Hacking help

G

Gorgeous George

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Hacking used to be such a pleasure, it was the one thing that didn't make me nervous and I loved trundling off just me and George exploring
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Then in Jan something scared George (don't really know what) and he planted himself, I got after him and he whipped round and I came crashing off and he galloped into a main road
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thankfully we got away with scrapes and bruises, but ever since then hacking alone makes me really anxious which of course makes poor George anxious too.

I'm ok if I hack out with others, but there isn't always anyone and sometimes I just like to trundle off on my own, and we do but I am always trying to suppress my anxiousness (singing, talking gibberish to George
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) and we manage but it isn't a pleasure
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the thought of a long canter is a distant memory.

Help!!
 
Aw
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that's such a shame you got a fright, glad you're ok though! It's alwasy tough to get over something like that but you will eventually be able to put it to the back of your mind.

I would try just going for short little hacks on your own in places that you know well and the horse feels safe in. It'll just take a while to get both you and the horse's confidence back. Try some theraputic breathing if you feel yourself getting wound up, in for 7 and out for 11, it should lower your heart rate and relax your seat.

Honestly though, you will get there time heals all wounds
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Can you get someone to walk out on foot with you a few times? I don't it is not a long term solution, but it will help you bridge the gap between going out with other horses and going totally solo. Just the fact that there is someone to talk to will help you relax and enjoy things more!
 
I understand this completely. My horse has issues with road junctions and if we have to stop will then not go forward once the road is clear! To be honest I just keep making myself do it and we've just started hacking on our own. I can't say I particularly enjoy it at the moment but see it as a challenge to over come.
I sing as well, well it's more a chant of ' floppity botty' over and over. Sounds daft but it does relax your bum which then relaxes him
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Good Luck and keep persevering.
 
I completely sympathise, it's really difficult to put this kind of thing behind you, but really it was a weird one off and won't happen again! Try to think positive rather than negative thoughts and try to forget about the 'incident'. Maybe distract yourself, do the times table or anything that will keep you from worrying?
 
I totally understand what you are going through - my boy has been a fab hacker since I got him 9 months ago and we would go our on our own on the roads or into the forrest and even if he did spook I would just laugh and push him on. On Saturday we had a horrible back resulting in him and another horse galloping off with us at full speed, spooking and resulted in me being slammed full force into a cut down telegraph pole.

I am now realising that I've lost some of my confidence - when my friend asked me to go out for a wee hack down the road last night my stomach dropped and I was so tense - she promised me 10 minutes and back but kept me out for over an hour so I did start to relax (I'm thinking that may have been her plan all along to get my confidence up)

I'm now trying to focus on all the times where he has been an angel and not that one time were I got hurt - I will also be stocking up on the rescue remedy!
 
It's not surprising you feel a bit anxious after a scary fall. Has George got over whatever frightened him, or is he still a bit nervy when you go out? Or do you think your nerves are rubbing off on him and he would be fine if you were less anxious?

I was feeling a bit anxious about riding my very spooky lad out after a long break. I got my hubby to walk with us and my horse was really good - we had some lovely hacks. Could someone walk with you until you get your confidence back? Or could you get someone more confident to ride him out and let you know how he was with them? I'm sure it'll all be fine again very soon and that this is just a blip! I think we've all been there!
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Please trust your horse huni!! He sounds like a gem, we all have bad days and whatever scared him was probably really scary!! Remember how lovely he is and how much fun you have with him!!
Good Luck
 
I don't know if this will work for you but it's something I find helpful.

I change something, whether it's adding a neck strap or perhaps a martingale or upping the bitting for a while. Or a better saddle, grippy new johdpurs, perhaps suede full chaps etc.

That helps me know full well that exactly the same situation can't happen again and gives me that bit more confidence.

Load of squit maybe but works for me.

Oh and when you do go out if you get tense , sing! 10 green bottles is always a good one, last me hours as I loose count so often.

Oh and if he stops and tenses up again, sit like a sack of spuds and talk calmly to him, he may well get over it himself if given time. Well that or think of something different you feel might work.
 
