Horse taking off hacking home! Sorry long!

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Pocket_Rocket

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Hi guys, I am new to this forum and this is my first ever thread!! Eeeeek!

Just wondered whether anyone can help me my horse has a habit of taking off for home when hacking. When I first had him he used to take off at every opportunity on a hack (be it a train, person, cyclist, even a puddle! lol) but I managed to work through it by doing loads of in hand work leading him out then I would be able to get back on coming home until I was able to ride out and the whole way back. I dealt with it mainly by turning him sharp as soon as he went to take off. The main thing I think was we needed to build a bond as he clearly didn't trust me and to be honest I didn't trust him. He has also has a bad past being pushed from pillar to post so was understandably unsettled and lacked confidence when I first had him.

I've had him 2 years now and he's been really good until last week when out of the blue he decided he wanted to take off coming home I honestly can't remember the last time he tried to take off prior to this and thought I had solved the problem! :( Obviously not, I feel he's taking the mick but i'm struggling to see how I can solve it other than hack him in company all the time (having a horse in front coming home works well he gets annoyed but stays behind). Though really want to deal with the issue and nip it in the bud as I feel hacking in company is just masking the problem rather than dealing with the problem.

When he took off he began by having a tantrum snatching the reins putting his head down then he'd put his head up and jog off he did this twice. Both times I turned him around to go back out so that he wouldn't win and then turned him home after I got about half way along. I then dropped my reins when I turned him back to home as I found this worked when I first had him. Though this didn't help he jogged off again so I turned him again and walked back out on the ride. I then turned around and went along quite happily again for about 5 mins and then he went into canter as soon as I went to pull him up he went faster. I couldn't turn him at this point as I was on a very narrow section of the bridle path with a ditch either side.

Literally ended up going flat out gallop as I tried to pull him up by pulling and releasing and pulling and releasing but he just went faster and faster. So I then decided the only way to stop would be to do a one rein stop (i've always turned him sharp before whenever he tried to take off when I first had him). I was a bit worried about the one rein stop as we were going so fast but he turned no trouble and we came to an abrupt halt. It was starting to get gloomy and he seemed very wound up head in the air like OMG!! So I jumped off him and led him all the way back out on the hack to the point where he took off walking and halting the whole way.

Then turned around and led him home walking and halting the whole way. I got back to the yard got through the gate then jumped back on and he tried to jog off down the track to the yard about 6 or 7 times so each time I turned him rode him straight back to the gate and back to the yard and proceeded with this until he decided to walk calmly along the track to the yard. Normally I would have proceeded by cantering around and around the school until he was knackered but it was almost dark so I put him back in the stable.

My thoughts are he's taking the mick the only other explanation is I hacked him in my Neue Schule Tranz Lozenge bit instead of my Happy Mouth roller as I was finding the Happy Mouth was rubbing his mouth a bit where as the NS doesn't rub at all. He schools really well in the NS so I can't see why it would be a problem on a hack though he is a very sensitive horse. The other strange thing is I can pull him up no trouble in the happy mouth but didn't have a hope in hell with the NS bit? I guess it could have been he grabbed the bit and ran where as the Happy Mouth has a roller in the centre so not so easy to grab hold of.

He has had his teeth, saddle and back checked last week (before the taking off incident!) and he's fine. I had him checked as my instructor suggested it as my horse can be a bit stubborn at times. We didn't want to push him harder if he was in pain at least now I know I can crack on with the work.

Sorry this post is so long! :o I really hope you guys can help me.
 
Hope you're ok. That sounds like a pretty frightening ride!

I think you're doing the right thing, turning him and taking him back. If possible I would do it ridden if you feel brave enough. I would keep him going up and down that track until he was bored of misbehaving - not just going back the once.

If you usually take him in the school and canter him to wear him out, then go back, does this mean he is not getting enough exercise perhaps - could you go further on your hacks so he is coming back tired and can't be bothered? Has he had more food or less turnout perhaps to make him like this?

Definately discuss this with your instructor - give her a call, she won't mind.

