Horse with a bad mouth and atittude?

Question

My horse, Molly, is very sweet when no one is riding her but once you put a saddle on her, she acts like an idiot. Shs pulls on the reigns, chomps at the bit, pins her ears back when I ask her to go to a trot. Currently she is using a curb bit with a medium port. Would changing the bit make her respond better? How do I get her to enjoy work better? She is really sweet in teh field, but when it is time to work she won't listen to anything I say or do. HELP!!!!!!

She used to be a barrel racer

Answer 1

Has a vet checked her teeth?? Perhaps the bit is bumping a bad tooth or something like that. Has she ever been riden in a snaffle or Hackamore?

Curbs are extreme and should be limited to shows and training for shows, otherwise you should ride in a gentler bit.

If its not a tooth problem - have a professional or more experienced person look at her. Go back to lunging her... see what happens.

Answer 2

It seems like the first thing everyone wants to do it change the bit. Have you thought that maybe she is spoiled and needs to be worked thru the "temper tantrum" she is having. Have you ever heard the expression " a tired horse is the easiest to get along with"? Since you say she is happy in the pasture, but not under saddle, step back and look at the big picture. She is happy when she is not working and has figured out how to get you to leave her alone by being a brat. And you could change her bit 100 times and it will not help this attitude. Put her in a round pen and make her work. Do specific exercises, not just let her blow off steam. And when you ride and she acts up, continue on. And push her harder. When she discovers the game is not working and causes her to work even harder when she is a brat, she will stop the games she is playing with you. Good Luck

Answer 3

It seems like part of that is an attitude problem. I have a mare who will pin her ears when you ask her to trot, of course she pins her ears a lot anyways.

I would try a gentler bit. A snaffle would be good, a lot of horses work well in a snaffle bit. Riding in too harsh a bit will cause more problems then it solves, as the horse is hurting.

When you ask her for a trot, be firm. Carry a whip with you. Ask her with your voice, if she doesn't listen, ask again, giving her a gentle kick in the sides. If she still doesn't listen, ask her by voice, kick her, and tap her on the side with the whip. She should go.

You need to be confident. Don't let her get away with not doing what you ask. She will learn that it is ok and she gets out of working. That is not a good habit for her to get into. It will just get worse.

If she is carrying her head nicely, keep very light contact on the reins, just enough to feel her mouth. When she pulls down, pull her head back up, tell her to walk or trot on, and give her a firm kick in the side. She needs to know that is wrong. As was suggested in another answer, wear gloves so you don't hurt your hands! I know how strong horses can be sometimes.

If you can, you may want to work her on the lunge line. See if she has the same issues on the lunge line as she does when you are on her. This will help you to see if it is a rider or a horse issue. You can also get a set of side reins. You want to start with them very loose, and as she gets used to them, you can slowly tighten them until she is in the frame you want. Just be careful, don't tighten them too much! If you can. talk to a trainer.

Make riding a positive experience for her. When she does something well, praise her. When you are finished riding her, graze her or give her treats to let her know she is good. Halfway through your riding session, give her a break. Walk around on the loose rein if you can. Let her stretch her head down a little. Praise her.

If she doesn;t improve, or has issues while being lunged, check your saddle. Make sure there is plenty of room between her back and withers and the "channel" that runs under the saddle. You do not want the saddle to be resting on her back. Maybe invest in a nice gel pad to go on top of your regular pad and under the saddle. This will help with the pressure of the saddle.

If she has issues on the lunge line, schedule the vet to come out and float her teeth and check for possible interference with the bit. It wouldn't hurt to have the vet check her back as well.

But as I said before, get a less severe bit like a snaffle first, see if this helps. Also be firm in asking her for transitions and don't take no for an answer.

Good luck!

Answer 4

First off I would have her checked out by a vet and chiropractor before assuming she has an attitude because you aren't riding her "aggressively" enough. Have her saddle checked to be sure there is no pinching. Her teeth would need to be checked as well. If all checks out well then I would get respect on the ground 100% before even riding her. If you have no respect on the ground there will be none when you're on her. What you get on the ground is what you get in the saddle. Also the bit sounds way too harsh. I would start out with a simple fat snaffle or rubber dee. They are MUCH kinder especially with someone with harsh hands or someone that is unsure of themselves. Also find a trainer that will work with you and your horse in a kind but firm manner. Sometimes when you become aggressive with a horse it will backfire.

