Hey guys!

Last time I posted a thread everyone was amazing and helpful! And here I come again with more problems. I have a mare, she is quarter horse arabian (Lucky me!). She is 6 years old, and 14.2 hands. My first problem is the bit. She has had her teeth checked and nothing was wrong, bit she keeps bitting the bit. I'm using a slow twist D ring snaffle. She's also hard to turn, especially at more than a walk. Other than that, she's okay for turning. Sometimes, she'll also be a pain in the You-know-what to stop. When I first got her I used a curb bit, which I have always used on my horses. She did NOT like that at all, it was Chew-chew-chew for her like there was no tomorrow. With the snaffle she only chews when I ride her. It's extremely annoying. I am going to try a happy mouth full cheek on her tomorrow, does that sound like a good idea?

Next problem. My horse can NOT keep her pace. I try and keep her in a trot in the ring, and she always stops on the turns. She's fine when I lunge her, she keeps her trot well, but when I ride her, her trot is all over the place, not to mention messy. When I ride her on the road she keeps her paces just fine, stopping when I ask her to and everything. Could this have something to do with the enclosure? Any help is appreciated.

Thanks again guys

First your title made me laugh-they all have more than 1 problem some just hide them better than others.


She should not have bit in otherwise, so I'm assuming that you mean when mounted -you in saddle she chews, but if you are just standing with her [you on ground] tacked up with bridle on she doesn't.
Having the teeth check was great-but just as important is bit sizing.

I got called out on this last year-but I still absolutely believe-It's always RIDER error.

Your HORSE can stay in trot, she has proved that, she does fine when your not mounted.
Or when you ride a straight line=down the road.

The problems both with forward and slowing down, from what you have discribed occur when a rider is added to the equation.
Horses have nature balance, they then need to relearn balance when we ride, we as riders need to be the best that we can to help them establish and maintain this new balance.
When a rider falls forward/backwards/sideways... the horse needs to reshift in order to keep Us on top and them from falling down.

Or if your going down the long side using the reins for some balance, most likely to try and turn a corner a much to agressive rein aid is applied, and although you are veiwing it as incorrect, the horse is actually doing what the excessive rein aid said-Stop

You seem to be Ok @ walk, this makes sense as that is the easiest gait to maintain a steady balance in.

It would be interesting if your horse did this with every rider both good and bad.

Try this-just for fun.
Find/borrow a yoga/exercise ball a sit on it like you would if mounted-without touching the floor w/ your feet how long can you maintain your balance.

The problem with the bit sounds like your mare in nervous chewing, not that she dosn't like the bit. When horses are started too fast or perhaps are missing some of the basic steps in the training process they get nervous when ridden because they have come to expect discomfort. This is backed up the fact that she has a hard mouth. Because she is expecting discomfort, she has learned to ignore pressure on the bit completely. To fix this, go back to a very mild bit and sensitize her to pressure. Starting at a stop, gently pull her head to the right holding consistent pressure until she gives her face, then release. Repeat to the left. Keep practicing this until she understands that if she turns her head to slight pressure, it goes away. Then repeat the same process putting pressure onboth reins until she gives her face in the direction of her chest. Once she has these at a stop, do it at a walk, trot, ect.

Dont expect overnight results. Bad habits take longer to overcome than creating new good habits.

This really sounds to me as CircleK said, like training issues. She really sounds like she doesn't know alot of the basics, you say hard mouthed, has problems stopping, turning, not walking, trotting etc straight, stopping unexpectedly. Bit chewing could be from stress, agitation (anticipating a frustrating ride, or not getting what it is you want from her), or anxiety.

Always rule out pain issues FIRST. Poor fitting saddle, bridle, too big a bit can cause plenty of cue misinterpretation. Good you had teeth checked.

But ask LTC said, rider issues could also be a problem. Get a trusted horse-savvy person to work with and ride her -see if she does all of the same things.
And/or get a professional out to see you ride personally.


If everything else rules out, as far as her training try what CircleK suggested. Always keep very small goals in mind and remember horses cannot process things in their heads as quickly as us humans can, so it is natural for us to expect more and faster. So keep it in baby steps and the second she responds correctly to any cue, stop the pressure and praise. And let her process it in her brain for at least 5 seconds (I wait between 5-10 seconds) to let it really sink in. You may notice her drop, or dip her head, sigh, or lick and chew with her mouth. These are signs of submission, and the licking/chewing is the same as if a lightbulb went off in her head. It's a "Hey! I think I'm figuring this out!"

Well there's my two cents Good luck!

Yoga clothing, Yoga clothes

Biiofit provides high performance Bamboo clothing Yoga clothing, Bamboo clothes and yoga clothes. We provide the best quality in Bamboo clothing and Yoga clothing.

Lovemylucky
You have brought up issues I think all of us have experenced or are experencing at one time or another. The horse stopping can also be you have stopped riding inadvertantly giving the horse that instruction. Another thing if I have it right you have not owned the horse from new in that I mean being the first owner.

My experence of a horse that has had a few owners is the new owner has to learn what the horse already knows and untill that is achieved confusion is the norm

The replys that have been generated has gone a long way I suspect in explaining or offering training tips that we now don't have to ask for ourselves. So from me thanks.

Amen to that! LOL