Horse taken an aversion to a particular gate out hacking! Why are they so weird!!!

seoirse

seoirse

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My horse has decided he hates a particular gate out hacking. No reason at all whatsoever for it. First couple of times we did this hack was fine, then time before last he had a bit of a nappy moment AFTER the gate but there was a tractor sprayery thing coming so I thought it was that, though all he did was step backwards a few times and when I rode him forward a bit more firmly he relented and carried on. Yesterday however we got to this gate and went up to it and unfastened it, I had to turn around to line him up to get through it and he refused point blank to go through it, I put a bit of pressure on and he started backing up and having a paddy, so one of the other horses went through first, he was happy with that and followed them. I thought it must be the memory of the sprayer moment from the week before that made him not want to go down that particular lane. On the way back though he again walked up to it fine, then had a massive wobbly when I tried to make him go back to it to close it! Squealing and everything! Backing up a 90mph everytime I put the pressure on to go forward, in the end I got off and led him to the gate to close it.
All totally random and I'm sure if I just keep going there, don't make a fuss, let someone else do the gate a few times and follow through the problem will go away - my goodness horses can be weird sometimes though can't they?!!!!!!!!!!
 
Nope not shady, nothing weird anywhere near it. Initially I thought it was cos of the moment we had with the sprayer the time before but when he kicked off coming back as well I thought it probably wasn't that. Just a diva moment I think! So odd though! He is usually a complete dobbin, but does have odd weird moments of temper occasionally!
 
If its any comfort to you, (it won't be :D) Mark Rashid had the same problem with a horse that spooked at a place on a trip he did a couple of times a year.
Never worked out why it was just at this spot, but even he had to just go with it.

Seriously though, I'm sure your lad will get over it if you handle it the way you are doing.
 
Mine has taken an aversion to a horse stile.....he's been though a couple of times but last time....not a chance...not even when the other 2 went through and waited for us.

Rearing...spinning.....dancing....

I got off in the end before we ended up down a ditch and once I was on the other side of it......he jumped over the bloomin thing.....

So....now I know how high/far he can jump.....;):D
 
We have crossed one particular forest bridge literally at least a hundred times but that didn't stop my pony one day getting all tense and refusing to go over it unless she followed her hacking buddy. Absolutely no reason for it as far as I could tell.

Yesterday I hacked out alone up a forest track and - shock, horror - a medium sized branch had fallen across it. Cue pony looking horrified. I could feel her heart thumping and it took a couple of minutes to persuade her to be brave and step over it.

I bet if I had let her graze near it she would have ignored it completely. Food can overcome most things in her life.
 
fburton said:
At least, none apparent to the human eye - I'm sure he has a reason. Maybe it smells differently?
Click to expand...

I have thought of something! The time before last nights performance, about a week ago, there was a glove that someone must have dropped, and someone else picked up and stuck on the gate handle (one of those sticky uppy ones thats supposedly easier for riders to do!). My horse was fascinated with the glove and had a good fiddle with it when we were doing the gate. Same on the way back. Last night the glove was gone - I wonder if that is significant?!!!! I'll never know!
 
One of ours used to hate stepping over one of the rubber expansion strips on a road bridge, as small and inconspicuous as it was. It happened every single time we'd cross it and the wierd thing is there was one either side of the bridge. If we went one way she'd shy for the first one but cross the second - if we went the other way, she would cross both ok :confused:
 
It's baffling isn't it! I wish I could see the world through their eyes sometimes. Our driveway is made of concrete slabs, so every few yards there is a join, which is just a line basically as they are flush to one another so there are no gaps. The drive is long so there are probably 20 or so of these lines along it. My old horse used to have to leap over one of these lines, the same one, EVERY time. All the other lines were not a problem. Even after 10 years of walking up and down that drive every day he didn't trust that one line! :rolleyes:
 
Mine has a spot on the approach to a particular bridge that scares her, has reacted like that since she first went up it. Fine once past it, but needs lots of reassurance to keep walking. Try as I might there is no logical reason. And this is a pony who isn't bothered by anything else in the slightest, in my teens I did plenty of mad stuff with her without so much as a spook, so no idea why this quiet spot freaks her. Used to show off to school mates by riding her through a busy crowded fair without even a snort. (silly, I know, but was about 13) And if she didn't trust me so much & wasn't so eager to please, she's actually nervous enough at that spot to be doing more than just snorting & walking on the far side of the path.
 
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