mare that pulls

[twopaso]

Hello, I have this 11 yr old mare that always pulls on the left side of her bit.
I am trying to find different ideas on how to get her to stop pulling. I will give some background on how it all started:
I bought her about 4 yrs ago with no experience when it comes to Paso's. I did some riding when I was younger. I had a hard time controlling her in the beginning so I developed a bad habit of really holding the reins. I do believe that is when she really started to pull. I had bought some cheap paso bits that she pulled so hard that they bent. I finally bought a quality paso bit and she has not bent.
She can be soft especially after a trainer rides her. I have been trying to flex her to get her soft, but it seems like she is pulling harder. My hands have improved over the years. I know that by riding other horses and paso's that do not pull. I hope this is enough background. Any help would be appreciated.

[Mystic Fire]

Could be several things. I am no expert, but I speak from experience as my gelding used to pull hard, and still does if I don't pay attention to what I'm doing.
Check your bit. It could be pinching, especially if it doesn't have bit guards. Check your headstall. Make sure it fits comfortably and isn't pinching or binding up on her ears, or rubbing the sides of her jaw. Check the curb chain, are one of the hooks poking her.
Most importantly, check teeth. Have an actual equine dentist look at your mare's mouth. There could be an imbalance that is causing her to carry her head that way and it's uncomfortable for you to try to straighten her head, so she pulls. Lastly, look into chiropractic adjustment.
After you have ruled out anything causing you mare discomfort, take a good look at your riding position. You could be sitting off balance, or are up on her shoulders too much forcing her to brace her neck. Learn half halts. Instead of pulling on your mare's mouth, you can collect and slow her and get her back off the pressure with your seat and not your hands. This can be time consuming to teach a horse that pulls, but it is well worth it once your horse learns to carry itself and not brace against your hands (and you the same by not bracing against her mouth/neck).
Just my thoughts on the matter. But with diligent dental care, chiropractic work, and Dressage lessons, my gelding is much more pleasant to work with.
D.

[Cindy]

Definitely check her teeth as this will cause a horse to be one sided. If that is not the problem, she is stiff on that side. You need to do some excersises to get her better balanced. But beyond that, a horse cannot pull all by itself. She cannot pull on you if you don't pull on her. Remember to release. And keep your hands light. Simply closing your fist will allow the horse to pull as you will be pulling back. Keep your hand relaxed unless you are giving the horse a signal.

[motorgypsy]

I was going to say teeth also. The one other suggestion I'd make is to try some different bits. We had a dangerous runaway until we tried a Rutledge roper bit on her. It's a strange bit that doesn't move in the mouth. The mare loved it and from then on responded to the lightest body cues imaginable. For some reason this particular bit just caused her to relaxed. She was foreign trained and imported and has nose scars so who knows why she likes this bit but she does.

You might try a bosal or borrow some of the Mylers many of our horses like. Short shank and low wide port or curved "comfort snaffle". None of these bits will collapse and pinch and we use bit guards on all of them.

When I let strangers ride our horses the first thing I tell them is DO NOT PUT PRESSURE ON THE REINS unless you are cueing, be extremely light in your rein cues. And stop the pressure immediately when the horse responds. Because if you don't they will learn to ignore the pressure. and DO NOT KICK my horse!!!!

Good luck and keep us posted on your progress. We did about everything wrong but our horses forgave us and gave us lessons until we finally did better.:biggrin:

[twopaso]

Thank you for your responses. I know there is no back issues, the chriopracter was called a few weeks ago. I will be calling the dentist, she is due for her teeth now anyway.