Re: balking horse

[Lucie Hancock <lbhbhnck@ftc-i.net>]

Terri,
It may not be laziness, but could simply be a lack of cinfidence on her
part. Many young horses have to build confidence to be the front horse,
or to go somewhere alone. Four is not very old. Does she have a lot of
trail experience, or is her trail career just beginning?
My six year old gelding has just this year become a "settled" horse on
the trail. It took lots of rides away from the house, alone, as well as
riding with groups for him to learn what is expected, and to build
confidence. Now, I can take him anywhere I ask. What we did was "play
games" on the trail, to keep his mind occupied and his body in motion.
We did small circles around tall weeds. We'd go right, between two
saplings on the edge of the trail, then left, then right, then left, in
modified serpentines, what I called riding a straight trail like it were
a peice of giant rick-rack, zig-zag fashion.
The idea is to give her lots to think about to keep her from worrying
about being away from home. Then, before you turn around to come back,
find a patch of grass and let her graze a little. That way she'll begin
looking forward to being away from home. Keep in mind that different
things work with different horses. This is what has worked for me on my
young, green horses, as well as with small children learning to ride. It
builds self confidence.
I hope you get your problem solved easily.
lucie