What activities can i do without riding?

I have a "pony project" who is a super burnt out mare. She can't be ridden but is a showmanship and halter machine. Dont comment on why i am doing this please. I need to bond and play with her so what are some activities and brain stimulating things i can do with her??In hand trail is a gr8 idea. That may really work.She cant be ridden becase she was a great showhorse she went to world and placed 10 or something but was tourtured to get there. Now she hates being riddenand will literally try to kill you and attak you if you take her in a show ring riding. She is a great horse tho. She has a bunch of pts. in a million diffrent things.Does anyone know any fun tricks I could teach her. Fairly easy plz.

you could do in hand trail,its basically trail only your leading them.

Make a course like a trail class and you can lead her through it. Have things to step over or walk on. Walk and trot with her some. Do some back ups in a pattern, not just straight. Change it on a regular basis. Teach her to drive on long lines....not pulling anything....just you a distance behind her.

Well you could lunge/lead her over ground poles or jumps or lunge her in patterns. If you have a round pen or an indoor arena that's completely closed in you could hide treats and have her find them or stick treats in your back pocket and teach her to follow you (my horses old owners did that..its really cute)...you could put various odd objects in the area/pen (buckets, tarps, tack etc) and hide treats in, on top of, and near them...if she jumps you could free jump her. Those are activities..as far as bonding goes (like those all help but more specific stuff) i would just spend a lot of time with her, dress her up, groom her to perfection, braid her, put glitter on her, play games like find the treat with her...that kinda stuff.. you can usually teach horses tricks (like bowing) without having to ride them. Like my coach has these two ponies that live for food that she taught to do tricks. Stuff as simple as feeding her her favourite treats and petting her help. Good Luckoh and do you mind me asking why she can't be ridden? like is she not broke? srry if im being seriously snoopy : )

Mmk, well if I were in your situation, I'd go back to square one with her.Make sure she is a PERFECT horse with each of the following:- leading (is she pushy, or does she walk with her head at your shoulder, quiet, and supple to your commands? does she willingly go forward and back up quickly and quietly?)- tying (does she balk? if she's spooked, does she scuttle to the side or pull back?)- loading (does she walk into the trailer with ease? does she unload quietly?)- clipping (can you clip around her ears? muzzle? legs? under her belly? even if you never clip her, the noise and feel of the buzzing clipper is a good desensitizing tool)- bathing (can you wash her face with the hose no-problem or does she freak out about being washed in general?)- picking up hooves (does she hold them for you, or does she fight to put them down?)- lunging, both free and on the line (does she do all gaits with ease? does she know verbal commands? can she walk, trot, and canter in both directions?)- spooking (does she bolt when scared, skitter to the side, or rear? does she simply look at the thing or does she snort and twitch and make a big scene?)Once she has ALL of the basics down pat, you can move on. Bombproof her. Once she is AMAZING in all of these categories, you can move on. If she is not, walking her on trails will not be conducive to her training. Why? If she gets scared and bolts, that lead line is leaving your hands, or you're dragged. And now you have a loose horse and you're hurt. What happens then?Some extras you can work with her on:Lateral movement (when you apply pressure to her sides, does she sidestep with ease?)Disengaging her hindquarters and forehand (if you ask her to move her shoulder, she turns on a hind hoof without moving it; if you ask her to move her haunches, she turns on a front hoof without moving it - google has some great pages on this)Coming when calledBending and flexing at the pollFootwork (does she stumble over poles on the ground? can you back her over poles with ease?)Honestly, there are SO many things you can do with her without even taking her to a show. If she's a project to be sold, all of these things will make her a MUCH wanted pony. You can get her to step up on drums or safe stools - bow - you can give her toys to play with in her pasture - lunge her over small jumps to see if she likes it - train her to drive or pull.The options are ENDLESS!Good luck.

To go along with the excellent idea about in-hand trail walking, you could teach her how to pony and then take her along when you trail ride another horse.You probably already know that the mare will need company, so if there are no horses for her, maybe buy her a goat or a donkey or another retired horse. Something that stays with her.