Balky horse

Question
QUESTION: About a year ago we acquired an 18-year-old quarterhorse mare. We love her to death, and she's a really sweet, gentle horse. Our problem is that she's very balky at the start of a ride. She simply refuses to go and starts moving backwards. If we "pony" her with a rope, she follows nicely. Once we get going, we can take the rope off, but at various points on the way out, she balks again. We can usually get her moving forward if the other rider just pulls up alongside her and pulls her forward by her halter. Of course, she doesn't balk on the way home. One source of the problem might be that she had been used as a packhorse by a former owner. What can we do to overcome this balkiness at the start-up?

ANSWER: Hi Michael!

Yes, her being used as a packhorse has everything to do with this.  She is not going to be comfortable leading other horses, she is going to be comfortable being led by other horses.  

So, what to do?  Well, her being 18 years old is a small issue as older horses are harder to train BUT her being older makes her kinder :)

I say "Happy horse, Happy owner!"  Do not make her lead while you are hacking out. Allow her to follow another more confident horse and when she balks, even though she is following...kick her forward and use your voice as a forward aid.  Such as "Get up!" in a very low and firm voice followed with a kick with both boots.  Make sure your hands are forward and encouraging to her to move forward.  You may have to do this every other step but, she will get the idea and give in.

Getting her to move forward is solely your responsibility.  She knows how to walk.  You must convince her that walking forward is better than being yelled at and kicked.  Do not have the other rider pony her in any way...that creates a false situation.  Nope, you need to get her to move forward all on your own.

This may take a week or a month, it's up to you and how often you hack out and how determined you are to get her to move her hooves.

Also, remember to verbally reward her with a "Good girl!" when she takes even one step forward so she knows this is correct.  A pat on the neck is also fine.

Good luck and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you!!

Everything you say makes perfect sense. But we've done that and it just doesn't seem to work. We kick and urge, and occasionally she will take a few steps forward, which get rewarded with praise amounting to Beatlemania. But then she starts moving backward, and the more we kick, etc., the more backward she goes. We keep thinking she'll follow me on the other horse, but nope. So I guess my question is, do you have a plan B?
I should mention that in some respects she's improving. Yesterday we took a ride and she balked only once along the way, but we got her moving, so that was progress. Also, we took the lead rope off much sooner than we had been, after only a couple hundred yards, so that was progress too. And, she took the lead for a while, so that was another sign of progress. So now we think we're down to just getting her to leave home, right at the start of the ride. Incidentally, some local trainers have suggested various ground exercises to "get control of her feet," but doing those exercises with this horse is like having a professor of math at MIT do multiplication tables--she does them perfectly, first time, every time. Any further thoughts?

Answer
Hi Michael!

Plan B:  FOOD!  And lots of it :)

Find a treat she loves that is soft, preferably..like sugar cubes.  Only give them to her during training times.  Carry allot in a fanny pack or training belt.  Go for your ride as usual and when she takes her steps forward give her a treat.  You can have her reach back to your hand for it or have the other rider give it to her, whatever makes everyone happy.

Continue with the treats until you have her going well.  You can also store a bucket of her other favorite treats in a specific spot that you can hack out to and when you get there, "SURPRISE" it's more treats!  She will associate going out for a hack with pleasant treats.

Now, most people say "Oh, she will get pushy and mouthy if you reward with food."  True, to an extent.  So you must be clever and use the Intermittent Reinforcement training.  In the beginning she gets a treat every single time she is good.  Then after she shows great improvement, you give her a treat only every other time she obeys.  Then after a while, a treat only every third or fourth time she obeys...and so on and so on.  It's just like Las Vegas....you only win a bet once in a while but, you keep trying because of the chance of a payoff, right?

Lastly, moving forward is important but, feel free to punish her disobedience for moving backward.  Carry a crop or bat and smack her on the ass when she backs up...when she shoots forward, give her praise and a treat.  She understands you want her to go forward but, currently there is no consequence for going backward and she feels certain you will not punish her so she does it.  Much like a naughty child in church who knows Mommy won't or can't yell.  You now need to remove any doubt in her mind about why going backwards is completely unacceptable.

She is well trained and smart...she simply does not want to, so this is the worst kind of disobedience.  If left alone she will soon start to do even less of what the human asks until she is left alone to be a horse.

You do not have to beat her with a 2x4.  You simply must smack her hard and quickly to make her understand you mean business...and then she gets a treat  :)

Solange