I find that a neck strap conforts me when I hack.
Just take your time and hack out with other people until you gain your confidence.
One day when you feel like hacking just think to yourself I CAN DO THIS! Maybe get someone to walk part of the way with you so that you have company but your not hacking with other horses, and then if they turn back when you feel a little better and more confident this will slowly wean you off needing people to hack with you and you gain confidence to hack on your own? I agree with the above too rescue remedy and 10 green bottles is a good combination for hacking when you feel a bit nervous!!
Izzi xx
 
I think George would be fine if I wasn't tense / anxious - he never gave me a moments worry before I fell and he was and still is bombproof in traffic
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He doesn't really do anything but he often puts his head up, ears really pricked if he sees / hears something unusual and I think oh no here we go
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and sometimes he is wary to go past something scary like a goat so I have to quietly talk him into it!

I rode to the new farm ride yesterday on my own, but when I got to the grassy track it was all I could do to walk along it for 100 yards before turning back and hacking home. I'm not really that worried about falling off it is the thought of him running off and getting hurt or lost with no-one there to help.

I have been using rescue remedy and larch drops which help a bit. I just feel so pathetic and I hate going on about being nervous you guys and the people at the yard must be so fed up
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Stick with it - keep it short and sweet and just do what you're comfortable with. So you went 100 yards up a track and came back - who cares, maybe next time you'll go 150 and 200 the time after that, then at some point you won't be able to resist having a canter. You'll know when it feels right for you.
I went through a similar thing a while back after I came off out hacking and my horse ran off. It was a real shock to me as in all the years I'd ridden I'd only once before fallen off on a hack. I'd had my horse for 3 years at that point and always been happy to hack him but after my fall got to the point I was thinking of selling him. He had to have some time off with an injury (lucky for him, I couldn't sell a lame horse!) and when I started riding again I just took it slowly and soon found my confidence returning. The first time I took him for a canter I was shaking with nerves but I picked my spot carefully (big hill!) and once we got going I was fine.

Try to remember all the times it has gone right, rather than the one time it went wrong. You're obviously coping with the scary goats etc so give yourself credit for that.
 
My horse is sharp/spooky- I found after a while I was actually waiting for him to spook, kind of expecting it ...and then he would, obviously because I was so tense he was getting wound up - viscious circle really.
Then we got a cob for my hubbie to learn to ride, and I started hacking her out while he was still too novice to do much. She never spooks at anything, so i stopped looking out for 'spooky things', which is what i used to do all the time....then I noticed that when hacking out on my spooky boy, he wasn't that spooky anymore, he went past certain things with no problem, because I just hadn't thought about the chance of him spooking and didn't get tense or expect it, so it never happened...does that make sense to you??

I think I just relaxed and so did he.
 
I know exactly how you feel, and you can take comfort from all the replies you have had that you are most certainly not alone feeling a bit anxious.

My suggestion would be not to put yourself in a situation that makes you feel nervous at the moment. Either ride out in company or with someone on a bike or on foot, keep your hacks really short and if all you feel like doing is walking, then just walk, but I think the key thing is to go out as often as possible, so that you quickly start to realise that every ride is a safe an happy ride, and its no big deal going out, just part of your daily routine with George.
I find that if I dont ride for a few days, then I feel quite insecure about going out again, but once I have come back in one piece my confidence is there for the next time.

Take it slowly and stay well within your comfort zone just until you feel relaxed again.
It WILL be ok, and remember, George just wants to look after you, give him a chance and he will do just that.
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i'm the same, and mines never even done anything much just had a few excitable moments, which were easy to sit and quite funny, i just wind myself up so much abouut what might happen. I eventually descided after the rescue remedy, neck strap, doing it gently thing that I dont enjoy it and was dreading riding so much i had to stop making myself miserable and now we just pootle gently round the lanes where i feel safe and dont do the scary open canter thing . maybe we'll get back to the fields again I dont know but for the first time in a long time i'm enjoying my horse again and dont want to give up. Also alot of people seem to come too to ' keep me company' so i dont think i'm alone just the only one thats admitted it.
 
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