Hacking Advice ..... from confident hackers out pleeeese!

[canteron]

I am just starting to hack my horse out On My Own again after a bit of a confidence knock.

As a type, he is a darling, but tends to switch off and then suddenly see something (such as a person in a field, or a cat) which makes him turn into an worried unconfident giraffe and I feel I lose all his attention, which is a bit scary..

So, questions, should I just ride out confidently and let me horse look around and just keep him going forward at a active pace at all costs or

Do I keep the hacking out short and sweet but ride him in an outline all the way, using neck bends, leg yields and other schooling techniques to keep his attention.

Which camp are you in?

 

[Ranyhyn]

I have always allowed horses to look provided they keep moving (a small stop in genuine startled fear is fine) I don't mind them not paying attention for a second but then I like to bring them back in to paying attention, maybe with transitions or leg yielding etc.

 

[swampdonkey]

no advise but would really like to know which way people think is the best option. I'm never sure which is best myself, although I probably concentrate more and worry slightly less if I am riding into a contact and flexing him.
Be interesting to see what others do?

 

[siant2]

Depends on the horse I think - how they respond to things that are scarey and whether they are doing it to take the P** or whether they are genuinely worried and how they respond to your action. My mare 99% of the time if she is looking at something she is taking the P* and she responds well to being redirected with her attentions (ie leg yeilding shoulder in, transitions, neck flexion etc). She likes to be kept busy mentally and if im not riding her properly then she will usually tell me!
The other mare I ride I think she also takes the P but she also lacks in confidence and then will argue if forced into something she doesnt want to do. I have found the best thing for her when she spooks is to let her look at it (stop), relax - neck scratch and then divert her attention with a transition or something. If I immediately respond with an action then she rears and spins!(nice!)

 

[monkeybum13]

Can't you use a combination of the two?

Marching out confidently, let him look at things but if there is something you know will distract him start bending, leg yielding etc to get his attention back on you.

 

[nikCscott]

I personally do lots of transition and other work as he gets joggy and way too focus on everything else and when he's bored of that he starts putting his tongue over the bit

 

[traceyann]

Depends what horse im on my cob i slob around long rein not really worried about anything my WB about the same just a little bit more carefull My TB is worked on the bit and keeps me well on my toes as very sharp My spanish seems more bombproof than all of them but i dont trust him if i fell of I think the more trust you put into them the less spooky they are I always let my WB or cob look at what they have spooked at but not the TB as it would set him off. No horse is perfect always ride with a neck strap i still do even with my cob and make sure people know where your going if your hacking alone

 

[SS.89]

I think keeping him occupied by using leg yields, transitions etc etc is great for his attention and I have always been told by my instructor to keep my youngster as attentive ad possible, however.... I do let him have a hood look at things if he wants to, with him being only 4 I allow it as scary cows and sheep are all experience.

I think you just need to do what feels the best for the two of you to get your confidence

SS x

 

[SS.89]

Good * (stupid phone)

 

[Puzzles]

I agree that it depends on the horse: some prefer to have a look because once they see what is, they comfortably move forward and carry on, fine and dandy. However some horses look at it and then spook/bolt etc. In this case, it would probably be best to just flex your horse's neck away from the spooky object and use your legs to keep him going straight. If your horse is more like the former then by all means letting him have a look would probably work out better. Whatever method you use, don't look at the scary object, talk to your horse in an upbeat voice (or sing - it makes sure that you breathe!) and stay as relaxed (easier said than done I know!) but focused as you can. Your horse will appreciate that you are giving him calm, confident direction and over time he will start to look to your more when he is frightened. Good luck!

 

[Fellewell]

For me it's about anticipation. Chances are you'll spot the 'hazard' first and you'll get to know what that's likely to be. If you can do this and KEEP RIDING, using leg yields or whatever works for you then you are the one making the decisions.
If you 'stop riding' and let him look, he's making his own mind up about whether it's something to worry about or not. This can develop into an evasion technique for him if he's canny. If YOU say it's safe, then it's safe.
Anticipate the spook and keep riding forwards IMO.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

As a type, he is a darling, but tends to switch off

Ahhhaaa!!! Think this is the key phrase actually!!!

You say he "tends to switch off" ......... and I'm sorry but I'm probably not gonna be very kind to you here BUT you as his rider/herd leader/what-have-you need to maybe ride a bit more pro-actively so as to keep his attention on YOU and not on every blimmin spook thats out there???? YOU have got to keep him so motivated and focussed entirely on YOU that he's not got time to spook!!! You can do this by doing, say, lateral work with him, asking him for some yield as you're hacking along, anything as long as you're asking him to focus on you and not what's catching his eye.

I think maybe this is the key. I know how easy it is to slop along on a loose'ish rein, do it all the time, which is fine if you've got the sort of horse that's pretty predictable, and I can do it with my boy now coz we've been through all the stuff that you're stuggling with at the mo........ and are easy with each other.

