My horse wont turn left!?

Question

when in the saddle my horse wont turn left...and when u pull on the left rein, she freaks out....she has a history of being ridden only in an arena(what a sin!)...any ideas on how to teach her to turn left?

Answer 1

Put some sweet oats on the left. You might need a second hand to hold the oats while you ride

Answer 2

The training methods that bothed work on my mare and my gelding (who I breed my mare for):

I allowed my horses to run freely to get that extra energy out of their system prior to settling down for training time.

I first stretched the neck, back and legs by moving her head slightly side to side, holding about 5 seconds each time. Same with legs and all.

I used no feed as props due to a bad habit to get the horse into. Rewarding your horse with a pat on the neck and rub down on the face is good enough for this situation at the moment.

Then I would have my horse tacked up. The left rein is through the stirrup tied to the saddle horn. I would take the right rein, loop it through the stirrup and tie it to the tail in a knot. So, the neck is slightly bent to the right.

It works best with long reins. Then I would take a prop (depends on horse personality, a small lunge wip or a lead rope) and ask the horse with clucking and ask to turn. The horse should be bent enough to only turn right, not forward.

This will help the horse move it's hind quarters along with the reins. Your horse might fight it abit but once you encourage her to keep moving, she will eventually settle down. Something new will always be a little scary and rough at times for the horse.

I repeat it on the other side. Make sure the reins are able to have the claps to the bite incase you needed to undue the reins asap. It has worked great with mine.

Safety is always first key!

When on my horse. I would slightly and patiently move my horse's head side to side asking lightly with each hand.

She also might of been rough handled or never rode on the left side. pratice more on the left side and don't fight her at the bite. Fighting will only lead to more freaking out and upsetness.

Answer 3

Before you do anything, get her teeth checked. There's a good chance she is hurting. Eliminate all possible causes of discomfort to the horse before you even put a bridle and saddle on her. Teeth, sore back/neck/shoulders, wrong type of bit or badly fitted bit, check your saddle fits. Once this is done and if you find there are no problems there, start working her on the ground. You can either do this on the lunge - using side reins or a chambon, or I would start by leading her - try to gently flex and bend her each way. See what reaction you get from her when you do this - reward her verbally when she does the right thing, but remember she may associate pain or discomfort flexing/turning left, so take it slowly to build her confidence back up - use lots of verbal praise and relax you and her when you get a positive response - even a little one!! good luck

Answer 4

If she has stifness on this side you should work her on some streches to that side.
I do them from the ground and mounted.
I take a treat and hold it down by my toe and have the horse turn his head to his side to get the treat.
It supples the neck and keeps the muscles loose. I do this before I ride each time and strech both directions several times.
I would also put her in a corner where she has no other direction to go but left and give her the cue for left and forward and she what she does. This will teach her the due if she does not know it and force her to go somewhere.
I have an ex-racer and he goes left great but not as well to the right. They always race to the left.

Answer 5

Next time you're out, start with your horse unsaddled and see if she'll turn left (with you on the ground). If she will, then saddle her, stay on the ground and see if she'll turn left. If she will, then the problem is you being in the saddle. You need to be a detective here. Start with the task as easy as possible and add in additional difficulties as you go along. She'll let you know which one is the problem.

Finally, if your horse freaks out when you're riding, consider getting off for a bit and working with her on the ground. And, don't worry, that isn't "letting the horse win." Plus, do you really want to be on 1000 pounds of animal that's freaking out?

Good luck and stay safe!

~DancesWithHorses~

Answer 6

You shouldn't "pull" on any rein. You should solicit your horse's attention by gently coaxing her - squeeze your rein like a sponge and release and repeat until she yields flexion in her neck. Do this gently and use your legs firmly to aid the response which will act as comforting guides telling her where she needs to go. Don't forget your voice and rewards!

You need to be able to put her in a place where she can turn both directions without force use of the bit. I firmly believe that the legs and seat are the two principal points of communication. She is a mare, so you need to ask, not order. I suggest you don't use spurs or crop unless you are irrevocably certain she is taking you for a ride!

Answer 7

what you have to do is lunge her to the left at a walk and a trot at first and come up with a sound or a word that so she can recognize after training her to turn left. After getting her to lunge left get one her after a hard lunge workout she will be very tired and not able to freak out have her do left circles give her treats if she gets it right if she continues to freak out try turning her left after lunging on the ground but when she is being lunged you need to tie back the left rein if she still freaks out get a denist to look at her teeth my horse used to freak out when you would touch the right rein and it ended up being because of her bit it was hitting her mouth on that side wrong so maybe try that too if you need anyother help email me [e-mail] I grew up on a farm so Iknow a lot about horses

Answer 8

If this only happens in the saddle not while she's being lead have a trainer evaluate your saddle fit and your posture. My friend rode crooked because of a pin in her hip and realized that her horses quit turning left because of it. Otherwise consider her vision or back or neck problems. You could try a halter with her bridle and she if she follows the leadrope to the left. That would suggest a mouth problem. Good luck

Answer 9

I work at a rescue and have backed a horse who had the same trouble. You need to sit on your horse, and have a handfull of feed. Then hang your left arm over her neck and encourage her to turn this way with her neck. Do this a few times. It will loosen her neck up. Do it daily if you can.

Then do it again but slowly move your hand backwards encouraging her to turn left and take a few steps in this direction. Then give her the feed. Don't tease her otherwise she will get fed up.

She may have been beaten on this side, but I'm sure she will probably turn left in the field!

Answer 10

She could have a back or neck problem.

Have an equine chiropractor come out.

I would look into the medical side of things before assuming that it is just bad training.

If their is nothing wrong with her medically, try having a person on the ground when you are riding her. The person can turn your horse left. With a person on the ground, your horse will less likely be scared.

Good luck.

Answer 11

try lunging w/surcingle and side reins (either fixed or pulley type)
to right first to get her used to it if she's not. also, long reins and surcingle might make a difference. use lots and lots of leg and little hand. see how she goes of both leads, and if she favors one side or the other as this could also be caused by nerve, muscle, or neurological problems. lean and or push from the ground to see if she will at least crab-walk to the left. any time at all that she goes left, give her tons of praise, treats, pats, to let her know that she did good. start slow, with just her head turning to left, and with lots of work and patience, the rest of her body will eventually follow. good luck.