A Horse Going Backwards....

[MrsMozart]

Anyone any bright ideas for how to make/enocurage them to go forwards? Seems to be Dizzy's reaction to uncertainty.

I've kept legs on, and I've kept legs off. I've tried contact with the bit, and I've tried reins loose and body forward. I've tried a tap with a schooling whip and got a buck for my troubles, and as it happens on the road it's not the place for a major discussion. She's 16.3hh and there aint no way I can get back on once I get off, not without either block and tackle or a mounting block.

Schooling at home is a bit difficult due to the mud baths that are our fields

Any/all thoughts much appreciated

 

[_Acolyte_]

Bob seems to be a bit the same - his previous owner obviously never taught him to stand still

and if he feels pressurised he starts running backwards

I have found the only thing which stops him is spinning him round in circles when he does it, otherwise we just reverse backwards forever

Like you I have tried legs/no legs/dropping the rein contact etc etc all to no avail

 

[Ranyhyn]

I used to have a 17hh IDx who used to try that jazz kick kick kick used to work a treat and as soon as he walked on - lots of praise to build up the trust. After a few weeks he was solved, never had the problem again.

If he did manage to walk back I'd turn him, so it felt like it was MY decision and we'd stop. And walk on. I'd rather stop than go backwards if that makes any sense.

 

[RachelB]

I turn my share horse round and make him walk backwards in the direction I want him to go! Luckily he usually disagrees with me off the road so we have a good place to have an argument - a long one if necessary. I once resorted to getting off and dragging him but it made him ten times worse the next time

 

[MrsMozart]

Excellent

Will try all of those and see which works for the Diz. Thank you!

 

[_Acolyte_]

[ QUOTE ]
I turn my share horse round and make him walk backwards in the direction I want him to go! Luckily he usually disagrees with me off the road so we have a good place to have an argument - a long one if necessary. I once resorted to getting off and dragging him but it made him ten times worse the next time

[/ QUOTE ]

Ooooh yeah I have done that one too, with Josh

He was scared of donkeys, so to get him past we had to rein back about 100 yards down the road

It was always quite interesting, he reined back very fast

 

[x_Sammie_x]

this sounds like my horse, other then he has phsyco moments bucks, rears, spins around and bounces so trying to buy a horsebox to take him to have some lessons to get him to gain my trust? as we dont have a school here

 

[hadfos]

This was my lads answer to everything when he was a baby

..we learnt that when he went backwards all we did was pull his head round,knock him off balance and ride him on a circle,distracted him and didnt take long for him to forget....he was 16.3 at the time and a baby..he only went backwards when he was unsure or confused....bad one to teach on the road...but maybe avoid argument until paddocks dry up and have argument at home...

 

[RachelB]

Luckily most of the nappy horses I've sat on have been fairly intelligent and have picked up rein-back really easily - I don't know what I'd do with a thick nappy horse!
The only thing with turning them round is to make sure they do it SLOWLY - don't teach them to nap and spin!

 

[MrsMozart]

I did try the turning then turning back again, but she just went further backwards

And for a big horse she is very, very quick and bendy! I wanted to do the backing past the scary red van, but she just kept turning herself round again - felt like I was arguing with a massive sock! We nearly ended up turned inside out!

Today it was because she didn't want to stand still, at all, especially not when we met up with the rest of our bunch. We'd had to split up near the start because the Diz was scaring the younger kiddettes

We were running out of road.

 

[hadfos]

[ QUOTE ]
Luckily most of the nappy horses I've sat on have been fairly intelligent and have picked up rein-back really easily - I don't know what I'd do with a thick nappy horse!
The only thing with turning them round is to make sure they do it SLOWLY - don't teach them to nap and spin!

[/ QUOTE ]
wont happen as most people can feel the nap before it happens...you just take control and put the ball in your court :grin

 

[hadfos]

lol...at your explanation

...most definately not funny...it worked with my lad...but dosnt work for all

perserverance am afraid...but in the right place

which makes it difficult!!

