Introducing my new horse and question about napping horse

[Joanne_Stockport]

Lovely horse and horsey husband! How lucky are you!!

thank you ! Yes I am very lucky, I`m not sure I would have bought my horse if he was not riding too (a lot of money is going into that !).
He was not keen on get on a horse when I started 18 months ago ( so I never pressured him to try it).
However few months into my lessons I decided I wanted to go on a 3 days riding holiday in Wales but we never spent holidays apart from each other.
So I tough he was joking when he told me he wanted to come with me ! He went for a couple of lesson and then we went for our holidays (it was for beginners).
And even though the weather was bad he liked it and continued with lessons afterwards.

So yes I am happy that we are sharing that together !

 

[Joanne_Stockport]

What a nice day today !

We managed a 6.6 miles hack (one person on the bike).
He was still being a little bit difficult for the first 30-40 minutes so once on the bridleway I was asking him for a lot of transitions (walk-stand-walk, walk-trot-walk). If he was starting to turn right (as he always does) instead of completing a full circle I was making him go left (demanding a lot of work from my part !). I think that helped too.
After a while he relaxed and did not try to turn again.
Only got scared of an helicopter when I had to shout at my husband to get out of the way !!

My husband got on him coming back (which is always the easier part !)

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Well done.

 

[Gravity Wins]

Well done for getting out!

I have an ex RS horse & I have had an almighty battle with him for the last 12 months about hacking out solo, he naps too. He has destroyed my confidence & whilst he is 100% bombproof in company, get him out alone & he was awful.
I came to the end of my tether with him a few weeks ago & started seeing an 'old school' trainer who opened a whole can of whoop ass on him & yesterday I managed a 6 mile hack alone. There was no snorting, no spooking & the one time he started reversing I kicked him on & he actually went forwards instead of going backwards even faster. The trainer said he had no conscience, I think he may have developed one now *fingers crossed*

 

[splashgirl45]

great news, well done, sounds like you are winning.....

 

[Echo Bravo]

6.6 mile hack a bit excessive for a youngster newly broken in, mind that you don't make his back sore

 

[ester]

6.6 mile hack a bit excessive for a youngster newly broken in, mind that you don't make his back sore

Where does it say the horse is a newly broken youngster? I don't think the OP even mentions his age?

It sounds like persistence will get you there OP He is certainly a striking chap

 

[Joanne_Stockport]

Well done for getting out!

I have an ex RS horse & I have had an almighty battle with him for the last 12 months about hacking out solo, he naps too. He has destroyed my confidence & whilst he is 100% bombproof in company, get him out alone & he was awful.
I came to the end of my tether with him a few weeks ago & started seeing an 'old school' trainer who opened a whole can of whoop ass on him & yesterday I managed a 6 mile hack alone. There was no snorting, no spooking & the one time he started reversing I kicked him on & he actually went forwards instead of going backwards even faster. The trainer said he had no conscience, I think he may have developed one now *fingers crossed*

I'm hoping it will not take 12 months for him to get more confident in hacking alone
I will be honest and say that he is testing me , he is my first horse and even though I had a part loan before I never dealt with a nappy horse ! The good thing is that because he is a cob , he is not super fast in his movements so I often can "feel" what he is going to do and try to correct him before/or as it happens (more in the school though). He is spooking a lot more then when he was at the riding school or at the schooling livery..not sure if it has to do with the weather changing and of course he has moved a few places in the space of 4 months.
However I am patient and will take it step by step !

Must feel good for you to finally be able to hack him alone !

great news, well done, sounds like you are winning.....

Thank you, I am sure it's not the end of it yet but I am happy with what we have achieve yesterday !

Where does it say the horse is a newly broken youngster? I don't think the OP even mentions his age?

It sounds like persistence will get you there OP He is certainly a striking chap

ahha , Ester you are correct about that ! He is not a broken youngster !
I think Echo Bravo must have scanned quickly and not realised that he comes from a riding school were he was working at least 2-3 hours everyday !
He is 9 years old and I sent him for schooling after because he did not settle well at the riding school so he needed additional schooling and to lose some weight ! I am sure he could have easily done more than 6.6 miles but will wait when he is more confident to do longer rides..he had a nice shower (and some carrots) after the hack (he loves to be pampered..good thing as I have to clean his tail and legs quite often !)

Thank you for the positive thoughts ...I agree ..he is striking and I love him already

 

[pansy]

Hi, It sounds like you are getting there with him, ours can nap & I have found that walking him out has helped, we walk him so far then get on & ride back , changing the routes we take let him have a bit of grass & away we go - the walk out is getting shorter & shorter - it seems to be working

 

[Kallibear]

He's lovely! Such nice face markings. I love unusual white blazes.

