I See Clover
Well-Known Member
I bought my mare just over a week ago now, but have been riding her on and off since October last year; I rode her in weekly lessons with the university. So, as you might gather, she was owned by a riding school (a well named one at that) and used for intermediate classes.
She is super in every way and very well behaved - until it comes to hacking that is. Before I bought her, the previous owners did tell me that she can be a bit nappy - she does it at the same spot every time and once you leg her on, she's fine.
So before I bought her, I took her on a hack with another horse. She done exactly as they had described (stopped, backed up, tried to turn home etc), but I kept legging her on and she was fine (napping lasted for a couple of minutes max). She was quite excitable after that and jogged for the rest of the hack and the whole way home.
However, I never thought to try hacking her on her own aswell - very silly of me not to think of it, I know. They had never hacked her out on her own, they'd always had company, so never really knew what she was like.
So took her on a short hack this morning on her own.To be on the safe side, my mum walked along with us just incase anything were to happen. Came to the end of the farm road and she done the usual. But this time she chucked in 2/3 decent sized rears. This episode lasted a bit longer than last time, maybe around 5 minutes. Mum had to catch up and ended up leading her forward for a couple of minutes.
We got on to the road and she made a half hearted attempted to nap, legged her on and she was fine. On the way back she was perfect - much calmer than last time and didn't jog at all.
I tried to concentrate on working her so she would be focusing on that more, but it didn't seem to work. She is too alert to what is going on around her and can be quite spooky so it is very difficult to hold her full concentration.
My mum thinks I need to be a little more dominant with her and constantly keep my leg on her when she naps/rears. I think she was worse today because she was on her own and she was trying to test her luck with me. Also, because she can be a whoose and over-alert, the rearing might have been out of fear....
Never had a rearing horse before - so have no idea how to handle it. My mum isn't that worried about it and neither is my riding instructor. Is that normal?? Am I just worrying about the whole thing too much?
Sorry about the long winded description - any advice greatly appreciated.
B&J's icecream to those who have read this far!
She is super in every way and very well behaved - until it comes to hacking that is. Before I bought her, the previous owners did tell me that she can be a bit nappy - she does it at the same spot every time and once you leg her on, she's fine.
So before I bought her, I took her on a hack with another horse. She done exactly as they had described (stopped, backed up, tried to turn home etc), but I kept legging her on and she was fine (napping lasted for a couple of minutes max). She was quite excitable after that and jogged for the rest of the hack and the whole way home.
However, I never thought to try hacking her on her own aswell - very silly of me not to think of it, I know. They had never hacked her out on her own, they'd always had company, so never really knew what she was like.
So took her on a short hack this morning on her own.To be on the safe side, my mum walked along with us just incase anything were to happen. Came to the end of the farm road and she done the usual. But this time she chucked in 2/3 decent sized rears. This episode lasted a bit longer than last time, maybe around 5 minutes. Mum had to catch up and ended up leading her forward for a couple of minutes.
We got on to the road and she made a half hearted attempted to nap, legged her on and she was fine. On the way back she was perfect - much calmer than last time and didn't jog at all.
I tried to concentrate on working her so she would be focusing on that more, but it didn't seem to work. She is too alert to what is going on around her and can be quite spooky so it is very difficult to hold her full concentration.
My mum thinks I need to be a little more dominant with her and constantly keep my leg on her when she naps/rears. I think she was worse today because she was on her own and she was trying to test her luck with me. Also, because she can be a whoose and over-alert, the rearing might have been out of fear....
Never had a rearing horse before - so have no idea how to handle it. My mum isn't that worried about it and neither is my riding instructor. Is that normal?? Am I just worrying about the whole thing too much?
Sorry about the long winded description - any advice greatly appreciated.
B&J's icecream to those who have read this far!