HELP ME!! Whenever I mount my 22 year old mare she just stands there. She will back up and bend her neck but will not move forward or turn. My farrier suggested the chiropractor adjusting her so we did that. The vet even x-rayed her and said nothing was wrong. Does anyone know what to do? I’m running outta time. I have 3 weeks til my first rodeo for the season… HELPP!!
You posted in the wrong section of forums this is for hay selling… @Moderator 1 can you move this thread.?
@illinois.equine We moved your thread here to the Western forum, since you mentioned an upcoming rodeo. If the problem seems to be more health-related vs. training-related, we’ll be happy to move the thread over to Horse Care for you.
Thanks and welcome!
Mod 1
Are you barrel racing?
If so, maybe your horse is arena sour, doesn’t want to run any more?
Good that you addressed any possible health problems first.
Could you have someone lead her off a bit for you, see if that helps untrack her?
Hard to say what is going on without seeing it.
I assume you checked saddle fit?
does she move with saddle on but no rider? Post pics of horse, saddle and rider
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What exactly did the vet xray?
Did your vet do anything else? (lameness examination, flexions, etc)
More information would be helpful. I’m assuming you are eventually able to get her to move, or else there would be no way you’d have your horse in any sort of shape to rodeo on in 3 weeks.
What event(s) do you do with her?
My gelding was doing this. I took him back to the trainer that started him. No more problems! He totally had my number.
That’s not to say that it couldn’t be a health issue, I would definitely rule that out first, but it wasn’t in my case.
I second this
I had a mare that did this for years. She spent her first part of her life as a harness horse and then a broodmare and then a pasture pet. When I decided to break her to saddle, she said, “NOPE” and figured out she could just ignore everything by planting her feet. Multiple trainers came out and determined she was just “too old” to be trained to saddle, so I accepted she’d be a glorified lawn mower. We ruled out pain, teeth and saddle fit, experimented with massage and chiro, looked at her diet, everything. She just didn’t want to be a riding horse.
Last year, I decided to give it one more shot and brought her into the round pen. For the first time, she cooperated while free lunging so I decided to get a trainer out. Trainer worked with her and within 2 rides, she was on the trail and working like she’d been doing it for years. For whatever reason, she decided she was ready to have another job and since then, she’s been a different horse. It’s amazing.
Maybe your guy is just arena sour and needs a change of pace or a break. Has he been on the trails lately? Can you afford to bump back your first rodeo appearance to give him some time to regroup? Forcing him will only make the issue worse in the long run.
