New horse problems..

[AmyJoy99]

Hi everyone - need some advice if that's okay. My new horse is a 19yr old Warmblood (ex showjumper) who hasn't done much hacking before - she's a dope on a rope in the ménage. Anyway, when I hack her she's very spooky and generally not at ease. I've taken her out a few times, and just focus on keeping her walking in a straight line, and I don't feel like she'd bolt but she does swerve around and spook at little things. Any tips on how to train her to be safe to hack?

Thanks!

 

[Clodagh]

If she hasn't done it before it must be scary to her. Do you have another horse you can hack with? They can start out in front, then you gradually take over when she is happy. Failing another horse get a human out with you, on a bike or on foot, that will also give her confidence.
Stick to the same circular route, if you can, so she gets to know it.

 

[AmyJoy99]

If she hasn't done it before it must be scary to her. Do you have another horse you can hack with? They can start out in front, then you gradually take over when she is happy. Failing another horse get a human out with you, on a bike or on foot, that will also give her confidence.
Stick to the same circular route, if you can, so she gets to know it.

okay so is this something I can train her in to be calm and safe? Do I treat it like teaching a youngster to hack?

 

[RoyalSapphire]

okay so is this something I can train her in to be calm and safe? Do I treat it like teaching a youngster to hack?

yes i would think so espielly if she as you say hasnt done much hacking

 

[claracanter]

I would add that some Warmbloods can be very spooky. She just needs to keep getting out and seeing the world and she should relax

 

[applecart14]

My horse has always done this, especially with shadowy things. I started giving him Magic in his feed and he is no where as near spooky at he was and de-escalates so much quicker when he does spook. He's been on it 18 months now, and although I've taken it off him twice he will stay on it for life as each time he reacted after a few days of being off it.

He always used to spin clockwise into the road. However, if its any consolation, after ten years of worrying about whether we would get hit by a car I realised one day that he never span when a car was in the vicinity which kind of made me realise he knew what he was doing and that he loved himself too much to get wiped out by one!

The more you do with her the better she will be. If you can't take anyone with you, like I couldn't, then you just have to get on with it. Going out with someone else only works if you always have someone to go out with. Sooner or later you will find you have to go out on your own. I always made it a rule never to get off, and I avoided turning back on a ride at all costs, always looking for circular hacks.

My boy has only spun about twice on hacks in the past 18 months, I am convinced its the Magic and the fact that the roads are much quieter where we are.

Try doing a lot of shoulder in, and keep her listening to you and attentive on the end of the rein. Be aware of dangers by preempting them and listen out for cars, so you literally have eyes in the back of your head. ALWAYS wear hi viz no matter what time of year it is. In some circumstances, even in bright sunshine you can be almost invisible to drivers if the sun is in their eyes. I wear flashing lights on my horses legs.