Hacking alone

[Walsh20]

Hello.
I have brought a 6yr 14.2 cob.
I have hacked her out with our older cob and she has been great (a little green)
Yesterday we took her out on her own for the 1st time. The older cob would not stop calling which made her anxious. She began napping but we just stopped and then made her carry on.
However when we turned to return home the elder cob called out loudly and she bolted back to the field.
I know we have only had her a few weeks and I will start leading them out spereralty for 5 mins and then longer and longer to get them accustom to leaving the field without eachother , but does anyone else have any other ideas?
I dont want them to think this is ok behaviour as luckily we were only 100 years from the feild when this happened.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Mmmm, this is early days in your relationship and I wonder whether you needed first to have done a bit more "bonding" work before you tried hacking solo??

What is important is that your horse feels confident being with you as her "herd leader". This IME is especially important with mares, who tend to think that it is THEM who are actually in that role!!

I would suggest that - for now anyway - you do some activities with your mare in a safe place like the school, stuff like walking over poles, tarps, past cones, flapping things etc etc. If you can, it would be helpful to set yourself up a little TREC or Horse Agility course - have a look at the TREC UK and Horse Agility websites as you should get some ideas from there.

Engage your mare's brain, but allow her to think things through and don't rush her; wait for the head to lower and for the lick-and-chew response. Stay on the ground for a bit, then try riding her through your "obstacle course". She needs to feel safe with you, that you are there to protect her and that you are in control of the situation, before you even think about leaving the yard solo with her.

When you do "go solo", try leading her out, all tacked up, just like you do at home in the school, with your little obstacle course. You might just have to lead her out for the first few times to build up her confidence. Always use a circular route, NEVER go out and back, that's just asking for a nappy horse! Then, one day, when she feels ready, it might feel right to just hop up and ride her home.

The important thing is to build up your trust and confidence together. I had to do all this with my old boy; we did get there in the end and he was a lovely hacking horse!

Have a look at Michael Peace's website, I've seen him do a demo (and my trainer greatly respects him). He offers practical advice, nothing airy fairy!! All practical stuff.

If you feel you need it, then get a professional to work alongside you. But not someone who's gonna follow your horse out the yard with a lunge-whip sort of type!! You need someone who can work with you both and give you both confidence and encouragement. Personally I would recommend someone of the Intelligent Horsemanship discipline (but - personal opinion - PLEASE avoid Parelli!).

Good luck. You WILL get there, it just needs time.

 

[twiggy2]

Is the older cob on his own when you take the mare away?

 

[AmyMay]

Is the older cob on his own when you take the mare away?

And are they the only horses on the yard?

 

[Walsh20]

Is the older cob on his own when you take the mare away?

Yes, we only have the 2 horses.
Velvet the older one is 28 and we have had her 18 years plus. She has been on her own now for about 3 years.
She is the dominant one out of the 2.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I have previously had a pony that was stabled with one other horse. We did manage to train both horses to be left while the other hacked but it did take a bit of effort. We built it up slowly in stages and always had someone to keep an eye on the 'left behind' horse to start with. They did improve and t seemed that they key was getting them to understand that their friend was going to come back. I never did stop them neighing on returning, but it did become less dramatic.

 

[be positive]

Yes, we only have the 2 horses.
Velvet the older one is 28 and we have had her 18 years plus. She has been on her own now for about 3 years.
She is the dominant one out of the 2.

Having spent 3 years alone she is now likely to be very stressed at the thought of being left again, she has no idea what you are doing and seeing her new friend leave is probably extremely upsetting so she will call, you need to separate them little by little so they both begin to accept being apart, it could take a long time for you to get to the stage where you can easily go for a hack alone, it is why I would never have one alone as even if they seem happy generally they become more clingy when they do get company and can create issues with the new addition.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Oh I missed that one had been alone for three years.

She is going to need a lot of careful and understanding training in small steps to realise that her friend will always come back. Her panic will be obvious to the one that went on the hack and I wouldn't be surprised if this contributed to that horse charging home at the end of the hack.

 

[Walsh20]

I am going to go back to basics by the sound of things and just take things slowly. They are both very loving and as the new one is young I need to get her to relax a bit more and become more confident.
Thank you all for your good advice. It is really helpful to hear from people who have had similar experiences as sometimes you feel it is just you who has these issues.