Hmmmm, what would you do? Brakes and confidence

SmartieBean09

SmartieBean09

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Hi, just wondering what everyone else would do.......

I have had a fear of open spaces since I can remember and usually I would avoid them like the plague but now I feel like I don't want to do that anymore. I want to enjoy having a canter in a field without worrying about what 'might' happen.

Mr D is an ex riding school pony and an absolute gem, however he does have a tendency to snatch the bit flinging me out of the saddle. There is quite a bit of strength there and I almost feel like I have to really pull him up. I took him in an open space the other day and he got very exciteable and began snatching the reins and putting his head down. This unnerved me to the point that I wouldn't even trot in the field.

My question is, would you get a stronger bit just for riding in open spaces to help with control until you felt more confident? I worry that if he does decide to bugger off or get too strong that I won't be able to control him. I admit that perhaps its just a simple case of schooling and not letting my fear get the better of me. I think knowing that I have the brakes if I need them may be enough to help me feel confident enough to ask for small bits of canter in open spaces. I've had a chat with The Bit Bank who have recommended a Neue Schule Universal Waterford. He certainly wouldn't need this for schooling but it may help on hacks with the snatching and being so strong. I have no experience with bits as I usually avoid places that I'm scared of or piny gets exciteable in and ride everything in a loose ring lozenge.

Any advice would be great. Thank you
 
Why are you being flung out of the saddle when he snatches the bit? You should be able to let the reins run through your fingers, not be yanked out of the saddle?

Are you holding on to the reins to tightly and short?
 
I was in a similar boat with my boy - it took me 3 years of owning him to canter him!
What I did was to get my cousin, who is more confident and a better rider than me, to take him out for a canter first and I watched. Once she'd tried him and found out any quirks/how best to stop him, I then hacked out with my friend who was on a smaller, quieter horse. We had a canter up the straight bridle path and, as he wasn't racing his smaller friend (mines 17hh, hers was 13.2!), he pulled up fine at the end. I just always have to really give him the reins to start the canter or I end up with a bit of a bronco!
 
Hi!
Honestly, I don't think the bit is your problem. I don't think it would make a great deal of difference what bit you use as I believe, from your post, that the issue is your nerves and the fact that your pony is picking up on this. I suspect you take a very tight grip on the reins when you feel nervous and this will cause the snatching and fidgeting you described.
I know it's hard but you need to relax - maybe ask someone to lunge you on your pony in a big open field so that you don't feel totally out of control?
If you genuinely believe that a stronger bit will give you the confidence to ride in the open then I guess it would be worth a try but my 1st choice wouldn't be a waterford - what noseband do you use?
I'm afraid I can't offer much advice in the way of which bit might work, my suggestion would be to try to work on your nerves 1st of all.
Good luck :)
 
Get someone to walk with you, and chat to you! Don't just go in on your own, makes your nerves worse. See if you can get a lesson out in the field too.

Also why are your arms being yanked out when he snatches the reins? Your arms should be bent at the eblow and your reins should be long enough that when he does that you have enough rein that you arne't hoisted out of the saddle!

Also, rein snatching is a pet hate of mine, I find it really rude and will infact give the horse a tap on the shoulder with my hand or the whip to make them stop it! My current mare used to do it alot but has stopped now, it just really irritated me!
 
Oh, I also keep mine in trot for a good quarter/half a mile first so that when I'm asking him if he wants to canter, there's no pent up energy that might come out as bucking.
 
Do you have any one that has a horse that will pull up easily you can have a few goes on? Just to get you a but more confident and as some one else said some one else to show you what yours is like.

Of course the bit bank will recommend a ns waterford, they are lots of pennies ;). What bit and noseband combination is he in currently? Have you tried a grackle? And get your self a breastplate to give you a secure handle if needs be.

Does he school in open spaces? If not work on that and then cantering will become less of an issue if your cantering a circle just as you would in the arena.
 
SmartieBean you have my utmost sympathy!! I am in exactly the same situation except I used to happily gallop across fields on my mare but with my new boy - 6 yr old shire/cob - I am petrified because his first instinct is to grab the bit (and pull me if I'm not expecting it) and just go. I did a 'fun' ride in a Waterford and he ran straight through it - didn't work at all. I went back to his loose ring jointed snaffle but did change my bridle and he now has a Grackle which, although I don't think would stop him in the slightest if he decided to go, he does seem to have more respect for and I do feel slightly more in control.

I have found taking him out with another horse to be mixed to be honest - sometimes he's better, sometimes he thinks it's a race - but a lot of that is because he's still young.

Oh, and I also use a breastplate with a neck strap section and wear a back protector!!!
 
I haven't really thought about whether I hold the reins too tight which is why I am being pulled out of the saddle. Perhaps without realising I am holding the reins tighter due to my fear? I certainly don't hold a tight contact when hacking. I tend to give slightly more rein than if I was schooling. I will certainly think about that now when I hack out.

At the moment he is being ridden in my old pony's Elevator bridle which has a crank noseband. I don't use the flash.

I am 100% sure that the biggest problem is my fear. I cantered him the other day uphill on a track and although he was fast, he wasn't strong and I had no problems stopping him. I am just so scared that the worst is going to happen and because a few times now he has shown me how strong he can be, I'm worried that we won't stop.

I don't want to end up doing what I always do which is avoid open spaces. I don't know if a change in bit is the right answer. I really am unsure what to do. I just can't see how we will ever get to having a canter in a field when I am too scared to even trot. Lunging was a good suggestion and I will see if I can get a friend to help.

