Napping and rearing on hacks... Any ideas

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Flicker

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Hacking out in company, on familiar routes. Not at the same place every time. Makes no difference if the other horse/s stay close or go on ahead.
I would be tempted to give it a whack, but to be fair I'm not the one that has to sit on it when it goes up... And by the looks of how balanced it is when it goes up, it's had a fair bit of practice...
 
Giving it a whack as you say, will have the same effect as driving a car into a brick wall - car crash. Horse is so resistant to going forward it is like having a brick wall in front of it - trust me, I know, I have a serial napper.
I have begun taking him for little rides on a big stubble field across the road from the yard - several times starting small and extending bit by bit the range he is okay with. Without company. He has planted a couple of times so rather than smack him and precipitate all that stuff (I am a pensioner lol) I irritate the hell out of him! I just rattle my heels against his ribs constantly until he gives me a little forward step - then I stop and leave him alone until the next time. Once recently he tried to bolt with me, so I pulled him up and started again - every time he tried to turn and bolt I pulled him round to complete a 360 degree and after three of those he walked on to where we were going. I did it all again today - he was genuinely concerned about where we were going, I could feel his respiration and heart rate go up but he shouldn't, he is 16 and has quite a lot of miles on the clock at home. We have now acheived the full circuit twice, something to build on.
But someone just referred me to this web site about mineral imbalance - worth a read. http://www.calmhealthyhorses.com/
My lad had been on magnesium since he was a uber spooky 6 yr old, and it did help but apparently the grass at the moment is all out of kilter. I will be adding a decent measure of salt now to see whether it helps (he is an itcher as well, so it kind of fits)
I'm not a scared rider (except I'm not now as supple as I used to be) as I have bred and broken numerous ones over the years, but something about this one - he seems to always have his own agenda. I don't believe in waiting for him to be happy to do stuff - at some point he has to say "Okay boss" and do it because I am asking. But if it can be resolved so that I can enjoy him and not feel concerned each time I take him out, it's worth researching.

Oh, and don't forget to praise him when he is going forward :)
 
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Get some lessons. Ride it forward. Ride in the school until you know it's forward, then ride it out. If it's as balanced as you say then you don't have to be too worried about it going over, unless you pull on the reins when it goes up (most people make horses fall over when they go up by unbalancing the horse). A stick would feature in my training kit if it was mine, but you know your horse, and your limitations best. Training horses not to nap requires a lot of UNTRAINING. Good luck.
 
Not necessarily advocating it, but walking backwards really helped my nappy horse, he used to plant and if I smacked him, he'd just rear up. Also heard turning in tight circles can stop them rearing.
 
Deseado said:
Get some lessons. Ride it forward. Ride in the school until you know it's forward, then ride it out. If it's as balanced as you say then you don't have to be too worried about it going over, unless you pull on the reins when it goes up (most people make horses fall over when they go up by unbalancing the horse). A stick would feature in my training kit if it was mine, but you know your horse, and your limitations best. Training horses not to nap requires a lot of UNTRAINING. Good luck.
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Have you actually DONE it? Because I have - spent lots of time acheiving forward in the school, but if a horse isn't willing to go forward out on a hack no amount of use of the aids you have already taught is going to convince it to go. Like training dogs, you need to teach and then enforce, so that at some point you take away the horse's choice by making it difficult for him to refuse to comply. In the school he is unlikely to decide not to comply, it isn't a problem for him there.
 
My little arab was VERY nappy when green, and still now if she's not in the mood. Kicking or using a stick will result in a buck as, perhaps rightly, that's very rude. I had an RA out to help (after having spent 6 month longlining for MILES until she was foot perfect). The trick we found for her was to shift the weight to free up one foreleg. Once we've done that, she goes forward. Oh, and keep a contact and use it to channel the energy forwards once she is moving. Reins like washing lines just means she goes nowhere.
 
With mine the only thing that cracked it was ignoring the rears completley and upon landing if driving forwards wouldnt work, spinning in a circle would! He got so fed up with it I think he figured out that it wasn't worth the hassle!! Keeping the legs moving and making sure you're well ahead of when they drop behind the leg is the key IMO.
 
I am going through similar with one of mine. The turning round and walking backwards trick doesn't work, he will then rear for sure. Sometimes he will follow another horse, but if he really doesn't want to go will plant and try to spin/rear. Kicking/stick = run backwards. Only thing I can do is sit it out. He can stand there all bleddy day if he wants, but if he wants to go home it's on my terms which means forwards. He's now ok with certain routes, but the ones he knows are long/difficult he will still try it on. I am hoping as his fitness improves his napping will improve, or it could just make him harder to sit! Horse has no health issues (apart from we are building fitness), is just bloody-minded! Good job I like him so much :)
 
Disengaging the hocks by circling and driving forwards worked for mine. Don't fight, but do be willing to spend hours out until she gives in. Reward small movement forwards. Depending how bad she is then echo what someone else said about long reining for miles. I find keeping the feet moving and keeping driving while on board helps though once you allow them to plant thats when the problems and the fighting starts. Good luck
 
mine was a nappy so and so, and the one before him....my advice, other than stop a change in direction as much as you can, very gently....do NOTHING and wait...sit (with neckstrap) it out.......only takes a few times, put NO PRESSURE on at all as that is what horse expects so you put pressure on and it can react with a circus act of movements..take the argument away...works for me everytime, after a few bored sessions sat mid hack not allowed to move but not being asked to move....works a treat.

If reversing backwards at speed, get off, stand still with horse, do nothing until it is quiet, get back on, do nothing. Until horse goes in direction YOU WANT...do not put pressure on, can use voice but best practice SILENCE...no leg, no whip, no clicking, just take away confrontation....let Mr Nappy work it out...
 
Firstly can you be sure that this horse isn't in pain?

My horse started rearing and not wanting to go forward and I later found out he has a hock spavin and a bone spur in his coffin joint!

He has rearing in him anyway but he honestly only does it when he feels there is no other way of letting me know he's not confortable!

If he does go up a smack on the shoulder will bring him back down to earth quickly but I wouldn't be smacking him on the arse!
 
Horse mag has a piece on it last month. Horse would not go forward at all. He had it in the school doing leg yields until it was blue in the face, and then took it out. As soon as it started to nap he made it leg yield so refocused the brain. Forward a little bit, leg yield, repeat.
 
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