But when I get on the little mare I've got on loan and try to ride the same way, then by gawd I know I daren't!!! With her, I have to be far more in control of the situation and actually "tell" her something is safe, or else if I'm not firmly enough in the "herd leader" role for want of a better way of putting it, then she'll make her own decisions, and will spook!!

Maybe your horse needs you to be a more assertive herd leader? Am I right in thinking that (like me) you tend to ride a bit passively on occasion??? Its easy to do, but some horses just need that little extra lead.

I benefited enormously from having someone come out and see for themselves what was happening, and come alongside and help with that particular issue, rather than just a "lesson" in the school, you might need to have a trainer/instructor actually ride out with you (and you go on ahead, or cycle, or whatever) and actually see what's happening with you and your horse, and then work with you on those issues.

You WILL get there: with my boy, he just wouldn't hack solo, full stop, and couldn't face any traffic, so we needed to get back to groundwork - gaining confidence, and work from there; leading him out and then getting on and riding home. It takes time and there isn't any shortcuts.

 

[noblesteed]

My horse can be a swine hacking out alone and has been in the past, turning me into a complete nervous nelly at one point. I have to ride him forwards all the time - If I sit as a 'passenger' he will do whatever he pleases. He has a mean spin on him but needs to stop first - I simply don't let him stop. If I anticipate something may scare him I use leg yielding and bend to make him pass. If he is in a 'silly' mood I school him all the way and really make him work.
If I meet a potential scary item and I am not on a busy road and it is safe to risk a bit of running backwards, sidestepping and spinning I WILL allow him to look at it - and use lots of praise and encouragement, patience and calm persistence to get him to go past it. In this way I have increased his confidence levels and trained him to be braver, and so decreasing the chance of major spooking!!!!! As well as making me more confident too. I got to the point where I would actively seek out spooky challenges - that really helped build trust between me and horsey.
I am unable to ride at present due to pregnancy - when I get back on I expect we will have backtracked a fair bit....

 

[canteron]

Thanks everyone for your responses, really really useful, every single reply.

I think that MiJodsR2BlinkinTite may have it, it is me that needs to be more on the ball at all times - then hopefully the horse will follow suit.

If I read them all carefully, I think that maybe in the short term making the hacking a 'schooling' exercise for the moment and when the horse trusts me a bit more and I am a bit more confident maybe bits of a looser rein - but only whe I am sure he will march forward.

Oh and good point MJR2BT about the ground work, I am slowly trying to add new 'areas' which I feel happy about riding round on my own, tomorrow I will long rein the horse round before riding it - it may not impact on him but will hopefully make me feel happier it is completely within our competence area.

But please, if anyone else has experiences/view I would truly love to hear them, especially on the whether to stop and look or march past at all costs bit. We Will get to being happy hackers not just school bunnies!

 

[kerilli]

as above, depends hugely on the horse. i'm not one for having them in an outline all the time out on a hack, and they are allowed to look around as long as they're being sane about it, but if they're on their toes and actively looking for things to spook at (which is a totally different feeling obv!) then i work to keep their attention on me... and on marching forwards and looking straight forward. the old 'they can look with their eyes but they can't turn their head" is a good adage.
if necessary i'll give a good tweak with the rein IF a push with the leg was ignored, whatever it takes to get attention back on ME and off whatever they're looking around to be scared by!
as for letting them see things or contrabending to get past it, depends what it is, and where. if i'm off road or on a v v quiet road, i let them look, take it in, wibble if necessary, get brave, sidle past, etc. if on a road with traffic, i'll wait well before it (say it's a Men At Work sign or something, the sort of thing that's prob going to cause a spook) until traffic is gone, so that IF they spook there's nothing there to collide with. (I know this sounds obvious, but someone said to me once that they thought that was 'failing' and wimping out - erm, no, not getting hit by any vehicles is success, no?!).
if it's something i know might make that horse want to turn tail and run, i'll contrabend them past it so they don't get to see it (e.g. a local husky which my lot are convinced is a WOLF!!)

 

[indie999]

Hi

Agree depends on horse. we had a horse who liked to look and nose(sniff etc) and then was good to bring back and move on. This helped her with new experiences and built up her confidence that she wasnt going to be eaten by a fallen tree.

My boy quick look but didnt dwell and move on. I found talking to him kindly and firmly too got him past. I did do schooling out with him to keep him listening to me. I also found that doing the same routes made him confident on those routes. Or short bursts of new routes etc
When I first got him I practically beat him up to get him past, would do small circle as I was NOT going to let him go home! I had some right battles. Then I tried the nice approach and had to strike a happy medium and it worked. I think the main thing is not to go home if its knocking your confidence etc. Even if you end up going on a deviation, they must go where you want them to go and not vice versa.

