Discovering my horses thoughts

Yesterday evening, my mare was acting up because of her heat cycles. She is such a wonderful horse until that time of the month! She nips and leans on me. Tries to throw her head up, and refuses to back up. Lately I have found that because I don't ever ride when she goes into heat, I can at least do groundwork rather than leaving her in the pen ALL WEEK. We did some lunging, then I backed her up using my hands in the air. I gently threw the rope all over her until she showed signs of being relaxed (she got used to the rope hitting her). This helped her relax and think over what we just did.

Horses need breaks, a lot! If you tell a horse to do something then they do it right and you tell them to do something else, they won't ever remember. A horse learns when they are resting. Try asking your horse to sidestep, then when they do so, reward them and let them take a break! This will allow them to think over what you just asked them to do, your reaction when they did it properly, and what to do next time when you ask it again. Try it, it works!