Further to the it was all going too well thread

[doodle]

Sigh. The usual spook spin move this time.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Oh no .

He looks fine, but how are you?

 

[doodle]

He is fine. I am fine. He went in the school after and initially decided he might like to spook and be silly but after me hollering in his ears about who was in charge he worked lovely. We had been having a lovely ride round the fields. Had a couple of wee trots. Got to a corner a pheasant moved and he spun. This is not a new move but frustrating. I can’t stop him spooking but the over reactions I thought he had got over.

Saddle fitter coming Tuesday. He has just had teeth done and a full check over a month ago as he was a bit off (hohoho how funny).

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

V glad you are ok K! There are a few locally that I've seen being tits when out, perhaps it's the grass flush, or just the local wildlife population trying to score points?

 

[Sossigpoker]

Could you get your instructor to ride him for a bit , hopefully he will put in those moves but your instructor won't come off and instead will work him. So he starts to learn that being a tit doesn't get him out of work.

 

[doodle]

It is since he has come in at night I think. He decided it was time to come in and leaving him out is not an option. Plus he is having a whale of a time hacking out and having fun and generally enjoying life without any work and has decided he is the boss and can do whatever the heck he likes. I really don’t want to ride in the school (it just dose not interest me anymore) but I think he needs reminded life isn’t all on his terms. The spook spin is not new. I had thought I had managed to tone it down but seems not. He got his eventer sharer off doing the same. He is sharp and spooky and that isn’t going to change. He is a big Warmblood and shouldn’t be able to move that quickly!!

 

[MrsMozart]

They do like to test us.

I'm glad you're okay lass.

 

[doodle]

As an aside. I’m not sure what it is he is eating. I’m presuming barley or wheat shoots. Is he likely to colic?

 

[Upthecreek]

Do you ever take him in the school before hacking out? One of mine is being an absolute prat at the moment so I’ve resorted to taking him in the school for 15-20 minutes to get some beans out of him and get him listening to me before venturing out. Touch wood that has put a stop to most of his antics and he has been much more pleasant to hack out.

 

[Roxylola]

I wouldnt worry too much about colic, I think it would take more than a few greens - assuming you didnt leave him to it ?
Arent they naughty, he certainly seems to like to test you!

 

[doodle]

We rarely go in the school any more. It is just not something I enjoy much now having spent a long time being too scared to hack and sticking to the school. He gets bored and we have both been enjoying hacking. However I took him in after i retrieved him today and he can blooming well just get on with it for the next week!

 

[Dave's Mam]

Dave was an idiot & did the spook & spin on Saturday. I was mortified, as someone else was riding him. Apparently a deadly crow appeared from a hedge.

 

[Dave's Mam]

Glad you are ok Kamikaze. Not been a great week.

 

[doodle]

No not the best. Pheasants are his nemesis. A couple had flapped away and he got a “good boy” for just jumping but then clearly the next one was a killer.

 

[Sossigpoker]

I get that schooling isn't that enjoyable, not all the time anyway. Would it be worth doing some schooling and also lunging before you hack, both to remind him of his manners and also to take the edge off before you hack?

 

[doodle]

Yes he will be schooling for a week. I don’t care if he pulls the sad eyes he can just get on with it. I don’t want to hold off hacking for too long and then it is exciting but he needs to wind his neck in and stop having such a holy time. He actually goes very well.

 

[Sagamoon]

I have a very spooky mare who is helped greatly by wearing Equiline soundproof ears. Its odd that they work but it seems to dull down her senses. A pheasant would get a spook but random spooking at nothing has stopped. Might be worth a try.

 

[Caol Ila]

Back in Gypsum's misspent youth, she could be pretty wild on hacks. She was also bought with the intentions of being a dressage horse, so doing arena work was no great hardship on either one of us. Anyway, I would (and still do) hack her for 20-30 minutes after a schooling session. It had the effect of making her a bit more tractable on trails, and then on days I rode out without prior schooling, trails were (usually) less novel and exciting. It's also useful for cooling out a hot, sweaty horse, because it's less tedious than endless circuits of the arena, which is why I still do it after our once-per-week 30min dressage sesh, although at 27, she usually has her sensible hat on. Win win. But it took a while. For years, I never hacked her straightaway after a weekend off work. I would always give her a schooling day or two before a straight hack. Thank f*ck I don't have to do that anymore.

There have been a few rides where she went mental, and after we somehow got back to the barn, she went into the arena and had a short, sharp dressage sesh. Yeah, don't try to run back to the barn. It won't achieve anything.

