Spinning problem..

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rachelha

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out on hacks she is terrible!

some of the roads around here that we have to use are quite enclosed and just about wide enough for 2 cars to pass, and a lot of the time if a car is heading in our direction she plants herself, starts quivering and shying away etc, and if the car doesnt stop she spins and just buggers off!

i can stop her spinning most times to be honest, she will usually hesitate but if i insist she will jog sideways past very reluctantly, usually throwing in another attempt to spin!

she is NOT scared of this traffic, its the small spaces. almost like she is claustrophobic...actually, it is really like she is very claustrophobic because on wider roads, or when she can pull into a drive she is absolutely fine! she even used to hate walking through her stable door.

what can i do to help her overcome this? :confused:
 
Is there any way you can create a small space to walk her through as part of some groundwork training. If so I would start of with the space quite wide and gradually close it in after each time you walk her through. So you are in fact breaking it down into small steps and she is learning to cope with the fact that that you are asking her to walk and eventually stand in a narrow space.

Maybe you could use bales or set up a couple of jumps with rugs or blankets or something to make them look solid/closed in
 
thanks, i shall give it a try! i know what its like being claustrophobic myself, so i really want to help sort it! i shall have a nosey around the yard tomorrow to see what i can use :)
 
Have you had her long? My pony is the same although is ok with cars but lorries/tractors etc we have a problem except if on a main wide road nad then he is fine. i concluded too that it was more a space issue than actually being scared of the vehicle itself. he is also ok if the vehicle passes from behind (he doesn't have the chance to react). He used to rush in and out of stables too and throw himself out of the horsebox - I couldn't get him out of the front of trailers as the space was far too narrow and he'd get very worked up and either not come out of launch himself - I ended up having to reverse him out!

With him, if he gets very scared he will spin round or even try and reverse away from the offending vehicle. i found though to get hime past (other than me getting off) was/is to reverse him past. For some reason this seems to work and he can reverse pretty well past anything (although you do get a rather fast spin back round once you've past it! Lol)

I think if you have not had yours long then just persevere riding her through it and trying to get her before she spins but without pre-empting if you get what a mean. I think they do improve if you can remain calm and firm. The worst thing you can do in my opinion is try run them away from the traffic to a 'safe' place. Usually the less fuss you can make the better.
 
That may bwork but with my pony things like that just got him more stressed to be honest. It depends on the extent of their issue I guess. Does yours go through gateways ok? Mine used to be terrible and would run through. I guess I perserved with tht though as you have to go through gates on hacks and he soon got over that fear so maybe doing the narrow space training regularly will help to some degree.
 
i have had her over 18 months now, but have only recently started hacking out. she does the whole rushing out of a trailer thing too. i will see how she goes, see if she does improve at all now that the weather is picking up i'll try to get her out more and ride through it. thanks for the advice, i shall try the reversing thing when she tries again!
 
I am in the process of getting through to a horse that spins, although it is a different reason he was naughty and got away with it so carried on. In my situation it was perseverence, once i had some help/advixce from the ground i had the confidence to get after him and 'be the boss'.
This might not be relevant to you though as you think it might be a small space thing, but if you do reverse you must try to turn it to a forward motion. I know it's easy to find a way around things, but in case of future situations that you might come across you have to deal with the problem in the end.
Only other thging is to make sure it is you and not someone else that rides as your horse must trust you and behave for you, as you will be riding him.
Good luck and keep trying, these things can be overcome!
 
Oh and just to add my pony is a little weird and rather neurotic, I have had him 16 odd years now and although better (miles better) he still does have his moments. The reversing does work for him as it seems to calm him and also saves from him reversing away (at speed) or leaping about in the road/towards ditches etc. He is 23/24 now but still gives me a run for my money sometimes. You will find a method that works for you. My theory with th reversing is I am making him do it as opposed to him choosing to do it (which he will) I have been reversed at high speed down a steep hill and the only was to get him to go where I wanted was to turn him round and reverse him UP it. This 'argument' did last a while at the time but eventually he decided it was easier to walk forwards up the hill as opposed to reversing! Lol
 
right ive got a little plan going now:

thinking about it i wont do the reversing thing as she has done the reversing at speed away from scary things a few times before i dont want that turning into a habbit.

so for now i will continue to encourage her if she is reluctant as that usually does work, if i see no improvement in 2 weeks i will get her more comfortable with small spaces in the school :)
 
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