This message is from: pedfjo...@aol.com Interesting note Laura. Im sure that you will get alot of opinions on it, so take this and everything else with a grain of salt. I am worried that you are about to be hurt.
IMHO, yes you are causing her to be anxious. Horses are herd animals and forcing them to seperate from their herd ( even one buddy ) turns them into those " flight / fright " creatures that act out their anxiety by balking, jigging, bolting, bucking, running off and otherwise acting like jerks. She may have always been allowed to stay with her trail mates so that now being asked to go on ahead or wait behind with no reaction, is unrealistic. It is causing her anxiety so she is acting out, letting you know she is fearful, anxious, going to blow up. Im trying to figure out....what IS your goal ? Is it to be able to ride off and away from other horses with zero reaction ? Because, that would be VERY un-natural for alot of horses. Is it to try and enforce some sort of " Im the human and I would like you to listen to me " ? Im thinking that you both need to listen to each other. Break it all down into tiny steps. How does she do when you ride alongside each other ? Is she calm and happy ? Does she charge ahead and want to lead ? If you " hold her back " do you realize that everything in her wants to STAY with her herd, and that in real life, if a horse hung back from their herd they became hunted and eaten ? I would start by getting her attention and ask for teeeeny, tiny little baby steps. She needs to learn to TRUST you....and right now she is being taught NOT to trust you by making her do whats un-natural in a herd animal. Ask for a trot for a few steps while your trail partner walks. Only go a few steps. Then bring her back to a walk. How did she do ? If she tolerated it well, then REWARD HER by walking alongside for a bit and praising her. Ask your trail partner to trot a few steps away. Just a FEW. Like, 6-10. How did she react ? If she did not get excited or try to break into a trot, then REWARD her by BOTH trotting out TOGETHER. If she is viewing you like a crazy person who might put her life in danger from all of the lions and tigars and bears of life by forcing her to comply, then you have just pushed her too fast. Go slower. Even my most experienced trail horses do not like to be left behind or leave the group. Some go out fine by themselves, but put a buddy there and they become almost frantic if they think you are going to separate. In my Search and Rescue group, we stayed together. In a search we did it by grid, walking almost stirrup to stirrup. Once we split up the group to head back to trailers parked in separate areas, or if someone went off by themselves to ride after practice was over....they all seemed to fall apart. After awhile of riding together and REWARDING tiny steps away and asking for change of gaits for a FEW STEPS, they seemed to relax and TRUST us to not get as frantic. It took TIME and each person was totally in control of only one thing.....gaining the trust to ask for UN-NATURAL things to practice by continuing to reward and reward and reward the thing they really wanted.....to be with each other. Slow down, smell the flowers. Make your rides fun for HER and allow her to progress much slower. Good-Luck ! Lisa Important FjordHorse List Links: Subscription Management: http://tinyurl.com/5msa7e FH-L Archives: http://tinyurl.com/rcepw Classified Ads: http://tinyurl.com/5b5g2f
