Thanks
When you feel your horse getting ready to do this lift your hands up a couple of inches and keep them there (this will keep her head up) and at the same time kick her on so she has to think about something (going forward) besides turning back. When she complies bring your hands back down. Eventually she will give up this behavior, but you have to correct it before it happens.
Don’t let her get away with this bad behavior! 
Best of luck!
[QUOTE=Cherry;7925044]
When you feel your horse getting ready to do this lift your hands up a couple of inches and keep them there (this will keep her head up) and at the same time kick her on so she has to think about something (going forward) besides turning back. )
I do that , but most of time, this will give me several yards and suddenly she drops her head and want to gallop back. She is very responsive when we returning back like I am driving 10 speed cars. I control the gait speed verbally. Thank you for your help marry chrismas
In a phrase: barn sour.
Do not allow the behavior on the trail. The above advice is good. There are multiple strategies for dealing with this depending on how you generally ride. Find one that works for you and the horse. This may require some “trial and error.”
Don’t always return to the barn the same way, if at all possible. I understand that geography rules, here, but vary the route as best you can.
Don’t dismount at at the barn. Sometimes dismount a varying distance away (give yourself a 5-10 min. walk). When you get to the barn don’t quit; remount and do something else or put the horse on the longe or into the round pen or something that continues work. Sometimes ride past the barn and go somewhere else and do something else (into the arena for 10 min. of basics or on another trail loop or walk the fence or anything the breaks the idea of “barn means end of work”).
Review ALL the basic training you’ve done with the horse (or that you think the horse has had) in the round pen or on the longe. DEMAND that the horse pay attention to you at all times. If attention wanders make that a “learning experience” for the horse by increasing the intensity of work and then decrease same when attention returns to you.
The above is not a “choose A, B, or C” list but rather do A, B, and C in an appropriate sequence.
There are multiple exercises that can be done, here, to break the idea in the horse’s mind that “barn” equals “end of work.” Find those that work best for you.
Good luck in your program.
G.
I had a similar experience with a horse once. She would run backwards and try to scrape me off on trees. If I got after her, she reared. I fixed it on the ground - it was a Go Forward problem, with some disrespect thrown in as well. This mare was beautifully well mannered on the ground, but did have a few habits that kind of foretold this under saddle issue. She was a very lovey dovey, in your pocket kind of horse, but in reality, she was a little pushy and did not hesitate to get into your personal space. Not in a mean way, just kind of expected you to step back. her prior owner spoiled her and babied her.
So we did a LOT of ground work, focusing on her moving away from me, and yielding her forequarters and hindquarters and whole body, and paying attention. She was a little bit of a big, slow moving horse so I used a dressage whip to tap her when she did not respond. Once she was paying attention and moving alertly on the ground, I got on her with the dressage whip and just worked on forward a bit. I’d ask her to move with my legs, and tap her smartly with the whip until she went forward with energy. We ONLY worked on forward for a few days under saddle. We were doing about 30 minutes of ground work, and 10 - 15 under saddle. Once she was really solidly moving forward off my leg, we then worked on giving to the bit and tons of lateral work.
Within a week, we were back out on the trail in company, following another horse, with the dressage whip. I rarely let the reins go long and let her just amble along. We were constantly giving to the bit, moving her shoulders, speeding up, slowing down. Any hesitation on her part got a tap from the whip. She never ever went backwards or got bad with me. After a week, we’d let her lead a little bit here and there, and I was able to let her relax and just walk for short periods of time. But I would feel for her mouth or ask her to lengthen her stride here and there to make sure I still had the responsiveness. She ended up being a fabulous horse, not really beginner friendly, but fun for me and my friends.
I don’t like getting into fights with horses, and I am not a bronc rider, so I try to solve problems in a way that is humane, avoids conflict, and the horse learns. Good luck! If you have a good trainer in your area, you might want to get a few lessons.
So, is she throwing her head down and running backwards, or throwing her head down, thus trying to pull the reins out of your hands, then spinning and trying to take off for home?
She is obviously barn sour, so there are many posts already, far as how to deal with a barn sour horse, so won’t go into those.
Far as riding her through those attempts, you have to feel the moment just before she is going to stall out, and boot her forward.
You are not going to out pull a horse, by getting into a tug or war with her, thus the minute you feel her starting to loose forward momentum, and getting ready to drop her head, instead of trying to pull on her, fix you rein hands and boot her forward, or over and under her hard with a good set of harness reins
Do not back or rein back this horse.
Going backwards once learned, if you kick they go back faster and if you pull the reins they go back faster and they will keep going backwards until they back into something or fall into a hole.
It is dangerous. She must be kept forward and as someone above said work on her on the ground first. If you can keep her forward then you can ride her. If you cannot then there are a lot of good horses out there that you can ride that are not going to try and kill you. JMHO.
Thank you guys for your valuable replies. I start wondering if this behavior due to pain. The guy I bought her from is expert farrier. He assured she has no problem with her hind legs or back. I consulted few guys around my home country. But I not sure if the we’re honest. I weight around 180 lbs. I noticed when when u have my son 40 lbs rode behind me. She could not tort as she usually does. next day I noticed she twist her leg. thid twisting was at the lower part of her leg. You feel it might break at any moment. below is a you tube. she has been walking like the day I got her ( over 10 month) .
http://youtu.be/PNRLe7YAX4M
I am very
thankful for all your bekp
You really can’t see much in that video, but what do see is alarming for several reasons.