It's been 14 years since I got bolted in a field and still I can't shake the fear. It hacks me off no end :mad:
 
I was exactly the same as you- I was bolted with when I was 10, and it scared the living daylights out of me. My old horse was a bit the same- he was a lovely chap, knew the rules and stuck to them but liked to have a laugh. I trusted him, but if we were going to be doing any cantering I would panic.

I put him in a cheltenham gag on 2 reins for hacking when we'd be doing more than trotting. It gave me a bit more confidence, and a bit more control. I also had a neckstrap to hold on to. I still do this if I'm hacking where I'll be cantering out because otherwise I panic and hold onto the poor horse's mouth.

Eventually though, I did feel more confident. I went from doing the same XC to happily taking him out in his snaffle. He remained the same charming horse who would take the piss and mess about and jog and leap and spook for the lols, but I would sit back and enjoy him on a loose rein rather than clinging to his mouth.

ETA- it's 11 years since my bolt. I will not canter along tracks unless I know I can turn because I can just remember the feeling as we went down the roads of knowing I was totally powerless and if we met something we were utterly screwed...
 
Personally I wouldn't put a stronger bit in. I'd go in the field and school on a circle in the corner like you would do in the arena. Start with walk and then trot ect, lots of changes of rein/transitions. You will soon forget you are riding in a field and so will your horse. Then do a canter, stay on the circle, then if it feels good just let him on a bit up the long side and if you feel worried just turn it into a circle of schooling canter again.
As you build up confidence you can make the circles bigger and eventually canter/gallop right round the outside. Then you can introduce faster work into several open fields out hacking and not need circles at all.
Take it a step at a time. Much better that way then going into a field with a strong bit and thinking 'right i'm going for a gallop' as at this stage with your confidence being low your horse could get excited and it may make things worse x.
 
Firstly, no bit can "stop" a horse; bits arn't brakes. Secondly, if a horse is snatching at the rein it means the reins are too tight/unyielding and you are not giving him/her the room and elasticity he/she needs. It takes two to pull.
 
I've often found that riding in fields can be very exciting for some horses - and personally I prefer not to do it. I do all of my fast work out in the open, just not in a field.

Also, if you're never doing this sort of work with your horse, you might expect a bit of an excited horse....
 
I would suggest you get an instructor to work on this with you. Get them to assess you first away from open spaces. They should be able to help you get your riding right to cope at speed in open spaces. Tell your instructor that is your aim. They should get you to a stage where they think you are safe to try and will get you to create the right conditions to try it in and will be there with you. With the right instructor you will gain confidence and be sure that when you try you have everything in and your favour. Good luck and well done for tackling it.
 
Thank you everyone. We have just started having lessons together and are still getting to know each other (I bought Mr D in June).

We are hacking out tomorrow and I may ask my friend if we could just pop into a field and I will try to school on a circle with a much lighter contact.

I really want to have fun and perhaps do a sponsored ride. It's not the be all and end all if we can't do it but I really would like to over come this fear.

The day we cantered up the hill on our hack, I got into my car on the way home and cried happy tears. I think that is what's made me want to tackle the field issue but when we got in that field, the feeling of him being excited literally turned me into jelly.

If tomorrow doesn't go well then I may leave it for a few months to see how we get on with lessons and getting to know each other.

Thank you everyone for your advice. Deep down I wasn't keen on changing his bit but if it meant that I would feel confident, I would have tried it. Perhaps though as someone else mentioned, it would give him something to pull against as there would be more pressure there. I certainly don't want a horse fighting me. X
 
ideas,
ride out with an experienced confident rider, if you are not too embarrissed put on a long lead rein so they can help you stop if nessessary then you can relax, an enjoy yourself,
start off up a nice long uphill stretch, they stop easier when out of breath,
if as you say he is ex riding school may well work to voice comand instead of fighting to stop speak ' prepare to trot,' then 'trot', walk, halt etc.
 
I was advised to try a kimblewick with mine as he won't stop if he's in the company of a horse he deems race-worthy.. Maybe that'd be worth a try?
 
No point using a strong bit " Just in case he takes off" as if you are being pulled out of saddle @ moment due to not letting the reins slide and do the same with the Kimblewick you will wreck his mouth. Suggest you get a competent hacking companion, maybe do some group ride outs at a local riding school or have a competent friend ride your horse while you hack theirs once quiet:)
 
I'd have some lessons. The bit isn't really the issue here - it's more likely to be your nerves, so generally getting better control and trusting him more will help you along. I'd also get an instructor to ride and canter in an open field to see if your fears are realistic, and school him if they are.
If it's any help my TB bunny-hops and prances when I ask for canter but if I let him go, settles instantly and wants to trot after four or five strides.:rolleyes:
Good luck, don't feel bad if you have to get professional help and let us know how you get on.
 
I'm a bit the same. My old pony was 100% roadsafe hacking but he did get exciteable in large open spaces and somewhere along the way I lost my nerve and just avoided them.

A few months ago a friend let me ride her pony and took me for a canter/gallop across the stubble fields - I was really nervous and didn't really feel like I had any breaks - I just shoved the pony up the bumb of it's boyfriend in front! But after I had done it I felt good/exhilirated.

I've just got a new horse and this is a fear I am also going to have to/really want to face.

I agree with what others have said - perhaps ask a brave horsey friend to do it first with you watching so you can see how your horse goes - then hack out with someone safe and reliable and just start by trotting to build your confidence up - then maybe canter the last section of the field so you don't think you are going to be tanked all the way across it.

With my horse I'm going to be really careful to not ask for canter in the same places all the time out hacking so that he doesn't come to expect it and that it's always my decision not his!

Good Luck and hope you start having fun with it soon x
 
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