Welcome to the forum by the way!xx
 
Hi thanks for the warm welcome and for posting I didn't think I was going to get any replies!

It was a little scary I was just lucky there was no one else about I knew I would stop him if I turned him just a little worrying that I couldn't pull him up.

I always stay on him if he's only jogged off but I did jump off of him after the gallop because he was so wound up and it was starting to get gloomy. He gets so wound up that theres nothing you can do with him other than really jump off and lead.

My instructor has suggested riding him in draw reins but its been a long time since i've ridden in draw reins and i'm not very confident with two reins. My worry is he'll tank off and i'll probably end up dropping the draw reins or if I bailed he would get it all caught up in his legs and end up in a right old state.

I ride 5-6 days a week and tend to hack two-three times a week the rest is schooling/lunging especially this time of year. In the summer I mainly hack and do one or two days a week schooling and jump once a week. Thats the other thing he might just have started being naughty because he's moved to he's winter field and is in at night. Before he was out on hardly any grass 24/7 where as now he still doesn't have much grass in the day but does have haylage now that he's stabled at night.

He gets a handful of hi fi lite, garlic, biotin, a scoop of Dodson & Horrell Placid to try and calm him! lol And carrots/apples but thats it. I was thinking of trying the new Allen & Page Calm and collected but i'm not sure whether that'll give him more energy.

I guess I will just have to keep on riding in company for a few weeks then try him on my own again just play it by ear. The thing is he is as good as gold in the school and an angel going out on a hack its just the coming home bit! The trouble is we have to go out and back to the yard down the same track unless I go on to the busy main roads which I don't think is a good idea if I can't stop him on the bridle path.
 
Hey welcome to the forum,

Well obviously I don't entirely know your situation but has anything changed? anything your adding to his feed? carrots? (they have high sugar content some horses react badly) It could be a case of the colder weather some horses are sensitive like that and turn into monsters as soon as winter starts drawing closer.

All i can really suggest if nothing has changed feed wise etc is keep working on what your doing, it sounds like your doing the right thing! if he tries taking off circle him do you ride in a martingale? this may help if he puts his head up. Always remember your safety first though. Stay safe!
 
I agree with Honey that you seem to be doing the right thing. How far do you go on your rides and for how long? He seems to be getting a good amount of work, considering the time of year, and he is not getting a lot of feed, but have you changed the feed? What is the D & H Placid, is it a mix? A scoop is quite a bit.

Why not just feed him some Hi Fi Lite with the supplements and one carrot per day for a week or two and see if there is any difference. He might be getting enough feed from the haylage.

I remember reading in H & H about a horse that was a champion driving pony, that also hunted with a drag hunt at the weekend as well as pulling a carriage during the week and it was getting virtally no hard food at all, in fact I re-read the article as I couldn't believe he was able to do that amount of work on hardly feed. And I have known several hunters who were only ever fed hay. Cutting down the feed is always a good place to start if you have a fizzy horse.
 
Thanks Cashell he has been having a few more carrots I suppose as he's got a treat ball so he has 2-3 carrots in his ball/feed where as normally he only has 1-2. I'll cut the carrots completely and see if that makes any difference. Like I say in summer he is just out on grass 24/7 and moved to his winter field earlier this month which means he's on haylage. We aren't allowed to buy hay in so I guess I can try soaking the haylage but its a pain especially when it gets really cold. I always hack him in a martingale but think I might start hacking him in his harbridge. When I first got him I put him in a harbridge as he was uncontrollable and I wanted to avoid putting a harsh bit in his mouth and it worked well. Yes when I was younger I used to be fearless where as now I think I must be safe thats why I thought don't even bother trying to stay on him when he's in that mood! lol Better off to jump off than if I came off and he got lose on the road I would never forgive myself. Also don't want him to win if I came off him he'd more than likely just gallop home and he would have won because he would of got home as fast as possible like he wanted! lol

