A bit too keen to get home!

[oldie48]

I have a lovely new horse and generally he's great and settled in really well, however, he can be very strong for the last 10 minutes going home on a hack. If I can keep him round and soft, we manage fine but if he manages to get his head up and set his neck, i really struggle. He's got huge paces so once he's giraffe like, not only do I struggle to control the pace, he's also very uncomfortable and chucks me around. I don't feel he's going to do anything stupid but it's rude and unpleasant. Any ideas appreciated.

 

[Batgirl]

I used to do circles (if safe to do so), every time my previous horse got a bit shirty we turned a circle (sort of the width of the road). I would only do this if really safe quiet roads and of course not on bends.

The other thing I did (if I couldn't turn a circle) was to simply stop until settled.

Hope this may help, sorry if he doesn't settle that easily.

 

[mairiwick]

I find a bit of leg yield works wonders (as long as there is no traffic!)

 

[be positive]

I find a bit of leg yield works wonders (as long as there is no traffic!)

This is more helpful to a strong horse that is not listening, turning a circle may make things worse as they get more pent up and speed up once heading home again, also not safe on the roads, whereas a little leg yield can be used both ways to get the mind engaged with less risk of winding them up, if used in other places on the hack it becomes a useful tool for regaining control.

 

[sally87]

Ride straight past home if he is being strong, only go home when you want to. Basil was terrible for this when I got him and is much better now. I will always make him stand for 5 seconds before going back down the lane and I make a point of it being me that turns him, he does not simply follow the curb

 

[Kikke]

Ride straight past home if he is being strong, only go home when you want to. Basil was terrible for this when I got him and is much better now. I will always make him stand for 5 seconds before going back down the lane and I make a point of it being me that turns him, he does not simply follow the curb

I think this is a really good one!

 

[Auslander]

Does he do lateral work? Alf sometimes gets a bit above himself on the way home, so I make him do shoulder in/travers transitions all along the road. He likes doing them, so completely forgets about being an oaf!

 

[oldie48]

Yes he does lateral work (not sure if he enjoys them as much as Alf though!) and I think this may be the answer. He's quite a sensitive forward going chap and it's easy to wind him up, the horse flies are not helping at the moment but there is absolutely no malice in him at all, I''m going to try lots of lateral work tomorrow and see how he goes. Oh the joys of a new horse. He is really lovely though and I'm sure we'll sort things out.

Does he do lateral work? Alf sometimes gets a bit above himself on the way home, so I make him do shoulder in/travers transitions all along the road. He likes doing them, so completely forgets about being an oaf!

 

[HaffiesRock]

Ride past the yard. WorKed a treat for my boy. Our yard gate is in the woods so there are 4 different ways to go once you get to the gate. If he is being really strong, we go down all available routes! He soon learned that walking nicely gets him home more quickly

 

[oldie48]

Not easy for me to do and not sure it will work as by the time we get home I'm exausted, he's a big horse with huge paces. i've tried lateral work with some success as it helps to keep him soft also got some suggestions from my trainer with regards to schooling which I think will help but it's a work in progress!

Ride past the yard. WorKed a treat for my boy. Our yard gate is in the woods so there are 4 different ways to go once you get to the gate. If he is being really strong, we go down all available routes! He soon learned that walking nicely gets him home more quickly

 

[Fellewell]

Make sure he doesn't get any treats the minute you get back. Also make your hacks shorter sometimes and take him in the school for 20 mins when you get back. He might not look forward to getting home quite so much!

 

[saddlesore]

I think taking him into the school is a great idea. He's rushing home to get it all over with so if he had to work harder when he got home, I suspect it would become less of a priority! I'd school EVERY time he pulls/rushes home, and not if he's behaved. He'll put it together soon enough .

 

[DuckToller]

I had this problem, and also agree with going in the school after.

It's partly a confidence thing - he has changed homes and is probably still a little anxious about all the changes, so it should hopefully improve with time. I found mine got worse if I tried circling or halting (he went up on me when I did that at a junction!) but leg yielding and shoulder-in helped both with the control and my flat work

Going straight in the school and working him for 20 mins did the trick, and I kept it up intermittently even when he stopped pulling/jogging on the way home.

Also when is he fed? I used to hack and feed, so there was that added bonus in his mind to hurrying home. Try feeding first, even just half of a small feed. By the time you have tacked up, fiddled about and walked the first few miles there won't be much left in his stomach - unless you like to go out and gallop about for a few hours it won't be a problem.

 

[happyclappy]

many horses are like this. my young mare is often taken past the gate so that she does not automatically assume she is indeed going home. it has helped curb her enthusiasm a little.

 

[oldie48]

Thanks for all your suggestions, i'm going to start taking him into the school and see how that goes.

 

[Fides]

Ride straight past home if he is being strong, only go home when you want to.

I found this the key too, and circular routes.

Another thing - could you do a figure of 8 route with your yard in the middle? That way if he is still chugging along, do the other loop and if he tries it again, do the first loop again. He will soon learn that rushing back means harder work.

 

[oldie48]

Hi, just a quick update.I now have ride on fly rug, so he's much more chilled and not getting wound up with the flies. I'm now confident he's still settling in and partly the problem is anxiety as a previous owner didn't have this problem but she hacked out mainly on her own. I noticed that he is more forward in company and because he's naturally very forward with big paces, friends horses struggle to keep up unless i keep the walk collected, so he's tiring towards the end of hack. i find that when he starts to get fidgety, if I put him behind another horse he's happy to slow down, stop fighting me and I can let him have a good stretch. I can then ride alongside for a while or go ahead. It's a work in progress but each time it gets easier. i also sometimes take him into the school at the end of a hack and sometimes walk past our drive. Stopping or circling doesn't work with this horse, it just winds him up I also think he's not rushing home to avoid work it's more wanting the security of being home. It's still early days with him and I'm feeling much more confident that itwill continue to improve. Thanks to everyone who posted with suggestions.

 

[poiuytrewq]

My horse used to really play up on the last bit towards home and to make matters worse both yards i kept him at had a very long straight back to home so he'd really get wound up.
Making him stand would have been like a death wish so i'd not try that one!
I found once he had mastered the basics of schooling just things like asking him to bend and flex incredibly helpful as it took his mind off "ohhh im almost home" and gave him a little something to focus on. He quite liked pleasing his rider so he enjoyed doing something however simple and getting a "good boy" out of it!......small things, bless him.