Horse is being a straight up *****, help!?

There is really no other way to say it. She is an OTTB rescue so she has her quirks, but she just fights and fights and it is frustrating. She would not even trot down a longside today. When trying to get the trot she throws her nose in the air, hollows her back, pins her ears, shuffles her back feet around, twists her neck from side to side, and will try to go sideways instead of forward. This all happened in our ride today and I urged her on when she tried to go sideways and she reared and threw me off. I'm stuck, has anyone else had a horse that does this or have any kind of suggestion? Please note that the owner and I are fairly certain this is not a medical problem. She has seen the chiropractor, her feet and teeth are fine, etc. This is a behavioral problem

2013-08-04T17:07:49Z

Thanks for the answers so far. To address some of the things I saw- I do not own her, she is my lease. Her owner groundworks her. Her saddle has been properly fitted, and trust me her owner has done plenty of searching. She has been off the track for four years.
A rider that was out there when this fiasco happened said that since she is a racehorse she has a lot of the neck muscles that she can use to resist me and not a lot of the other muscles that other dressage horses have to use their hind end and stretch long and low. She suggested lunging, and I will start lunging her in side reins to help build those muscles, but she lunges perfectly fine. Her owner experiences some of the same issues with her, not all the time but she does (and I have not been leasing her very long). So I am looking for some exercises to do under saddle?

Amazing Grace2013-08-04T15:17:45Z

Favorite Answer

You have a serious issue here and you deserve a well thought out detailed serious answer.
Unfortunately it is not possible in this space.
But, Clinton Anderson did a very good detailed series on retraining the OT TB.

Start by getting this horse on hay and off grain as much as possible.
He / She needs to be in a paddock or pasture not cooped up in a stall.
Get the DVD and watch it a hundred times, or download it.
I think you can find this at
http://myhorse.com/blogs/horse-trainers/clinton-anderson/if-you-have-a-horse-and-you-like-watching-tv-youll-love-this/

31

Mandi2013-08-04T15:56:40Z

How long have you had her? Considering she's off the track she may have a fear of being urged faster or going along a fence line or something like it. You have to consider that most of the race horses get their senses whipped out of them to try to get them to go faster while on the track. She may be scared that as soon as she gets up there, she won't meet your expectations. Do you work on the ground with her? Groundwork can help with this kind of stuff a lot of the time because she may not want to do it because she doesn't trust you. By establishing a good relationship on the ground, she might trust you more and trust your guidance to do certain things. If you urge too hard, you might just scare her or make her more angry. If you try the same thing over and over, it's likely hat you'll get the same result you've gotten over and over and you won't make things better. Try a new approach :)

21

Rebekah Brielle2013-08-04T15:19:23Z

Oh dear! That doesn't sound like fun at all. My horse can be like that too. I urge her on and she goes sideways or backs up. It's very annoying.
I get my horse going in circles when she acts like this. "Spin her" as a good friend of mine would say. Just get her going round and round until she is sick of it. Then urge her on and see how she responds. The main thing is not to let her win. If she throws you off, get right back on and show her who is boss. If you have a round pen, you might want to get her in there first.
That's about all I can suggest. All the best!

31

Lilian2013-08-04T15:24:43Z

You did not say how long you have owned her?? If y ou have had her for some time and in the past she has worked well and you got along with her then you could have over done her so she hates to work. or you have a little bit at a time let her cheat on you and now she has resorted to rearing, which by the way can get you dead.

02

burdfour2013-08-04T16:48:58Z

You don't mention a saddle fitter, or if she has been vetted for mare issues, her overies might be be hurting her.

Has she ever performed correctly? How long has she been off of the track?

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