Hi orangehorse I normally take him for an hour hack and have been doing more adventerous rides over the summer out for about 2 hours. The trouble is he could go all day if he's wound up he'll just keep going I swear the adrenalin keeps him going! lol D&H Placid is a calmer just basically herbs with magnesium its more like a supplement I say he has a scoop but its a small supplement scoop rather than a normal feed scoop. Yeah I think the haylage is more than likely the issue at the moment and there is still some goodness in the grass at the moment as he comes in and falls asleep as if to say i'm stuffed mum! Maybe in a few weeks when all the grass is gone he might be better. Just annoying I don't mind horses upping the pace home but i'd rather not gallop! He used to jog all the way home when I first had him i've got that out of him thank god! Can't stand joggers! lol I think its just a blip but understandably its knocked my confidence so i'm very warey going on the roads but feel he needs to go on the roads as he gets bored of the same rides. Its a catch 22 situation I think really. The joys of horses!
 
Hi

I think you did exactly the right thing. Totally right. I think I you keep on handling it like you did and be firm and consistent you will be fine. Keep going.
 
Thanks [deleted user] it makes me feel a bit better about it. I just don't want him to get into this bad habit and never be rid of it which is my fear. I guess i'm lucky he will respect a horse in front and won't try to tank off past them... yet!! Theres always a first time for everything! lol I thought I would post on here in case anyone had any other ideas that I could try with him. I have been thinking about a stronger bit but I have to be very careful with him he's one of those that if you give him something to fight against then thats all he'll do is fight. He is very settled in his happy mouth roller but I feel perhaps I could do with better brakes as I need to be safe. I've ordered a happy mouth roller dutch gag with 2 rings so i'm going to give that a go just to try and sharpen my brakes. He's easy to school and has a lovely soft mouth but can get very excited and difficult to control jumping so i'm hoping the gag will help with both the hacking and jumping. Fingers crossed it works then i'll have the confidence to take him on the roads again and continue with the different routes rather than being stuck on the bridle paths like I am at the moment.
 
Hi pocket rocket, I don't have much to offer in the way of advice, unfortunately - I just wanted to let you know you're not alone! My situation is so similar to yours it's scary :) I've had my horse the same length of time as you,and like you, I thought we had solved our hacking issues. About 2 months ago, though, I'd been out a hack with a friend on foot and we were just chatting away all nice and relaxed on a long (not loose) rein as we covered the last 200 yards back to the yard. Horse suddenly spooked for no reason at all (that I could see, anyway), spun,and took off like a bat out of hell - but here's the illogical part... he took off AWAY from home ?!? :confused: This was on a road, albeit a single-track very quiet one, but the horrible thing is I was convinced I could hear a car approaching the junction we were coming up to. Thankfully, there wasn't, and I somehow managed to regain control.

Anyway, since then I have been doing similar things to you. I'm not so confident about the in-hand stuff, however,as horse is a 16.3hh tank and if he decides he wants to go on the ground, I will have no chance at all of stopping him. I've been going out in company to try to restore our confidence, but he is usually fine in company anyway, so hard to judge. I've done a couple of short hacks alone since then, and he has been better, but still rather wound-up when we have to cover that particular stretch of lane (and there's no getting around it - it's the approach to the yard). I've ridden him in a pelham with two reins since our original hacking problems and find the extra security of the curb rein comforting as I know it's there if I need it. If you want to use a gag, you will quickly get used to the idea of riding with two reins again, I now find it very odd to ride in a snaffle!

The last thing we have in common is the haylage thing. I too have no option to feed hay, so have to do with soaking and feeding restricted haylage instead.

Phew - that was a bit of a book. All I really wanted to do was welcome you to the forum and offer some sympathy :D
 
Don't know if any of these suggestions are of use to you, but they're things that have helped me with similar situations; (BTW, you have using doing lots of useful approaches already,)

When he starts to rush, do less, rather than up your energy. Sit quietly, and do not allow your body to increase its energy in response to his. Keep your contact constant and try a neck strap instead to check his speed.

Some horses respond to voice aids, ie; steeeady.. and walk. Some don't.

