Loose horse hacking question

[IseeU]

hacking with horse and heard a galloping noise to turn around and find another horse galloping down road towards me having dumped the rider.
my question is , what should I have done as my horse obviously wanted to run as well as probably thought the other horse was running from danger. Fortunately I msnaged to stop mine but more by luck than judgement !
what should I have done to protect myself ?

 

[AmyMay]

Sounds as if you handled the situation perfectly.

 

[ihatework]

The only thing you can realistically do, is do whatever it takes to retain control of your horse.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Not much else you could have done really you did the right thing and was lucky you managed to stop yours following.

 

[Red-1]

I tend to turn my horse to face the oncoming one, so they can see what is happening.

I would walk after the horse once it had passed, to see if I could assist with catching.

 

[little_critter]

Not much more you could have done really. Step 1 is ensure your own safety (ie ensure you have control of your horse)
I suppose step 2 once you have control would be to call anyone you can think of who might be able to help catch the horse / find a potentially injured rider.

 

[IseeU]

thanks All, I was thinking is there a right or wrong thing to do as my arms were pulled out their sockets trying to hold on but I’m glad I did ok and I did get help after this for the rider

 

[Tiddlypom]

Hanging on to your own horse, which you did, is the priority.

Depending on your capabilities and how well you know your own horse, you could have tried to block the other horse off and catch it. I have done that successfully when faced with runaways before, but I was younger then and I was on the right horses at the time to attempt it.

‘Don’t make the situation worse’ is a good motto ie don’t get dumped by trying to intervene.

ETA Well done for getting help to the dumped rider.

 

[Skib]

Facing a horse or horses cantering towards you, doesnt really work. It happened to me and my horse span round and cantered fast in the direction we were going to go, that is she was charging along ahead of the other cantering horses. I fell off when I tried to turn her, to avoid a car coming out of a side road. My great regret, as, if I had kept her straight, I think I could have stayed on.

 

[Red-1]

Facing a horse or horses cantering towards you, doesnt really work. It happened to me and my horse span round and cantered fast in the direction we were going to go, that is she was charging along ahead of the other cantering horses. I fell off when I tried to turn her, to avoid a car coming out of a side road. My great regret, as, if I had kept her straight, I think I could have stayed on.

It has worked for me on numerous occasions. I keep them facing the horse as the horse passes, so they can always see what is happening. It means it is a controlled turn.

I don't know many horses who would be happy with an unknown horse galloping at their asses without being able to turn to look.

If one was particularly unruly once I was walking towards the passed horse, I would turn and ride strongly the other way so as to correct clingy behaviour. It may involve a stick to inform my horse that joining the other one in an uncontrolled manner was not an option.

 

[FlyingCircus]

Own a pony like my Connemara who thinks he's some kind of cowboy pony and likes to go catch them Loose horse near us has happened several times now and each time he gets his game face on and waits to be told he can follow then goes after them to grab them before they hit the road.

 

[IseeU]

I certainly don’t want to repeat this experience, that’s for sure

 

[Esmae]

When that happened to me, there were 5 of them that had got out and were having a high old time, I shouted at them and somehow steered them into a gateway and then closed it behind them. The owner came charging along to catch them up and take them home. This involved me having to hold one at a time until she had them all except one (little and very naughty and he followed us back) Between us we got them back without harm except for the garden they galloped across that I had shut them in. Better that than on the road I figured. Home owner was away on holiday at the time and has since moved house altogether, and we never said who had trashed the veggie patch!! My horse was an absolute saint throughout. He knew that this was no time for humour from him.

 

[Maddie Moo]

Own a pony like my Connemara who thinks he's some kind of cowboy pony and likes to go catch them Loose horse near us has happened several times now and each time he gets his game face on and waits to be told he can follow then goes after them to grab them before they hit the road.

Sounds like he wants to work as an outriders pony like they have in the US to catch racehorses who get loose at the track!

 

[FlyingCircus]

Sounds like he wants to work as an outriders pony like they have in the US to catch racehorses who get loose at the track!

He'd love it, I'm sure! Not sure I'd be quite so keen

Think it just helps him feel like he has a job. Quite often he can create his own fun out hacking by adding interesting shapes and sideways, but as soon as we have a scenario where he needs to be sensible he's 100%.

