Napping got worse today :(

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ChestnutConvert

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I have posted twice before about my napping/spinning horse that i ride. I was getting on well with it, being more confident and riding it out, being the boss etc but today for some reason things took a turn for the worst.

We got about 500 metres down the winding lane when he acted up, i got on at him as usual but he ended up cantering back. I tried to pull him up, slow him down sit back and everything but i couldn't stop him luckily the road was quiet today.
This has knocked my confidence on the road down to zero again. He's lovely to handle, groom and everything, is great to school in the field but i don't think i have the guts to go through this again, esp if the reactions are different from him.

His field mate moved away before xmas, could this be part of the problem? I know before he was taking the pee but like i said we were solving it. He might be hacing too much food possibly, this isn't done by me as i don't own him just ride him etc. Late last summer up til November sometime we were having lovely hacks out, enjoying ourselves but now i basically don't want to anymore. Also would some lessons somewhere give me some confidence?

Sorry it's long just want to get things sorted and enjoy riding again.
 
Is there anyone else to hack out with? I could be that he is picking up on your nerves and isn't feeling safe, so wants to get back to safety! Have you tried walking him out in hand? If he is bolting 500yds down the road, see if he can do it like that?
 
I have someone to hack with occasionally but not all the time. Although i was a bit scared by it, i got off when he stopped and led him the other way so he didn't just go straight back into home. He walked, or jogged, but at least he moved.
I wasn't nervous that i know of until he ran off, got used to having to have a growl etc at him.
 
Poor you, sounds quite scary!

Unfortunately nappy horses can have good and bad days before they finally give up and it sounds like it was a bad one. As this is new behaviour for him have you checked for a physical cause?

Lessons are always a good idea and if you find a sympathetic instructor they might even be able to come with you on a hack and talk you through how you should respond to him. If you are unhappy riding him out at the moment, maybe get a professional rider to assess him and help you out.

When you say his fieldmate moved away, does that mean he is completely on his own, or are there other horses around? If he is completely alone this may explain his insecurities.
 
What did he do before running for home?
I used to own a horse that napped but before he did anything drastic he would just plant his feet. I learned quickly that being forceful and impatient was not the answer....he would rear and spin and jog all the way home. I had to learn to be patient and give him a minute to gather his thoughts before encouraging him to go forwards. Force and impatience never worked with him no matter how confident I was.
Learn what it is that makes him nap and work from there to reassure him.
With regards to your confidence, take things slowly and only do what you're comfortable with for a while. When you feel ready to, push yourself a step further but never end things on a bad note and that goes for both of you and not just the horse.
Be positive, you'll be just fine! :) Good luck:)
 
oh you poor thing, i really feel for you.

the last 2 horses iv had were really bad hackers, napping spinning and trying to bolt home.

I cant give any adivce as i never got over the issuses with my horses so im in no postition to advise.

after i had really bad experiences i only ever hacked out with other horses, but asking mine to go in front would end up rearing or spinning, then i found trying to hack alone just got worse coz they were use to hacking with others, its a vicious circle and the risk of you and your horse getting hurt is not worth the fight.

can you have a instructor walk out with you maybe that might help?

good luck i hope things get better! x
 
He's in the field with two donkeys which he adores, if he can't see them when i turn him out he parades round neighing looking for them. I think he possibly gets too attached.

I have thought about physical causes but so far can see no probs, although i guess i should get him checked over.
 
Sarah_horsey said:
He's in the field with two donkeys which he adores, if he can't see them when i turn him out he parades round neighing looking for them. I think he possibly gets too attached.

I have thought about physical causes but so far can see no probs, although i guess i should get him checked over.
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attachment can be a problem, i noticed my horse got worse when she was only with 2 other horses rather than the 20 odd she had been used to.
 
Well with my horse I did two things after initial checks to make sure there was no pain etc.

Scenario 1) As he napped like stink from the yard I would tack up and my ride would literally just be walking up/down the lane that caused the most issues until he was walking quietly. Then get off and be done, only did it for about 5-10 minutes which was usually enough! Gradually I found I could just keep going in the direction I wanted!

