Can clumsy horses become more footsure?

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somethingorother

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The hacking post got me thinking. It's a good job we have mostly flat hacking, as Osc is a clumsy gangly teenager and often doesn't look where he's putting his feet resulting in minor trips when we do go onto any less flat paths.

But if it was all rough hacking do you think he would adapt or would we just both fall over a lot?

I've never regularly ridden anywhere with rough hacking/ tracks and when i've been on holidays etc where there is i just thought they had more suitable horses. They usually have a lot of dales etc rather than an overgrown arab
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Yes I think so. When I bought FB he was a RS horse, so used to working in a flat arena and going out on the odd hack. He soon got used to working up and down mountains; on rough, stony tracks and every other kind of surface. I used to call him Fumblefoot to start with and he would trip and slip on everything. Mind you, I did change him to natural balance shoes, which helped no end and now he doesn't have shoes at all and is fine. I think the more work they do over different terrain the more their balance develops and they become more aware of themselves and their feet generally.
 
It's not good when you have a phobia of being fallen on after a nasty previous accident!

He's SO clumsy, nearly gives me heart failure! Anything even remotely rugged looking and he's too busy oggling the sheep and the birds and the flowers.... and then whoops, nearly on his head!

Arabs i've ridden before have been so nimble on their feet and since i always kidnap any arab in the vicinity i've ridden some rough terrain on them on holidays etc with no problems. But they weren't 15.3...

Like i say thank god for flat tracks!

ETS: CM, i might make that my mission for summer then, as the tracks over the moors are stony and rough and we can go out for hours on end up there. I just have to make it through enough outings without him falling into a ditch for him to get used to it then? lol
 
LOL! My Anglo Arab five year old is a complete klutz too - I bought him for endurance but he sounds just like your lad; eyes everywhere but where he's going and tripping and falling over his feet.

ETS - The best advice I was given was to ride them over anything and everything you can. Start small if you are worried.
 
When the fields are less boggy I will have to start schooling Scooby on grass... he is sooo clumsy. Especially when we're cooling off, because he mooches along with his nose on the floor and kicks himself on the chin.
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qr- If a physical problem has been ruled out then yes, you can teach a horse to be more aware of where it puts its feet. Lots of polework can be good for proprioception, including reversing over poles, mazes, grids, etc
 
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qr- If a physical problem has been ruled out then yes, you can teach a horse to be more aware of where it puts its feet. Lots of polework can be good for proprioception, including reversing over poles, mazes, grids, etc

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What Teddy said. Rolled toes on his front shoes seemed to help my lad, as does riding him forwards into a contact rather than on the buckle.
 
Thanks, the pole work is a good plan actually i hadn't thought of that and it's about time we started to do some now we can school without his ears up my nose. I don't think it's a physical problem, apart from maybe the shoes, but he's just my share horse so can't do much about that. Will mention to his owner though, and i know back lady is out soon.

He doesn't trip on the flat or in the school (even if it's a bit deep) and moves really well, he just misjudges where his feet are when climbing/ stepping over things. He lived a sheltered life as a stud and show horse for his first 14 years of life so probably didn't encounter much rough terrain until the last year or so.
 
[ QUOTE ]
qr- If a physical problem has been ruled out then yes, you can teach a horse to be more aware of where it puts its feet. Lots of polework can be good for proprioception, including reversing over poles, mazes, grids, etc

[/ QUOTE ]

I do lots of pole work with my youngster to help him become more aware of his feet. I vary the spaces between them so he really has to think, and you can just raise them up slightly also.
 
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