Forward on soft ground

[Adoni123]

Hi all,

Looking for some tips, just got a new horse home and he’s absolutely lovely and perfect in almost every way.

It’s clear that the previous owner must have let him have his head and have a gallop every time he touched soft ground out hacking - not what I want especially as he’s new and I’ve had a bad confidence knock.

I can feel him getting on his toes as soon as it touches - I think this is partly my anxiety too. He starts trying to trot off and gets strong. If I use my reins he will throw his head and I’m just not quite sure what I should do. I’m using my seat too but I’m of course but I’m anxious and I had to dismount and walk today so I’m feeling upset at myself.

Anyone any tips on how to best overcome this? I’ve dealt with a lot worse before just by ignoring the behaviour when I was more confident on a previous horse but I’d like to fix this behaviour this time.

Thanks

 

[Michen]

Can you hack him in company with a quiet horse initially to help re set his brain? Otherwise I’d be inclined to get him busy in walk doing some leg yielding, shoulder fore etc.

With my established horse when he gets silly like this I simply drop the reins and give him nothing to snatch against.

 

[Adoni123]

We were with a quiet horse, he reminds me off my old boy who would get a bit more excited with company so I think I’m going to have a try on my own with someone on foot - I hacked him alone when I tried him and he was a bit forward on the soft but not the way he was told and earlier this week. So hoping if I can go alone and reset him then he can have a friend!
Great, thanks. I’ll try that when I’m out alone to keep him busy!

 

[Pearlsasinger]

My Draft mare was like this when I first got her. She had been used to increasing the pace in the same places every time, even to always trotting across the road at junctions. She was built like a tank and was very opinionated and had run away with her previous novice owner. So I started riding her in a NS Universal with 2 reins. I rode on the snaffle until she tried to ignore me, then I bought the curb rein into play. She soon got the idea and so long as I used the Universal, I could ride her on washing line reins, if I swapped to the NS Tranz, she ignored it when hacking. I made a point of walking where we had gone faster last time we were there and so on.

 

[mini_b]

My Draft mare was like this when I first got her. She had been used to increasing the pace in the same places every time, even to always trotting across the road at junctions. She was built like a tank and was very opinionated and had run away with her previous novice owner. So I started riding her in a NS Universal with 2 reins. I rode on the snaffle until she tried to ignore me, then I bought the curb rein into play. She soon got the idea and so long as I used the Universal, I could ride her on washing line reins, if I swapped to the NS Tranz, she ignored it when hacking. I made a point of walking where we had gone faster last time we were there and so on.

as pearlisasinger said, If you have one that likes to “think for itself” a bit too much, never doing the same pace in same pace on consecutive rides really does make a difference.
Takes time though.

For me the thing that made a difference with my opinionated IDx was schooling on grass. He used to take off in open spaces as he was tooled around by a large bloke.

We found a flat bit and started off in walk and flexing and just moving forward nicely, circles, serpentines, constantly changing direction. Took a few sessions to get a little trot, then built up to canter when he felt relaxed. He used to tow off because he was unbalanced and green but also just a bit rude.

I did change his bit from a(unsuitable for him) Dutch gag to a bomber Pelham with roundings, then double reins and I can now school in this open space in WTC in a bomber snaffle.

i still do my faster hacks in a Pelham.
It’s taken me 8 months to get to this point and he still has his moments and i really did want it to be a quick fix. Good luck!

 

[Flowerofthefen]

My boy would jog home. Extremely annoying. If I touched his mouth we would get head tossing. I always ride in a neck strap so I started using that to slow him instead of my reins. I also used to flex to the left for a few strides then to the right and I kept on until he walked then went straight. I have had him 3 years now and it was only about a year ago he stopped it . It took him a while to settle into his new home with me.

 

[mini_b]

He could be unsettled if you’ve just got him so may be a bit anxious and just rushing off through lack of confidence.

Don’t be keen to bit up as tempting as it may be. Could end up giving him something to run away from. Tiny steps breaking up going onto soft ground in stages or a competent, sympathetic rider to see where the brakes are if you are too worried about your confidence being totally knocked.

 

[mini_b]

I will add I’m not overly confident - I WAS. I have a sense of self preservation now.

He was a different kettle of fish when I moved him hence the teething problems - it just took time, perseverance, actual proper schooling and lots of gin in a tin.

 

[Adoni123]

Thanks guys, I don’t think he’s strong enough for a change of bit at the moment. He’s in a snaffle and I’m reluctant to change it up yet.
Will give another few weeks and hack alone interpreting some schooling whilst hacking as I’m usually one to relax and let them do whatever while hacking but this horse is a clever one so will need to change my style a bit I think!
Appreciated ?

 

[Michen]

Thanks guys, I don’t think he’s strong enough for a change of bit at the moment. He’s in a snaffle and I’m reluctant to change it up yet.
Will give another few weeks and hack alone interpreting some schooling whilst hacking as I’m usually one to relax and let them do whatever while hacking but this horse is a clever one so will need to change my style a bit I think!
Appreciated ?

Well I’m sure HHO won’t approve but when mine has been really fresh with the potential to explode I’ve had his chin in his chest until the moment has gone (seconds), and I then put him in a deep but low frame which is a magic button to get him to settle.

 

[Apercrumbie]

I've often had this situation when buying a horse and after the first couple of weeks, if they're still being idiots when their feet touch grass I only walk on grass for at least a month. After a month, I introduce small bursts of trot and then bring them back to walk - so basically a month of walk/trot transitions. After another month I up the trot and if the horse is proving sensible, introduce short, controlled bursts of canter. Eventually I have a mannerly horse that does as I ask - it's important for me to have a horse that will walk, trot, canter, gallop exactly where I need it to. The process is boring as hell (although not for me who likes pottering round the countryside enough to be ok with it) but it does teach them that grass isn't automatically exciting.

You may get more skilled suggestions from this forum, but I've never had the method fail yet!

 

[JennBags]

I had a sharer for a while when I was off riding and when I was fit to ride again, every time we went on grass my horse thought we were going for a blast. I incorporated a lot of transitions and also did some schooling as others have suggested, it didn't take long to get him to rethink!

 

[Red-1]

I found the key to this was to find an actual field for working on. Then I would hack to the field and do a schooling session. I could be half an hour in walk, going circles, turns, halt transitions, making sure it was all accurate. Once walk is all attentive, then trot.

Once we had done a deal of trot, circles, turns, transitions etc - all accurate- and so the horse is on your leg not on your hand - then a canter wouldn't be half as exciting. With a really hot one this may take a few sessions before I would even want to try canter.

Once they can canter then we would do quite a lot (fitness allowing) but again it would be schooling, so turns, circles, transitions... Only once they were on my leg would we enlarge the schooling area, and gradually the schooling area would become the whole field.

I would also make sure we could have a break and pick it up again, without excitement.

Very soon grass became just another work situation, horses can enjoy their work, but it is a place where I am still in charge.

Only once I could guarantee that I could go work on the field, at all gaits, large without needing endless circles, would I start to use grass tracks. We would go into trot, only when settled would we canter, and the horse would have to remain on my leg. On the field we would have practiced bending and flexing, and we would use that on the straight track as well to help keep on the aids, along with transitions within the pace with half-halts, to make sure the horse's brain wasn't slipping away.