refining my young hunter

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laurapru

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I am looking for a little advice from the experienced folk on here please?

I have a fab horse who has been absolutely amazing out on the hunting field (our first season - ever!) He is brave and bold and has just started to stand quietly at the meet and relax into it a little.
He is a 5 year old irish cob and on occasion knows his strength and uses it, It took me approx 5 minutes to get him to stand so i could get back on after I had fallen (my fault not his!) He dragged me around and would move off just as I would move into him to mount. It is so frustrating especially as I was holding up two fellow followers who were waiting for me! I feel this is something I need to work on, I am sure there will come a time when I will need to do a gate etc
Also he is incredibly eager, it the field master moves off to find out if we are to move on and the rest of the field are still standing he will have a tantrum if he has to wait to move off?
He has been brilliant and is so mannerly at home - these are only little things I realise but I want to know what I should be doing about it? Shall I practice getting on and off him whilst hacking out at home? I worry because we are both so new to hunting and I want to make sure I am giving him the best education.............
Thank you for reading :)
 
I wouldn't let it bother you someone will always stand and help you out hunting he is just eager and wanting to get on with the job I wouldn't let it be an issue as he is great in every other way it takes a good 3 years to make a good hunter My lightweight cob was 5 when I took him hunting he is now 14 and we have hunted twice a week he's a little star he fidgets when I get on so I have my reins in my hand and just slight pull if he tries to walk off you have to be nimble and quik which I am getting very bad at the older I get, try and find somewhere to mount from like a raised verge etc it helps to spring on better good look and enjoy.
 
laurapru said:
I am looking for a little advice from the experienced folk on here please?

I have a fab horse who has been absolutely amazing out on the hunting field (our first season - ever!) He is brave and bold and has just started to stand quietly at the meet and relax into it a little.
He is a 5 year old irish cob and on occasion knows his strength and uses it, It took me approx 5 minutes to get him to stand so i could get back on after I had fallen (my fault not his!) He dragged me around and would move off just as I would move into him to mount. It is so frustrating especially as I was holding up two fellow followers who were waiting for me! I feel this is something I need to work on, I am sure there will come a time when I will need to do a gate etc
Also he is incredibly eager, it the field master moves off to find out if we are to move on and the rest of the field are still standing he will have a tantrum if he has to wait to move off?
He has been brilliant and is so mannerly at home - these are only little things I realise but I want to know what I should be doing about it? Shall I practice getting on and off him whilst hacking out at home? I worry because we are both so new to hunting and I want to make sure I am giving him the best education.............
Thank you for reading :)
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I may be wrong but I was one of the 'fellow followers you held up' - which you didn't, it was fine (assuming you are who i think?)

Cob got his foot stuck on the wire temporarily?! If so, he was wonderfully behavioured for a 5 year old. Well done with him.

Just keep coming out and he'll settle more and more each time. He's only young still but jumped well and is a lovely type. Hope you got back ok x

And if you have no idea what im on about - sorry, im not a psycho!! x
 
Actually I would practise getting on at home but getting him to let you on from a fence and not a mounting block, teach him to move his backside over. It is a complete godsend if they learn to move over when out so you can scramble back on. I do this with help to start but use a lunge line around the outside of the horse to help guide them round (hence needing a helper in case this goes wrong!) Yes the keeness might be an issue and take a while but most horses don't understand what you are doing when you perilously perched on a log or similar! And as for standing around, my mare just. would. not. She would also go upright if I asked her to stand and wait, so she was always kept walking forward and when having to stand around, I would walk her on a loose rein till she relaxed and would stand of her own accord. Just never saw the need to pick a fight with her on that as she was superb in all other ways and that would have really have wound her up.
 
Luci07 said:
Actually I would practise getting on at home but getting him to let you on from a fence and not a mounting block, teach him to move his backside over. It is a complete godsend if they learn to move over when out so you can scramble back on.
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^^ This ^^

I can get on and off mine from anything - gates, fences, logs, big stones, pipes, absolutely anything. He's only young too and the first few times he was quite freaked out by it but now he'll stand nicely. Also taught him to move his shoulders and his HQs. Taught that in the school in hand so he will now move over either backside or shoulders by pointing/a tap on the relevant area. And make sure the horse knows how to move backwards too - sounds silly but when I handle other people's horses, I'm amazed by how many are rude and simply don't know/ haven't been taught how to back up properly. If I've got to get on from a gate or little log/similar, I need to be able to move him back a step or two, move him forwards a step etc so that I'm not leaping on from a distance (though I've been known to do that too and expect them to stand for that as well and not shoot off..).
 
lcharles said:
I may be wrong but I was one of the 'fellow followers you held up' - which you didn't, it was fine (assuming you are who i think?)

Cob got his foot stuck on the wire temporarily?! If so, he was wonderfully behavioured for a 5 year old. Well done with him.

Just keep coming out and he'll settle more and more each time. He's only young still but jumped well and is a lovely type. Hope you got back ok x

And if you have no idea what im on about - sorry, im not a psycho!! x
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Ah yes this was us! Thank you again for your help I really appreciate it, and yes we got back ok. I walked him down to the road and remounted on the back of a ladies landrover whilst she got him to stand! He hacked back brilliantly to the box! :)
He is unscathed from the wire thankfully and I am so pleased with how well he is coming along. We are learning all the time and enjoy coming out, I'm sure everything will fit into place soon.


Thanks also for the replies on mounting from fences and gates etc, I will do some more work on these at home.

:):)
 
laurapru said:
Ah yes this was us! Thank you again for your help I really appreciate it, and yes we got back ok. I walked him down to the road and remounted on the back of a ladies landrover whilst she got him to stand! He hacked back brilliantly to the box! :)
He is unscathed from the wire thankfully and I am so pleased with how well he is coming along. We are learning all the time and enjoy coming out, I'm sure everything will fit into place soon.


Thanks also for the replies on mounting from fences and gates etc, I will do some more work on these at home.

:):)
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Thats good to hear. Hope you had a good few hours hunting. When are you out again?
 
No advice other than practice mounting and placing the horse where you want, our young cob went through a phase of not wanting to stand to be mounted and after a few sessions of just being mounted and a bit of in hand manner work he stands well now :)

Lovely thread too, made me smile to see people finding each other and the kindness of strangers :)
 
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