Scenario 2) Napping further away! - I could tell when he was going to create as he'd back right off the leg and would arch his neck trying to look back to homeward bound! So on went the leg/growling and if he span I'd keep my leg there so he had no choice but to keep spinning until we were again facing where I wanted to be! Then obviously every step forward from the sticky bit was lots of reward etc etc

I've found it does take time with nappy horses, but with time it will pay off :) Good luck!
 
stacey_louie said:
What did he do before running for home?
I used to own a horse that napped but before he did anything drastic he would just plant his feet. I learned quickly that being forceful and impatient was not the answer....he would rear and spin and jog all the way home. I had to learn to be patient and give him a minute to gather his thoughts before encouraging him to go forwards. Force and impatience never worked with him no matter how confident I was.
Learn what it is that makes him nap and work from there to reassure him.
With regards to your confidence, take things slowly and only do what you're comfortable with for a while. When you feel ready to, push yourself a step further but never end things on a bad note and that goes for both of you and not just the horse.
Be positive, you'll be just fine! :) Good luck:)
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That;'s the problem i can't work out what causes it, different places, different things around although now the excuse seems to be road works, bin bags at side of the road.
 
serena2005 said:
oh you poor thing, i really feel for you.

the last 2 horses iv had were really bad hackers, napping spinning and trying to bolt home.

I cant give any adivce as i never got over the issuses with my horses so im in no postition to advise.

after i had really bad experiences i only ever hacked out with other horses, but asking mine to go in front would end up rearing or spinning, then i found trying to hack alone just got worse coz they were use to hacking with others, its a vicious circle and the risk of you and your horse getting hurt is not worth the fight.

can you have a instructor walk out with you maybe that might help?

good luck i hope things get better! x
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I worry about that with other horses too, plus the horse i could ride out with is his old field mate who has moved down the lane.

An instructor is tempting but after a nkowledgable friend came out with me one day and made me get after him, which helped and i won, i don't know if i have the strength, energy and guts to do it all again. Maybe i'm being a wimp, gets harder as you get older!
 
Sarah_horsey said:
That;'s the problem i can't work out what causes it, different places, different things around although now the excuse seems to be road works, bin bags at side of the road.
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If my old horse ever got worried about things he would stop dead and that's when I knew I had to reassure him and get him to realax before asking him to go past. Sometimes it would take about 20 minutes for me to persuade him but patience and reassurance always paid off and he'd go on. I was lucky that he was very communicative and let me know that he was worried.
Is your horse not giving you any indication that he's unsure? Does he just turn and run before you know what's going on?
 
My horse is very spooky and his signature dish is to spook, spin and set off. I cut out as much sugary food as possible. I spent quite a bit of time doing spook-busting in hand and ridden in the school and he got a lot better.

However one of my best tools (and I know some will not like this) was a 3 ring-gag. This was not to stop the spook or even the spin but to stop but the setting off in the opposite direction. I originally hacked in a snaffle which was fine until he went and I had few brakes it took too long to pull up. I thought this was dangerous and habit forming. I swear once he realised he couldn't run off he has really stopped a lot of this behaviour. I ride him mainly on a loose or light rein so the gag really only comes into play when I really need it. Also the pressure needs to be released as soon as they respond to the check. It does depend on the horse though some horses won't react as well to a bit like a gag.

As to passing spooky objects I never beat him past anything mostly clicking, flapping and trilling does the job and sometimes a tap. I even have taught him to go up to objects that scare him and if he touches them he gets a reward.

It's still his tendency to do this when feeling nervous and tense but he is infinitely better now but I still find him better and more enjoyable to ride in company especially this time of year.
 
stacey_louie said:
If my old horse ever got worried about things he would stop dead and that's when I knew I had to reassure him and get him to realax before asking him to go past. Sometimes it would take about 20 minutes for me to persuade him but patience and reassurance always paid off and he'd go on. I was lucky that he was very communicative and let me know that he was worried.
Is your horse not giving you any indication that he's unsure? Does he just turn and run before you know what's going on?
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I can see and feel his signs and learnt to deal with this, like i said we were getting somewhere but the cantering off has knocked me too much this time. Hoping that i don't think he will do it every time or i'll be in the circle.
 