I would stop riding this horse, it has something serious going on in the hind end. Leg movement like she has there (flinging out to the side) is not normal at all.
She needs to be seen by a vet as soon as possible. It is a pain issue.
At 180 lbs you are already too big for this horse. She has a fine/small build. There is no way she can carry 220lbs and stay sound. It is cruel to the horse IMHO.
Dear cnight,
the problem is I can not trust anybody in my home country. The day I got her, I consulted several people who most of them received advance training by Western experts. they said she is normal. again, I am not sure if they were telling the truth. that why I am seeking advice from Western people. I went for school in US. They are great people.
I have only seen one horse move that way in almost 30 yrs. The horse was a mini that had foundered. The horse was over fed to the point of being crippled.
I think you already know something is wrong. Watch other horse video’s and really watch how the hind end works. It should move in a straight line with each hind leg reaching under the horse.
Your horses hind legs are flinging out to the side in a unnatural way. She could have pain from the spine and or hips and or stifles and or feet.
Pictures taken from the side and behind might help us tell you where she is hurting.
Dear cnigh,
The link below has several photos of her. I am sorry that I have uploaded many photos to ensure better diagnosis.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z8ofdss87...NMDEoNJ9a?dl=0
few points I would like to mention that might be relvant.
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She not small. I think she measures around 16 hands. ( 159 cm). She weighs around 1100 pounds.
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When I have two boys on her back ( weighing with the saddle around 100 pounds), she does not mind and quietly keep grazing.
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She is extremely active, I think she was used for racing. sometimes she even would like to race with traffic.
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My ride usually around 8 miles with average speed above 16 miles/hour ( mostly trot+ canter+gallop for a mile). As soon as I get off her back she starts grazing.
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Since I got her, She likes trotting and cantering, I have hard time make her walk. Just recently, I am managing to make her walk ( she is now 9 month pregnant).
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If a horse takes off she will take off instantly. even If I am in ground, and a horse takes off, I feel like her blood start boiling and she will making circles around me wana get loose.
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she is not relaxed when we go for a ride with several horses.( she wana go fast+ She wants to take the reins off my hands+ She is going left and right. I useally ends up ride way a head of them.
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“Even I d not trust this information” ( I was told that this mare was used to Play Polo.
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/z8ofdss87lsx5me/AAAeBsZrXHj3n_6NNMDEoNJ9a?dl=0
Not walking is due to the pain. It hurts her when you ride. Honestly I wouldn’t eve n put your children on her until the vet sees her.
Go with your gut. Do not make excuses for why you ride her. Running her for 8 miles is crazy. It isn’t surprising that her body is breaking down.
Drop box isn’t working. File is empty.
If you don’t want to believe me please get a vet out to see her.
Doesn’t matter if others are telling you she is fine. You can see she is not ok at all.
[QUOTE=cnigh;7962889]
Drop box isn’t working. File is empty.
If you don’t want to believe me please get a vet out to see her.
Doesn’t matter if others are telling you she is fine. You can see she is not ok at all.[/QUOTE]
It would be really nice if there was a close veterinarian that had training in lameness close to her. Other country’s vets often deal more with food animals just like rural area’s in the USA. Considering our USA vets just get 2 weeks of our horse leg and lameness exposure before graduating just having a veterinarian certificate doesn’t mean they are going to be able to help a lame horse. Good lameness veterinarians are few and far between.
The OP is doing as best as she can for her horse. She wants helpful suggestions not insults. I am impressed she is trying to find help with people who do not even speak her native language.
kdreger, you are right, our vets have experince in Goats, cows, sheeps, etc…
Anyhow, The drop box link should be working now.
If that mare weights 1100 pounds I’ll eat my hat. My 16.3 hh pudge only tapes at 1050
Based on horses I’ve weighed on an actual scale I’d estimate she weighs no more than 900# to 950#
She is too thin, she is tucked up and drawn in her hindquarters in an odd way. Her coat is rough and she is filthy. In addition, her hind legs turn out in a way that I have never seen before. Do not ride this horse unless you want to end up with a completely crippled animal and you possibly badly injured.
nourah - How long have you owned this mare? Has she always acted the same way? Your pictures show white scarring over her withers, which is often a result of deep sores due to a saddle that doesn’t fit. If you can, please post a picture of her wearing your current saddle without a pad, but with a girth tightened as normal. (No rider… just horse and saddle.) It helps if you can take the photo directly from the side so it’s easy to see if the shape of the saddle seems to be correct for the shape of the horse. A saddle that hurts is a reason horses become unhappy/painful and try to get out of being ridden.
The degree to which her toes turn out can contribute to “unusual” movement, but I also suspect her hocks are sore (the left more than the right) which is causing her to try to avoid bending them normally. Does she allow you to easily pick up her hind legs to clean her feet?
If you can take another video, please show her trotting from the side. It would help tremendously if you could have a bigger helper who can easily control her speed, or just trotting on her own in a field or paddock or pen.
I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be rude. I’m a blunt person.
That said please stop riding this horse. You say the horse was ok until you rode double. Too much weight can cause a lot of different problems.
I would start by checking her all over, look for any swelling or heat.
I would also try giving her pain medication for 2-3 days. Watch her movement during that time. See if it improves at all.