Sounds like you're on the right track with him. His napping will be a mixture of stubbornness and anxiety. You need to be firm and no-nonsense with him so he knows who's in charge and can relax. He will of course test you (all horses do initially) but as long as you don't fail the test, it'll iron out eventually.

Lots of practise and a 'get on with it' attitude and you'll soon forget you even had an issue.

 

[Echo Bravo]

I also bought a coloured cob from a riding school, many years ago I had him for over 22 years and I also had the same problems as OP and with several broken bones over the years. Yes I did get the impression he was a youngster just broken in. But the Riding School bit did hit me in the face as Merlin my old cob did do the same things and yes I'd take him slowly, they get use to an ordered ride and they never work alone, took me ages to get him to canter a whole circuit, he would canter half way then go down to trot then walk, before I realised he was going from the front to the back etc 1/2 a circuit as on a lesson with several other horses and to be honest several years before I could ride him out on my own for long distances, he was 37 when I had him pts and he did teach me a lot but mostly patience in large dollops.

 

[Joanne_Stockport]

Hi, It sounds like you are getting there with him, ours can nap & I have found that walking him out has helped, we walk him so far then get on & ride back , changing the routes we take let him have a bit of grass & away we go - the walk out is getting shorter & shorter - it seems to be working

Thanks, it's' always good to know other people tips, I am keeping them all in mind. I might try the walking bit from the yard to the bridleway as he always nap at the same place on the road and even though it's generally a quiet road...it's still dangerous.
Maybe if I walk him past that spot a few times he will realised there is nothing to worry about !

He's lovely! Such nice face markings. I love unusual white blazes.

Sounds like you're on the right track with him. His napping will be a mixture of stubbornness and anxiety. You need to be firm and no-nonsense with him so he knows who's in charge and can relax. He will of course test you (all horses do initially) but as long as you don't fail the test, it'll iron out eventually.

Lots of practise and a 'get on with it' attitude and you'll soon forget you even had an issue.

thanks , yes I realised that he needs me to be firm with him...I think I started to soft and that makes him more anxious then anything else ! So now when I ask him something instead of : "Could you do it for me please" , I'm more like "Do it...now...please !"

I also bought a coloured cob from a riding school, many years ago I had him for over 22 years and I also had the same problems as OP and with several broken bones over the years. Yes I did get the impression he was a youngster just broken in. But the Riding School bit did hit me in the face as Merlin my old cob did do the same things and yes I'd take him slowly, they get use to an ordered ride and they never work alone, took me ages to get him to canter a whole circuit, he would canter half way then go down to trot then walk, before I realised he was going from the front to the back etc 1/2 a circuit as on a lesson with several other horses and to be honest several years before I could ride him out on my own for long distances, he was 37 when I had him pts and he did teach me a lot but mostly patience in large dollops.

ahh I understand where you are coming from.
Mine was not at the riding school for long as they realised that he was a "one person" horse. He rapidly when from working nicely in the school to not wanting to work at all.
I think all the different riders confused him and I still need to work on that now... he has become more sensitive with his mouth and I am learning to ride him more with my body (and leg cues) then with the reins...
Hopefully it will not have to wait until he is 37 to hack alone but we will see ...

 

[tallyho!]

Lovely boy! Also it's fantastic your husband rides him too, I just love that. Lucky you! Wish mine would but he's far too big and burly and I think we'd have to get him a "rugby players horse"... Whatever that is....

I think you'll both get over the napping thing, he's just wanting home comforts, you know, warm stable, hay etc and hacking not really matching up to it. Four or five months is not that long for you to get to know each other and once you click I think it'll be so much more fun and the spring and summer is just around the corner and I am sure he will become more enthusiastic about time out in the open.

I used to do the "clover" once suggested to me on here when I had the same problem. The essence is that you go out and do a short loop and turn for home but then carry on past home and do another loop, then go past home again to do another one somewhere else and then go home. Making sure each time, it was your decision to turn, not his. After a while we would just go further and further until we were out for hours and even I forgot about the clover by then.

I bet before long you will have another horse as it will be more fun with you both riding, not one on the bike! Tee hee!!

 

[Kat]

Hi there!

Lovely horse, I also share my horse with my husband. We often hack with him on the bike or ride half walk half each. It works really well when it is a shared hobby and it means you have an extra pair of hands.

What might work well for you would be following the bike on the way out and then going in front on the way back. Build up gradually until you can lead all the way and the bike (or walker) is just following behind. Then try letting the bike take a short cut so you do part of the ride alone until you are ready to go alone. Try never to turn around, always do a bit of a loop so he never has a reason to turn back.

