An evaluation and suggestion: This is but one.

In an enclosed area...a horse will trust more in you and in the
fence as a form of safety or comfort. So in this sort of setting
horses are often more responsive. The keywords in the
aforementioned are 'safety/comfort'. So out on the trail..something
is lost...that something is 'safety and comfort'. You must teach
your horse to trust you without doubt under any circumstances. On
the trail your horse seeks his comfort from the other horses...which
is understandable...he spends a lot of time with them...more time
with them...then you. So he seeks it by association with those he
knows best. Seems right...I'd do the same. Spend more time with
your horse...constructive learning time...teach him that you can be
valued as a strong true leader...spend some time teaching in the
enclosure...then move on...to open areas...and further from the
comfort of home, barn fly, and stable mate.


--- In bitlessbridle@yahoogroups.com, "woutersjennifer"
<woutersjennifer@...> wrote:
>
> Hi, I have a 5 yr old mare, that I have been riding in the BB. She
is
> for the most part pretty responsive with it when were in the
arena, but
> the last few times I've taken her out on the trail especially with
> other horses she can be difficult to stop. She is constantly
trying to
> trot off mostly to catch up to the horse in front of her and she
wants
> to trot going down steep ditches but I want to teach her to go
slow and
> walk calmly down. When she goes to trot off I immediatly reach
down and
> try to flex her head but sometimes she will turn her head and just
keep
> going forward and then she sometimes will stumble because her
heads
> turned to the side. Is there anything that I can do in her
training to
> help with this??
>