Horse won't hack alone - what to do?

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GinaB

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I have a share in a 10 year old mare who hasn't been ridden/left yard in the last two years. I have her hacking out in company and she is doing really well and becomnig more bold. She can be a bit spooky but nothing awful.

I decided on Saturday to try and get her down back lane of yard on her own. Forgetting I have only ridden her down it once. Got part of the way down when she spotted cows (fine with them when she's in company) and she planted herself. Tried kicking her and backing it up with a whip and she tried to spin and then reverse. Tried to get her forward and she felt like she was going to go up. So made her settle and stand before turning her and making her walk back to stables.

Wasn't giving up that easy and thought I'd ride her to end of drive as she has ridden down it before. She walked out ok, but I gave her lots of encouragement, good girls and pats and kept leg on her. Got to end of lane and turned her. She did try to jog a bit and had a spook when gelding and yearling in field beside lane came flying up but made her stop and wait and then walked her on, no jogging.

I don't know if I did right thing first time when she napped badly, but I was scared she would rear on me.

Any tips on trying to get her out on her own more? I was thinking keep working on getting her down the drive until she does it well and then lots of riding down the back lane in company and once she is used to it, try getting her down it on her own? She also has a funny thing about gateways and driveways and can be weird at them!
 
I went through this with my mare she became a baggage to hack out alone and would nap etc (it was pain-related but that was something we'd remedied) It was a long and slow process but I did get there with her - I started by riding her up and down the lane - if she napped... spun and reversed etc then I would walk her backwards down the lane until she'd let me turn her round and ride her forwards, if she napped again I'd ride her backwards again - it would take forever to get her there but in the end she'd relent - I also used to long rein her and really get after her - long reining is great for building their confidence and you can really be in the driving seat pushing her forwards, if she goes up then that's her problem, you're there to give her a slap and push her forwards as soon as she comes back down and you're not in danger being on top and being frightened.
Good luck - do persevere - if I could get there with my big stroppy chestnut mare (who hacked for miles alone afterwards!) you can too! :)
Kate x
 
I would take her out a lot in hand (with bridle or dually headcollar) loads past all these things so that when you ride her out, she cant possibly argue that she hasnt seen these things or that they are scary.....?
 
Oh gosh! This is exactly how my cob was just over a year ago! He'd never been out on his own, having been a bum-follower in a trekking centre, and just couldn't deal with being out in the big wide world all on his own. He would stop and plant, then when I tried to get him forward he'd either spin or rear up, or both, or back-up into whatever was behind him, be it wall, hedge, open ditch, car or whatever. I was getting stressed-out riding him as I live on a busy road and he was just getting dangerous to ride out. If I used my whip it made the whole situation ten times worse; he'd rear up and spin and buck all at the same time.

I was on the point of selling him as I do most of my hacking solo coz I work funny hours; and then ran into an old friend. She said there's no short-cut; he has to respect you on the ground before he'll respect you on board, plus his real issue is confidence - what he's saying when he naps is that he's not confident with you as his herd leader and you have to engender that confidence so he'll be OK with being alone with you, so we did lots and lots of ground-work, getting him on a pressure halter following you around the yard, then progressing to moving his hind legs around, fore-legs, backwards, forwards, etc., all the time him respecting my space and learning that when I said go forwards he had to do it, and backwards ONLY when I said so, and so on.

We then progressed to ridden work; and what I did to get him out on his own was to tack up and then lead him on the outwards journey (just like in the yard, no big deal); and then in a very laid back way just hop on and ride him home! Simple as that! No big deal.

For a while, we'd still get the odd bit of temperament, but I'd learnt just to be laid back about it, when he prats around I sing, or yawning is a good thing coz it totally relaxes you and puts your breathing in the right place, or laughing. If he does plant, I've got strategies: i.e. turning him in a very tight circle, thus making it uncomfortable for him and making him see that going in the right direction will bring about release from discomfort; or another thing I've found works if he plants is to just sit quietly for a minute or two (give you a chance to chill out!), then suddenly bang on with your right leg/left leg; right leg/left leg, really hard, and make a noise like a Red-Indian with your voice! You can't use this technique too often coz they get wise to it, but if you're "stuck" it might just be an emergency fix.

I just want to encourage you that you WILL get there with yours; if I can do it with mine (I'm not a confident rider by any means) then I'm sure you'll see success with yours.

PS If your're really struggling a good instructor is a godsend; I used someone who used a natural horsemanship approach, which was what mine needed as he'd had all the traditional methods used on him, without success, and a different, almost quirky approach, was what did the trick. Good luck with yours!
 
If you canget someone to walk with you, or even accompany you on a bicycle. Leading the horse in hand and long -reining are very beneficial usually.
 
Some good advice here. Mine napped horrendously when I first had him. First I did a lot of in hand work with him. He had raced & never hacked alone. So it too was confidence along with some serious attitude! I used to get laughed at as I would take him for walks, but it really helped. We then cracked on with some long reining - I think this is so helpful for getting them a bit more independant & confident & forward thinking. Little lane down the side of the yard sounds perfect for this. If she prats about then she isnt going to hurt you & will soon get the hang of it.
When I started trying to ride him out, I didnt use another horse often - even now he hacks with others rarely, otherwise he can easily become dependant. Instead my dad came on his bike! He would ride in front to start, then move along side, then behind. One of my favourite things to get him listening & really focussing on the direction I waned to go was using circles & direction changes (only on very quiet roads!!). We would go a 100 yards or so away & then turn back. And then again etc. So he was waiting for my command & not just march straight back to the yard. Even now I test him occasionally & ride straight past the yard & carry on. This used to be a huge drama but generally now he doesnt bat an eyelid.
With patience & perseverance he has become very easy to hack & will wonder out of the yard on a long rein as happy as larry.
 
Lots of people recommend long lining, but I would be a bit nervous about this. What if they buck/kick out, or get frightened and want to take off - you would be flying along being towed behind. Any tips for safe long-lining out on the roads?
 
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