advice needed on riding thru pre-gallop excitement!!

Firehorse

Firehorse

Well-Known Member
Joined
17 September 2008
Messages
1,124
Location
sunny and cold sussex
Visit site
i've had my boy for 7 months and we've had some fab fun in that time. he's jst a family pet in all honesty. i hack him out 2 -3 times a week, more in summer and the kids will hve a go when the weather's nice! i do school him on hacks, not jst slop along, to make sure he's listening.

he is naturally a fwd going little chap and loves to be ridden. but equally, is quite happy to plod around with a tot on the lead rein. out hacking he will plod along happily until we get to green green grass. this seems to spark him to action!

i spent all summer making sure every time i'd galloped him somewhere, that we would walk the next time. he wud occassionally try it on and start to fizz up but would always calm down and obligingly walk.

anyway, i downgraded his bit as he'd been so good. he was in a dutch gag. i put him in a universal, after bit bank advice. after a couple of weeks he must've summed it up coz he tanked off twice!! eek! and got very naughty about walking home. even on the roads. he would try to jog and mini rear if i stopped him.

so, back in went the dutch gag! it took a few rides for him to realise. i did tons of road work to calm him down and build back my confidence after a downhill flat out no brakes experience . gradually i took him back onto the grass tracks. in some places he's an angel, others, he will get so stupid and excited he doesnt know what to do with himself! the brakes are fully functioning again after a blast, so i hve been letting him hve short ones again. but its jst getting this pre-blast fizz under control now.

i've ridden him onto the tracks and straight back off as soon as he starts, i've turned him in circles and tried to make him listen. given him heaps of praise when he does walk calmly. on one of our well known tracks we hve to go thru a tight gateway before we hit the grass and this week he started fizzing up before we got thru! he starts tossing his head, jogging, mini rears, backing up, every trick in the book. i loosened the reins and booted him but he still messed about. i finally got him thru and then he walked for a few paces before another performance. when he gets like this there is no way i can make him walk. i guess he's figured that out. mess about, she lets me go.

so what do u think i shud try. when he messes about it doesnt particularly worry me, know i now he will stop again! should i persevere and force him to walk these tracks again? altho we'd probably end up going backwards! to be honest, i do love a good blast and now he knows the routes, it doesnt seem to matter if we've walked it a hundred times, he still wants to go.

he gets fizzed up no matter if we're alone or with another horse. altho i hve noticed he gets v sweaty and more agitated on the way home, when alone.
 
I used to find with mine that if you let him trot for half a dozen strides, you could then bring him back down to walk without much trouble. No idea why, but it worked for me so might be worth a go for you?
 
wow, defo not his feed then!

do you do any schooling on him? that will help with him listening to you - also perhaps lunge him before you get on him for a few weeks.....
 
i school on hacks. he is a different pony if i actually school in our paddock. he's a good boy and always tries his best. he has done a lot in his past life. dressage, pony clubbing, show jumping, cross country, the lot!

i make him work on hacks, get him in an outline, work on his paces, walk is coming along lovely on the roads. i stop, half halt, rein back etc when in a quiet place. i had thought of taking him out onto the downs and schooling him on the edge of the field where he wud usually hve a blast, to get him listening in a different envorinment.

lunging him honestly wudnt make any difference, even if he's knackered, he still finds the energy from somewhere! even if he's had a steep uphill gallop and is puffing and blowing, he can still jog along all tizzy!
 
I have this problem on the way home from any hacks currently, so am going to watch this thread. I've not found any way to stop it and it's a bit scary when on a main road!

And i lunge before we go out if it's not going be to a mega long hack (ie under 3 hours) and he still has the energy, like you say! Have found i am just having to sit tight and not get hit by anything lol.
 
Sounds a lot like where i used to ride around Lewes area in East Sussex. The cob i rode simply had no brakes. Once he saw the big sheeps field on the other side of this gate we had to go through he was off!

It was a riding school though so he knew damn fine a gallop was coming they must have repeated the same ride so many times.
I didn't ride him often otherwise i would have tried to correct the behaviour but it was definitely a hang on and go with it moment!
 
Have exactly the same problem with my Section D, he's an old boy now but worse than ever and its a catch 22, because he's so damn scary before the off I avoid taking him for gallops, which makes him worse! Its taken me two summers to re-educate him to even walk around our neighbouring two fields, if thats all I ever do hackwise again then I'll be happy with that. He used to do the same though, even if we were on tarmac, if he thought we were entering the next field for a whizz he'd be running backwards, spinning, bucking on the spot and once in sight of the entrance he'd "skid and go" whether I liked it or not. My own fault really, should've nipped it in the bud long ago
frown.gif
Can't really advise Im afraid, although how I got him round the big field without peeing off was to put a friend on who events and takes no messing about from anything, she got on and went round and round and round in welsh walk ignoring the sideways and he eventually put his head down and walked calmly!!! Do you want to borrow her?
smile.gif
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top