Hacking help please...

[Charlie007]

I posted on here last year about a tb I had bought. Well he is mostly lovely!!

We have done 3 dressage tests, scores improving each time resulting in 6 the place last time out. Have attended clinics and polework clinics. Had our first jumping lesson yesterday and he was great! Travelling issue sorted. So in many ways he has come on brilliantly.
I posted last year about him jogging on the way home from a hack. I received some great advice, so things worked and some didn't. We stopped hacking October time due to weather and work etc. Decided this morning to take him out as weather was perfect. Good as gold to leave the yard. Turned to come home and it all started again. I couldn't leg yield/ flex him, nothing. Each time he jogged I turned him round and walked back up the road, he was totally fine with that but as soon as I turned for home again he was off. I decided to dismount and do a bit of inhand work. So as soon as he jogged we turned and head back out. It didn't really work! Got him home and lunged him for ten mins in his dually halter, he went beautifully. So I decided to leave dually on with lunge rein and walk out inhand on the same hack. Perfect on way out and 50% better on way home. This time if he jogged I backed him up, towards the end all I did was point and he backed himself up! Last year he was better walking out and turning round to come home than he was on our teardrop ride which is why I did that this morning. I do have a nice longish circular ride, that may help? No one to hack with, although OH does occasionally come on his bike. Back, saddle teeth etc checked. Daily turnout and diet hasn't changed. Any advice?

 

[pennandh]

To be honest, it's most likely just that you've taken a long break from hacking and he's forgotten his manners a little. Keep up with the asking him to back up/leg yield/turn around whenever he jogs, and I'm sure he'll pick it back up pretty quickly.

It may be useful to switch about fairly randomly between two or three main routes, rather than using mostly just the one, but obviously that depends on timing and weather and a whole host of other circumstances; so it's most important that you just keep on quietly insisting that he behaves in a mannerly fashion.

 

[Charlie007]

Thank you. Yes I'm hoping it's just the fact we haven't be out for a while. Unfortunately most of my hacking is on the road so he has got to behave. I go out early to avoid the traffic ( although the is good in traffic) just to eliminate one worry!!

 

[Goldenstar]

Just try to hack every day .

 

[Charlie007]

Goldenstar thank you but it's currently not possible. I leave for work at 7am and im not prepared to take him out in the evenings round here due to traffic/ rush hour. When it's light early in spring/summer I'm tacked up and ready for 5am but it's currently not possible. I may just have to wait

 

[coen]

I had an ex racer mare that would always jog on the way home on a hack regardless if she was alone or in company. She didnt do anything nasty and didnt actually take off so we managed to work with it as circling, backing up ect wound her up further.
She would stand long enough to check the roads ect with practice so it was a quirk we lived with.

 

[Charlie007]

Coen, thank you. I wouldn't mind so much but he doesn't keep straight and our roads are narrow, but that could well be because I'm trying to slow him down.