Nappy and rearing horse

K

katie4693

New User
Joined
11 May 2009
Messages
6
Visit site
I have a 13 year old ex-racehorse who has recently been brought back into work after about 10 months off due to lameness. He has had periods off before and has taken a bit of time getting back to normal, but never quite as bad as at the moment. He is naturally quite a lazy horse anyway and can be a bit nappy, but at the moments whenever I ride him, he naps back to the direction which he knows is home and is often very reluctant to move forwards, even frequently planting his feet and refusing to move in any direction, as if he is totally numbing himself to anything around him and 'burying his head in the sand'. Also, if I try to send him forward by giving him a smack, he simply responds by rearing up. Unfortunately, this has caused me to loose my confidence, and I know that I should probably continue to drive him forwards, but I often just leave it at that, or am reluctant to smack him in the first place, for fear of him rearing. in a similar vein, if I ask him to trot, more often than not he simply sucks back at me and the aid to trot has the opposite effect - actually causing him to stop all together. My mum can chase him with a lunge whip, crack it and even tap him with it and still nothing.

I am an experienced rider and am sure that he is not hurting - he is perfectly happy to trot or canter TOWARDS 'home'.

Please help, I am at my wits end!!!
 
get someone to give you a hand. If you continue to let him win the problem will get worse and worse.

My lad is an exracer and was a nappy rearing nightmare. He had been abused and just hated anyone on him and would plant spin and rear.

I had to go back to groundwork on him and get him to trust me and get used to me. When i started riding again he was still rearing and napping a lot, but you just have to be up to the challenge. I used to spend 20 mins just calmly sitting on him when he reared and tried to spin, and just kept pointing him forward and rewarding him immediately once moved forward. Its the hardest riding i've ever done but i learned so much, i just had to get comfortable with the rearing so that it didn't phase me at all (saying that he never did completely vertical rears, he never went more that three quarters up). You will have to up your game to solve this problem, or else hire a professional who can ride the horse through it.

The horse is either messing or nervous, and it needs you to be calm, confident and patient. Its difficult when they are like that, but get a good coping strategy and never let the horse win the fight.

My lad is great now, but he always has it in him to nap or rear slightly, so its something i just have to accept and work through. If the horse really makes you uncomfortable maybe its not a good fit for you and you'd click better with a different horse.

Get a pro out to help you though, and to help get your confidence back.
 
your horse is proably rearing due to being smacked with a whip . i had an ex racehorse that was very nappy and when i smacked him with the whip he would rear so i smack him again (probably get shot down on here for this) but that is how i got him out of napping - just perseverance, battle of wills if you like. If you dont feel comfortable doing this next time he plants himself just dont do anything even if you sit somewhere for two hours he will soon get bored if he tries too move backwards turn him in circles do not allow him to win. Only allow him o go forwards - best of luck ;)xx
 
What is it with ex racers and this 'planting'? Our oldie one would do this - he joggedd and could be a prat. my sister smacked him once as he was being that annoying and that was it,he just stopped dead and would not move! this was on the way home too. It was pretty funny - he has some attitide! Lol

i would say though as others have, you may need to just sit it out. Try not to get angry with him and hit him. Just sit there, make him stand in the one place if you have to. do NOT allow him to go back in the direction he wants to go. As a last resort get off (if safe to do so) and lead him where you want to go and then get back on.

I actually think they are just cunning little b*ggers and if they realise how to get their own way then they just use that technique each time!
 
This is long!!

I am not saying this is the answer to all your napping problems, but I feel it's a good starting point :)


Horses that are unwilling to hack out without another horse for company can cause frustration, which may in turn lead to inappropriate handling of the situation, thus leading to the horse, and rider, becoming more and more unhappy and resentful of each other. Once this happens there is little chance of the problem being resolved, and you are stuck with only being able to hack out when someone is able to come with you, it's an all too familiar story.

Let's look at some of the reasons why a horse may develop a napping problem:
· Lack of confidence (this could be either the horse or the rider)
· Poorly fitting or damaged tack, causing discomfort.
· Undetected physical problem
· Separation from field mates

It is very unlikely that a horse will nap to make us look stupid or to 'take the "mickey" or for any other human related description of this behaviour.

He is looking at things from a horse's point of view, and doing what he feels is right, which isn't that strange really, as he is in fact a horse! Our job as owners/riders is to help the horse understand that it is OK for him to hack out without the company of other horses. To do this we need to show him that we are effective, confident leaders, enabling him to relax, and relinquish the decision making to us.

