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Discussion on Problems returning to barn after ride
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Member:
njen
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008 - 11:05 am:
I'm hoping someone has some good advice for this problem. My horse is on great behavior during our ride but when we start to head back to the barn he becomes agitated and gigs badly. This doesn't happen all the time and I can't figure out what the triggers are, but I need some help on how to handle it. Just as background, we have two large fields. We ride in one field and to go back to the barn we have to pass through a gate to enter the other field. He acts up worse in the first field and generally calms down as we get closer to the barn. Everything we've tried worked at first, but it doesn't last. We've tried circling and backing him up, but he fights back and we're afraid he's going to rear. We've tried serpentining our way back to keep him focused on us but that doesn't work anymore either - he bulges and tenses up and acts like an idiot. We tried doing our work in the area beside the gate and he was very tense most of the time, calming down a little, but when headed through the gate he got agitated again. If you get off and walk him back he's also bad. He is ridden with another horse who is completely calm. Any ideas on what to try?
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Member:
scooter
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008 - 4:38 pm:
Hi Jennifer, the only thing that cured my "barn sour" horse was as soon as the first step of jigging started we turned around and went the other way. Jigging started again turned around and went the other way yet again. A 15 min. return home turned into 2 hrs. takes patience. When we got home work for at least 15 min. in saddle....then leave again, even if it's a few feet out of the gate....walk back home...reward get off..... Jig back to work. Took about 2 mos. but rarely happens anymore. If it does we do the same thing. Circling, leg yields, serpentines did nothing for that horse either.
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Moderator:
DrO
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008 - 6:23 pm:
Hello Jennifer,
I am a little unclear from your post: is he jigging because he is more forward than you want and you are restraining him or is he not forward enough and you are urging him forward and he is resisting (admittedly a much rarer situation)?
In either case, if trying to change his direction results in a dangerous situation, pack a lunge line. Bring him to a halt just prior to the where he usually begins to act up and then lunge him. Working on whoa, walk, and trot voice commands. Once he has relaxed, mount and try again. At the very start of disobedience stop and let him relax dismount and repeat. Avoid dismounting while he is acting up as this may lead to other undesirable behaviors.
DrO
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Member:
sarahb47
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008 - 7:12 pm:
Your horse is anxious about getting back to the barn, so he rushes to get there faster. Home represents safety, food, friends, and a rest from work.
I wouldn't try to make him stop or back up as a correction -- it's too easy for a horse to generate behavior that's dangerous or even harder to control, such as rearing or backing into a ditch. Instead, make him go forward -- AWAY from where HE wants to go -- and channel that anxious energy into hard work.
Diane's advice is right on the money. Essentially, what works best is to make the horse work HARD whenever he's acting up. When he relaxes and listens to you, he gets to rest and walk toward the barn. When his urge to rush home kicks in, you turn him away from his goal, and put him back to work again. And not just circles at a walk -- a steady, forward trot is best, so he starts huffing and puffing a little.
This takes a big chunk of time, and your riding time must be flexible. As Diane says, a 15-minute ride back to the barn will probably have to turn into a 2 or 3 hour longer ride, because each time he gets quick and rushes, you'll make him go right back out again, away from the barn.
When you get back to the barn, make him work some more, close to the barn, then let him rest as he rides out again away from the barn -- hopefully on a relaxed, loose rein.
And every time he does relax, let him know he's doing the right thing -- pats and a "good boy" voice will tell him that yes, that's what you want.
It takes tremendous patience and persistence to help a barn-sour horse learn to relax and listen, but it does work!
Sarah
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008 - 8:07 pm:
The above ideas are good but always "safety first." Get off if your gut tells you. If your horse has to endure the long hand walk back, that can be a good thing. When they are in a hurry, it is less about you being on the ground than it is about them being back in a hurry. NEVER let your horse hurry back to the barn within a certain distance of home and don't ever do the same thing twice, including the route back, if possible. When you are off their back if this has been necessary, do not allow them to advance ahead of you. Make the horse circle around you if it takes a hundred times -- do not let them lead the way back.
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Member:
ekaufman
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 15, 2008 - 10:21 pm:
Hi Jennifer,
How about breaking his association with home and an end to the work? When you mount up, try working his tushie off right around the barn. Then walk him away on a long rein for ten strides or so. Return to the barn and work hard again. Walk away 15 steps. Rinse, repeat! Do this for a week or two. Change his mind about where he wants to be under saddle, and he should think twice about that rush to the barn....
