Hacking out.....advice please

[FestiveFuzz]

Hi all,

I had a bit of a manic week last week and didn't get a chance to ride til the weekend. As the weather was so nice I decided to hack out but midway through the ride my mare decided she was definately going her way (which happened to be a 60mph lane with plenty of bends) and no amount of encouragement was going to get through to her. She ended up prancing, jumping up and down and backing herself into a wall. Eventually I got her to walk on but she still kept trying to nap towards the lane and jogged most of the way home. Are there any suggestions on how to nip this in the bud asap as I found that keeping my leg on just made her worse.

I am hoping to hack out after work and don't particularly want a repeat performance lol.

 

[katie_southwest]

Has she done that before? Or was it because you didnt ride until the weekend?

 

[JM07]

if she's keen to prance about, make her trot...and trot..and a bit more trotting, till she "thinks" its a better idea to walk!!!!

 

[kerilli]

i'd always carry a whip, sometimes it's enough to put it on the side they're napping towards and lay it gently down their shoulder, in a "look what i've got, and i'll use it if i have to" sort of way. lots of voice commands, stern if necessary, leg on to go forward then lighten leg to reward, so she doesn't feel pressurised all the time. trotting on is a good idea too, the right idea is always "Go Forward". hope she's good next time!

 

[Damnation]

I find that if Poutu hasn't been ridden and I just get on her and hack her after say 3/4 days, she naps like a lil b*itch! Other days when she has been in consistent work and has been turned out for a few hours before the hack she is amazing! For nappy horses I always try to firstly hack in a circuit and secondly hack in company, until you are confident that you can get the past things no matter what.