Confusing young mare when hacking

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Lorrie66

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Hello

Any top tips - I have a 5 year old mare that needs some confidence building. Strange thing is sometimes she is fine & others not! Because there is no consistency I’m not sure how to tackle things...
Main issues – Hacks out with company but occasionally will just plant herself. However, will go in front fine especially in new places?? In old routes she is sometimes fine & other times she wants to be behind her buddy & will look to home when we first head out but then is OK when we go beyond the half way point! Why would she be more confident in unfamiliar places?
Hacking alone – she is worse and will plant herself and look longingly at home. But sometimes she just gets on with it and I think great we’ve cracked it but then she reverts again a few days later. Is this just confidence issues and perhaps what I need to do is focus on leading & riding out alone every time for a good while?? She is fine in the school & works very well. We have had the odd battle which I’ve won but when she decides to plant she really is like stuck in cement – cannot sometimes even get her to move to one side she is just really rigid. If we wait she will eventually move but can be well over 15 mins or half an hour which gets very frustrating as alas my time is limited as for a lot of people. Can I make it more happy/exciting for her ? Obviously I will run out of new routes soon and we do need to leave the yard in the same direction to get to all bridleways....
 
I don't think you should be waiting until she decides to move. I have a pony that stops and I ride her forward. Had her nearly a month and she hardly does it now. It's napping and trying to take advantage of you IMO.
 
My mare can be like this when she is in season, she becomes terribly spooky and reluctant in places she has been 100 times already!
I now find that hacking her alone and pushing her forward is the way to go and she is a dream to hack now (with exception to the odd muppet day :o) I also find that the more I fight with her the worse she is, so just sitting quietly and almost laughing at her tends to do the trick!
She is older, she is 14 now and we have just cracked it! I have had her 2 and a half years and she did need a fair amount of retraining when I got her and I have changed my approach to things when it comes to what to suits her and gives her the most confidence.

Also agree with above, dont let her stand until she is ready to move, even if it means getting off and leading her and then getting back on where appropriate! It has to be better than her standing where she wants for howver long she wants :p
 
Great – thanks for replies so far.... I realise this is napping and to ride forward is the key! I’m a pretty strong rider but believe you me when she plants she is rigid!
I think the suggestion to get off and lead and get back on is something I’ve not done and this sounds a good way to get her moving without resorting to huge kicks & whips – which I have tried and really just makes her more stubborn and she does not flinch!
My worry is she loves being lead and is very happy – so could end up as this is what she would like as she likes the company on the ground.
Have people worked with treats along the way before?
The other issue is that I have a teenager that needs to ride out with us so going alone is only once a week. I guess I may have to change this around to only once with company and forget the school work for a while to get more hacking days in before the dark nights & mornings arrive.
 
I’m a pretty strong rider but believe you me when she plants she is rigid!
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So either give her a real wallop with a short stick - or sit it out. I don't (personally) agree with the whole getting on and off malarkey. The horse doesn't sound dangerous so there is no need.

As for the teenager - your concern is your horse, not the teenager. Let her ride out with someone else.
 
I wouldn't get off nor would I let her do anything other than go forwards. (imbecile who had my horse on loan would make her walk backwards and she started rearing with her??? I never had a problem until she had her then I just rode her through it)

With yours I'd get her moving off the leg better in the school (set up some obstacles she won't like) and back leg up with a short crop. No need to kick and flap about.
 
We had a horse like this. He would stop at the same point everyday, he then got canny & would stop 50 metres away from the spot. It took lots of forceful riding & determination. You must be the only winner in this napping game.
We tried hacking out with others & they would grab him & lead him, I then started taking him out on his own twice as much & just kept at him, doing lots of leg yielding & riding up to the bridle, so it became a schooling session all the time.
It took about 6 weeks of continuity but he is now a Huntsmans horse & goes first everywhere.
Good Luck.

Don't get me started about the one that used to lay down in the road everyday at the same spot, he was the ultimate nightmare.
 
Many may disagree but spinning, i.e turning tight circles on the spot then pushing on forward as they straighten up sometimes gets you a few steps further & further.
Sometimes you have to change their thought pattern, rather than I am stopping & will not forward to, what is Mum doing spinning me this way. This has worked with really obstinate types.
 
I actually do think getting off and leading helps. BUT it depends on the Horse and Rider. If the Horse has no ground mannors, it could be dangerous. If the rider is an in-experienced handler, then also I wouldn't reccomend this either.

I have been known to get off and lead when Horses nap. Purely because it was the right thing to do at the time. My mare has fantastic ground mannors and I am a confident handler. I can give her far more confidence from the floor then I ever could sitting on her back. I also know that if she were to mis behave it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. I was forced to in hand hack her for 3 months due to her being injured, this included going on the roads and she was an absolute angel.

Usually I try to sit her out (hasn't done it for a while though!) and use my schooling whip and praise when she goes forwards. But other times, if she starts reversing and spinning in a road and I see an oncoming car, I get off! or if I feel she is putting us in danger I will always choose to dismount and regain control.
 
LaurenBay said:
I actually do think getting off and leading helps. BUT it depends on the Horse and Rider. If the Horse has no ground mannors, it could be dangerous. If the rider is an in-experienced handler, then also I wouldn't reccomend this either.