If he has tanked off, once you're regained control, by the methods you're already doing, instead of marching him back, point him to a hedge/wall/gate and ask for stand. Sit very calmly and breath. (try breathing in for 3, hold for 3, breathe out for 3). If he tries to spin, just block with your rein/leg, ignore head tossing etc, but hold the rein firmly between the thumb and forefinger, leaving some softness with the other fingers, this will prevent him snatching the reins out of your hands without him feeling you have him in a death grip.
Wait for the sigh.
This may take a couple of minutes, but once the tension has left him, he may give a big sigh and you'll feel him soften.

Give him a rub and walk on as though nothing had happened. Keep your thumb in the neck strap so that the instant he starts to rush, you check him before he runs.

Set aside a few days (after schooling perhaps) to walk out down the road a few hundred yards, then return and walk past the gate for a short distance, then turn around and go home. A short circular route on the loop back is ideal, but probably not possible where you are. This avoids him anticipating home is the end of the ride.

After every hack, once back on the yard, do not dismount. Stay sitting in the saddle for a few minutes, so he realises getting back do not mean he immediately gets untacked and fed etc. Try it, it's been surprisingly useful to me with quite a few horses who rush.

I suppose the key thing for me, is the higher your horse's energy becomes, the lower yours becomes. If he gets excited, you match it by being the opposite. Be firm and focused no nonsense etc, but quiet .
 
Welcome to the forum!

I have a very simialr pony! another thing you can try which works for us is making him stand until his breathing is slower, even if it takes a few minutes, this works for us.

As horserider says, I do lots of rubbing his neck and talking to him, even in trot and canter, I try and have a loose rein and ask him to " steady" "and walk" lol, it works brilliantly. In fact I can stop him from a full gallop without pulling now, just a little tweek ( It has taken many many months :) ) A one rein stop is always useful.

Try and not let them canter/jog on the way home, and keep doing what you do by turning him around and making him walk back. This is another thing that I do especially as we get nearer home. Once it took me over an hour to do quarter of a mile !

Good luck, sounds like you're doing a good job
 
Not much else to add. Always walk home(obvious I know). Can you vary the route home at all??? Go out on mega long hack until he is really tired(I mean 3 hours etc). Lots transitions etc. I would cut out some of feeding, a mineral lick and hay is good. Hi fi lite is good with a few low heat pony nuts...no carrots(Carrots are just full of sugar). Dont give it to him as soon as he is back. He obviously is in a rush to get back to his comfy home(arent they all). My slow plod livened up going home after finding it very difficult to get him going sometimes going out(cheeky)..i had even thought he was lame at times but this was cured going home.

Unless it becomes mega problem I agree to go it alone. Not all horses are good in company either and mine was always better alone. Got more excitable if we went out with someone else. However I did ride with a friend whose horse was so well behaved that the field where we tanked off with out fail, I arranged to meet them and as her horse was not going anywhere we spent the time attached to her horses back end! That was to get my confidence back as I ended up avoiding this particular field going home. Whatever is best for you if you lose confidence etc.

Good luck you have done really well so far so hopefully continue, you are right to take them in the school for more work if they have been naughty.
 
Seems like you're doing all the right things. I would change him back to his "normal" hacking bit though if it gives you more control. If you have no option but to feed haylage, then I would cut out everything else. I have heard more than a few people comment that Alfalfa makes their horses silly. Baileys Lo-cal is a good feed supplement and you could feed it with something like Mollichaff's Calmer, which is a strawbased chop with a bit of magnesium, chamomille (both calming) and peppermint. Brewers Yeast is also very good for maintaining good digestion and has calming propeties.

Good luck!
 
Hello, nice to meet you!

