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[RC] Independance - Sallie SullivanI'm looking for suggestions to help my mare have more independance on trail. I ride alone sometimes and she's wonderful! I can ride with other horses but she prefers to be the lead dog. She can now follow without too much ado unless we get too far back. Last weekend I went for a leisure trail ride with friends and near the end of the 3 1/2 hour ride (on the way back to camp) she stopped to grab a mouthful of dried grass and felt it necessary to hurry to catch up. I thought it might be a good training opportunity and asked her to walk (however fast she wanted, but walk). Needless to say, my "training session" turned into a huge hissy and tho I tried to add some additional cues, eg. sideways, shoulder-in, small circles, she nearly lost her mind till we got back to the trailer.In hindsight, I wonder if I would have been better off just doing an about face and finding a different way back? Or about face for a short distance and then try again? Any and all suggestions will be appreciated.
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