Do your horses remember the places you go for a canter?

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Berkeley

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When you're out hacking, do your horses remember particular places where, for example, you last cantered?

I went out today to a place we hadn't been to in ages, literally over a year. I cantered there last time but due to the over growth today I wasn't confident about opening her up until we got to a flatter and safer area.

She must have known where she was because all of a sudden she was ready for action! She started pulling, skipping sideways - anything to get going. I wasn't having any of it and ended up battling with her for a good few minutes until she gave up and walked on sensibly.

Are there any places you go where you have to be prepared?!
 
Oh yes!

Years ago we used to gallo up a grass verge next to a long concrete air ministry road - it was about 2 miles altogether. And because we galloped it every time, the horses soon got used to it and would jog and go sideways when we were anywhere near it!
 
Good - glad I'm not the only one! I just thought if I had of let her go who knows where we'd end up!
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I suppose if you know where the places are you have got to expect the worst! All that work in the school to control and train them goes out the window
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One of my friends said to alternate the pace i.e. one day walk up the next day canter. It doesn't seem to work for me
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Yep.

A group of us have recently moved yards, and the new yard is close to where one of the horses used to be stabled years ago - and the mare actually recognises all the hacking routes, and the bits where she used to canter, five years on!
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when i got my last horse i kept him at the same yard as his last owner,i knew exactlywhere she walked trotted cantered and flat out galloped- but also he would nap past the pubs too so me thinks she used to enjoy the odd tipple on the way back!
 
The one I ride deffinately does. First time I rode her, Got to s a stretch of grass and we were off in Gallop. First time i had ever galloped aswell! :O

Nick.
 
Mine remembers, but it depends what mood he's in whether he feels like actually going or not. There are only limited places where I hack that it is safe to do any sort of fast work, as most of the tracks are quite stony. I do try to vary it though, and don't always canter.
 
Mine does but will walk in most of the places if I insist. We have a bit of dancing for a few seconds but then he accepts it. I try to have him walking calmly before I ask him to canter though so he knows he's not allowed to just go when he wants. The benefit of it though is he also stops where he knows he has to so we never have too many problems in that area!
 
Oh my word yes!! I had a mare that any spot she had ever cantered, even if it was only once, was thereafter a 'canter spot'....forever. She had an amazing memory, I did an ODE on her once. We had done the same ODE a year before and not been back since. They had changed a couple of the jumps and she tried to do the previous year's course and was most put out that I asked her to go somewhere new.
 
Definately, I moved to a different town ,2 years later I did a pleasure ride that crossed some of the areas we used to ride .
We had a whale of a time to the point when it came time to load she refused .So after a 20 mile ride we then had to hack home another 8 miles fighting as she wanted to go back the
other way .
When we got home ,the trailer ramps were open as my husband had taken the trailer home ,I jumped off ,and my mare just to prove a point walked through the trailer !!!!
Im sure I could hear her laughing !!!
 
We had a mare who 8 yrs after moving from one yard we moved back to some where just up the road. Not only did she remember every galloping spot (we had minimal brakes) she also remembered where her old stable was and jogged all the way there and was most distressed when we arrived and it wasn't there (the yard had been demolished).

She had an incredible memory, and remembered every place she went - where we galloped, which way was home I swear she was part homing pidgeon!
Whenever you went somewhere new she would stand and do a steady 360 memorising the horizons (lived in Chile mountains everwhere).

My current gelding... well I think he remebers XC courses, he definetly remembers where we saw bogie monsters but I have no faith in his ability to find home =)
 
oh yes
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when we take the boys to Somerford Park Farm Ride they always get excited before the two hills where we let them have a gallop even if they've not been for several months
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