How to improve horses confidence (hacking alone)

[emilyjeff]

Hi, I am 36 years old. Rode a fair bit as a kid but all riding school stuff and have returned to riding as an adult at the start of 2017.

I am sharing a 13 yr old 14.2hh cob gelding. I say share but his owner doesn't ever ride him, he's on working livery but only does 2 or 3 lessons a week as none of the kids want to ride him (he's strong).

I've been riding him for about 3 months now. Have hacked out with others ok and he is fine riding in the school alone. Recently I've hacked him alone but with son/ husband either biking or walking next to me and he was absolutely fine. So last saturday I took him out properly alone for the first time.

We left the yard fine, I had planned the shortest circular route we can do from our yard. All was going fine until we got about quarter of the way round and he suddenly span round and tried to bolt for home (whilst we were on the road) I tried turning him round a couple of times but it was useless, we were getting nowhere and I was worried as we were on the road. So I got off, led him until we were about half the way round, then cantered him a good distance, then carried on to finish our ride home.

So, did I do the right thing? Leading seemed my only option as there was no way I was letting him go back home. How can I work on getting him more confident going out alone? I think generally he is not confident on being alone, he's quite low in the herd pecking order and when riding in a lesson will try to rush back to the others after we've jumped or whatever (obviously I don't let him) Any suggestions please people?

Thanks

 

[Shay]

Some horses just never hack alone. Has he ever done?

You are completely right to get off and lead if that is how you feel safest. You have to read the situation as it is and do what you think best. If that means dismount and lead then do that.

Otherwise it is going to be trial and error really. And being safe is the most important thing. He needs to be confident in your ability to be a leader for him. That may mean ground work; it might mean just setting him up in situations which are a little challenging. That might be hacking in a group but then riding away from them or letting them go on without you. Hacking with someone on a bike or on foot for a while. Going to a sponsored ride alone so he actually has lots of horses in sight but none actually with him.

But staying safe is the first thing and you may just have to resign yourself to always being with someone else. Or at least for the short term.

 

[Being_Ros]

Some horses just never hack alone. Has he ever done?

You are completely right to get off and lead if that is how you feel safest. You have to read the situation as it is and do what you think best. If that means dismount and lead then do that.

Otherwise it is going to be trial and error really. And being safe is the most important thing. He needs to be confident in your ability to be a leader for him. That may mean ground work; it might mean just setting him up in situations which are a little challenging. That might be hacking in a group but then riding away from them or letting them go on without you. Hacking with someone on a bike or on foot for a while. Going to a sponsored ride alone so he actually has lots of horses in sight but none actually with him.

But staying safe is the first thing and you may just have to resign yourself to always being with someone else. Or at least for the short term.

Completely agree! Just keep at it and judge the situation as it comes; trust your instincts as you know how best to handle him! It sounds like he just needs his confidence built up and the best way is to just bite the bullet and do it. It is difficult but he will get there. If you are feeling unsafe or that he needs extra help then do dismount and lead him, there is nothing wrong with that at all. I have done the same many times!
Good luck!

 

[meleeka]

He sounds like my boy. I've gotten off a few times and I've even led for the first bit then got on. I agree with the above, you've really got to just keep doing it.
If you are feeling a bit nervous yourself try singing. My pony ended up that a verse of Ten Green Bottles actually made him calm!

 

[emilyjeff]

Thanks for the responses everyone. I think I just need to keep working on him, it just knocked my confidence a bit as he seemed to be doing ok I wasn't expecting him to spin round and head for home!

 

[Being_Ros]

That's fair enough, can't blame you. It is always daunting but for his sake and yours keep pushing through it! I have the same thing with my newbie!

 

[amandaco2]

start on a route you go on very often with another horse/ person and go around there on your own and build up to newer routes.
helps to do spook proofing in the arena at home so they trust your judgement about scary things too

 

[MiniScam]

I started riding my 4yo out on his own last year. I had no support from anyone else, and as an experienced but apprehensive rider, I had to come up with a plan to avoid problems and build his (and my) confidence going out on our own.

I started by leading him out on foot, fully tacked up, and setting myself zero expectations. I would take him for a quick walk around a short route, and see how he felt. At first he would have his head in the air, snorting at everything, spooking and just generally being a baby. I'd let him look at things, reassure him and be positive (and always moving forward). After a while, his head would lower - indicating he had used up most of his nervous energy - and I would jump on and ride him home. Each time I found that I was getting on earlier and earlier into our walk, and eventually decided to get on at home and see what happened. He was a darling, and our relationship grew immensely from taking our time and getting brave together. By the end of the summer, he would do anything for me.

I think it's about him building his trust in you, and to do that you'll need to take tiny steps (and being prepared that some of those steps might be backwards sometimes!). He may be 13 but if he's not hacked alone much before, this will be a new and scary experience for him. So my advice would be to set your expectations low and let him tell you when he's ready. If you're never pushing him outside of his comfort zone, but are encouraging him forward, he will trust that you won't ask him to do something that he doesn't feel comfortable doing. Working in the school on groundwork will help too.

 

[GTRJazz]

I have managed to get all three of my horses to hack on their own does take time, all now ok even in heavy fast traffic. Need to pick your yard no good starting off where you have to use a road to get anywhere,that spin is one of the most dangerous things that could happen while riding. If you can box up and go to a local park it is best as they are less lightly to turn back.

 

[scats]

I expect all mine to hack alone, but some require a lot more work to get them to that point. Diva was exceptional from the word go- thrived hacking out alone and yes, has an occasional spook at something, but doesn't get herself silly simply because she's on her own.
New mare was very reluctant at first, and we did much reversing and refusing to move (off road, I must add) but we are now 8 weeks in to our relationship and she hacks out alone 4 times a week and reversing is a rare occasion now and usually only if something is different. She is heightened alone, however, and I can tell she doesn't fully relax, whereas when you hack her with others, she is very chilled out.

I'm sure that this will improve, but sometimes you have to accept that some horses never find it totally comfortable being alone, and are often more prone to a spook than others. Best way I find to deal with it is to keep hacking out as often as possible, but trying to set them up to suceed best you can. So you can't control what you meet out hacking, but you can control not going on a very windy day when you know they will be hyper-vigilant and more spooky or silly.