Can I pick your brains?

[Annette4]

So I'm hitting a bit of a brick wall with our hacking. We're ok on the short hacks she knows and in company but trying to go on longer hacks alone and she gets VERY stressed and difficult to control, although she doesn't get out of control it's certainly not fun for either of us.

I had a brain wave today. I took her for a walk down the track we would be using to go on one of our longer hacks. I just walked her to the gate onto the road, let her eat then we went home. After a short while she relaxed and took confidence from me. I'm wondering if this is a sensible way to get her used to going away from the herd for longer periods/this particular hack then graduate to someone walking with us while I ride? This isn't plausible for the other longer hacks but I'm hoping if I can get her used to the idea it might make the others easier to tackle.

 

[Izzwizz]

Why dont you take her on the short hacks she knows alone first before attempting longer ones? Thats what I did with my nappy mare. We then ventured further with company with her leading and the distance between myself and the other horse getting further apart. May sound silly but I sing to her and that relaxes me and her though must sound awful - cant sing atall!! She has to trust you completely and if she senses any tension on your part, she will react. Lots of praise and vocal interaction seemed to be the key with my horse. A person on foot would be very good for you both as far confidence, why not find someone with a dog to walk, distance doesnt seem so far then.

 

[eggs]

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May sound silly but I sing to her and that relaxes me and her though must sound awful - cant sing atall!! She has to trust you completely and if she senses any tension on your part, she will react.

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LOL I did the same and I sing really, really flat. Think the poor neddy decided to just get on with the hack so as not to have to endure my singing any longer than necessary.

Also strongly agree that your horse will pick up on any nervousness/tension in the rider and react accordingly.

There really is no reason why a horse should not be able to hack out on its own unless it has had a previous bad experience. I think a lot of problems are caused unintentionally by the rider.

 

[Annette4]

I do think I'm making it worse as I'm now a bit worried (don't bounce on concrete

) but I was in no way shape or form worried on our first long hack and she was VERY upset.

I don't like the idea of getting off mid hack but I thought walking on a lunge line would mean she has a 'comfort blanket' and I feel better able to deal with any problems. Once she's confident I can ride with someone on the ground and build from there. She's so sensitive (no handling until late on) that she's worried about things I wouldn't expect from a youngster but once she gains her confidence she's fab.

izzwizz - we already do the short hacks on our own 100% of the time with no problems.

I don't want a horse who won't hack alone and never had one that wouldn't go it alone but she needs self confidence building before she can have confidence in me I think.