The very first thing you need to do is:
1. Make sure all the tack fits correctly, and is in good condition.
2. In addition to this, get your vet and a good equine back specialist to check your horse for any physical problems, as if he is in pain or discomfort he certainly will not want to be ridden.
3. Once you are as sure as you can be that everything is OK, you can begin to train your horse to hack out happily.

Ground Rules - Leading
To start with, your horse needs to understand some basic ground rules. These are:
· To have his nose at, or slightly behind, your shoulder when being lead,
· To turn left and right when you do,
· To stop when you stop (without bumping or overtaking) and to back up willingly.

By putting yourself just in front of the horse you are in effect saying 'I am the leader' so taking that leadership role away from the horse. If he tries to overtake, simply ask him back to where you want him, by applying pressure to the lead rope as you are walking, remember to release the pressure and give him a nice stroke when the horse is in the correct position.

· Have a nice loose relaxed lead rope between you and the horse, do not hold the rope close under the horses chin.
· When turning right, simply walk around the horses nose, he should come with you, but if not, just apply some pressure to the lead rope to encourage him.
· As soon as he comes release the pressure. If the horse takes a few extra steps and overtakes you when you stop, simply back him up to where he should be.

If you are calm and consistent in doing this every time that he doesn't stop in the right place, he should get the message, and begin stopping the moment you stop.

Backing Up
To get him backing up willingly,
· Stand on the near side of the horse, and turn to face his tail end.
· Hold the rope about six inches from the horses chin and apply some pressure to encourage him to take a step backwards,
· As soon as he moves a foot release the pressure and give him a stroke.
· Gradually build up until the horse is taking two or three steps with little pressure (this may not happen in the first training session).

So what we are doing with the above exercises, is beginning to show the horse that we are an effective leader, by putting ourselves in a leadership position (slightly in front) and moving him about, a bit like horses in the herd move each other about to show their position.

Once the horse is comfortable with this work you can introduce things such as getting him to walk over tarpaulin, between and over poles etc. as this will all help build his confidence and trust in you.

Remember all this work should be carried out in a calm but confident manner by you. Do praise the horse by giving him a nice stroke when he gets things right.

Next step
The next step is to take him for a walk in hand a short distance out of the yard:
· give him a stroke, and maybe let him eat some grass if it's safe to do so, then return to the yard,
· turn around and go straight back out again, and go a little further.
· Gradually build up the distance you go on each occasion.
· For safety do have a helper with you if you need to go along any roads.
· All being well the horse will soon be happily walking out in hand. This will improve not only his confidence, but yours also.

This being the case, you can now tack up and ride him for a short distance out of the yard.

However:-do not turn round and ride back, I would suggest getting off, loosening the girth (big reward!), and leading the horse back to the yard. Then, girth up, get back on, and go a little further, just as in the in hand work.

Do remember though to get off and loosen the girth whilst still out of the yard, and lead the horse back for the last bit of the ride, so that he gets a reward whilst out. By doing this he is not getting all the rewards back at the yard, which could just make him reluctant to leave it in future!


Happy hacking!
 
TBH most race horses are hit a fair (as in totally unfair) amount during their races so it isn't likely to have the effect you're looking for now unless you beat your horse terribly. And I'm sure you don't want to do that!

What most races aren't taught to do is hack alone. They do most things in large groups. So, what you're asking is probably new (after a long break too) and possibly scary.

So, get another horse in front and follow. Then, once horse is fine with that go on a familiar route with your horse leading. Or try following just a person on foot/bike.

At all times keep calm and firm but not aggressive. You want to be in control because your horse trusts you rather than fears you. (Rewards for desired behaviour can help here and they don't have to all be edible!)

Having said that if horse hasn't been checked over by a vet and had saddle looked by qualified saddler since being off I'd get that done first. Could easily have changed shape since being off so saddle doesn't fit any more or be otherwise uncomfortable. Going fine towards home is also going fine towards the end of being ridden and getting untacked.

For which, incidentally it is worth go past the gate when you get back and/or straight into the school so that home doesn't always mean the end of work.
 