Good luck, sounds like you will get on well and have lits of fun.

 

[Joanne_Stockport]

Lovely boy! Also it's fantastic your husband rides him too, I just love that. Lucky you! Wish mine would but he's far too big and burly and I think we'd have to get him a "rugby players horse"... Whatever that is....

I think you'll both get over the napping thing, he's just wanting home comforts, you know, warm stable, hay etc and hacking not really matching up to it. Four or five months is not that long for you to get to know each other and once you click I think it'll be so much more fun and the spring and summer is just around the corner and I am sure he will become more enthusiastic about time out in the open.

I used to do the "clover" once suggested to me on here when I had the same problem. The essence is that you go out and do a short loop and turn for home but then carry on past home and do another loop, then go past home again to do another one somewhere else and then go home. Making sure each time, it was your decision to turn, not his. After a while we would just go further and further until we were out for hours and even I forgot about the clover by then.

I bet before long you will have another horse as it will be more fun with you both riding, not one on the bike! Tee hee!!

I will try do to the "clover" suggestion , I did not think about that..thanks !
Not sure about having another horse (did think about though), that would be maybe stretching our budget a little too much I think..we both work and they would both need to be a full livery !
Also I do not think my husband will ride during the week so I don't want to end up having two horses to ride !

Hi there!

Lovely horse, I also share my horse with my husband. We often hack with him on the bike or ride half walk half each. It works really well when it is a shared hobby and it means you have an extra pair of hands.

What might work well for you would be following the bike on the way out and then going in front on the way back. Build up gradually until you can lead all the way and the bike (or walker) is just following behind. Then try letting the bike take a short cut so you do part of the ride alone until you are ready to go alone. Try never to turn around, always do a bit of a loop so he never has a reason to turn back.

Good luck, sounds like you will get on well and have lits of fun.

Yes it's great to share the same hobby !
It's good we can share the same horse as a lot of men would be to heavy for my cob (I still need to measure him but I think he is 15 hands are slightly under).
Thanks for the suggestions when hacking with the bike..will try them too !

 

[Kat]

The fact my husband was going to ride too restricted our choice of horse. My husband is rather leggy so we were looking for something 16hh plus and hunter type to take his leg up. Of course that wasn't what we bought and we had a few wobbles about whether he was too big for our mare. It also cost a fortune to get a saddle to fit them both!

It does really help justify the cost when it is a shared hobby though. And I have someone to do the horse if I can't (he is brilliant at mucking out!)

 

[Goldenstar]

Amazing eyes very striking .
Just keep persevering, it may be worth considering getting an experienced rider to hack him a few times for you if you know anyone suitable .

 

[Joanne_Stockport]

The fact my husband was going to ride too restricted our choice of horse. My husband is rather leggy so we were looking for something 16hh plus and hunter type to take his leg up. Of course that wasn't what we bought and we had a few wobbles about whether he was too big for our mare. It also cost a fortune to get a saddle to fit them both!

It does really help justify the cost when it is a shared hobby though. And I have someone to do the horse if I can't (he is brilliant at mucking out!)

My husband is slightly taller than me and weight a bit less than me so horse that would have been good for me would probably be good for him too. I did not want a big horse as it is more practical when hacking (and swapping riders) ! I don`t have to worry to much about the daily care as he is a full livery (no yard close enough for us to be on DIY!)
He had less experience than me so I am still showing him how to tack up, etc.. He has yet to go ride him on his own (without me supervising and telling him what to do )

Amazing eyes very striking .
Just keep persevering, it may be worth considering getting an experienced rider to hack him a few times for you if you know anyone suitable .

If I do not see any improvements in the next few weeks I will get an experienced rider to hack him but yes I will persevere !

 

[Joanne_Stockport]

Just an update on our progress !

Since my last post , we have been on a long hack with an experienced rider/horse (someone from this forum kindly came to show me around the area). Badger behaved perfectly with a leading horse in front of us.
Then we mostly practised with my husband or me on the bike and only doing circular or lollipop shaped routes.
Two weeks ago we went (just us) on a (new route) small circular route (approx 1 mile) and he only tried to turn once and was forward going.
Yesterday we did the same route that we usually do with the bike and it went well even though he is still quite slow going away from the yard. However he did not really tried to turn , just not walking straight and slow walk and trot...but I think it is a lot better then how we did before !
There is a video here (for those patient enough to watch it !) : https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B23m_imMz6I6WXBUeVBnRHhmemM/edit?usp=sharing

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Well done!

 

[Fides]

Brill news good for you

 

[splashgirl45]

see what you mean about starting slowly!!!!! glad you enjoyed your hack and well done...