My cob speeds up dramatically on the way home and we've quickly learned that cantering is a definite no, no! On some routes, in walk or trot, I'll purposely ride circles, half circles and even serpentine things, just to get him listening! There's no way I could control him with draw reins as he just sets his shoulder.
We've had showring pulling problems (he HAS to be in front!) and have come to the conclusion that, as soon as he can manage to get overbent we've lost him. Trying to work on keeping him much lighter in front, gtting his hocks right under him, so that he has to 'push' himself forward, rather that 'pull' (if that makes sense?). Markie can be surprisingly light in front for a hefty, it's just hard work for the rider! He's been shown, and hunted, in a pelham but that style of bit can encourage overbending. In the few trial we've had with a dutch gag, it's much harder for him to bear down and lifts his head. I've used it with 2 reins though. For next year's showing, I'm determined to get him going well in a proper double, then I'll only need the curb for brakes!
 
Thanks for all your comments guys so glad I joined this forum :)

horserider I will try the halting technique I always try to relax as much as possible on the way home and even sing/do the alphabet backwards. I have also found that if I don't look straight ahead as were getting nearer home it helps I try to look to the left or the right rather than directly in front as I can feel him thinking where nearly home, getting nearer and then oh I can't take it anymore and he goes to jogs off! He tried riding back out by walking and halting walking and halting but it seems to make it worse he gets really wound up.Then he'll start doing a bit of rein back either into the over growth or into the ditch and there scares himself silly! I took him out today with a friend and he was an angel just literally ploded the whole way. He did have a few snatches of the reins and when he gets annoyed tends to flick his front legs out in front of him in temper! lol Other than a little paddy tantrum he was fine as he knows he can't get past my friends horse. I also stayed in the saddle for a few minutes like you said when we got back so I will keep that up. I didn't bother to school him today as he was good I only school him when we get back if he's naughty.

AngieandBen thanks for your comments as I say he hates standing and it seems to make him worse :( he will stand but wants to move off very quickly I normally make him stand count to 3 then let him walk on. He listens to my voice really well when I jump after a fence I ask for trot and he comes straight back but this seems to go out of the window when were hacking :( i've tried talking to him being very calm giving him the rein and patting him but it doesn't seem to make any difference. This is what I don't understand I have never let him canter on the bridle path not even on the way out let alone on the way back. The only place I let him canter is in the fields and he's very controlled in the fields if I gave him the opportunity to run then he will but he is quite happy to have a nice controlled canter with no sillyness. He does however get a bit silly again when he realises were going home its like he's buzzing from the cantering and therefore its guaranteed I will have to turn him several times before he will calmly walk home. I make him walk most of the time and will put a trot in occassionally if he's listening to me. I have to be careful where I trot otherwise he takes it upon himself to trot at a given point so a lot of the time I just walk so i'm not teaching him to trot here and trot there. All I can think is his previous owner must have let him go home as fast as possible all the time! :(
 
indie999 I can't really vary the route as we have to go along the bridle path to come home once we've got down the bottom of the bridle path there are a few different routes we can do. Quiet lanes or busier roads he seems to get bored on the quieter roads where he's not particularly naughty I can feel him getting a bit fed up. Where as when he goes along a a route where theres more going on (theres a nice ride where you have to go around a housing estate to get to some fields) he's an angel. He doesn't spook happily walks along as if he's taking in all of the scenery. He went past a field full of people playing football, spectators and umbrella's everywhere because it was raining and didn't give a monkeys just happily walked along. I'm wondering whether he's getting bored thats why he's playing up he's one of those likes to have his mind occupied all of the time. Much like a child! lol

Tammytoo thanks for your comments i've got him back in his happy mouth now and I will get some brewers yeast see if that will make any difference.

superted1989 this is the thing my horse is an angel at a show i've done a few dressage comps (yet to pluck up enough courage to do SJ as he likes to go at speed!) he will go very fast into a fence then once he's landed he comes straight back to me until I line him up for another fence. I have however taking him XC schooling and he was fab. I find he gets cocky where as with XC he's like oh hang on I need to listen to mum because i've not jumped anything like that before! lol He is very light and soft in the mouth its just when he galloped off with me he just put his head up dropped his back and went! As I say he did his normal calm canter then as soon as I went to pull him up he decided to go flat out. I'll see how we get on with the gag when it arrives i'm just going to try it on the first ring so it'll be like a hanging cheek first of all and see how we get on. If I have to use the second ring then it'll only be for hacking and schooling. I will need to get to grips with two reins!

