napping out hacking

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baBs1

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My normally well behaved TB was genuinely scared out hacking by hearing some people behind a hedge by the side of the road..he couldn't see them only knew they were there. I couldn't persuade him to go foreward and after spinning round and being a pain..I dismounted, led him past and remounted continuing the hack..he settled down eventually. Should I have battled it out with him, risking falling off or him slipping on the road..I felt it was the safest way out of the situation although other people say you should never dismount!! I was on my own and felt intimidated by his behaviour. He does not normally behave in this way
 
I think you did the right thing ..if he trusts you on the ground he will eventually fully trust you on his back...it was better to get him past it rather than turn back even if he was led past.
 
QR
Yes I think you did the right thing, you got him past it, he didn't get to go back the way he wanted, you got back on and there was no drama.
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He has learned that you will look after him, but that he has to do what you want, job done
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I think in the circumstances it sounds like you did the right thing.

If you had said your horse was always spinning around and running off when out hacking, then I think the best way to deal with it is to stay on board and sort them out. However, people are not always confident enough to do this and it can make things worse.

As your horse doesn't normally behave like this I wouldn't worry about it
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I have done the same thing as you, didnt want to tell my YO that I got off he would prob laugh at me, (he says im scared of my horse anyway) it was all because there was a horse lorry parked up (its always there) and there was ponies in there (i couldnt here them but she could)

she always has a fit going passed it but this particular day we were 200 yards away for it and she was spinning and even fell on a drain, all i was doing is giving her little kicks to get her to move forward but she was going nuts, I decided to get off as there was a car coming along the lane and i couldnt even get her to walk forward to stand in a passing place.
I felt it was the right thing to do at the time and the safest.

Then a few days later I taked up to ride in school and she started doing the same thing and wouldnt go around the corner, I thought right im in a safe enviroment, and after about 20 mins of persuasion a few smacks, some bucks, rears and spinning, I got her round the corner to find an old feed bag that she must have heard blowing, it was stuck in the mud, she then proceded to just walk over the bag like there was nothing there.
TB's they can be a nightmare sometimes.
 
My lad does this when he passess cranes, he is not bothered about anything else, but has a big problem with cranes, i jump off and walk him past then get back on, no shame in that at all.
 
I'm of the 'sit it out and see' brigade, and never get off if I can help it.

Quite often just allowing them to stand there and absorb what's going on can work really well, but I appreciate that some situations may be different.
 
How refreshing to read this! Well done for a) recognising that the true cause for your horse's behaviour was fear, and b) by the way in which you dealt with it.

Many, many people falsely still believe that getting off a horse is 'giving in' and that the horse has thus 'won' which indicates that a fight has taken place! Many people are too confrontational with issues that can be successfully dealt with by much more gentle means, which would make life easier and far more pleasant for both horse and rider!
As horses are natural followers and choose to follow their leader (i.e. the lead horse within the herd) and leading a horse through a situation that they are frightened of takes advantage of this instinct and encourages them to follow you. This gives him confidence and developes his trust in you, which means that next time he is likely to behave a little better, because he believes that he can more easily cope with it. When a rider causes a fight (it takes 2 after all) napping can be "trained" in to the horse inadvertantly, as he develops a negative association with a particular spot out hacking. If this continues then he may even become difficult to get out of the yard, or even to tack up as this negative association spreads.
You definitely couldn't have done it better - you were consistent, persistant, patient and confident. Well done.
 
Thanks for your support..took him same way today with company but him going first..he was hesitant in the same place where he napped but went past o.k...lots of pats and praise..I feel happier now..will try on my own next week
 
my tb is exactly the same! why do we have them hehe.
if i'm in a situation where there are vehicles on the road or other hazards, i will get off and lead her.
however if it is safe to do so, i have a battle by making her turn around left then turn around right and then give her lots of leg and a tap with a whip. this works 99% of the time. i'm also schooling her to make her go better off my leg, doing millions of transitions, and it is really helping.
 
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