Hacking Advice Please!

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crbecky10

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So my Fell Pony has a preference for going out on the road mainly, if given the option, and enjoys going into the local village. However, I do like to take her round the fields on our farm, but she makes it very difficult, always wanting to get to the gate, cantering or galloping to it if allowed, then when asked to turn away from it and asked to trot or canter, has a bit of a session 'trying' to buck. Any advice please? Do I just need to be stronger and bossier with her, to make her 'do'?
Thanks :)
 
Is there anyone you could hack out with in the field that you could follow and help build your confidence at being firm too get her away from the gate?
Is she anxious about getting back to the gate or just excited about ?heading for home?
Do you only ever use the field for fast work?
If she is constantly running towards the gate I would try to not ever let her canter/gallop towards it at the moment although it sounds like that is what you are trying to do already.
You could use the field like an arena and try doing some schooling exercises in the field to get her listening to you rather then always using the field for "fast" work.
If it is that the gate is her "comfort" zone then you need to work on extending that area, so start off not going to far from the gate and doing different things, transitions, circling,schooling exercises, walking her past the gate etc and bringing her back to the gate area ie her comfort zone in a controlled manner and rewards good behaviour, and gradually over a period of time increasing how far you are working from the gate. You dont have to spend hours at at time, even if you get good results in 15 mins, finish on a good note and build things up.
Ive just finished nightshift so apologies if this doesnt quite make sense.
 
Try lunging or long lining in the field - when she understands that it's not 'playtime' and has settled to work, try riding her then. It may take a few sessions but should work. good luck.
 
Thanks for your replies! I try not to have her going round in circles too much like a school as although I've never ridden her in one, her previous owner told me she hated it, so I try to keep to round trips. I think her 'thing' about gates is trying to get back home, as she can be very lazy.
 
There is a bit of a balance to be had...I understand that you wouldn't want to make her do something she really doesn't enjoy (i.e. too many circles) but she does have to learn that what you say goes and you are the boss - sometimes schooling is the best way to establish who's in charge. Once again - good luck!
 
When I got my horse she would not ride beyond a certain point of the driveway (was a very long driveway!) before spooking at nothing, rearing, spinning round and bolting home! I went out for a ride with a friend walking beside me on foot and I warned her about the scary corner and the fact we may rear and bolt for home! Sure enough, at said scary corner, up and off she went! My friend said to me "oh my riding instructor wouldn't let her get away with that!" I realised my horse had been taking the mick a bit (and frightening me in the process!) so I took her back and used my stick, legs and voice very very strongly until suddenly we got past scary corner! It was a miracle! Took a few regular trips out and a few sharp smacks but after a while we could hack out anywhere! Be the boss (but dont beat her up and make her wound up, could make things worse!)
 
crbecky10 said:
Thanks for your replies! I try not to have her going round in circles too much like a school as although I've never ridden her in one, her previous owner told me she hated it, so I try to keep to round trips. I think her 'thing' about gates is trying to get back home, as she can be very lazy.
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Schooling and getting her listening to you and respecting you doesnt have to be just riding in circles though, I hate doing arena work so i school when Im out hacking to make it interesting and fun for me and him, for example, shoulder ins, leg yielding while I'm going down the tracks/roads (if safe obviously)
Instead of just cantering up and around the stubble fields Ill do 3 and 4 looped serpentines (much to the local farmers bemusement) in different strides, I do different routes around the various fields I ride in and I might start cantering in a straight line then start to do 20 metre circles in the field, working through transitions at different points so that my horse knows that no 2 days in the field may be the same and he doesn't just go in the fields and think hes going to get to bomb about.
Be firm with her and have confidence in your ability to get her away from the gate, have a clear plan of what you are going to do, ie when i get 5 yards from the gate Im going to do working trot for so many strides etc so that when you have moved away from the gate you keep her listening to you and she doesnt have a chance to think about napping back to it.
 
crbecky10 said:
I think her 'thing' about gates is trying to get back home, as she can be very lazy.
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If the gate thing is laziness, you could try working her hard in the gate area (small circles, lots of transitions etc) and then having a "rest area" the other side of the field where you stop her and let her have a break. This worked really well for my cob who was napping towards the gate in the arena due to laziness. It doesn't take them long to realise the gate is where the hard work happens! You could do this long-lining at first if she is worrying you in the saddle.
 
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