I got to the point where I didn't want to hack my old horse out anymore so I decided to go back a few steps - actually quite a lot of steps. I would take him down the road to a friends field, walk through there and then walk home.....all in all a 10 minute ride. Luckily it posed as a circular ride although it wasn't a true circular ride. I did this for a couple of weeks until we were both totally realxed about it and then went on to the next furthest 'circular' ride. Turning on a point to go home is never a good idea so I avoided that as best I could. I also took every opportunity to ride out with others.
Take things easy and don't be so hard on yourself. My horse was 10 at the time so don't feel like you can't go back a few steps because of the horses age and what he 'should' be able to do.
I still ride my old horse now, he's owned by a friend and although he still naps I see him as a safe and trusty steed. You will get there! Be sensible and believe in yourself. I'm no spring chicken and nerves get the better of me all the time but I've learnt to read my horse and take the road of least resistance for both of us.
 
I can visualise it. stop being mrs nice guy when he buggers off. It aint pony club and it aint BHS but if he whips round and turns back , sock him in the teeth, boot him in the ribs and ride him foreward.
 
I feel for you on this one. My mare started doing appalling things a couple of years ago, rearing straight up and napping and I completely lost my confidence (after years of never being scared of riding anything). Once I saw how well she was going at the instructor's yard I eventually (after a couple of weeks) felt confident enough to get back on and then had lessons to show me how to recognise the first signs of napping and quickly stop them. Expensive, but it was worth it as I got my horsey back and she is fine now - the odd try on but nothing that I can't cope with and I got my confidence back again.

It might be worth sending him off for retraining so they can sort out his issues and you can gradually get back to riding him with an instructor there to help. It may be the best way to get over your confidence issues; it certainly worked for me.

Good luck.
 
Like others have said, I guess how you deal with the problem depends on the root cause of the napping.

However, I would start by taking all pressure off you both, and don't put a time limit on this either! I'd ride as normal in the school/field, but only venture out 'hacking' in hand for now. Even start with 5 min walk away from yard and back. I'd try to just 'hang out' for a while whilst you're out too if this is possible and let your horse graze. This creates a pleasant association with being away from the yard, and tbh just hanging out with your horse is a great way to build a bond. If they are not settled enough to do this, then you could take treats or bits of carrots out with you, and periodically ask the horse to stand, yield quarters etc, - anything really to ensure they are focusing on you - then treat as a reward. All about making things as pleasant as possible.

From there, when you feel ready - one day you just will, trust me! - try the same walk along the road whilst mounted. Even if you dismount 2 mins out and then carry out on foot.

I'm sure many will criticise this as being too soft, but being the owner of a very nervous horse I know that the main thing you need to do is build a bond of trust - both ways. And what starts out as a small success on foot, will lead to you learning that you can be together, away from the yard, and alone and it can be a pleasant experience! Once this has been established you can build up the length of your outings. softly softly catchy monkey. good luck :D
 
Yorkshire dumpling said:
how long have the owners had him for? and was he always like this? sorry may have already been sked these questions but not read all the posts. has he always been with other horses too? xx
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As far as i have been told this is a new thing but he's had 3 owners so i guess i wouldn't necessarily got all the info or right info. He show jumped, hunted for a while, hack on his own, done a bit of everything really.
I just don't have it in me to go through it all again at the mo and maybe that should tell me something, although i love being around him i'm not getting much out of it, just heartache etc and i'm paying for this...
 