It does help with the training though that I hack on the New Forest so reasonably often have the odd Forest pony trying to mess with me by trotting or cantering off. Sometimes even the whole group of them

 

[maya2008]

Depending on your groundwork and level of trust, I would get off. I have more control on the ground and they can spin round me in response to the galloping horse without actually leaving. I do put extensive work into their trust with me on the ground prior to backing though, so I know for sure they won’t leave if I am there on the ground with them.

 

[SpeedyPony]

Sounds like you did the right thing- as others have said if you have a sensible horse and it's safe to try and catch the other horse it's worth trying, but not if it puts you or your horse at risk.
Two loose horses are far more awkward to catch as they wind each other up and it's not much better being on board following the loose horse if you can't pull up should things get dangerous.

 

[Goldenstar]

You did well .
You did the most important thing which was control your own horse .
If I had been on H I would have blocked the road with him and tried to stop the horse buts he’s an experienced hunter and that sort of thing is part of their life he would not have been phased by that
My own horse I would have trotted fast in opposite direction or got him off to the side if possible .

 

[lauragreen85]

hacking with horse and heard a galloping noise to turn around and find another horse galloping down road towards me having dumped the rider.
my question is , what should I have done as my horse obviously wanted to run as well as probably thought the other horse was running from danger. Fortunately I msnaged to stop mine but more by luck than judgement !
what should I have done to protect myself ?

Hope the rider was ok! lucky noone was hurt badly

 

[meleeka]

I’d probably have jumped off my horse, but I don’t think there’s a right or wrong way to control your own horse, which is all you can do really. A friend was badly injured after being thrown from her horse in similar circumstances, so I think I’d feel safer on the ground. It obviously depends on the horse though. My old cob would have thought about it for a second or two, then decided it wasn’t worth the effort

 

[Winters100]

I had similar situation last year, not a riderless horse, but an out of control one. As I was taking a 6 year old out for her first hack on my schoolmistress, and leading her off the one I was riding, I did not try to block the path. We turned to face the horse, then as it passed us kept turning and rode small circles until the other horse was out of sight, with the child on the inside, so that in case of any problem I could use the one that I was riding to push her around. My schoolmistress simply looked mildly interested, the one that I was riding was startled, but beyond being a bit 'fizzy' did not do anything. We then followed in walk in case the other rider fell and needed help. She had managed to stop some distance from us, and was fine. She asked us to ride with her back to her stable, which I said that I could do, but that she would first have to come via our stable, which was close by, so that I could drop the child off (I did not want to take risks with a small child on a leadrope). The lady got in a total huff about this, saying that our stable was in the wrong direction, that I was rude as riders should help other riders, and that I should not be out with a child if the child did not ride well enough to control the pony. I pointed out, as politely as I could, that there had been only one person out of control, that I would be happy to help her, and that our stable would be only a 5 minute detour, but she turned around and trotted off without warning! So much for helping people!

 

[Glitter's fun]

I had similar situation last year, not a riderless horse, but an out of control one. As I was taking a 6 year old out for her first hack on my schoolmistress, and leading her off the one I was riding, I did not try to block the path. We turned to face the horse, then as it passed us kept turning and rode small circles until the other horse was out of sight, with the child on the inside, so that in case of any problem I could use the one that I was riding to push her around. My schoolmistress simply looked mildly interested, the one that I was riding was startled, but beyond being a bit 'fizzy' did not do anything. We then followed in walk in case the other rider fell and needed help. She had managed to stop some distance from us, and was fine. She asked us to ride with her back to her stable, which I said that I could do, but that she would first have to come via our stable, which was close by, so that I could drop the child off (I did not want to take risks with a small child on a leadrope). The lady got in a total huff about this, saying that our stable was in the wrong direction, that I was rude as riders should help other riders, and that I should not be out with a child if the child did not ride well enough to control the pony. I pointed out, as politely as I could, that there had been only one person out of control, that I would be happy to help her, and that our stable would be only a 5 minute detour, but she turned around and trotted off without warning! So much for helping people!

Adrenaline comes out in different ways in different people. If I get a shock I feel faint and nauseous. My friend bursts into tears. It's common to react to adrenaline by being randomly angry.
Don't take it to heart, she probably regrets it now & you did the right thing.

 

[Annagain]

Although it's not quite a first aid situation, I think the same rules apply - and rule number one is don't put yourself in danger so you did exactly the right thing. The only other thing I'd have done is once you're fully back in control, phone the police to report the loose horse and - unless there are multiple routes the horse could have come from - gone back in the direction he came from to check on the rider.