no whoa

[ElliesMom]

Hey there could use some advice from folks. My mare has no whoa when she gets it in her head that she really wants to go. She is overall a very good girl, but that rare occasion is what I worry about.

I have tried several things with her; a snaffle, a tom thumb, a kind of bosal/hackamore thing I got off ebay (circular, crosses over under her chin and applys pressure when pulling to stop)

are there exercises, a stonger bit....what can I do to make sure that when the occasion arrises and her buddy runs, I will be able to stop her. (her emergency brake works too of course) I also would like to see her be more respectful of the human on her back telling her whoa.

 

[Robin]

Hey there could use some advice from folks. My mare has no whoa when she gets it in her head that she really wants to go. She is overall a very good girl, but that rare occasion is what I worry about.

I have tried several things with her; a snaffle, a tom thumb, a kind of bosal/hackamore thing I got off ebay (circular, crosses over under her chin and applys pressure when pulling to stop)

are there exercises, a stonger bit....what can I do to make sure that when the occasion arrises and her buddy runs, I will be able to stop her. (her emergency brake works too of course) I also would like to see her be more respectful of the human on her back telling her whoa.

more info...is your mare only doing this when the buddy is running around hollering for her to come back in panic?

 

[ElliesMom]

She is very herd bound, and very strong (part of the issue). But when my pal on a barrel racer takes off she thinks it is her job to do so as well without being asked. I have been working on her seperation issues seperately.

When she is out by herslf she is fine (try to get her out once a week solo), but when her 'pal' leaves, or I decide I am turning off she gets cranky and decides she is not going to listen really well, mostly with the stoping.

They dont usually hollar to each other, but yes she gets upset when her buddy up and leaves.

I also have what my friend refers to as a grazing bit, the one with a hump or 'u' in it.

I dont let anyone without a good amount of upper body strength ride her because she knows they wont be able to stop her.

Last time I rode solo was at Myrtle grove in charles county and we rode by the gun range, thats also where I had a heck of a time keeping her 'sane'. I was pulling with all I was worth to keep her from running off at the sounds of gunshots, the lowest I got her was a very fast trot.

 

[Robin]

She is very herd bound, and very strong (part of the issue). But when my pal on a barrel racer takes off she thinks it is her job to do so as well without being asked. I have been working on her seperation issues seperately.

When she is out by herslf she is fine (try to get her out once a week solo), but when her 'pal' leaves, or I decide I am turning off she gets cranky and decides she is not going to listen really well, mostly with the stoping.

They dont usually hollar to each other, but yes she gets upset when her buddy up and leaves.

I also have what my friend refers to as a grazing bit, the one with a hump or 'u' in it.

I dont let anyone without a good amount of upper body strength ride her because she knows they wont be able to stop her.

Last time I rode solo was at Myrtle grove in charles county and we rode by the gun range, thats also where I had a heck of a time keeping her 'sane'. I was pulling with all I was worth to keep her from running off at the sounds of gunshots, the lowest I got her was a very fast trot.

how often do you work/ride her?

 

[Robin]

another question how old is your mare?

 

[ElliesMom]

I try to get out on her at least 2x a week. She is approximately 8, she is a PMU mare QH/belgian. Been undersaddle 3, ist year intermitten, 2nd year intermitten and this past year I have ridden pretty consistantly and made visible progress with her, trying to polish off the rest of her rough edges, and am nearly at my wits end on what to rider her in since she is so good 90% of the time! Its that last 10% thats making it less and less likely that my kids/ husband will ever ride her anywhere but in a ring or on a lunge line.

 

[Robin]

I try to get out on her at least 2x a week. She is approximately 8, she is a PMU mare QH/belgian. Been undersaddle 3, ist year intermitten, 2nd year intermitten and this past year I have ridden pretty consistantly and made visible progress with her, trying to polish off the rest of her rough edges, and am nearly at my wits end on what to rider her in since she is so good 90% of the time! Its that last 10% thats making it less and less likely that my kids/ husband will ever ride her anywhere but in a ring or on a lunge line.

Dont get upset, or discouraged. From what I read 2x a week for a yr that is actually 90 days of inconsistant training to a horse that its comfort zone is with her buddy 5 days a week, dont get upset just a observation.
I believe a different bit is not going to change her issues at this point. More time with her even if it is ride 2 days and lunge the other 3 would be better. When you lunge her are you saddling her up or just lungeing in a halter? I tack up the horse completely when I lunge, that way they dont know or cant predict their training session. Getting out on trail rides and participating in the local rides will also help you with your horse, just being around other quiet mounts on a trail ride will help both of your experiences with each other

 

[ElliesMom]

dont worry it will take more that that to upset me. She does not live with her buddy, we trailer to her friends to ride to them, she doesnt like leaving them though!

Thank you for encouraging me to continue to work with her as well, I am glad to hear at least one persons opinion that its not my bit option but our lack of mutual training!

I like to do all the group rides, we have been to plenty this year (now that I am mobile!)

I will definately start lunging her more again and saddle her as well (bridle too?) to keep her guessing.

She really is a very good girl most of the time, I'm not trying to make her sound crazy at all, but this part of her training has been difficult for both of us. I just want her as 'safe' as she can be.