Thank you all for your advice :) I will see how I get on! Going to hack him in company a few more times next week then I will have a go on my own again or maybe just go out in company and put a horse behind him see how that goes and then brave it on my tod! lol
 
Welcome to the forum. Its frightening, isnt it. My horse has done this a few times and even at the grand old age of 18 he can still pull a stunt which frightens me. He's a very strong 14.3hh irish cob, with a huge neck. There seemed to be no reason to his taking off, but I worked out it happened when I was either nervous, stressed or when we were on our own somewhere new. For all his thuggery, he is actually quite a sensitive soul and needs direction totally from me.

I have coped with it in a few ways. Firstly, I always hack with some good ironmongery in his mouth, in my case a mullen mouth pelham with two reins. Secondly, if I have had a bad day at work I tend not to hack alone, as thats when I will get tanked off with. We will have a pootle in the arena, or I lunge him. Thirdly, I never go to new places alone, I will take Mini TX or another livery with me. We can then explore in safety.

I did all the usual things, back, tack, teeth, more turnout, no feed etc. None of them seemed to work. I ended up riding him in a 3 ring gag and a market harborough, plus spurs. That just made him fight the gag, go overbent and I had no control. He hates spurs, so it made it worse. A lot of the problems was sold by me sussing him out. Although he is a dominant character, he is quite sensitive underneath and he needs me to tell him what he wants to do. The longer I have owned him, the better it has got. He does not tend to do it now, but if I hack after I have had a stressful day, and I am a bit distracted, I will always make sure I do not go alone, or he will play up and all my good work will end!

Good luck with it, I do understand how frightening it can be - I bought my horse 7 years ago as a first horse and a bit of a plod. He is none of those things!
 
cremedemonthe the saddle wan't reflocked the saddler said it was absolutely fine and no adjustments were needed. I think its a mixture of changing his bit, his routine has changed (in at night) and he's on haylage. All contributing factors, I think I just need to work through it. My horse isn't the only horse playing up at my yard must be something in the air! lol

TheoryX1 thanks for your comments. It has knocked my confidence but I didn't feel unsafe on him even though he was going flat out! lol If anything like that happens I just think of a plan of action rather than panic Plan A was to pull him up which normally works but didn't in this case so I had to go with Plan B the one rein stop! lol I know that he'll always come back to me if I turn him thank god! It's still not a particularly pleasant experience though! lol

My horse is a very sensitive soul aswell if anyone gets on him he doesn't know he pretends to be a pyscho for the first 10 mins literally just tenses as if to say eeek whats going on who is this riding me!I swear he's just too clever and tries to scare people so they won't get back on him! I do have one fab friend at the yard that he accepts really well as she rides very quietly but no one else will get on him! He's safe as houses really but if you show any fear towards him then thats it he'll pick up on you. I've got a mullen mouth pelham for my lad to I used to use it a fair bit on and off just for schooling purely to get him listening as he used to be just too keen wanting to canter all the time. I honestly can't remember the last time i've had to use it he's very good now and I would go as far as saying he's pretty lazy in the school! lol

Your boy sounds so similar to mine temperament wise he really picks up on anything and is very tuned into me. If I think trot he's already trotting which is great but I can assure I don't think lets canter home! lol One thing I have found with him if I didn't hack him for say 2 weeks he'd be an angel when I hacked him. I always hack in company if i'm doing different routes aswell my friends horse is as bombproof as they come so i've used him to baby sit my boy especially when mine wasn't used to traffic.

I also bought my horse thinking he would be a bit of a boring ride! Boy was I wrong! lol He is my perfect horse though and I love him to bits even if he is naughty at times :)
 
You seem to be up to speed with all the riding advice and it sounds like you've got the measure of him in your mind but i know sometimes putting it into practice and actually winning over the situation is difficult - brains Vs brawn(his) and all that.

