My ex-racehorse naps & ji-jogs home on a hack

[jamstrumpet]

As the title suggests I purchased an ex-racer hes very gentle and great in other aspects but when it comes to hacking hes a bit of a nightmare. Going out hes prity relaxed and forward but will occasionally try to turn for home when he sees a gap. However as soon as we do turn for home (as i have no choice to turn him) he becomes a handful. He starts to jig-jog and once he starts thats it until we reach the lane into our house then he chills again. Iv tried doing circles but sometimes this appears to wind him up. Also doing half halts only lasts for 2-3 steps then hes off again. He is still in early re-training due to injury so he still has alot to learn but unfortunetely i have limited space at the moment so therefore i have to be able to go hacking. Any advice would be much appreciated?? Thanks Sam

 

[AmyMay]

How often do you hack him out?

 

[jamstrumpet]

normally only 2-3 times a week as i dread the thought of the journey home..which I know doesnt help either, i do my best to stay relaxed but sometimes it gets abit much and i tense up

 

[AmyMay]

normally only 2-3 times a week as i dread the thought of the journey home..which I know doesnt help either, i do my best to stay relaxed but sometimes it gets abit much and i tense up

I suspect if you exercised more, then the problem would disappear. Hack every day, go different routes, ride for a good hour and half.

 

[jamstrumpet]

Thanks i think patience and persistence is going to be my only answer

 

[AmyMay]

Thanks i think patience and persistence is going to be my only answer

Yep, and giving the horse a job to do.

 

[Antw23uk]

I agree with Amymay, he needs to be worked more. I never really got this thing about 'he is better when worked everyday' until i got my own ex racer and actually he DOES work a lot better if he is ridden every day.

You ideally need to be hacking out everyday on different routes, nice and calm, all very enjoyable but 'boring' to get him to settle etc

Mine is a silly ****** if he hasnt been ridden for a few days, spooks at a blade of grass and plays up on the way home pretending to be some dressage diva with his nose tucked into his chest jogging all the way home! but ridden everyday he is pretty much bomb proof out hacking and we walk home on the buckle. Best of luck and dont forget the pics

 

[jamstrumpet]

Thanks Ant im definetley going to try riding him everyday and see if it works at this point im willing to try anything

 

[fatpiggy]

I suspect if you exercised more, then the problem would disappear. Hack every day, go different routes, ride for a good hour and half.

Hee hee - not necessarily. My mare jigged and jogged and leapt and bounced throughout every hack once we got off the tarmac and if we had any company she was a total nightmare - and she was a welsh D x, ridden every day. The cure (95% cured anyway) came when I hacked her out in temperatures in the high 80s and she was too hot to mess about. From that day on she improved. I had to do alot of work with my voice though because she listened to that way more than the bit. I did find that riding one handed wound her up less, and standing up in the stirrups seemed to help too. She adored galloping and once she'd had a decent blast or 6 she would come home on the buckle. Silly old fool.

 

[SMIS]

I have a tb, never raced though, he used to nap hacking out alone and whinny and jog home. Used to scare the c**p out of me fearing he would bolt for home!
We hacked out 20 mins one day then 25 the next then 30 etc building it up slowly along the same route. I found repetition, i.e. doing the same route calmly over and over, made him increasingly relaxed. I only rode in non windy weather and only walked for the first 5 or so times til he was comfortable enough to trot then to canter.
It took about 3 months of dedicated hacking alone for 30 mins 3x time a week to get him relaxed.
I can't stress enough how repetition will make it boring/relaxed for him. I managed to stop the jogging that way and also by when he walked giving him really long reins as reward for walking and not jogging. Also sounds odd but I take carrots on my hacks now and stop him for some carrots halfway out and halfway back as an incentive. He much prefers hacking to schooling now as loves his carrot stops!

 

[jamstrumpet]

Thanks guys some good tips think the carrot incentive will be tried out

 

[SMIS]

Thanks guys some good tips think the carrot incentive will be tried out

Thanks : )
It worked well with my boy who is extremely motivated by food! I forgot to write that I also discovered inadvertantly that giving him a bit of carrot every km or so distracted him from feeling so nervous. He would chomp on the carrot and be focusing on that as opposed to being spooked!

 

[Micky]

Ditto SMIS, also try and school him too, as the more he listens to you in the school ie transitions etc, hopefully ( ) the more he'll listen to you on a hack. Don't forget to talk to him ie praise, no etc when schooling and hacking, he will get used to hearing the different tones and respond accordingly the more you do it. good luck

 

[Brightbay]

I have a tb, never raced though, he used to nap hacking out alone and whinny and jog home. Used to scare the c**p out of me fearing he would bolt for home!
We hacked out 20 mins one day then 25 the next then 30 etc building it up slowly along the same route. I found repetition, i.e. doing the same route calmly over and over, made him increasingly relaxed. I only rode in non windy weather and only walked for the first 5 or so times til he was comfortable enough to trot then to canter.
It took about 3 months of dedicated hacking alone for 30 mins 3x time a week to get him relaxed.
I can't stress enough how repetition will make it boring/relaxed for him. I managed to stop the jogging that way and also by when he walked giving him really long reins as reward for walking and not jogging. Also sounds odd but I take carrots on my hacks now and stop him for some carrots halfway out and halfway back as an incentive. He much prefers hacking to schooling now as loves his carrot stops!

Good for you working it through so methodically

If giving rewards like carrots (an excellent idea IMO), remember that a reward makes whatever was happening at the point you gave it more likely to happen again. So make sure you don't even think about getting your carrot out until you have relaxed walk on a long rein Or halt, in fact (carrots are great for training nice relaxed "stand" at junctions etc. ).

 

[SMIS]

Good for you working it through so methodically

If giving rewards like carrots (an excellent idea IMO), remember that a reward makes whatever was happening at the point you gave it more likely to happen again. So make sure you don't even think about getting your carrot out until you have relaxed walk on a long rein Or halt, in fact (carrots are great for training nice relaxed "stand" at junctions etc. ).

You know that is exactly how I have been teaching him to halt and stand still lately! Once he decides something isnt scary or goes over to sniff a previously scary object he gets a bit of carrot. It has made him more inquisitive and less wary of new things : )

It is so reassuring to hear that other people use such techniques as a few people on an old yard used to laugh at me for cutting up small pieces of carrots and taking them in a bumbag with me out hacking. They said I should just smack him if he stops but I didnt want to if he was frightened already. Much better giving them time to figure out for themselves that something isnt a threat by having a good look and a sniff at it.

 

[Antw23uk]

Smacking a scared horse is pretty silly in my eyes. If Giz is scared of something we go and have a good look at it and I give him the confidence he needs to know that I'm going to look after him and not put him in danger ... Most of the time this works but then its only been 4 months

 

[Meowy Catkin]

It's a shame that you don't have circular hacking routes. Do you have anything that you could use as a 'roundabout' so that you don't turn on the spot (which is never good for nappy horses)?