I have been known to get off and lead when Horses nap. Purely because it was the right thing to do at the time. My mare has fantastic ground mannors and I am a confident handler. I can give her far more confidence from the floor then I ever could sitting on her back. I also know that if she were to mis behave it wouldn't bother me in the slightest. I was forced to in hand hack her for 3 months due to her being injured, this included going on the roads and she was an absolute angel.

Usually I try to sit her out (hasn't done it for a while though!) and use my schooling whip and praise when she goes forwards. But other times, if she starts reversing and spinning in a road and I see an oncoming car, I get off! or if I feel she is putting us in danger I will always choose to dismount and regain control.
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I agree with the above. I have a 5 yr old mare that sounds just like yours. She can be wonderfully forward going but occasionally stops, plants her feet and refuses to move. She did it lots when I first bought Her - and then started again after I'd been away on holiday for a week. touch wood she hasn't done it for the past week - so consistency is definitely
key.
Sometimes getting her to move sideways (just to get her legs moving) works. I also carry a crop and ask once with a squeeze, once again with a harder squeeze then give her a tap. Now she just has to see me taking the crop out of my boot and she moves. Then I give her a big pat and lots of noise 'good gril' etc.

The one time I could not get Her moving (just after I got back from holiday) I just got off and led her for 20 feet or so then got back on. She is fine on the ground and it's so much easier than battling.

I think it's just a baby trying you out thing. I've never tried sitting it out, as some people suggest, as I have a feeling we'd be sat there for hours.
 
partypremier said:
Many may disagree but spinning, i.e turning tight circles on the spot then pushing on forward as they straighten up sometimes gets you a few steps further & further.
Sometimes you have to change their thought pattern, rather than I am stopping & will not forward to, what is Mum doing spinning me this way. This has worked with really obstinate types.
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Thanks PartyP - This does actually have some effect . I do this often as its the only way to get her feet to move. She does eventually go forward, but can stop again sometimes half an hour later for no reason! And we have this every time.I think I need to keep at her as you did with yours. A 6 week plan sounds what I need to do & only riding out alone .... and at least she is not dangerous or lays down! I've even had someone give her the biggest whallop they could manage from behind & me sat there waiting ready for her to launch forward -- but she did not flinch!! Everyone was amazed - I think she has extra super thick skin!! thanks for sharing your story...

and ignoring the teenager is not an option or something I wish to do so will have to think of a plan to suit or pay for someone to do this during the day for me.
 
To be honest, she's 5. I can't see the problem with hacking out in company getting her going really forward in anyway you can. Company will give her confidence and a role model. It's such early days in her life, get the hacking established in a relaxed manner in company there's plenty of time to move on from there.
 
I can't deny getting off and leading works for some people, however I think it really is best to stick it out and like PP says - WIN that argument. The more times you win the more you set a precedent and the more that happens, the quicker and shorter the arguments will get.

I had a 30 min argument with my 17hh hunter when he first came. He stopped at some bins. I wouldn't let him back away or move, we just sat there and I didn't let him have his own way until he moved, fair play we scooted past but that's inconsequential!

The next day the argument was about where the bins had been, that one lasted about 5mins.

The day after and ever after, no arguments. They aren't stupid, if they sense any chink in your armour they'll exploit it IMO :)

The problem is if you set the precedent of getting off, where will that leave you if you cannot get off for any reason? I think strength and building their trust that you can and should be listened to, is the best way :)
 
There might be some truly dangerous situations where getting off is the thing you have to do.

But for naughty napping horses, if you get off each time they act up, you might inadvertantly be rewarding them for misbehaving.

My mare also gets stubborn if I get too heavy handed with the whip, so I talk her through it, turn her in circles, do shoulder in, etc., until she gets going. She rarely plants or naps anymore.

And she knows if she acts up, she'll be subjected to my singing at her and she *really* wants to avoid that. :eek:

Another evil trick is to have someone following you on foot with a schooling whip. :D
 
See my recent thread about taking the nappy horse out alone! I'm now getting two types of napping, and like yours, she just stops dead. The first one was the one on the drive, which I KNEW wasn't about lack of confidence/fear etc as we've been down there loads of times, and it runs next to the field she's turned out in. So that got a huge reaction, I really gave her a good few sharp smacks with the whip. She protested by putting in a buck, which wasn't huge, but seemed like she knew I meant business and she went off without a second thought.
We had a few 'planting' moments on the way out, but again, were pretty quick to fix. Just sat quiet a minute, then flexed side to side to 'loosen' her feet, then ask forward again, and that worked ok.
Both of those were reluctance to leave the yard/go away from the yard ones, and she showed no fear, so in that case I would't have got off but stayed on board and persevered.
But she did have a 'fear' reaction to cows half way round, and in that case I did get off and lead, that part is the busiest road (still very quiet, but always seems to be a car when you don't want one!) and next time I will take the advice offered on the other thread and instead of trying to calm and reassure, her, will just ignore the cows and press on, getting off an leading for 400 yards if needed,without fuss, then back on.
I'm by no means experienced, just finding my way to see what works, mine is also quite young (5), and when hacking in company seems happy to take the lead. I'm also giving up schooling for the next 6 weeks and now we can go out alone, I will be doing so at every opportunity!
 
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