Spinning horse - AGAIN - how too stop?

[Gingerwitch]

Ok - the horse that should never be ridden anywhere but a school or comp - has been doing quite well hacking out ON HIS OWN - but twice now in the past two weeks we have managed to do a fab rein back whilst cantering a piroette (SP) when a flipping pheasant has had a death wish - tonights was in trot and whilst i was a little un seated i managed to sit it quite well BUT caught my finger again on his neck ! (first happened two weeks ago and i really thought i had broken it) - the rest of the hack was spent with him working extreamly well and we had some fantastic floating trots - but boy do i ache again now.... advice please - does spinning get any better?, do i need more leg or more rein contact (or both) - do i need to change my hand postion when hacking out? do i keep persevering or give in (dont want too really as it is doing my confidence the world of good)

thanks for the input and yes you can all be brutal !

 

[ladyt25]

I don't have that much experience of spinning as in a fright reaction although i have a pony who does do it when anticipating a canter and we have spun into trees, bushes and nearly down a railway embankment (I can't really canter him anymore!) . He is 23 though so that's not really an issue now and i just walk and trot him as, although he's not aware of it, his legs aren't up to the speed spinning these days and if i let him do what he wants (ie full on gallop) his legs aren't up to that either!

However, my sister's horse does the occasional spin when he is reacting to something he's scared of. i thin it's something some horses are prone to do and it would seem to come down to confidence issues. Therefore the only tip i can really give is to be prepared for it at all times but without getting tense about it. what i mean is, always ride positively and keep legs on and a good contact (not always working to a contact you understand but just do not give a slack rein). At the end of the day the horse builds his confidence from the rider so, if you ride postively then this should (in theory) encourage the horse to be more confident and the spinning should lessen. You may never cure it but as long as you are prepared it makes it safer for you and your horse.

 

[noblesteed]

Mine has stopped spinning on a hack, his confidence in me has grown as has my confidence in him. It's taken all summer but he has stopped. He does the odd little shy or jumps forward but he doesn't do anything that would unseat me. So keep plugging away at it, the more you do the more confident you both get. I got through it by sitting tall, taking a light seat, legs forward, heels down etc but I also have a strap on the front of my saddle for hairy moments! It boosted my confidence no end.
He still chucks in the odd naughty spin when schooling, for which he gets a smack! I have learned to identify when he is taking the p!

 

[MrsMozartletoe]

Can't remember how old your lad is. Dizz's tendancy to spin has reduced as she's matured and worked more consistantly, or was being, though D1 hasn't reported any spins lately.

Where you put your hands will depend on your horse, his mood, the bit, etc. Again using Dizz as an example, we can go from low and wide to high and closer together in one session until she's settled. The spins when they came did not always have a warning sign, she would just go. Over time it was usually when asked to stand still . If I were riding her tomorrow and she did one, we'd do the same as I used to do, pull her round tight the other way if I could/it was safe to do so or if not safe etc., then I'd keep her on the same spin until I said we were stopping (usually only a couple of times round). This was all done in as calm a manner as possible, she's not a horse to get into a full scale argument with, it would blow her brains (and I'd have ended up thrown across three counties lol), it was much better to make it so as she didn't actually gain anything from throwing her toys out of the pram . Thinking about it, I'd usually have my hands fairly low and wide if I thought there was a chance she'd spin - her other thing was for the front end to go up a bit and/or to go backwards, so I'd try and be prepared for those eventualities (she has only bucked once and that was the bit issue).

Fingers crossed that if you keep with the calm and controlled response, he will stop spinning.