I would have another look at what your feeding as he's clearly got way more energy than he knows what to do with - definitely scrap the apples as they do have alot of sugar..and also look at the D & H mix as i had my boy on allen and page calm and condition and it made him really spooky - i sometimes think that although these feeds are designed to calm they do have other factors and fillers in them that may just be pushing your boy over the edge energy-wise. Good luck - oh and welcome to the forum!
 
paddy irish thank you for your comments :)

Like you say its easy to know what to do but its a different kettle of fish when your in the situation where he's starting to have a tantrum and i'm trying to diffuse the situation. He is a million times better than when I first had him he would use anything and everything as an excuse to take off! And once he was wound up it was game over with him where as now I can stay on him 9 times out of 10.

I can't take his apples and carrots away from him! lol He won't have anything in his tea/treat ball to look forward to :( I could certainly give it a go though trial it for a week. The thing is he's not full of beans in the school in fact he is on the lazy side so i'm really not sure whether he's having too much sugar or what really. I did have him on the calm and condition when I first had him as he was in poor condition and I wanted something to calm him but I didn't find any difference at all to be honest. I'll look into D&H and see what they offer in terms of calming feeds. Its strange because about a month or so ago he was being very lazy hacking and schooling and I was thinking about feeding him up!! Now he's gone the other way he just can't win bless him! lol
 
I'm not sure where abouts you are , but down here in Cornwall , or where i live anyhow , the grass is still growing and of course you do get a sugar rush usually in the autumn but everything still seams so mild , so maybe it's just in the grass and pretty uncontrollable until it turns cold..do you actually need a calming feed? or could you just go back to basics with a chaff and balancer...oh and the carrots of course:D so that he's getting all the vits/mins he needs but is taking his fibre from just the haylage?
 
Interestingly I have the same problem having home from a happy mouth to ns bit. I can stop her at the touch of a rein in her happy mouth but she grabs the ns and goes! I'm stuck like you are as she cheesy happymouths and cuts her tongue, she will not have any metal bit bar a ns, but she will grab hold of them and becomes really strong. I'm at a loss too.
 
yes defo try cutting the carrots if horses are sensitive to sugars it can cause havok. Best of luck though keep us updated :)

Edie82 said:
I'm not so confident about the in-hand stuff, however,as horse is a 16.3hh tank and if he decides he wants to go on the ground, I will have no chance at all of stopping him.
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Edie sorry to interrupt if you take yours inhand it could help if u either lead out in a saddle/roller and attatch side reins. I have a 16.3 3 year old (hes got shire in him) and this is the safest way i find :)
 
Ella19 said:
Interestingly I have the same problem having home from a happy mouth to ns bit. I can stop her at the touch of a rein in her happy mouth but she grabs the ns and goes! I'm stuck like you are as she cheesy happymouths and cuts her tongue, she will not have any metal bit bar a ns, but she will grab hold of them and becomes really strong. I'm at a loss too.
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Thats strange i'm kind of lucky as my boy doesn't chew his happy mouth I was just finding it was pinching/rubbing him so he's back in it now with some bit guards.

Thanks for your comments guys i'm starting to think its definately a sugar problem. My trainer rode him tonight in the school and omg what a nightmare! He was bucking around the school and tried to take off several times! He's never done that with me in the school he might occassionally put a buck into canter but thats it. Yet all of last week he's been schooling amazingly with me being a little gem! I swear he's too clever and tries to scare people that don't know him very well! He pretends he's a pyscho so other people won't get on him! It was rather embarassing though as I was saying how amazing he's been and the little monkey showed me up! :eek:

Got to love him though he's certainly got character! I had to apologise to my trainer for him being such a nutter! I think he got more than he bargained for! I'm going to have to video him this week and prove to my trainer that he can and has been good! lol He also suggested I put him back in his NS bit but i'm not convinced I do find he schools slightly better in it but I don't want to hack in the NS anymore and its a bit of a pain having to change bits over every time I want to hack/school. Might have to dig out my manky old bridle so I can just switch bridles.
 
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