the new exercise? If so you could just get that worked out, and then get back in her good graces with maybe some groundwork and some zero-challenge (for her) trail rides?
