Napping to gate

[Liz Blunden]

I've been loaning a 6 year old cob for about month now. I've just returned to riding. Wouldn't call myself fabulous rider but can walk, trot canter etc. horse I've started loaning is a bit nervy but lovely on the ground. Proved a proper mare to catch but already feel she's getting easier on that score. Her biggest problem is napping to gate. It's the beginning of me dealing with problem so looking for any advice from you guys that know much more. She starts off not too bad but gets worse about 20 mins in? When she gets to that point I always try and get her to at last walk round the school one more time in an effort to 'win' the situation even if we finish after. Really like her as do feel her temperament so far seems lovely, just almost nervous. Any advice greatly appreciated.

 

[stormox]

Carry your whip on the side she naps to, ie on the gate side. Ride forward positively. If she wont take notice of the leg to stop her turning towards the gate, give her a tap on the shoulder and send her forward.

 

[Liz Blunden]

Thanks. Is it true that short workouts are better. I do want to ride longer then 20 mins! Do you think that it is probably because she is still green?

 

[AppyLover]

I will fully admit I probabaly dont have the knowledge to fully answer this but ill give it ago

We have a very heavy weight X draft breed cob she is a tank that we have no background on so no idea about her past, we assume ex riding school and was probably given the slightly nervous kids or adults with her temperament who naps to the school gate also which we have been working on correcting.

if worked regularly she barely even looks at it but shes recently had 2 months off due to being lame after getting caught in her rug, 2 back people and a set of front shoes later and she back and happier than ever so we started the gate battle again, After a few days consistent work she only really looks at it if she knows you aren't paying attention.

Our way of fixing it strong inside rein, lots of leg and then a tap with a whip if needed and every time shes in the school now it gets less and less and she will now walk, trot, canter passed it

 

[Cobbytype]

If you have someone with you when you ride, ask them not to stand by the gate as this tends to encourage horses to nap.

IMO it's better to have 20 mins of good riding at the moment and aim to build on that in the coming months when your horse gets a bit fitter and you get a bit more confident with her. Perhaps you could combine the schooling with a very short hack to give you a little longer in the saddle? Or maybe something to distract your horse - a few poles on the ground or some cones to weave around might take her mind off the gate and make the schooling a bit more fun for her?

Good luck

 

[chased by bees]

Are you just riding in the school? Mix it up a little to keep her mind on work and not the gate. Go for a small hack then into the school for ten. Next day do the opposite. Put some poles out to keep her busy. Maybe lunge or long reining one day. So long as she never gets to go to the gate when SHE wants, she'll grow out of it. If she thinks for one second that napping that way will get her out it'll take ages to fix. Horses learn bad habits in one session but it can take weeks to learn the good habits. I'd second taking a whip and keeping it on the gate side to give a small tap when she leans towards it if you are schooling.

 

[Liz Blunden]

Thanks guys. Definitely like idea of poles. I did take her on first hack last week and she was brill! Walk, trot and even canter with no issues whatsoever. Going to persevere as apart from this issue she seems lovely and possible purchase in the future. 😜

 

[laura_nash]

Lots of good suggestions already, but wanted to add a few more based on my cob who used to do this.

Try to always finish up in a different place each time, and then get off and lead out of the school. Riding out (through the gate) at the end of the session really encourages this, unless you ride out and go straight out on a hack. Giving a treat and a scratch after getting off can also help (they see that as the end "reward" rather than leaving the school).

If she's unfit, do short bursts of work and then give her a short break (standing still or walking on a long rein) and then more work. Try and give the break in different parts of the school and never by the gate. If she succeeds in napping to the gate, make her work hard there (e.g. small trot circles), then take her away and give her a break at the far end.

 

[Liz Blunden]

Lots of good suggestions already, but wanted to add a few more based on my cob who used to do this.

Try to always finish up in a different place each time, and then get off and lead out of the school. Riding out (through the gate) at the end of the session really encourages this, unless you ride out and go straight out on a hack. Giving a treat and a scratch after getting off can also help (they see that as the end "reward" rather than leaving the school).

If she's unfit, do short bursts of work and then give her a short break (standing still or walking on a long rein) and then more work. Try and give the break in different parts of the school and never by the gate. If she succeeds in napping to the gate, make her work hard there (e.g. small trot circles), then take her away and give her a break at the far end.

Thanks Laura. How would I know if this could possibly be due to fitness level? Don't think she was ridden loads before me due to problems catching and napping. As lovely as she is she is not a beginners horse.

 

[Leo Walker]

Could you get the owner involved? My boy is a total superstar but he was right royally taking the pee out of my sharer. Nothing too bad, but shuffling along and the odd plant at the gate or when out hacking and he decided he didnt fancy it. It took me less than 5 mins to work out where my sharer was going wrong and put them both on the right track. Mine is lovely but very good at assessing people and he worked out very quickly that he had the better of her and started pushing it. The balance of power has now changed and they are having an fab time

 

[dominobrown]

It sounds as though doing some groundwork could help in the arena as well.
Also don't get off when you finish at the gate, I always get off and finish my session in a different corner of the arena each time. Also you could do a bit in the school and then go out for a hack, school in a field etc, so she doesn't associate the gate with work ending.
Doing plenty of groundwork will also help the catching situation etc as it sounds as she does not yet complete 'trust' in you yet.