Answer 5

Firtsly i would say make sure you have her checked out - teeth back etc! Sounds to me like she may be uncomfortable being ridden!

If this is all ok then i would say vary her work, hacks, beach rides, schooling, pole work etc! So she isn't doing the same old thing!

Be confident with her, i have a mare who hates being ridden when i ride after work as she just wants her tea, she's stubborn and always looks really annoyed - eventually she will settle into an outline and do as i ask. Don't forget to give her lots of praise when she is good!

I would definatly get her teeth and back checked now though, maybe the sddle doesn't fit her?! Teeth should be done at least once a year!

Answer 6

right now, she doesn't think you are dominant when riding her (or you get scared) Never resort to a stronger bit unless absolutely necessary. In this case it is not.

What you need to do is ride more aggressive. Ignore the fact that she pins her ears back- when you say trot- she better do it. If need be, you can get a whip or small ball spurs (if you know how to use them). If your balance is a little off, definately use a whip over the spurs. Work on transitions. Trot walk, trot canter, etc.
Ignore her ears- just make her do it when you ask. Once she realizes it will get her nowhere to pin her ears back, she will quit. Same with not listening- you make her do it, and she will be more willing after she realizes it gets nowhere. Usually, you just need to carry a whip- not actually use it.

Also chomping on the bit is a good thing- as long as it is a quiet chomp- if she is forcefully chewing as loud as possible- then she is just annoyed. You may be pulling too hard on her mouth- have an experienced rider check how hard you are on the reins. You should move your arms with her head, not hold them rigid in one place.

With pulling the reins out of your hand- could also be because you are very heavy on them. If not- wear grippy gloves and every time she tries to yank them out of your hand (note this is not the same thing as stretching down, which isa good thing), you yank back up with one of the reins. Yank once, and then go on making her work. She doesn't like her mouth being pulled on and if you punish her for yanking them out of your hands- she will quit it.

Just ride like you are the boss- make her do what you want her to do. If possible, I would suggest getting some lessons working with her so she will stop all of those tricks with you.

Answer 7

Try a long-shanked snaffle or a tom thumb snaffle. There is no "give" to a curb and maybe she is protesting the stiffness. Pulling on reins is often a sign of discomfort- are you allowing her to work on a loose rein? If she won't, then try a tie-down, but that may make her angrier.
Try to discover what is stressing her out when you are riding. She is showing signs of agitation. Does her saddle fit her well? Is anything pinching her? Doesn't sound like misbehaviro as much as pain or agitation.
Are you sure she has a bad mouth? Could be a bad tooth. Try her with a hackamore!

Answer 8

Defiantly get her checked by a vet first. Make sure her teeth are OK, and make sure your bit isn't pinching and saddle fits the horse! Maybe see a horse chiropractor. Something may not be aligned right. I have seen them do wonders for horse with problems. Then once you have ruled all that out, it is most likely behavioral. I would suggest taking lessons with a good instructor to tackle those issues. It will also make sure it isn't the way you are riding that is causing it.

Answer 9

First and for most, inspect her mouth to see if anything is hurting her.

The side of the bit, where the port connects to the shank sides, could be pinching her.

Her teeth could need floated or she could need some other mouth inspection.

The bit could be too server for her mouth and a lighter, less harsher bit could suit her better.

Next is the tack: Could the saddle be placed on a sore back?

Is the proper weight of the rider reach the percentage amount of the horse's body weight? (I don't allow anyone to ride over 19% of my horse's body weight).

Do you bounce at the trot and have proper seating?

Then analyze her training:

Her previous training and has she always done this?

Gather up the reigns and slowly with the outside rein, do circular motions to "give" at the pole to lower the head, and use "cluck" with slight pressure with the heals to ask for the trot.

Once she gives the trot, back off and allow her to extend herself with out pressure to perform.

(If you use spurs, could that be bothering her?)

You would need a second person/trainer observe and begin to make adjustments. It can be a combo of everything and have to begin to eliminate: starting with her health as that is number one source of training problems.

Answer 10

Check teeth first and then proceed with a lighter bit. The harsher the bit the more problems you will have. Using this bit you will need to have very soft hands and experience to know what correction she needs. Ask a pro to work with you and Molly to see where your communication is falling short. Maybe you both need some work to help you get along.I'm not trying to be harsh, it sometimes helps to have someone else look at the main picture.