 

[MrsMozart]

[ QUOTE ]
lol...at your explanation

...most definately not funny...it worked with my lad...but dosnt work for all

perserverance am afraid...but in the right place

which makes it difficult!!

[/ QUOTE ]

Lol, now I feel like I've been through the washing machine - well and truly tumbled

. We'll get there somehow. If we need to, I'll ask the lady show schooled her in the summer to hack out with us and yell good advice

 

[cellie]

My horse did it regularly if he saw something scary.If I asked him to trot on and tapped him up the forward thinking used to get him past offending objects.I learnt to be quick in spotting his hesitation and could get in first with a tap or word command to trot on very often we didnt trot but managed to get passed without going backwards.

 

[YorksG]

Not easy to arrange but stopped the old Appy doing it by her reversing herself into an oil drm, backed up by a hawthorn bush and a barbed wire fence

She never used that evation again (mind you she had a few hundred others!)

 

[flyingfeet]

All babies try this game. All of mine get introduced to my polo spurs - socking great heavy mexican spurs with smooth rowels. They aren't sharp or nasty, but sheer weight of them is enough to get any wee beastie going forwards.

Plus no one can see any flapping, swearing, faffing or publicly hitting your horse, deffo my personal perference.

 

[MrsMozart]

FG - narrow lanes lined by ditches so there's a good chance she will end up down one, which might make her think twice

CSJ - no idea where I'd get those from (Mexico not being on my short term itinery lol), but get the idea

I definately need something that will make her think 'forward' without bobbing off into the distance, and will not make her want to put any energy into another evasion. I think the fact that she feels like such a wobbly snake is distracting me: today I didn't have a martingale on, but could have done with it, her head went so high.

I'm definately going to change her bit either back to the Happy Mouth (can't remember the name, has two joints), or try a French link with loose rings. I only tried the Pelham because I'd left her other bit at home and the girl who has been riding her said she thought Diz might need something with a little more braking power. She definately did not like the feel of either the bit or the curb chain, and when I touched her mouth her head shot up with up nose pointing upwards to try and get away from it.; the rest of the time she was throwing her head up and down. When asked to stand still things got worse and I didn't know what was coming or likely to come next, it's then that she started the backwards bit again, but with a lot of hunching of her back, obviously saying she really wasn't happy. I'm getting tired, but hope this has made sense

 

[flyingfeet]

Buying polo spurs is kind of over kill unless you intend to take up polo or want to rile people out competing!

If you really want a pair here's a link:
http://www.satsfaction.com/c-25-span-stylecolorb30000raquospan-boots.aspx

However in your case implus spurs are probably a good start! I prefer a rowel be it plastic or a disc as it doesn't dig in like pointy spurs!

 

[flyingfeet]

Oh and if your really want a laugh I also have a pair of these, but don't use them very often !!!

 

[MrsMozart]

Hm. Think I'd get a 'forwards reaction' from the rowelled ones lol

But maybe the pretty pinky-purple ones....

Will behave self and go and find some impulse ones and give them a try.

 

[jumpingjack]

My last mare used to do this she was 6 - i was lucky she was 13.3 so easy to get off and on if needed.

1. i tried a few techniques, rein back until i had enough not her.
2. Circle rounda few times then push forward.
3.Everytime she went backwards i turned her round and made her trot for a while in the opposite direction.
She used to be a master at finding ditches/prickly bushes to back me into too...

 

[laura_nash]

Be careful about backing into something to send them forwards. My friends ex-hunter goes backwards when he gets bored with walk on the way home, and she tried backing him into the hedge. All that happened was that he learnt a new evasion, he now runs backwards into the hedge deliberately, leaps forwards when he hits it and then takes advantage of his momentarily less stable rider to trot for home.

My YO's youngster used to go backwards with her out hacking, she's a dressage rider and her horses are very well-schooled so she used to go with rein-back past whatever it was and now (at five) the mare hardly ever bothers.