 

[Liz Blunden]

���� all noted and appreciated. Thanks again x

 

[laura_nash]

Thanks Laura. How would I know if this could possibly be due to fitness level? Don't think she was ridden loads before me due to problems catching and napping. As lovely as she is she is not a beginners horse.

I doubt it is solely a problem due to fitness level, but being unfit may be making it worse (we all tend to be grumpier when tired or working hard). If you don't know her work level before then I would always assume she isn't very fit. The easiest test for me is whether mine will walk energetically up a steep hill (if he's unfit, he'd rather canter up). If she knows she will be getting regularly breaks during the session, she may be less inclined to put up a fight to get out of doing it altogether.

 

[Liz Blunden]

I doubt it is solely a problem due to fitness level, but being unfit may be making it worse (we all tend to be grumpier when tired or working hard). If you don't know her work level before then I would always assume she isn't very fit. The easiest test for me is whether mine will walk energetically up a steep hill (if he's unfit, he'd rather canter up). If she knows she will be getting regularly breaks during the session, she may be less inclined to put up a fight to get out of doing it altogether.

�� Thanks

 

[JanetGeorge]

If you have someone with you when you ride, ask them not to stand by the gate as this tends to encourage horses to nap.

Not if the person at the gate holds the lunge whip and has a fierce face and a fierce voice, lol. It is dead common with youngsters - the gate is the way home, the end of work! Obviously never stop at the gate - and certainly don't dismount there.

Build up the schooling gradually and ONLY stop at a good point (and away from the gate, of course.) It IS acceptable to ride through the gate and straight out on a hack - that always confuses them nicely! Otherwise, dismount in the school (away from the gate), make a big fuss and stand around for a bit, take the saddle off there sometimes. And let them loose for a roll sometimes - if practical. The key is variety - don't let them guess what is coming next.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

If she hasn't done much before you started riding her she must be unfit. It may well be that she is genuinely tired after 20 mins schooling, especially as you haven't done any fittening work with her. The best way to fitten a horse IMO is hacking, starting with a good strong walk, up and down hills, before adding in trot, with canter introduced as the horse is getting fitter, in your case I would do a short arena session in the appropriate pace at one end or the other of your hack. She will probably enjoy hacking more than working in the school but it is perfectly possible to school whilst hacking.

 

[scats]

A lot of young cobs go through the nap stage- they seem to hit 5 and 6 years old and decide to test out their strength.

A couple of questions to determine how the nap is happening- if it on a particular rein? Are they 'twisting' their head and neck or just setting against you?

Most young horses are loaded onto a particular shoulder, and you will find they generally always nap on the rein that the shoulder is to the outside. Once you get control of the shoulder, you have control of the horse.

My mare was a b*gger for doing this as a 6 year old, always on the right rein, straight out through the left shoulder, with a head twist to pull the reins out my hands for good measure! Make sure you aren't leaving the 'door' open in your attempt to stop the nap. Closed rein against neck, lower leg slightly forward on the 'nap' side to block the shoulder.

 

[Liz Blunden]

A lot of young cobs go through the nap stage- they seem to hit 5 and 6 years old and decide to test out their strength.

A couple of questions to determine how the nap is happening- if it on a particular rein? Are they 'twisting' their head and neck or just setting against you?

Most young horses are loaded onto a particular shoulder, and you will find they generally always nap on the rein that the shoulder is to the outside. Once you get control of the shoulder, you have control of the horse.

My mare was a b*gger for doing this as a 6 year old, always on the right rein, straight out through the left shoulder, with a head twist to pull the reins out my hands for good measure! Make sure you aren't leaving the 'door' open in your attempt to stop the nap. Closed rein against neck, lower leg slightly forward on the 'nap' side to block the shoulder.

Funnily enough she does tend to do more when her left shoulder nearer gate although she'll have a go the other way! I'm on holiday at mo so back riding Tuesday so will put all this in practice and let you know how I get on. Thanks again all for help. Watch this space....

 

[Fazraz23]

My horse does this, she only does it to open gates when we go somewhere new to compete though which often gets us disqualified, I usually ride and lunge with the arena gate open at home if I'm by myself but she doesn't ever try to escape at home, does anybody know why she does this, and how to stop it? Tia X

 

[Liz Blunden]

My horse does this, she only does it to open gates when we go somewhere new to compete though which often gets us disqualified, I usually ride and lunge with the arena gate open at home if I'm by myself but she doesn't ever try to escape at home, does anybody know why she does this, and how to stop it? Tia X

I'm following advice of using my leg and rein to get her past and tbh she is getting better. Stubborn mare though. She decided to try it halfway down school instead but I'm getting better at reading her body so was ready for her!

 

[debserofe]

All my horses used to do this (in fact I don't know that many that don't try this) but after reading a chapter in Tom Dorrance's book on how to deal with herd bound/barn sour horses - gate bound - I learnt a very valuable tool - try it, go with her to the gate (don't ask her to go to the gate just be a passenger when she takes you there) and then when you get there start working - getting busy with your legs (not kicking, initially just touching them against the side and quickly increasing the movement until she moves forward and away from the gate), then take all pressure (legs) off her and go with her, as soon as she goes towards the gate again, go with her again and start putting pressure on her at the gate and take the pressure off when she moves away from it. Making the wrong thing difficult (but not impossible) and the right thing easy! Repeat until she realises that the gate is not a peaceful place to be! It goes without saying that there should be no rein contact during the exercises so you don't confuse her with a stop/go. If you want to see it in action - have a look at Buck Brannaman's 7 clinics.