It's Way More Than ... Solving Mare-day problems

Brenda Robson Author

Mare-days, when she is difficult and you are frustrated. Don't resort to supplementation or lunging. Instead, teach this.

It’s Way More Than ...

Oh ... those mare-days! I get it! When your horse is high energy, running and difficult to manage on the lead, calling out to herd mates, bucking and kicking out, it is very hard to think that you can have a positive riding experience on that day. Many times I’ve heard mares described as dangerous and crazy on those “mare days.”

In social posts, owners often ask what supplement they can add to the diet to manage these emotional outbursts. I just don’t think that is the way to go.

Start by accepting the fact that this exuberant behavior is just what horses do. So many ideas are flashing through the horse’s mind. Turning it loose in an arena before riding will help use up some of this energy and redirect it into something useful.

The first activity to get things on the right track is to help the horse move its feet by calmly pushing it around the space. Move it every time it stops and faces the exit or stands still listening for the herd.

As you improve in your timing and positioning, the horse will begin to figure out that it can choose a “better” place to stop and rest. That place is either beside or facing you. It may only be a few seconds at first, but by repeating this process, the horse soon chooses you as the quiet, calm center of its universe and stops calling the herd and running to the arena door.

After observing the horse expend its pent-up energy, plan to improve your haltering routine. This process is way more than haltering. Just about every horse owner can put a halter on their horse if it is in the stall or aisle. But can you convey to the horse the idea of it putting the halter on itself, with very little help from you?

The whole point in this strategy is to get your mare thinking and calmly cooperating with you.

Here’s the simple step-by-step process that has worked with every horse I’ve had in my stable and with clients’ horses.

Move the horse around the arena until it begins offering to stick beside you.
Once still, stroke the neck. If the horse leaves – let it go. It will come back, so don’t follow it.
Repeat. Then, once it is still and beside you again, start to halter by passing the crown strap over the neck from the off-side. Again, if the horse leaves, let it go.
Repeat. When the horse allows the crown strap over the neck, offer the nose part of the halter.
You will know your horse is understanding and cooperating when there is an effort to get its nose into the halter. You can help a little, of course, but the object is to have the horse do more than you to get the end result.
Then, if the nose is in the halter, go ahead and buckle the strap.

Most importantly, don’t hold onto the horse at this point; let the horse go. Don’t start attaching the lead and taking it somewhere. If it leaves ... let it go. Repeat.

In less than one hour, most horses are very content to self-halter and go with you to get the lead. At this point, clip the lead and take the horse to your next step of getting ready to ride.

You do not want to get on a horse that is in a resistant, high-energy and uncooperative state of mind. So, I encourage you to put this process into place before your ride. It will definitely build trust and connection, which is exactly what you will be looking for once you are in the saddle.

Categories: : Essential Skills