How to stop my horse backing up and bucking

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Oliviabuttons98

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Hi recently I've been hackin out alone and everytime I get just down the road from the yard my horse will refuse to go forward and back up when asked to move forward. I've tried turning in circles he just seems to want to go his way or no way ! The backing up only bothered me when it's into other people's cars or trees and bushes ! Also when asked to go forward with a firm voice , kick and a whip he just bucks and refuses. He will happily follow my boyfriend or friends anywhere but refuses to go first or hack alone and only wants to go one way either towards his stable or his field !
 
I had the same problem solution has been to just trot out and not let her get to the point where she could stop. initially someone had to run behind just out of the yard with a lunge whip behind and when she tried to stop she got a boot and reinforced with the whip behind. We then trotted round the entire hack or if she then settled walked the last half (always go in a circle). after repeating this twice she then improved to the point where extra person wasn't needed and then progressed to being able to walk earlier and earlier without issue. If she did stop i just either had to get off and trot her up and down the road to make sure she was happy moving again in this place or eventually she was able to move off again with my leg. She now can hack on the end of the buckle stop, turn round and continue without resistance. The main thing is to make sure they are off your leg at all times as otherwise this leads to rearing. hope this helps.
 
It sounds like he's napping, and this will take patience to deal with. If the bucking is hard to sit through, you could long rein him and if he's also stubborn to lead, practice taking him out in hand. Essentially, you need to show him that it isn't worth the effort to argue with you, because he's going whether he likes it or not. Allow a lot of time and when you next set out, don't give in when he started napping. Face him in the direction you won't to go, keep asking firmly but quietly, and wait him out. I'd suggest bringing a helper on the ground in case there are issues with cars (I'm assuming this is a quiet enough place that you can take your time), but don't let him tuck in behind to try and follow the helper. Be prepared to spend several hours doing this.
When he starts backing up, try not to get tense and frustrated, ask him to stand/go forward, whichever works best for you, and praise him when he does. Keep him facing the right way and ask again for a step forward. If he goes, make a huge fuss rewarding him. If he doesn't, ask again. Praise any indication of forward movement so he gets the idea, and basically just wait him out.
If that isn't working, try reversing him in the direction you want to go for a few steps, turn and ask him to go forward - keep doing this until he goes. If he isn't getting what he wants, he'll soon realise that it's easier to walk normally forwards.
If that doesn't work, bother him. When he starts reversing, turn him in tight circles until he stands. Immediately ask again - if he reverses, circle in the other direction. Make him work until he decides to do what you want and when he does, as always, tell him what a hero he is.
The key is being calm and persistent. Keep repeating this and get him into the habit of going forwards without a lead. Good luck!
 
I had this with mine (ex riding school!) when hacking alone. The most successful method I've found so far is to turn him around and make him go backwards in the direction that you ultimately want to go, then spin him around and go forwards. Rinse and repeat. Only turn and head for home when YOU choose to go that way. Work on it bit by bit, getting him further down the road each time and eventually he'll chill out.
 
pixie said:
I had this with mine (ex riding school!) when hacking alone. The most successful method I've found so far is to turn him around and make him go backwards in the direction that you ultimately want to go, then spin him around and go forwards. Rinse and repeat. Only turn and head for home when YOU choose to go that way. Work on it bit by bit, getting him further down the road each time and eventually he'll chill out.
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This is how I dealt with it too. As soon as I turned him back around, big boot, tap behind the leg and trot.
 
Agree this sounds like napping and unfortunately one shoe doesn't fit all!

You will get plenty of advice on multiple ways to tackle it - you know your horse so will know which way will work and which way won't. Don't give up too easily and move on to the next tactic too quickly though, pick one and stick at it.

With my old mare the tactic was to kick twice and tap with whip on the third kick repetitively again and again and again, she eventually sussed out if she went forward when asked she'd save a lot of hassle and taps with the whip.

I wish you the best of luck, napping is an infuriating problem. I think the worse type is the quiet nappers that are constantly trying to go home and you can never give up being one step ahead and relax, at least with my current mare when going forward she is eager.
 
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