Thank You Thank You and Thank You!!

 

[Robin]

dont worry it will take more that that to upset me. She does not live with her buddy, we trailer to her friends to ride to them, she doesnt like leaving them though!

Thank you for encouraging me to continue to work with her as well, I am glad to hear at least one persons opinion that its not my bit option but our lack of mutual training!

I like to do all the group rides, we have been to plenty this year (now that I am mobile!)

I will definately start lunging her more again and saddle her as well (bridle too?) to keep her guessing.

She really is a very good girl most of the time, I'm not trying to make her sound crazy at all, but this part of her training has been difficult for both of us. I just want her as 'safe' as she can be.

Thank You Thank You and Thank You!!

Dont Bridle her until you are ready to get on her. use her halter or a lunge cavesson. When you get more efficient with those tools and she has become more behaved and attentive you will notice her becoming more relaxed as you are more consistant with her training. If she has more and more good experiences the tension will subside, soon she will not pay too much attention to other horses around her. Just remember they are flight animals and with one running around it does distract her training. 2 days a week is not enough for a untrained horse to remember. They need more of a repetitive training session (3 days on 1 day off 3 days on) go over in a free time a schedule you can commit to and be consistant with it as long as weather permits. You will pat yourself on the back with your results. A snaffle bit is all you should have to ride your horse in if it is trained correctly

 

[Robin]

tom thumb should be fine for brakes. gives you leverage so does a full check snaffle if used properly you need a chain under the tom thumb. make sure after you attach it under the chin you have the 2 finger rule. to check pull back slightly on the reins and see if it makes contact under the chin. Make sure you are gentle while administering the pressure and remember the give and take rule. Half halts if you need to or pull one rein to your knee and put her into small circles. just pull the head right around to your toe. for emergencies only....

 

[SlowTwist]

For another emergency whoa alternative, see-saw your reins.

 

[natbugs]

if you put a noseband on her she will not be able to open her mouth and avaid the bit...then it will not matter how soft or strong the bit is , she will have to listen to it. make sure at first that the noseband is really ...goodluck

 

[Sadielady]

Hey there could use some advice from folks. My mare has no whoa when she gets it in her head that she really wants to go. She is overall a very good girl, but that rare occasion is what I worry about.

I have tried several things with her; a snaffle, a tom thumb, a kind of bosal/hackamore thing I got off ebay (circular, crosses over under her chin and applys pressure when pulling to stop)

are there exercises, a stonger bit....what can I do to make sure that when the occasion arrises and her buddy runs, I will be able to stop her. (her emergency brake works too of course) I also would like to see her be more respectful of the human on her back telling her whoa.

Is she related to Sadie? SOmetimes the only way I can stop her is to turn her in little tiny circles. It doesn't matter what bit I have in her mouth.

 

[IntegritysDream]

hahaha ur horse is fun!

 

[appendixqh]

Hi There! Robin gave you some great advice and asked some great questions.

She sounds pretty much, right on! Horses need a job. Sometimes we humanize them a little too much and forget that they really do need a consistant schedule of work to keep them happy and performing correctly. If you can bump up the amount of times that your horse is worked a week, it should help alot! I rode with a cutting horse trainer for a while and he taught me how to teach a horse whoa...you don't teach "stop" until you teach "circle". We would just walk, then tight circle around your leg...and don't forget to use your inside leg so they bend through their back when they circle Then trot straight then again into tight circle around your leg. Then canter, and out of the blue you go into a tight circle. Pretty soon, the horses looked to slow and rate themselves with slight pressure on one rein, knowing that a turn was imminent. So by the time we put pressure on both reins we had a horse mentally ready to stop. There are several ways to accomplish what you are looking for, this is just one that I really like with strong horses. Best of luck however you approach this problem...we have some good forum peeps, so hopefully they will weigh in with their suggestions as well!

 

[Sadielady]

Hi There! Robin gave you some great advice and asked some great questions.

She sounds pretty much, right on! Horses need a job. Sometimes we humanize them a little too much and forget that they really do need a consistant schedule of work to keep them happy and performing correctly. If you can bump up the amount of times that your horse is worked a week, it should help alot! I rode with a cutting horse trainer for a while and he taught me how to teach a horse whoa...you don't teach "stop" until you teach "circle". We would just walk, then tight circle around your leg...and don't forget to use your inside leg so they bend through their back when they circle Then trot straight then again into tight circle around your leg. Then canter, and out of the blue you go into a tight circle. Pretty soon, the horses looked to slow and rate themselves with slight pressure on one rein, knowing that a turn was imminent. So by the time we put pressure on both reins we had a horse mentally ready to stop. There are several ways to accomplish what you are looking for, this is just one that I really like with strong horses. Best of luck however you approach this problem...we have some good forum peeps, so hopefully they will weigh in with their suggestions as well!

Sadie circles great and slows and stops with them, but I guess she has not made the correlation after all this time. I am dizzy!

 

[K_Jo]

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[Sadielady]

Is he dizzy too, or does he have a horse that doesn't stop, or are you daydreaming? Just curious.

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