Horses that dont hack its inexperience of an experience. They do get better with practice. Even if it means getting someone to walk out with you on foot etc, I did this until I got to know my horse if I lost my nerve. There were places he would p around but eventually they get use to it. Also its funny how going home all those nervous things suddenly dont exist!!

Try all your options you have suggested they are all right. Good luck

 

[Burnttoast]

as above, depends hugely on the horse. i'm not one for having them in an outline all the time out on a hack, and they are allowed to look around as long as they're being sane about it, but if they're on their toes and actively looking for things to spook at (which is a totally different feeling obv!) then i work to keep their attention on me... and on marching forwards and looking straight forward. the old 'they can look with their eyes but they can't turn their head" is a good adage.
if necessary i'll give a good tweak with the rein IF a push with the leg was ignored, whatever it takes to get attention back on ME and off whatever they're looking around to be scared by!
as for letting them see things or contrabending to get past it, depends what it is, and where. if i'm off road or on a v v quiet road, i let them look, take it in, wibble if necessary, get brave, sidle past, etc. if on a road with traffic, i'll wait well before it (say it's a Men At Work sign or something, the sort of thing that's prob going to cause a spook) until traffic is gone, so that IF they spook there's nothing there to collide with. (I know this sounds obvious, but someone said to me once that they thought that was 'failing' and wimping out - erm, no, not getting hit by any vehicles is success, no?!).
if it's something i know might make that horse want to turn tail and run, i'll contrabend them past it so they don't get to see it (e.g. a local husky which my lot are convinced is a WOLF!!)

This^^ particularly the bit about waiting until it's safe to have a look at things! I have to judge my spooky boy quite carefully. He flinches and shies at things frequently and I ignore those, just ride him forward afterwards, don't make an issue of it. I like him to spend time on a long rein and I've found with him the best thing is to kick my stirrups away, really relax my leg down and 'miraculously' he relaxes too - 80% of the time. Generally I will flex him away and leg yield past things, but if he sees something that really worries him I can't just ride him on - he will freeze and if I put too much pressure on he will spin and go. So I sit and make sure he still knows I'm there, ask for a step forward when it seems the right time, and am happy with one step at a time until he relaxes a little, and then I can ride forward without an explosion. That doesn't happen very often, though, and my main aim is never to have a spin - that would be a big step backwards for him.

 

[daydreamer]

I am in a similar situation i think. I have had my loan horse since last April but have done very little hacking because i am a wimp! The past couple of weeks I have hacked a little way down the road then turned around and come back (he is fine with this though i know it is a bit naughty) gradually going further.

This morning i had my first proper solo hack on him doing a 30 minute circuit I found doing some leg yielding and trying to get him to neck bend really helped me because it kept me in the moment, gave me something to concentrate on and made me feel like I was in control and had strategies to deal with things if/when it went wrong.

We had a sticky moment where he tried to spin but I managed to stay calm, not let him spin and let him stand and look before asking to go forwards. I also found forcing myself to relax as we walked past things i thought were scary helped. Luckily he is a good hacker and pretty honest, it is just me that is holding us back!

There is a good article by Richard Maxwell in one of the Your Horse magazines from a couple of months ago and a video he has done on HorseHero which have good advice. One of the things was not to pat and reassure the horse when he is anxious because you are "rewarding" him and telling him he is right to be scared, wait until you have got past whatever and he has relaxed.

Good luck!

 

[MilosDad]

Start short hacks for your confidence.

As regards the ned keep him occupied and let him know you are there, transitions etc. You will spot the likely spooks before he does and just gather him up and pass on your confidence thru leg and hand. If he does spook ride him on so you have control. My lad is normally bombproof but, for some bizarre reason, he spooked when we were hacking back from hunting so it happens to us all.

 

[Ibblebibble]

Can't you use a combination of the two?

Marching out confidently, let him look at things but if there is something you know will distract him start bending, leg yielding etc to get his attention back on you.

this totally! if you stay alert and can predict the things he's going to oggle at then you've half won the battle because you can engage his brain before he goes into giraffe mode

 

[mystiandsunny]

I tend to keep on the bit and listening if they're all wound up beneath me and honestly worried and being really spooky. If they're generally good then I alternate working on the bit (as it's good for them to be on the aids most of the time) with nice relaxed times with one hand on the reins. If they suddenly spook at something I tend to just laugh, stay relaxed, and tell them ' it's just a ****, get on!' accompanied by a nudge/kick as appropriate. If they're being irritating and over-doing it, minus the laugh and a more growly 'get on!'

In known spooky situations being totally totally relaxed and thinking of something really boring can be quite handy. I can almost send my spooky mare to sleep doing this - quite handy when the cars are playing 'races' down a quiet country road and spooking would seriously NOT be a good idea!