Can I change him?

Hullabaloo

Hullabaloo

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I've had my horse for 4 years and he's great in lots of ways - fab in traffic, great jump, schools nicely etc but he can be a bit of a pratt on hacks. He gets so overexcited at the thought of having a canter he dances about, leaps, runs backwards, spins etc - never rears or bucks though. Then he is obsessed with going as fast as he can so getting a steady canter is a struggle. He isn't allowed to just take off when he wants - I always make him wait until he's told he can go but it does unnerve me. Our hacking is on Salibury Plain so its very open and often we have a down hill approach to a canter where he fights me all the way. He's been off work for a bit and I'm hoping to be able to ride him soon.
Today I was riding my friends horse who is so well behaved I was able to just relax and enjoy my canters which brought it home to me how much my own horse's behaviour worries me.
I don't want to sell him as he's perfect for me in so many other ways but I don't know whether I can change him or if this is just in his nature. He's just very keen and is the same whether he's on his own or in company.
Any ideas?
 
Is it because he always canters in the same places on hacks that makes him excited and he antipates them? Lots of long and 'boring' slow hacks might make him a little less excitable.......
 
I'd defo ditto on that one, surprising how they get in a routine quickly. Once he's mastered walking where you normally canter i'd trot him along then when he's comfortable with that let him break into a gentle hack, dont gather your reins up before you set off though or it will give him the signal to go with you again
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I'm really bad for encouraging this kind of behavior! I'm still like a little kid and race up certain fields! Bad BB!!!
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Sounds like he is anticipating where you canter, maybe take him on rides he doesn't know as well and always canter in different places?
 
Having a horse with a very similar outlook to your boy I think Spring would get like this too if I let her. I am a bit dull on hacks, I do lots of boring walking/trotting hacks and will throw in the odd canter when she is least expecting it! I never canter in the same place and make a point of having controlled and collected canters and then the odd gallop. We do lots of schooling when hacking as well so she still considers it as 'work' rather than a jolly. The key with Spring is that she is bright and will soon learn where the canters are and start to anticipate. I am also concious of the ground and have yet to find many places that are good for a bit of a blast.
We have some hay fields that are being opened up for us to ride in and its going to take all my self control not to just gallop her madly around them! Lol!!
 
I know I have been guilty of cantering him in the same places as we don't have that many good canters within short hacking distance (no excuse I know!) so that is definately part of the problem but he also gets overexcited when his feet touch grass. He hacks on his own or with one other horse who is much slower than him. When I was at a bigger yard he used to hack in company more and was always very competitive and had to be at the front.
We did lots of long slow hacks last year but it just meant by the time I took him for a canter he got so excited he was a real pratt!
 
I know I'm paying the price for my hooligan behaviour in the past. I used to love blasting around everywhere but we always had fences where we had to stop (and he's not that silly!). I fell off him hacking last year and I seemed to lose confidence from there. It was just incompetence on my part -we were trotting along the edge of a field he spooked, I fell off. I'd only ever come off hacking once before and it didn't worry me - I was on another horse and got concussed so didn't remember it. His pratting about didn't really bother me before that I don't think.
I know we need to be more disciplined - its dealing with his tantrums when I don't let him canter that worries me.
 
I did it with BB2's dad's old mare, got a slap in the face when I started doing it with the coloured, he is like yours- nutcase, jogs, the job lot, I have just learned to sit back and keep him back.
 
It's better not to canter in the same place each time if your horse is like this. Try doing the hack in walk a couple of times then introduce short sections of trot and canter in different places so he doesn't anticipate it. Also helps if you can ride out with one other quiet horse until this is sorted. Different routes help, they're less likely to rush if they don't know where they're going.
 
Its a good idea. I've got a sharer who is much braver than me at the moment and have thought of asking her to do some of the hard bits but she's only 16 so I feel a bit guilty (or maybe inadequate!). I'll discuss it with her when he comes back into proper work and we can work out a plan of action between us to instill more discipline.
 
"Try doing the hack in walk a couple of times"

See that's the scary bit - he'll turn himself inside out. He can throw one hell of a tantrum. I know it has to be gone through to get him out of the bad habits I taught him but I can't say I look forward to it. Maybe I'll take a hip flask ....
 
My old horse used to be like that and at first I thought it was fun but after a while it was really frustrating that I couldn't even go on an enjoyable hack..it always turned out to be a battle and eventually she was galloping and I couldn't stop her and we galloped right into a hack of 8 children from a local riding school who were on 'walkies'. I fell off and she galloped away, I found her right next to a road eating grass, but she was really panicky and tense. It was such a wake up call.

It's all sorted out now though
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For one week I rode her in my paddock every day, practising downwards transitions; walk to halt. trot to walk. canter to trot. Only moving up a stage when we had perfected it. I changed her bit to a dutch gag (known as "bubble bit") and after trying it out a bit I put it on the lowest (most severe) hole. At canter and gallop (still in my paddock in week 1) I practised half-halts until she slowed down/trotted within a few seconds of me asking her. I also used my voive "woooaah" to slow her.

After the first week I took her on a different hack with another horse and only walked and trotted. She was fine. Then I went on a few more hacks, and gradually added small bits of canter, using my downward transition practice and half halt practice which really helped.

After 2 weeks she was fine on her own too and we could canter/gallop in any field and I had total control.

Hope that helps!
 
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