 

[Marchtime]

When Jesper took to doing similar I got a very brave person to stand behind him making lots of noise and commotion thus encouraging him forward. I think at one point he did get 'attacked' with a rather large branch! Not sure this is the most practical on the road, but it works for him out hacking when he reverses towards home at speed.

 

[WCCHIC]

A friends horse had the knack for running backwards and spinning round in the school, reining back, voice leg aids, someone standing behind didn't work. changing direction as soon as you felt him prepare himself to run back worked a treat asdid not worrying about the running back but not allowing him to whip round afterwards. Not much help out hacking though.
BTW leaning forwards made him run back even faster.

 

[crackersluvrat]

My horse is a nappy sh!te on the road!! Any oppurtunity to either bolt or slam on the brakes and proceed backwards or spinning occurs with great frequency!! I still hack him out in a dutch gag as he is happy in it and gives me brakes if he chooses the bolting option but I also wear small round spurs as he is a bit whip-shy and if you tickle or smack him he just goes faster/further backwards! The spurs seem to work as he respects my leg much more and as it is sheer naughtiness not being scared then he tends to go forwards (at least for a while) if not then I turn him round and rein-back until he is completely peed off as it's hard work and once he offers to turn round I turn him and we continue forwards...much easier

Forgot to say he only ever does this when hacked out on his own, he is a dream in company and gives a lead to anyone past anything!

 

[milliepops]

A couple of suggestions to add, as WCCHIC says, leaning forwards will probably encourage her to go backwards faster. Try sitting well behind her - you may feel like you are leaning back - and then kicking forwards. Feel for any slight inclination to get behind your leg, and give a forward aid as soon as you feel it - i.e. get in there first! If that means you trot past something at speed, so be it - at least you are going forward.

If you can sit to the buck I would also stick with the schooling whip (or change to a short whip). I personally feel that a buck is more of a 'forward thinking' evasion than a horse that rears - a rear is often followed by a spin round.

One other tactic I have used in the past, if the horse is absolutely determined to go in reverse (if napping) is to reverse past the spooky object! I went past a field of pigs in reverse once and never had to do that again!

 

[Toyboyroxhissox]

my baby mare used to do this all the time but ive cracked it now.
As soon as she stops and goes backwards, i immidiately grab her rein and almost touch her nose against my leg, she has to go round in a circle.... the rein is tight so she cant rear or buck(what she started to do)... then after about 3 circles, shes had enough she doesnt want to go round in a circle anymore, she doesnt like it. So, when i stop and kick her forward into a brisk trot she actually WANTS to go forward in that direction so she doesnt have to go round in circles(horses dont like it). So, everytime she went backwards, i turned her round in circles. She soon got the idea.
Needless tosay the horse is still a brute, and shes probably going, but, that solved my first problem which seems relitively small now!

 

[MrsMozart]

Not ridden today, too full of food (me, not mare

), but will go out tomorrow. Going to have hubby and daughters as foot followers.

Will try all of the above, then will try spurs the next day.

Just realized, I think my brain really has left the building, but her 'old' bit has no joints

. Nor does it have a port, so I am thinking it's a combination of the port and the curb chain that she is objecting to and causing the head throwing, which then quickly leads to the going backwards.

 

[teabiscuit]

have you got any steep hills near you?

my mare found out that reversing up a hill is enough to put doubts into a horses mind about the reverse gear, she was tired out after 6 meters going backwards uphill

 

[MrsMozart]

[ QUOTE ]
have you got any steep hills near you?

my mare found out that reversing up a hill is enough to put doubts into a horses mind about the reverse gear, she was tired out after 6 meters going backwards uphill

[/ QUOTE ]

Unfotunately no hills

But would have loved to see the look on her face if we had!

I didn't get to ride today. I was just about to tack up when I had a call to say my Mum had died. Despite it being expected it was still a blow - though I did want to get on and ride and ride and ride, backwards or forwards, it wouldn't have mattered. I went to see Mum instead.