I feel your pain I really do. When I first got my ex racer he literally only moved to the field next door to his old one and not only could I not hack out alone I couldn't even get him in from the field with out bringing another one with us. He wouldn't even stand on the yard or in his stable if the others were not around. I even tried just getting him out the field standing by the gate with him to feed him but he was not interested just wanted to get back to his buddies. To be truly honest I would have quite happily taken a gun to his head after having him two weeks.

Anyway this is what I did and I am not saying it will work for every horse but it did for me:

1) lead him in from the field in a chiffney, I only had to pull lightly on it once and from then on he knew when it was on he had to behave.
2) Put him on global herbs supercalm
3) Lunged him in the field next door to his friends slowly getting him to listen to me and then started using side reins etc.
4) Long lined him out around the lanes- this way you can send him forward with out worrying that he will go up with you.You may need someone else to help you e.g walk in front at first
5) When I started riding him out if he stopped I would just sit and wait not letting him go back and not making a meal out of it just sat there quietly until he would get fed up and walk forward. I did spend 20 minutes stood on a country lane in a thunderstorm once !
6) I also got my OH to come out with me on his bike, I suppose it just kind of gave me some assurance that someone would be there if anything happend ( not sure what he would have done tho is useless around horses)
7) Lastly, once we started hacking out on our own I would chat away to him sing, bitch & generally moan about anything that was annoying me and he proved a great sounding board!

I think the last one worked best as he was probably so fed up of listening to my whinging he thought the quicker he got round the better :-)

He is not on a calmer anymore and will go anywhere on his own. We have just started going to shows which has meant I have had to start getting him used to that as well, but he is definitly getting there.

Don't give up you will get there x
 
I have an ex racer an none of these problems. He is brilliant to hack, brave and doesn't nap or rear. I just can't stop the Dam thing. lol

My friend who has a young sport horse is having many of the problems listed above and is at her whits end just now. He really is pushing the limits. I'll get her to check this post out to get some tips.
 
thats a good point the poster said above. I talk to me lad non-stop when im on him. He needs plenty of reassurance so i tend to chat away to him.

When he used to nap/rear, i'd just repeat 'walk on' really calmly, and sit out the rears/planting for as long as it took, as soon as he took a step forward id praise him and keep chatting to him to relax him.

Now i talk to him non-stop when i ride him and i verbalise exactly what i want him to do. This has helped our relationship 100% and even now he will automatically respond to words he recognises like 'relax' 'stretch down' 'extend'.

It took ages for me to trust my ex-racer but we have got there now. and since im more confident, he tends to be more confident.

How long have you had him? is he calm in other areas?
 
I had a lot of problems with my boy when I moved yards, he napped and he napped, fortunately not rearing [except once or twice, at which stage I was almost in tears about it]
He did have one little short hack which he was happy with, so I used that quite a lot.
Much better if with someone else, but I had to be right on top of him at all times [watching his ears].
I am surprised no one has mentioned turning in circles a few times then asking him to walk on in required direction. If you watch Richard Maxwell you will see he lifts the inside rein quite high when he has one like this.
I agree with the singing bit, to distract him from lions , tigers and open gates.
Make sure you don't reward his behaviour ie by patting him in a "re-assuring" way, it may be mis-interpreted.
He can't rear when trotting, I once had a very fit horse due to this!
 
Last edited:
i love richard maxwell and think his ideas are great but circles didn't work for my horse at all. it just encouraged him as he felt he had gotten his way by not going forward - circles didn't seem to confuse him at all! he knew exactly which was was the 'good way' and which was the bad! and a circle would bring him closer to the way he wanted to go, so he'd half cirlce and then nap backwards. i had to give up on the circles altogether and it is was either 'forward' or nothing!

I hope you get the problem sorted, it is fixable, but very annoying! I used to dread getting on my lad at times as i knew i would face a battle - calms tablets, back protector, neckstrap, patience and a sense of humour are the only things that got me through it - you have my sympathy!
 
Race horses for the most part are ridden with little or no contact, ours you have to ride with reins in loops and any stiffnes in the shoulder makes him back off.
There have been some really good suggestions about the napping but be aware that you may think you have a light contact but to him it may seem like stop.
 
You have to let him know that hes not going in any direction but the one you want to go in no matter how long you have to stand there or how many smacked bottoms he has.

My mare was terrible when i got her, I am naturally belligerant when it comes to bad behaviour and if it takes me sitting in the same spot all day before I win then so be it, but I inderstand that others are not like this.

I will PM you a few tricks i tried :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top