Reaction to other horses out hacking

[Highflinger]

Hello All
I always hack alone and don't often meet other riders however when we do pony does react quite badly. He is ok if we just walk past another on bridleway although he tries to stop but if I kick on he is fine although "alert" for a few minutes afterwards and certainly thinking about the other horse rather than me! However if they are a few tracks away or more than one horse ( I ride in fairly open heath crisscrossed with tracks) he tends to get very silly - turning to see them, spinning, not wanting to move forward and then when he does jogging, chopping madly on his bit and generally very stressy and feels as though he will explode although so far all he has done is smallish bucks and a few squeals. He usually calms down and forgets about it after around 5 mins however should we then meet another horse he is even worse and then does not settle for the rest of the ride - jogging , going sideways etc. He is usually more of a kick along than forward ride but becomes very forward after meeting another horse.
He does live with other horses and has no issues leaving them. He had not done much before I bought him at 5 - I think only hacked in company a few times and then in a field loafing for a year so he is a good boy to hack happily alone.
Any suggestions please on how to improve his reaction

 

[mini_b]

Following as mine like this...
I’ve never taken him on a fun ride etc as he gets so silly when he sees others across the park from us.

I’m thinking exposure, getting them used to seeing others out and about and realise that it’s nothing that exciting. But if anyone has any actual input I’d love to hear!

 

[tatty_v]

Mine used to be like this. The only thing that’s cured it for us is repetition. That and on a fun ride once he pulled like a steam train to catch up with the pair in front, only to discover they were fairly loony and didn’t like them! He was much improved after that!

 

[be positive]

He is over reactive and as he only sees them intermittently it is not easy to desensitise as it is out of your control, can you ride at home with the others nearby or even better with another horse being ridden which can be brought near then moved away, going out of sight then back again?
If you can set something like this up you can work on getting him listening to you and learning to ignore the distraction, even if you cannot you can still do some schooling on the hacks, teach him to yield to pressure, to stop, wait, move when asked and find the key to getting his mind back on you and not on the other horse, if you find the best way to regain his attention little by little it should become easier, finding someone to hack with even if it is only once in a while may also help build his confidence as he is probably lacking that with his limited experience of life so far.

 

[conniegirl]

a lot of it is about putting your brave knickers on and riding him forwards into a contact and making him concentrate on you and have to think about what he is doing rather than the other horses, can be quite daunting to kick on when they are being silly.

If mine gets silly I put him into leg yield to make him move accross the track sideways or I put him into shoulder in so he has to think about where he is putting his feet. If he starts trying to turn etc he would be driven forwards by my leg and seat and he would go where I wanted, basically make them work HARD when they play up and suddenly other horses become much less exciting

 

[WandaMare]

If you can do long hacks and come back the route you are most likely to see another horse that might help. I find with younger horses its best to get them to calm down about something when they have already worked. So I would ride him out somewhere you're less likely to see anyone else, ride him for a good couple of hours with some faster work, then come back at a time and place where you might see someone and do the schooling techniques while you pass them. With any luck he will be more interested in getting back home to rest and eat at that point, than start messing about.

 

[Ranyhyn]

Mines not like it but I'd carry on exposing him to it again and again and in some cases it will get better. Agree with kicking them on, it feels counter intuitive when they are so forward but its what they need.

 

[Annagain]

Id try hacking out with someone to begin with and work up to meeting them on the hack, then have them meet you, ride with you for a bit and leave you and then so that you just meet them and keep moving. It sounds like t hat might be doable if you have lots of criss-crossing paths?

 

[clairefeekerry1]

Mine is like this and he is generally very good to hack. He is a bit like this with anything usual in the distance like a walker or another horse. He flips his lid tho! I think it’s like he thinks he’s the only horse ever to set foot around our hacking area ? although to be fair to him it would be extremely unusual to see another horse hacking round our way so I do get. He is fine on fun rides etc so I think it’s just the pure shock of seeing another horse on HIS hacking route!!

 

[Micky]

No advice I’m afraid, mine has been like this for 13 years, pleasure rides, farm rides, hacking whatever, he’s an idiot when he spots horses in front or in the distance, nothing has worked! However if we ride out in company, he’s a dope..!

 

[Auslander]

Alf's brain falls out if he spots other horses up ahead. There is absolutely nothing I can do about it, and I have, on occasion, been forced to get off him, as he loses the plot to a dangerous degree. At 23, I doubt he's ever going to change, so I just thank my lucky stars that our hacking is fairly quiet, and try to take him out at times when i know we're unlikely to meet anyone. Hes fine about horses coming towards us, but when they are going in the same direction, he can't cope at all!
If i spot another horse before he does, I try and turn off down a different path, or turn round and go the other way!

 

[mini_b]

Mine is like this and he is generally very good to hack. He is a bit like this with anything usual in the distance like a walker or another horse. He flips his lid tho! I think it’s like he thinks he’s the only horse ever to set foot around our hacking area ? although to be fair to him it would be extremely unusual to see another horse hacking round our way so I do get. He is fine on fun rides etc so I think it’s just the pure shock of seeing another horse on HIS hacking route!!

ha - exact same on thinking he’s the only one that’s ever been around there.

 

[bouncing_ball]

I can sympathise, I solo hack on Downs that are open with lots of criss-cross tracks and paths are shared with hundreds of racehorses. My horse has largely got used to them doing their own thing, and they use various gallops. We still find it hard, if they are directly in front of us, and lots of them, as he wants to catch them up and join them. In the distance / passing us / at a tangent to us is okay, but directly in front not so good. I try and be strategic in which way I go / speed up or slow down or turn off.

Wierdly whilst not terrible, my horse is more interested in the activities of non race horses than race horses on the Downs. Like they are more his species ;-)

Mine doesnt much like lots of activity (dog walkers / walkers / horses) in all different directions and levels and heights, he like to be able to see all moving things in one glance.

 

[exracehorse]

I’m fine passing other horses, he looks but nothing silly. Horses in the distance are different case, he turns into a twat. The issue I had once was when a horse over took him on the road in trot. He had a mental breakdown. He couldn’t cope with not following. It became so dangerous that I had to turn him around and luckily found a track to go into opposite direction.

 

[hobo]

Mine is much the same at this time of the year but seems better in the summer she is really bad at the moment and I hate to say this she is 20 and I have had her for 16 years so nothing to help you with. I think the problem for all of us is that we all seem to be in quiet places so hard to get them used to it.

 

[mini_b]

Ok so... I was following with interest as I have same problem.

After reading everyone’s tips I had a scenario I took advantage of today! A fellow livery and I had set off at different times for a v short walk up the road and we could see them in the distance. Cue choppy steps and eyes on stalks from mine, pushed forward into the giraffe contact.
as we got up to them, I stopped to talk and asked if I could walk back with them. We turned around (we can turn back on ourselves without him being a tit) and he was absolutely horizontal on the walk back.
I’m not sure that 10 min walk achieved anything but it felt like it did!

Im going to try the one where someone said to set off and aim to cross paths, ride for a bit together and ride separate ways home!

(I’m aware that this might sound really minor to some, but it felt like a breakthrough as he is horrified someone has the audacity to be riding out within 1 mile of him.)