Rushing home - Solutions?

Bustalot

Bustalot

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Hi
I moved yards a few months back and my boy settled really quick. But these past few weeks he has started to rush home after every hack and getting really spooky - very unlike him. The place is very hilly and to get back to the stable yard you have to go down hill. So everytime you go down hill he thinks he is going home. I have tried the turning him around away from home everytime he does it, tried bringing him back to the stable yard and then turning round and going straight back out again, or bringing him back to the school for a bit so he does not associate with heading back to the stable yard as the end of the ride.

When he rushes i have tried letting him have a long rein, but he just rushes even more and ends up falling over himself. I have tried picking the reins up to try and slow him, but he starts bouncing about, sides ways jogging etc. Tried slowing my seat but he totally ignores that. I am starting to get really bad back ache from him bouncing home all the time. I had to get off the other day as it hurt so bad and walk him back and he was still jogging and bouncing around in hand.

It reached a bit of a head the other week when he bolted with me down the main road to get home quicker!! :eek: A bit scary, so staying away from the road for a bit. :o

Not sure what else i can do. Any ideas?

Thank you
 
Bustalot said:
Hi
I moved yards a few months back and my boy settled really quick. But these past few weeks he has started to rush home after every hack and getting really spooky - very unlike him. The place is very hilly and to get back to the stable yard you have to go down hill. So everytime you go down hill he thinks he is going home. I have tried the turning him around away from home everytime he does it, tried bringing him back to the stable yard and then turning round and going straight back out again, or bringing him back to the school for a bit so he does not associate with heading back to the stable yard as the end of the ride.

When he rushes i have tried letting him have a long rein, but he just rushes even more and ends up falling over himself. I have tried picking the reins up to try and slow him, but he starts bouncing about, sides ways jogging etc. Tried slowing my seat but he totally ignores that. I am starting to get really bad back ache from him bouncing home all the time. I had to get off the other day as it hurt so bad and walk him back and he was still jogging and bouncing around in hand.

It reached a bit of a head the other week when he bolted with me down the main road to get home quicker!! :eek: A bit scary, so staying away from the road for a bit. :o

Not sure what else i can do. Any ideas?

Thank you
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I have this problem too !
 
When my horse rushes towards home I lift my hands to bring up his withers, put my leg back,sit tall and eventually get piaffe! It feels fab and is bloody hard work for him so he stops rushing:D.....on the way home is the only time he has enough impulsion to achieve such things!

I know a trainer who has solved the rushing for home thing by turning the horse around as soon as it rushes, and boot it in the opposite direction. It only took a few hacks doing this to get that particular horse walking home on a loose rein.
 
when i had this problem, i stayed in walk the whole time until she stopped rushing in walk then did a little bit of trot and found that having someone walk with me helped slow my mare down.. you could also try and keep her thinking the whole way round??
 
It is a good idea with a horse like this to make a habit sometimes of riding a route and then riding on past your yard and doing another loop elsewhere before coming home - they must learn not to assume they are going home.

My mare goes through phases sometimes of being terrible on the way home (sounds very similar to the OPs) On her particularly bad days I am actually best off when I get off and do groundwork with her until she stands still and relaxes. I have tried in the saddle but have had little success. If I work her on the ground (I am lucky enough to have off road hacking) and wait until she is work calmly, I then remount and she will walk home calmly. She is a very dominant mare and needs to be reminded to have a little respect!
 
I was talking about with my uncle about this today as my horse sometimes rushes on the way home. My uncle is currently riding my horse for me as I have a broken arm.

I normally once he starts rushing turn him round and go the opposite direction before I turn him back, and if he does it again I will turn again and keep repeating until he stops rushing. Although sometimes a one hour hack will be a two hour hack but it does work with him. My sis's old horse used to be a nightmare. She came back from a hack one day in tears as he was a total prat on the way home. I got on him (I am braver than my sis and her horse never scared me) and I ended up out for two hours as I ended up doing our loop about four times but he never ever did it again.

With my horse my uncle made him stand still every time he tried to rush and only once he was relaxed he let him move off. My uncle said that this worked well. So I might try that the next time.
 
Someone I know (an amazing horseman) says to start doing really small circles and figures of eight until you feel them relax, then head off again and repeat until they stop it. Think the idea is that a hack isn't always forward if you know what I mean - it involves other things too!
 
I have this problem with my mare particularly when she is in season. She gets quite strong and becomes silly and spooky at things she wouldn't even look at on the way out. I have found working her in the school for 30 mins before we hack takes the edge off her and making her trot up the hills helps, basically working her so she is far too tired to do anything but plod home :D With mine it is definitely an attitude thing and any type of activity which involves re-establishing my authority with her helps, eg obedient halts in the school, sharp transitions, smooth rein-backs, reminding her of manners around the stable and in hand etc. So that when we are out and about she is more likely to listen to my aids rather than prance off home at her own speed ;)
 
In stead of turning into the yard can you go straight on? even if you end up going round and round a route 8 times or so. If the horse doesnt know if its going home, or going to be asked to carry on,it should eventually give over rushing,the way back just becomes part of the hack. You do have to keep occasionally going on though,or else they can revert.
 
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