hacking advice please

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Hi
I was wondering if i could ask for.some advice.

Mickey is great out hacking in company but if we are somewhere he doesnt know he panics if the horses in front disappear round a corner or something and sort of takes off to catch up. He only does it when we are somewhere new or that he doesnt know very well.

What can i do about this? He is fine hacking alone.

Thanks!
 
How old is he?

If he gets stressed on his own keep the hacks short. ie go out as far as he knows and try to go a bit further each time ie add on a bit more. Just do it slowly Vary the familiar route is what I mean for short bursts.

Mine never liked going in front at all but was fine out on his own..in fact he was better.

Try to do a mix of hacking in company and hacking alone, alternate it frequently.

Good luck though
 
Not sure if you mean you're hacking out with the horse in front and have got left behind (in which case you need to keep up or ask them to wait..) or if the horse ahead is not with you and just happens to be on the horrizon - in which case a lot of horses would want to catch up. If you know your horse will set off, perhaps turn off down a side street and do a little diversion until the other horse will be out of sight? Thats what I would do.
 
Mine was exactly the same. Remedy? Ask whoever we are hacking with to wait. For some horses, despite being very different when hacking solo, can't cope with being left behind. I found the best way to deal with was to simply not put him in that position, as after all, if hacking out together, should stick together.

A very wise instructor once advised me that if I was worryingly about being left behind by my hacking companions, I was with the wrong people as this is a perfectly normal panic trigger for a lot of horses. Sometimes the best thing is to acknowledge the issue, and avoid it

* avoids tin cans from people suggesting deal with it head on *
 
Gleeful Imp said:
Mine was exactly the same. Remedy? Ask whoever we are hacking with to wait. For some horses, despite being very different when hacking solo, can't cope with being left behind. I found the best way to deal with was to simply not put him in that position, as after all, if hacking out together, should stick together.

A very wise instructor once advised me that if I was worryingly about being left behind by my hacking companions, I was with the wrong people as this is a perfectly normal panic trigger for a lot of horses. Sometimes the best thing is to acknowledge the issue, and avoid it

* avoids tin cans from people suggesting deal with it head on *
Click to expand...

I agree with this.
I have the opposite problem with my horse. He gets slower and slower in company. He is generally a slow horse so I have tried hacking with faster paced horses only to watch them disappear over the horizon..........:confused:
 
is he ok if he goes in front? he might prefer that if he's ok out on his own?

I don't know what to suggest as my mare is always the lead horse, on the very rare occassion I go out in company and she's so fast not many horses can keep up! its normally a case of us trotting and the other horse cantering behind to keep up! so can be difficult if you're hacking with a speed freak, is there a slower horse you can go out with?
 
Indie999 he's fine being left behind, going behind and in front. He just doesnt like in strange places when the others go out of sight. He's 8.

Gleeful Imp (great name!) I guess you're right. I could just avoid it. But i feel a bit like I would rather he was more trusting in me. Part of me thinks that as its only in new places that will go as he realises there is nothing to worry about. But i also feel like I should deal with it!

Kerrieberry he's fine in front. But I would prefer to be able to help him understand it's ok that they disappear!
 
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