Wannabe Mule - HELP

[NoSuchPerson]

Stop insulting mules.

Mules are lovely animals and, while it’s true that they typically don’t enjoy drilling things they already know well, they don’t “hate” arena work. Because the majority of mule owners use their mules just for trail riding, most mules don’t spend much/any time in arenas, but those that are trained in arenas work perfectly well there.

You say:

She is constantly sluggish and has zero will to work or please. In the arena, it is difficult for her to have a consistent, rhythmic trot, and it is very difficult to push her into the canter, and when you do it is quite unbalanced and she is constantly trying to break back into the trot

and

She’s sluggish in all arenas, except grass ones that make her “feel” like she’s outside.

I don’t think those behaviors indicate that your horse hates arena work. Rather, they indicate that there is something about arena work, especially in sand/dirt arenas, that is making her uncomfortable. Lack of soundness, lack of fitness…something (or some things).

Will your horse trot and canter well in smaller, arena-size circles out in an open grass field? Is the horse better working in large arenas, as opposed to a dressage arena? If the answers are no the the first question and yes to the second, than you’ve almost certainly got some kind of specific soundness, fitness, and/or training issue and not some general “I hate arenas” problem.

If you’re absolutely certain that there are no soundness issues, then I would stay out of arenas for a while and work on trails and in large open areas. Focus on building fitness, increasing responsiveness to the leg, and maintaining pace. Then work on bending and making balanced circles using natural obstacles, like circles around big trees or circles around jumps out in the field, all while maintaining pace.

The trainer that started my mule under saddle and did some remedial work with my current horse after I bought him was a big fan of riding square circles out in a big open grass field as a training tool.

Then, gradually add arena work. Very short doses to start with and building up over time.

[4horses]

If she rides well on grass but struggles in dirt, i would suspect a soundness issue. Deep sand is hard work to run through and if she is refusing to go forward then i suspect it is more than just being lazy.

One of my mares was horribly obese and very lazy when I first got her. Lots of long hacks covering many miles has really helped her fitness. I would start with that and skip the arena work for now.

The canter issue you describe is concerning and may be a red flag that you have a lameness issue. Some horses are lazy and prefer to break to slower gaits. My mare will break if you don’t drive her forward. Perhaps adding some jumps in the arena if she finds that interesting will improve her attitude. That said, some horses just don’t really enjoy arena work and you can’t force them to like something they hate.

[kcmel]

If she is sound I agree about adding some small jumps, cavaletti, and ground poles to her ring work. That might perk her up! And if possible send her to your trainer’s for a month. It might be the best money you ever spend!

(Also, agree, your position is fine!)

[Ruth0552]

1. Your position is fine.

2. I’d definitely try adding some poles or cavaletti to see if that perks her up.

3. Does she wear shoes? Horses that are foot sore in the sole of the foot tend to go better on solid surfaces like dirt or grass than in arenas where the footing pushes up into the hoof and makes contact with the sole.

[merrygoround]

OP you have a PM.

[Foxglove]

Let’s say that your mule or horse checks out fine. Saddle fit is good. Footing is not the issue --clearly could be all of those, but your question was more of a training issue in my opinion. What I would do is make the arena the place the horse wants to be. Work horse/mule outside, get a good sweat going —doing whatever —lunging, jumping, dressage, riding fences briskly, etc --but make it work for the horse. Then go into the area. Allow horse to rest, chill. Go outside. Do some more work. Go inside. Chill. After a day or two of that routine, repeating work --rest in arena --allow horse to walk quietly around arena. Any sign of stubbornness or misbehavior and back outside to work. I don’t mean rough, angry work --just keep her feet moving at a trot or canter outside. Only inside is she allowed to rest/walk. In about a week (maybe less because she sounds pretty smart) horse will begin to seek the arena as a good place --she will WANT to go in there. It’s so much better than being outside and working. Gradually build up to doing more in the arena. But always keep the outside as a place to go for stubbornness. Make the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard.

[colorfan]

OP what a cute horse you have, it sounds like you have a sympathetic connection to your mare.

Correct me if I have details incorrect, she is better on the grass arena which mimics being outside the arena, she is better in a larger arena. …some horses aren’t as naturally balanced or confident as others, could it be she is 'simply uncomfortable/lacking confidence in the arena?
I had a 15h mare that positively knew the arena was too small for her to canter a circle in…she kept breaking to a trot, could not bend thaaaat much. lol She was much more forward outside in a field, I felt she just felt confined in the arena. Much trot work and suppling and eventually she would canter a circle.

How does she behave if you lunge her in the arena?

In my opinion arena work is much harder than field work. Most people don’t do much bending out on the trail/field In an arena corners come up quickly(which require bending-if bending is correct it is harder work than turning in a field) and riders tend to work on circles or shoulder fore, etc, which is all harder work than even small jumps in the field.

