Napping becoming dangerous

[Dexter]

RE what PAS said, I agree. It was very easy to make my mare rear if she was napping. If you push them forwards strongly when they really don't want to go forwards, then many will go up as they have nowhere else to go. It's why I used tactics that didn't inflame the situation.

I also find that an upset horse does not learn anything. Keeping things calm and training them is what works long term. Also if it is a confidence issue on the horse's part, getting tough doesn't build that.

I was very interested in the contrast between some comments on this thread and the comments on the showjumper/overuse of the whip thread.

One of mine is the same. She goes into complete meltdown. If I ignore her after a bit of being made to stand still she will eventually go. If I went in hard and really got after her she would stand up and then probably bury me shortly afterwards!

 

[Meg_99]

At 18 and being owned by you for 8 years? She is taking the proverbial p*ss! I'd ride her like you stole her and when she 'gets angry' .. YOU get smarter and tougher and when she gets angrier and tougher .. guess what YOU get even smarter and tougher. Any speed forward is forward so get a neckstrap or a breastplate, hang on for dear life and get her going forward with growls, spurs and a whip.

Might be more suited to someone with more confidence but that's how i would approach it. Two options ... the easy way or the hard way and both ways are going out alone hacking!

I’m not confident enough to push her to that extent and it could end up being dangerous for both of us - our yard leads out onto a 60mph lane type of road and we have to go over a motorway bridge we’d probably be flattened

 

[scats]

At 18 and being owned by you for 8 years? She is taking the proverbial p*ss! I'd ride her like you stole her and when she 'gets angry' .. YOU get smarter and tougher and when she gets angrier and tougher .. guess what YOU get even smarter and tougher. Any speed forward is forward so get a neckstrap or a breastplate, hang on for dear life and get her going forward with growls, spurs and a whip.

Might be more suited to someone with more confidence but that's how i would approach it. Two options ... the easy way or the hard way and both ways are going out alone hacking!

If I did that with Millie, I’d end up having a serious accident! This might work for some horses, but it could be a very, very bad idea with others.

 

[Birker2020]

I have an older cob x mare who I’m losing my confidence in very quickly.
Hacking on our own is proving a very big challenge. Absolute angel in company and doesn’t put a foot wrong but when trying to go out on our own is an absolute nightmare. Doesn’t rear or buck thankfully but will spin and back up doesn’t matter if it’s into a bush, into a post or a fence and many times we’ve ended up in the middle of the road. This has stopped me even trying as it’s really knocked my confidence and I darent go any more.
I’ve tried waiting it out, but she also won’t just stand there she will spin and spin and spin until she’s heading for home. I’ve tried spinning her round until she gets bored but she gets really angry and fights me even more. I’ve kicked her on and given a good snack with the whip but again, it makes her aggressive and at that point she will try to launch both of us sideways no matter if it’s down a banking or into something. It’s made me think how long til we end up in someone’s windscreen.
leading her out in hand works but as soon as I get on it’s the same behaviour, I don’t think it’s a confidence thing as she’s a been there done that type doesn’t bat an eyelid at anything she just throws a huge strop because she wants to go home.
She has been checked over and I’m certain it’s not a medical thing. Due to her age we only really go out in the warmer months and she’s just had 3 months off but it took many months for us to be able to go out on our own last year and she wasn’t nearly as bad. We also are based on a private yard and I don’t really have anyone else I could go with often.
im unfortunately running out of ideas someone please guide me in the right direction.
TIA & sorry for the long post.

Mine used to be the same, would plant in the road so I would turn in the direction for home and then rein her back for however long it took for me to be able to turn her round and her walk away from home again. If she planted I repeated the process. She soon got bored of walking backwards, it was much more fun to walk forwards, far easier for her!

There was a spot along the lane where she always planted, it was a lane that had a high hedge with a number of farm animal sounds behind it, coupled with a nasty experience when some farm yard piglets escaped and ran across the lane in front of her. This is why we always had trouble on this particular lane. Eventually she got wise to the walking backwards trick and tried to walk backwards up the verge instead in the hope I would panic that she might fall down a ditch or back into a fence. The one day she did this with me and I was so infuriated with her I let her walk into a prickly hedge. She decided she didn't like that and would then walk where I wanted her to go. After that it was a case of repeat, repeat, repeat so we literally wore a groove in the road.

If she spun (amazingly never as a car went past - she was far too clever for that) she got a sharp smack and growl and I would increase the speed of the walk so she was really walking out.

 

[Meg_99]

Thought I’d give an update for anyone interested, we’ve been able to solo hack for a couple of weeks so far! We’re still a bit of a backwards thinker but a tap quickly revolves it. We’re doing familiar routes for now so I can just get straight on and go. We still have our middle of the road moments occasionally (usually near a scary dog kennels) but I hardly ever have to get off and she doesn’t take long to get going the right way again. Thanks all for your helpful advice

 

[eahotson]

I’ve included replies from both Scotsbadboy and Pearlsasinger because it’s very, very important to understand that what Scotsbadboy is suggesting could get you killed, and what Pearlsasinger is recommending won’t.

Agree.