and 2 years down the line....

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10 March 2009
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still struggling with nappy horse! Still wont go out of the gate alone and still planting himself on rides. Can anyone beat this ??! and yes, have been there done it ,bought the te shirt with regard to all the remedies!
 
What's he like with a different rider? My mare can quickly work our whether she should try out her nappy shenanegans (sp?) or not with each new rider.
 
Mmmm....

Why do you think he naps?

Is it to get back to his friends/home? Bacause he's scared? He's backwards thinking? Because he can? Some other reason?
 
he lacks confidence about everything, hes 16 ! As I said we have tried all the usual remedies. On the very odd occasion we do go out with someone else hes fine. He is a horse that is happiest slobbing round his field.
 
Confidence is a very tricky thing to build and very easy to lose. I would say don't give up. Keep building up his trust in you, it is a long term thing.

It took me a year to get my mare to go past the alpacas nicely (walking under contol with no napping, but she still puffed at them) and she's had quite alot of time off due to injury, so I expect that I will have to build her confidence with them again. The only thing that I found, is to not let her get worked up about them. If she's not coping, I dismount, lead her past (she feels safer with me between her and the alpacas) and then remount. Then repeat, repeat, repeat until she isn't so worried.
 
Gosh, you must have the patience of a saint. I am not sure what I would do but just to be b. minded I would probably put him on a lorry take him in the lorry a long way from home and leave him there :eek:.. ooops I mean ride him home :)
 
Does he reverse?

I used to have a big nappy pain in the bum BUT managed to get him out on his own by reversing (sometimes for about 20 mins!), then when I finally felt relax/ breathe (you'll just feel when its right) spin him round and off we would go.

I used to do the same when we met spooky things, just whip him round then reverse.

(Eventually, the reversing became just to get him out of the yard gates then he would give up!! it did however once include reversing out of an XC start gate and reversing into SJ arenas more than once!)
 
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