Merrygoround may be blunt but she often has a good point. Some horses are very sensitive to rider position and when we change venue, field to arena, sometimes we riders change more than we are aware. It could be if a rider became more aware of her position in the arena she may become more tight/tense which the horse would feel. Many horses don’t relax and go forward if the rider is tense.
I just noticed you also say you have been riding her off and on and never demanded hard work, so yes, she could simply be lacking conditioning/suppleness and arena work is harder…and she may be objecting to having to work… harder.
Just thinking out loud here

[Willesdon]

Diet? Obviously, feed will affect energy levels and it a skill to feed a horse well for the job it is doing.

[Ajierene]

My two cents:

You say she is worse in smaller arenas, but grass is better. Do you do dressage work in the grass? If she never has to do circles or bending outside of the arena and is not used to work, then the arena is very likely considered work.

Horses can very definitely have a behavioral reaction to footing - my mare is a bit wild in dressage warm up at shows where the warm up area is grass because GRASS IS FOR RUNNING AND FUN! I never do dressage on grass with her at home. But, at an event, once we get into footing in an arena, she’s fine…except one venue where dressage is also on grass and she tends to be a bit wild there, but she’s getting better.

The reaction to the crop tells me she’s gotten away with that before. You need to either ride it out or find another way. While I got my mare used to a jump crop when I was starting her, I never got her used to a dressage whip and only brought it out when she was being sluggish. I also tend to be disorganized with a dressage whip so I switched to spurs. Same effect - but you said you do not feel you are ready for spurs, which is fine.

Given that you do not want to use spurs and given the horse’s behavior, I would say it is combination of ring work being seen as work, whereas outside the ring is fun and lack of balance. I would start with doing flat work in short spurts outside the arena - working on bending. Also, find a way to go into an out of the arena, if you can. Work on flat work outside, then get a good trot and just trot one lap around the arena and back out. When you are done for the day, cool out in the arena.

Also, pay attention to how much you work the horse - at this stage, 15 minutes should be more than enough. You don’t want a green horse to get tired all the time or they will not like work - this may have started in the arena. With inconsistent riding, she may have had a month of really tiring work then put away and really tiring work and put away so that she feels going back in the arena just isn’t fun.

[bip]

@merrygoround

OP you have a PM.

I hope you are not harassing the OP in PMs

[merrygoround]

@bip

I hope you are not harassing the OP in PMs

:lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol::lol:

[chincoteagueeventing]

@Tyrus' Mom

Mine is a somewhat lazy mover too. I have done the rest stop thing with him (and for me, it gets too hot out sometimes, so I need it more than him). Also, I reward with little animal cookies when he’s good, and I make sure he’s good a lot, so he gets rewarded with those little cookies I carry in a saddlebag every so often, but more cookies and praise when something is actually accomplished. (They are cheap and plentiful to come by.) He loves them. I like to think they help him deal with ring work more positively since he is highly food motivated.

Mine hates the crop, so he will step on the gas a bit and occasionally let out a buck in protestation, but nothing difficult to sit. He deals. With mine, it’s his build, he’s half-draft. It’s physically harder for him to hold a canter for very long. So I try to limit my asks and amount of time he spends cantering. Currently, we are working more on transitions anyway.

He gets out of breath after a good gallop too. The galloping is mostly with other horses on the trail though. I let him set his own pace on the trail. There is no way he can keep up with Arabs cantering/galloping with their stamina. He often has to break to a trot to keep up and still be able to breathe… and then I ask my friends to hold up. I try to take into account his physical limitations. I also am trying to build up his endurance too, and I think I have to a certain extent with the trail work.

One more thing that might help. My horse works better and concentrates more when I play music on my phone. Boredom can create frustration and unwillingness too. I try to change up things we work on in the ring quite often, gaits, direction, etc.

He had to work on balance when I first got him a little over a year ago, he hadn’t been used as a riding horse much and he wasn’t used to cantering at all, it scared him, he wasn’t sure of himself. So I lunged him and made him do a lot of trot canter trot transitions until he got used to where his feet were during cantering. He’s more willing to canter now that he’s confident with cantering.

Thanks for the info! It sounds like your guy and my little mare are similar in a few ways.

[chincoteagueeventing]

Thank you all for the information! It helps very much, getting lots of different ideas and viewing the situation from different angles. Next time my vet comes out, I am going to be having her do cardio testing and checking for lameness. If all comes back positive, along with me re-fitting her saddle, I will probably reserve at least the next few months for just doing outside work. Thankfully, my neighbor has some very big and somewhat flat fields that are great for doing work outside, and she also has an arena that I can use as the “resting and fun” area. Would it be a good idea to intermittently take off her tack inside the arena and work on more fun stuff like free jumping/liberty/etc., so that she associates the arena with fun stuff instead?

Also, if I post a video of her w/t/c without tack, would some of you be able to spot any lameness issues? What is the easiest way going about posting videos on here?