Before Gypsum, though, I had Angie. Angie loved trail riding but got very arena sour. Some of that wasn't my fault because the vet prescribed us 8 weeks of arena-only due to foot issues (very thin soles... hoof boots weren't a thing in the late '90s, and Colorado is very rocky... They're called the Rocky Mountains for a reason), and she had no love for flatwork before that. Once we'd suffered through those eight weeks and I realised shouting, "You vill like it and you vill love it" was not actually going to improve Angie's attitude towards dressage, I started riding short spurts in the school, and then hacking out. I got better at anticipating the moment she'd glue herself to one place and refuse to budge, and bailed to trails before that happened. She gradually developed a grudging tolerance for dressage so long as it wa rewarded with a trail ride.

The point of these anecdotes is that if you and/or Robin don't like schooling, you should do it anyway because it's good for you, and you can reward yourselves with a lovely, short trail ride. And if you hack out after a schooling session, the horse might be less inclined to do silly things, which basically builds your repertoire of positive experiences and behaviour, and therefore your resilence.

 

[cauda equina]

If you haven't already got one, it would be worth trying a gel out seat saver
They really are very sticky

 

[tatty_v]

If you haven't already got one, it would be worth trying a gel out seat saver
They really are very sticky

I definitely second this, plus they’re really comfy ? you’ve had a rotten week, I feel really sorry for you. My pony’s never used the spin move, although in the old days he had a mean little spook, buck and drop of the shoulder that decked me on multiple occasions (memorably twice within one XC lesson). I used to go in the school before hacking and wear him out with lots of canter work ?

I’ve never used one so can’t comment, but would an RS-tor be any good if it’s the spin that’s getting you? One of my friends had one for her horse that liked to spin and she was quite positive about it.

Hope you’re not feeling too bruised x

 

[rextherobber]

Maybe try vitamin e supplement? Isn't there a lack of it in autumn grass or something?

 

[Midlifecrisis]

Glad you re ok K....my daughter calls pheasants “ the spawn of the devil”...pheasants and mushrooms..for different reasons obvs.

 

[Trouper]

Glad you're OK. Pheasants are the very devil at this time of year. I have sometimes resorted to walking the hedge line to flush them out first before trying a faster pace.
I can't see from the little monkey - placidly grazing! - whether or not you use a neck strap? At faster paces I found that it gave me those few extra seconds' support to sit a spin and sometimes made the difference between parting company or not!
Also I agree that a good lunge before a hack can help enormously.

 

[Goldenstar]

Those birds are the devil.
Whatever you are feeding him reduce by a least a third .

 

[jnb]

My laid back but forward going young cob has had a few "ooh that looks scary" moments, normally he will look but not do anything, this past week he's put the brakes on a couple of times and suggested he might not like to go past, like Kevin the Teenager, I just engage his attention, ask him to walk on and a swift leg aid/kick if required, he then sighs and carries on. He has also been practising the Beep test in the field whereas normally, cantering is reserved for tea time! I think its this time of year - the Silly Season.
Hope you're OK Kamikaze.

 

[dorsetladette]

Its definitely silly season! its chilly, there is lush grass so lots of energy for shenanigans. My 2 are a pair of fire breathing dragons at the moment.

On the plus side at least the ground is quite soft for landing on. Glad your OK K.

 

[scats]

Ah the pheasant spin! I swear the resident ones at our place are trying to kill me.

Hope you’re ok x

 

[Widgeon]

Its definitely silly season!

Yes, my normally quite saintly cob is the same. He's been testing out a spook and spin, which fortunately doesn't develop into anything more, and I can sit it (or at least I have so far), but it's really not very nice. We went on a short hack with a friend the other day and he spent the whole ride spooking at different coloured patches on the ground (plants face into desk). It's not doing anything for my confidence building up to solo hacking!

Good luck with yours OP, hopefully as autumn goes on he will settle a bit. Glad you're ok and not too dented by being decked.

 

[Annagain]

I'm sorry you fell off, but very pleased that you seem happier (if that's the right word!) about it this time. Sometimes they're just winklebompers (my new forum friendly term) for no good reason.

 

[ponyparty]

It's that time of year for them to be plonkers! In overnight, full of beans... Good idea to check saddle fit - but probably is just a bit of the cold autumn air up his bum and excess energy. Are you riding am or pm? Turning my boy out for an hour or so before riding helped take the edge off him if he was feeling particularly sharp.
Also - neck strap one that you can hook your fingers onto without interfering with the contact too much.
Glad neither of you hurt!