Sarah_horsey said:
As far as i have been told this is a new thing but he's had 3 owners so i guess i wouldn't necessarily got all the info or right info. He show jumped, hunted for a while, hack on his own, done a bit of everything really.
I just don't have it in me to go through it all again at the mo and maybe that should tell me something, although i love being around him i'm not getting much out of it, just heartache etc and i'm paying for this...
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such a shame. is he a big lad?
i had a gelding like that which i eventually couldnt take anymore and sold him last summer. he was 16.2hh id x and was fab like yours in field ext but was dangerous, and i mean dangerous on the road on his own. with other horses he was ok (still snorted and a bit skitty) but wahen alone he would spin nap try bolt get me in the middle of the road , while crs where coming both ways, try to dump me in ditches ext ext he tried everything!

do you know how old he is? it may be he is that used to doing it for an early age and no one has corrected it. if he is older it may take him a longer time (if at all)to train him to get a bit better.
xxx
 
Yorkshire dumpling said:
such a shame. is he a big lad?
i had a gelding like that which i eventually couldnt take anymore and sold him last summer. he was 16.2hh id x and was fab like yours in field ext but was dangerous, and i mean dangerous on the road on his own. with other horses he was ok (still snorted and a bit skitty) but wahen alone he would spin nap try bolt get me in the middle of the road , while crs where coming both ways, try to dump me in ditches ext ext he tried everything!

do you know how old he is? it may be he is that used to doing it for an early age and no one has corrected it. if he is older it may take him a longer time (if at all)to train him to get a bit better.
xxx
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He took off with me on friday, bolted back which shook me up as was on a road and the roads are getting busier these days. He's a 16.1 warmblood and not particularly strong but has his own mind, and a strong one at that!
Unfortunately he is about 18 so could be ingrained thing that he does with new riders, i;m not sure. We were riding out fine then quickly changed but the more it happens the more i worry about it, vicious circle really.
As he is older, would take longer etc i'm not sure whether to cut my losses and look elsewhere before my confidence goes completely.
 
Sarah_horsey said:
He took off with me on friday, bolted back which shook me up as was on a road and the roads are getting busier these days. He's a 16.1 warmblood and not particularly strong but has his own mind, and a strong one at that!
Unfortunately he is about 18 so could be ingrained thing that he does with new riders, i;m not sure. We were riding out fine then quickly changed but the more it happens the more i worry about it, vicious circle really.
As he is older, would take longer etc i'm not sure whether to cut my losses and look elsewhere before my confidence goes completely.
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have you spoken to his owners about the problem ?
is it every where you go or is it certain roads/lanes or when he gets a certain distance away from the yard? do you ride on edge everytime you hack out or do you ride calm until he messes about then panic?
what bit does he have in?
and has his tack ext been checked ? but i think if it was tack orientated he would be naughty in school too xx
 
Ive literally been through all that. Owner isn't too sure what to do says he's not been known to be this naughty.
I had learnt his signals and was riding more 'bossily' not being too complacent and keeping good contact on the rein, getting after him if he looked like he was going to try it. Keeping calm, trying not to think about it but being alert to what he was doing. This was working but then all changed last week, almost like he thought of a new trick to get away with as i couldn't stop the running off tried all i could, luckily there were no cars.
 
Sarah_horsey said:
Ive literally been through all that. Owner isn't too sure what to do says he's not been known to be this naughty.
I had learnt his signals and was riding more 'bossily' not being too complacent and keeping good contact on the rein, getting after him if he looked like he was going to try it. Keeping calm, trying not to think about it but being alert to what he was doing. This was working but then all changed last week, almost like he thought of a new trick to get away with as i couldn't stop the running off tried all i could, luckily there were no cars.
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oh dear :o

would maybe either think about getting a very good instructor or calling it quits
the last thing you want to be doing is hurting yourself or put your self in danger he isnt worth it.
would maybe try instructor first , maybe even see if he/she will ride him out so she/he can see what you are talking about for themselves. then they will be able to advise better. and if after that you still cant get things sorted i would stop and tell the owner you dont feel safe.
dont loose your confidence or try not to . it takes so long to get back in the saddle, so to speak. xx
 
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