Snacking on hacks

dwi

dwi

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I'm embarrassed to admit that I have a real problem with my horse trying to snack on hacks. I've had her just over a year now and its not a particular problem in winter but she is relentless in summer when the grass is looking long and juicy.

She is built like a rhino and when she is really determined she is quite capable of pulling the reins out of my hands to get a nice juicy mouthful.

My friends have helpfully suggested that I put daisy reins on her but I think I would die of embarrassment. I'm a grown adult and its not a problem I've ever had before. she is just a very *special* horse.

At the moment she gets a smack behind the leg working on the theory that this sends her a signal that its wrong and it might deter her. It puts her off a little but she still snacks.

Anyone else had this problem and managed to solve it? I'm desperate
 
i ride a naughty pony for a friend that is terrible at snacking, he even pretends to itch his head on his leg then takes a sneaky mouthful! what i try to do is pre-empt him, so if i feel him moving over to the hedge or wanting to put his head down i keep his head straight and make him walk forwards and basically try and make him listen to me instead of his stomach! its not easy, but if you can 2nd guess as to when shes going to snatch you should be able to get in there first!
 
To be honest I would rather put the daisy rein on and be embarrassed than let your horse think she's having her way and, no matter how hard you try to keep a soft contact, when they yank their heads down it can't be good on the mouth.

If it is the horse in you signature then I think you would be more than justified! Better than brute force.

Obviously the leg is the ideal way - you might try using the whip on her shoulder rather than behind the leg - it might surprise her a bit more and use a very sharp verbal command at the same time - no! And your leg at the same time also so you can hopefully drop the whip and voice if she takes it on board.

Good luck and I'm sure you will get some much more experienced and knowledgable advice on here
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Oh God, havent we just had that problem! lol

As for daisy reins, I'd give them a go, it's no fun trying to keep a neck like that up!

Jessrulesdaworld sent me a link for a nose net, which I've just ordered for the shettie. he won't wear daisy reins, so Im going to try one of these and see if it works. It might be worth a try for your cob, you could always say he has an allergy lol.
 
Watch the ears! There will be subtle signals that your horse is thinking of having a munch, then get in quick and trot on past anything tempting (be very determined here).

You have to move them on before they even start to put the head down and have quite quick reactions
 
My advanced event horse does this!.
How embarrassing is that on a hack-trying to extract myself out of the nearest hedge,tree or bush and still try to remain looking professional and in control!.
 
As watcher said you can tell if you look carefully when they are about to do it.

Bert used to be a swine in this department. I catch him before he gets his head down and tap him on the shoulder evertime.

Now he doesn't do it for grass but occasionally the odd bush is just too tempting.
 
Greed came in very handy for me on a hack when a cheekpiece broke and the bit dropped out of podges mouth. His head immediately went down to eat, rather than galloping off (- this was on an 80 acre open space).

Worth trying daisy reins on a short term basis to see if it helps. Don't use them for fast work/jumping though. You could find that a pelham (properly fitted and used kindly!) helps, if you are currently using a snaffle. Cobs can be mega strong especially if they see food.
 
Ohh I read this & thought you meant the rider snacking on hacks.
My fat Cob once stopped dead as we cantered through some lush grass & I sailed over his head almost in slow motion & landed on my feet ...I had to get back on & really pay attention next time we went over some tasty looking vegitation.
It's a naughty habit needs sorting, any way you can.
 
My pig does this aswell, wanted to sympathise as it is really really irritating. Mine lives out for most of the year and at the moment is sharing 25 acres with 4 mates, you'd think he'd have enough to eat already but he just can't resist.

I am sorry to say that whilst I really don't like being heavy handed, if I feel his head go sideways he gets a jab/sharp half halt in the mouth on the other side to his meal and I try to give him a sharp nudge with my heel at the same time. If he goes to eat the long grass then I bring my hands up sharply as he drops his head so he chooses to hit the bit by snacking. The only drawback is that if he even gets away with it once, I have to start his re-education all over again. On the up side, if you go in to a field of knee length grass he rounds into a perfect outline and has marvellous self carriage as he works so hard to try and eat! I have decided that any further dressage tests we do will have to be on long grass rather than a sand school!
 
You could try firmly fitting a grackle for a few rides, maybe if she can't open her mouth to grab food she'll stop trying & after a while you could fit it slightly looser. Not iwhat they're designed for but probably less embarrasing for you than a daisy rein!
 
Snacking on hacks sounds a brilliant idea actually (-if you don't need both hands to keep the nags head up). Chocolate could be messy on hot days though - it would make the reins sticky.

Is it legal though? It isn't when you're driving a car. If you had an accident snacking whilst riding a horse you would probably be deemed to be negligent.

More seriously - the horse is only acting naturally. Surrounded by yummy food it's only sensible that it wants to eat it, and it will save on feed bills.
 
you have my sympathy on this as although Pidge doesn't go for the grass he loves trees and craftily tries to take a bite out of them when we go past. I can pretty much tell when he's going to do it now so can usually stop him.
However sis was doing a dressage test on Sunny (cob
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) last year on thick lush grass and was doing really well until the free walk on a long rein
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oops judge's comment was "must not be allowed to snack en route" but commented in a nice way mind
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bless him, poor lad was on hardly any grass so it just got too tempting!
 
Patches used to this but rarely manages to get anything now.

I always carry a whip in my left hand so that I can tap her on the shoulder if she tries it on. Just carrying the whip seems to make a difference.

I can also read her signals too and react quickly with a squeeze on the right rein if she makes any attempt to pull to the left and the lush grass verge.

Daisy reins won't stop her getting to really long grass to the side, they'd just stop her putting her head down towards her front feet.

I make a point of never allowing Patches a nibble when riding. Give them an inch and they really will take a mile. Took me a good 12 months to stop it with Patches. Consistency is the key.
 
me and bear usually snack on polos and fruit pastells!!!! i know the dentist will probably shout at me, but i wouldn't like having a bit in my gob for a couple of hours!!!!
 
my old pony used to be able to grab grass whilst in trot!!! without missing a beat!!! very clever gave us much amusment!
 
My otherwise well schooled gentleman has been a snacker on hacks since I got him 4 years ago and I've never managed to get him out of the habit. He doesn't put his head down but will snaffle any stray bits of undergrowth that come within a foot of his nose!
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