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Member:
muffi
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 - 1:11 am:
You know I have the same problem but Opposite. I have a buddy sour horse. when I leave the barn he jiggs - so lately I have been turning him around after i see the Jigging for more than 10 steps. calmly walking him back to the barn area then making him Trot circles till he relaxes or gives me the ok. then we walk away on loose rein until that happens again. I just started this. I read about it here on some other post. I have done it three days now - I think I am getting farther away each time.
It may work! So in principal I bet it would work the other way too!
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Member:
ajudson1
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 - 8:05 am:
Breathe. Be very aware that of how you are sitting, and breathing. We used to have a very smart little Arab mare who would walk faster and faster, and before you knew it, she'd be jigging. If I was sitting "deep" and made sure I was humming and very relaxed, she'd go a lot longer before she'd try the jigging thing. Then, a sharp "NO" and just jiggling the reins with my little fingers would be enough. Make sure you are not trying to hold the horse back; makes it worse IMO. We did do the turn around and go the other way trick a few times too. With her it only took a couple of times, it might indeed take a few extra hours for many rides with your horse depending on his disposition.
I'd go the opposite way, make her stand facing away from home, then turn around and stand again. Then lightly lift the reins giving her the o.k. to walk on home. Patience, patience and more you guessed it, patience.
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 - 12:00 pm:
I have used a combination of the suggestions above to good result.
Most important was a "calm down and walk cue". Anytime I planned to walk leisurely for a while, I would give Sugar her head with a loose rein and give a little rub on her wither. This became associated with a long calm walk. Do it in the ring first.
Anytime she would jig, after a tight circle to slow her down, she got the rub and loose rein IF SHE WALKED. Another circle if she started jigging again. She learned to walk really fast, LOL! but she did maintain it most of the time. Resist the urge to slow the walk if she is a traveler like mine. The reward comes with the walk, no matter how fast it is, at first anyway, until the habit is broken.
Like Elizabeth, working upon arrival at home, and leisurely walks away from the barn build up an "Ahhh!" response in my horse whenever she needs remediation on the jigging.
Now, just DrOpping the reins and a touch on the withers will produce a calm, low headed walk.
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Member:
mysi
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 - 1:05 pm:
I agree with Diane and Sarah. Turn around and head the other direction until the horse has calmed and start over. I wouldn't back up, I've ended up in that ditch someone spoke of. It takes patience and like they said a sometimes a long ride, but patience and consistency can overcome almost anything.
Good luck!!!
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Member:
njen
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 - 2:07 pm:
Great ideas everyone! We'll definitely work on this and hopefully he'll figure this out. Thanks so much!
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Member:
vickiann
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Posted on Wednesday, Jan 16, 2008 - 7:38 pm:
When my energetic Arab starts to "jig" I put him to work with either leg yielding or shoulder in or out. Doing circles back where we came from is another option. Put the horse to work with the job being harder than the "jig" but this may have to be repeated many times with a very fit and energetic horse, but it does work.
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Member:
njen
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Posted on Friday, Jan 18, 2008 - 8:47 am:
Thanks for all your ideas. Do you think it would be a bad idea if I dismounted at the end of the ride in the ring EVERY TIME and walked him back to the barn? He is always good throughout the ride - the demon only comes out on the way back. I want to be safe but I don't want to encourage any further bad behavior either. Thoughts?
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Member:
cgby1
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Posted on Sunday, Jan 20, 2008 - 9:58 pm:
I have seen horses become so bad that they won't leave the barnyard. If the behavior is not corrected quickly the horse starts the behavior sooner each time you go out. My old mare Sweetheart started to jig as we approached a turn off leading home so we passed it, kept going for a while and then turned back toward the turn off. As we got close she did it again so we went on past and we did that until she finally kept walking. We turned in and went home, she never did it again. If you can work close to the barn and then a nice walk away, come back and work some more. And don't feed him as soon as you get back, you may even want to have him stand tied up for a while if you can watch him.
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Sunday, Jan 20, 2008 - 11:07 pm:
My now old mare, when she was younger, would jig on the way home and I started turning her in circles, she would stop, and we'd go on until she started jigging again. After a few rides, she would jig, then turn in a circle on her own! (then jig some more  ) What cured her was working hard for half an hour or so when we got back to the barn. After awhile, she wasn't so anxious to get back.
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