loan

[caz]

[b]Does anyone have any tips on training stressy yougsters? My mare is a 16.1hh chestnut tb x wb.She gets very agitated if she is not near her friends when being lunged. If anyone tries to ride her away from them she wont move then she rears and bucks. i dont want her to become dependant upon her 2 other friends. PLEASE HELP as i am getting more and more stressed about it even though i dont show it towards the mare!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!b]

[Jo Sayer]

[FONT=Courier][SIZE=7][COLOR=purple]
Hi there!

[Jo Sayer]

[FONT=Courier][SIZE=7][COLOR=purple]Hi there!
Is your mare turned out with these other horses? If so, is there any way you could separate them, even if its just for a couple of hours in the day? Perhaps if you could bring her in 2-3hrs before you do any work with her, maybe give her a feed and some general fuss (she may scream the place down!) then perhaps start off doing small amounts of exercise with her (maybe leading her out down the lane and back) then build it up as time goes by. She may start to learn that after her workout she does get reunited with her pals and even gets a feed out of it, so it's not all that bad after all!
Of course this depends how much time you have, especially as the light hours are shrinking. Don't give in on her, it sounds like at the mo she's being a typical mare (don't worry i have one too!) and knows if she puts on a strike then she'll be able to see her buddies again. Be as firm as you can and don't finish the exercise you are doing until you finish on a good note (I.e. you have asked her to finish working; not she has told you she has finished!).
Also, try to vary the work you do with her, never do the same thing on consecutive days, lots of different exercises will keep her brain ticking. Do you have any other stables or people with horses (other than the ones who own the horse your mare lives with) nearby who you could hack to and meet up with?
Anyway, see if any of this helps. Let me know how you get on, good luck!
Jo x :D

[caz]

Thanks for the tips! When we do lunge we always finish on a good note because she has to learn that she cant get away with everything like her last owner let her do because she was scared of her.(we have the mare on perminant loan) We cant separate her because she goes mad and last time she was separated from them she ripped open her chest!£2,500 vet bill-thank god she had insurance!!!!!!!! If we try and lead her away from them she rears and turns her bum towards you and cow-kicks! She is such a typical chestnut mare its unbelievable. Next year i was planning on taking her to some small local shows but i dont think that she will be ready. She is worth LOADS coz she is out of a John Whittaker mare and David Broom stallion-its a shame one of them didnt break and train her! I wont give up on her because she has so much potential. thanks for the tips-i am going to try bringing her in,feeding her,giving her fuss and all that then turning her back out with them!