Hacking training help needed....

[miamibear]

Hacked my boy last night on a walk hack for 1/2 hour.

Anyway he was very sharp and spooky, not like him but i put it down to him not being hacked for about a month and him being on his own and the time of year.

My question is how do i deal with his spookiness to help settle him, do i try to sit quiet and not pull the reins or use my legs to kind of ignore the reaction or do i ride him out of the spook to get him listening or do i pull him up to tell him its naughty?

He doesnt shy in company and has never been this bad on his own so far so im putting it down to one of the above reasons or him taking the mick! but i dont want it getting out of hand so i want to do things right. I intend doing more hacking alone now so that should help but i could do with advice on how to ride it!

Im not scared of him, i was a little tense when he started pratting around and there was a ditch by our side! But generally im trying hard to contain my fears, im doing well considering i would have got off him a couple of months ago if he had started acting up but i just need a plan of action so i dont panic!

Any help guys?

 

[beaconhorse]

Yes you are doing great. Personally I ride thro it but laugh at him at the same time, I laugh for two reasons 1) he is daft but 2) it releases any tension within my own body which makes him relax too.

If it is something that I consider is a good reason to spook, I will let him stop and look at it, laugh and walk away.

Laughing really is fantastic

the other way if you can't laugh is to sigh and tell him he is a whally just like you would with a silly child, you know when you really MEAN you whally almost 'resigned'

 

[JACQSZOO]

To a certain extent I ignore the spook, I certainly don't make an issue out of the object that has caused the problem. Although I ignore it I do ride through it positively.

 

[Baileysno1]

Get him busy leg yield from side to side if you have enough room or flex either way or a little bit of shoulder in they soon focus on you and forget whatever scared them.

 

[miamibear]

I must admit i didnt laugh!! LOL But i did talk to him and scratch his neck.

I tried not to grab the reins and leave them as loose as i dare so i wasnt pulling on him, i tried to remember to relax my legs and not grip.

When you say you ride out of it do you mean he spooks initially then you correct him by putting leg on or do you just sit there and sit it out?

At one point he crossed a small bridge which would normally have been nothing and he wouldnt have looked but after it he wanted to blast away from it like it was eating his bum. I halted him because i thought it was naughty, should i have ignored it and let him trot a couple of strides? He would have stopped after a couple of strides im sure!

Arrrrggghhh how can hacking be this hard. I really want to get him to have a relaxed attitude and dont want it to go wrong like Bailey did! I fear im trying too hard this is why i need your advice!

Im getting an i pod for x mas so that will be plugged in to 1 ear to try and relax me (only off road though!)

 

[Rambo]

Ride confidently, ride through it, and most importantly...talk to him

Hacking out on your own is lonely enough as it is...

 

[miamibear]

I had a full blown conversation with him the whole hack, it did help, every now and again he would look round to see if i was still there! Like he wouldnt know im a big lass!!

Anyway what do you mean by ride through it positively? If i put my legs on he would trot, i dont think thats the aim.

I dont want to sock him in the gob! But i dont want him taking the micky either! And i dont want to exaggerate the reaction.

Can anyone give me a step by step guide on how they would cope with a spook on the left of me at the side of the road for example. Horse fixes neck comes off all 4 feet in like a jump fashion (not as bad as it sounds) and then walks like a banana!

Thanks guys sorry for being horribly thick!

I want to get this right!!

 

[Rambo]

Well, the key thing is that in the example you give, the horse has already spooked. Obviously you should be aiming to prevent the horse spooking in the first place, and the way I do it is to keep my horses brain occupied at all times. People have criticised me in the past for saying I 'school' my horse out on a hack...but one of the reasons I do it is to prevent things like this happenning. Obviously, it isn't going to work 100% of the time, and the occasional 'spook' will still occur, so in this instance, and to quote your example, I would immediately gather myself, apply opposite leg and bring my horse into a more collected outline. You can chastise in a number of ways....voice, firmer use of legs, additional concentration techniques such as immediately asking your horse to bend around each leg in sequence. Basically, hust remind him that you are the boss, and you dictate all changes of pace and / or direction

If I can answer your point about your horse trotting if you put your legs on. I would say that you need to be firmer with your hand in that instance. Just because you apply a leg aid, doesn't necessarily mean your horse should change pace. It can be used to ask them to change their outline, or just as a gentle reminder that you're the one in charge.

I probably haven't explained myself terribly well, but generally I think it comes down to the difference between slopping along on a ride letting your horse do pretty much what it pleases, and actually 'riding' your horse out on a hack.

 

[PaddyMonty]

[ QUOTE ]

Can anyone give me a step by step guide on how they would cope with a spook on the left of me at the side of the road for example. Horse fixes neck comes off all 4 feet in like a jump fashion (not as bad as it sounds) and then walks like a banana!


[/ QUOTE ]
Theres not much you can do about the initial jump, it's generally over too fast.
Following, take up a normal contact. Horse will have its head to the left and be running out through its right shoulder (normally). Riders ofetn try to pull the horse back to the left using the left rein. This will only make the problem worse.
Put all your weight in to your right side. Take a goodcontact with the right rien. Flex the horse to the right and push him back with right leg. You have to control the shoulder in these situations so ride that rather than the head.
Once he is walking calmly and straight then soften the contact.

 

[miamibear]

I totally agree with you. The reason i let him slop was because when i gather him up and ride him like i would schooling he gets all keyed up for it, which i thought wouldnt help in this instance.

I did try all three methods i mentioned.

Ignoring it he did settle but i was a bit frightened as i wasnt doing anything to stop it.

I rode through it applying opposite leg and trying to relax his outline but he fixed his neck so i tried small bends and he did come down, maybe this will work if i do it consistently.

I do find that normally he is so respectful and aware of my body and will slow of a seat aid but he tends to go a bit numb when he is in this power bull in a china shop mode! I have to really use my hands to get him to listen. I really dont want to upgrade bits but i do feel he is slightly numb in the mouth too, but only because of his attitude on hacks if that makes sense, he is usually good in his mouth!

More training on seat aids required methinks!!

 

[miamibear]

Thanks that makes sense and was what i did for most of the hack but i just wanted to make sure i was on the right lines.

He does go a bit numb so the rein contact and legs have to be quite harsh, which was why i was worried about making too much of an issue with it!

Thanks xx

 

[AmyMay]

Loan horse can be a bit spooky at times - I just ignore her as it doesn't really bother me, and I know that it's because she feels so well rather than fear of anything in particular or naughtiness.

Ocassionaly she gets a ' cut it out', but that's about it.

 

[Happytohack]

I find that if I feel tense when horse is tense, the best way to relax is to sing - (and I have the most awful voice

), but it really does help as it makes you breathe properly.

 

[miamibear]

Thanks everyone for your advice.

Went out last night on same route it was a lovely night.

Went out of the yard with confidence, legs on like i meant it and he didnt shy the whole way round!!

He hardly looked at anything either! When he did i gave him a reminder with my legs and he stopped looking and started concentrating!

He was a pleasure to ride last night.

I think it was me not being confident enough and tensing up!

Needless to say he got a big carrot when we got home and lots of cuddles!!

Thanks guys

 

[AmyMay]

Excellent news. Well done

 

[Rambo]

Great news...i'm a firm believer that everything to do with horses is 50% confidence, 50% ability

 

[miamibear]

Me too i just have to try and be more confident with him. I did so well last night totally confident and in charge but sometimes when he plays up i get flash backs of Bailey being out of control and it all goes!

I need to have faith in my ability and in him.

My YO said her horse was wappy on Wed too though so maybe it was an off day and all horses were scatty!!