Spooking/napping when hacking alone

C

catherine22

Well-Known Member
Joined
3 January 2006
Messages
1,075
Location
New forest
Visit site
My mare is really spooky when out hacking, worse when she's alone but can still do it in company. She doesn't 'tranditionally' nap and is fine to leave the yard, but uses anything she can spook at as an opportunity to try and nap and turn home. She's 10, has been back with me since April having been out on loan for a few years.
She wasn't too bad when she first came back, but she seems to be getting worse. She does have a sharer who started about the same time as this spooking/napping, so i'm not sure if she is trying her out.
It's not too much of a problem once we're on the forest but going down the road it is starting to become a problem.
What can I do to reduce the spooking and therefore the attempt to turn? I have been riding her through it and just ignoring it and I have also tried asking her for leg yield/ shoulder in just to get her thinking which does seem to help a bit, but does anyone have any other ideas?

Everything has been checked, back, teeth, saddle are all fine
Thank you
 
Sounds very familiar - my ex racer is like this. OK in company, but a toad alone. Like you, once off road its no problem, but the roadwork can be very tricky.

I put him on the bit and keep up a constant 'dialogue', and just leg leg leg. I always carry a stick, so if he has a tw*t moment and swings his quarters out I can correct him quickly.
 
Did she do this before she went on loan?

If the physical side of things has been checked out and everything is fine then I would assume one of two things either it is something she was allowed to get away with when on loan and has just become a habit that through riding her confidently she'll understand that it's not acceptable.

The other thing could be that you're sharer isn't as confident hacking her out and she is trying it on and possibly getting away with it. Could you borrow a horse to go hacking with her and see what happens when she spooks and how your sharer copes?

Definitely using some lateral work, making sure she's working correctly into your hands etc will help focus her attention on you as opposed to everything else
 
Yikes, remind me of my girl. For what they are worth, here are my thoughts.

1. She is very bright and as someone once said, if I am not keeping her brain busy, she will create her own fun, so try and make her see hacks as something she has to work at, not just lolling along looking for things to spook at!!
2. She is much better if doing something exciting in-between hacks - she loves XC, etc and that seems to keep her mind more sane.
3. Also, I have spend a lot of time desensitising her - with cycles, strimmers, trailers, balloons, anything, what I find now is she still spooks but doesn't do anything after that!
4. I will probably be slated for this, but is it worth wearing either/or a gadget (harbridge?), a pelham bit with double reins or spurs. The object being not so much for make her go in an outline, but to ensure you can get her attention when you need to and she doesn't get into a habit of napping.

Good luck!!
 
Nocturnal said:
Sounds very familiar - my ex racer is like this. OK in company, but a toad alone. Like you, once off road its no problem, but the roadwork can be very tricky.

I put him on the bit and keep up a constant 'dialogue', and just leg leg leg. I always carry a stick, so if he has a tw*t moment and swings his quarters out I can correct him quickly.
Click to expand...

Know this one, Nocturnal, where do you use stick, by side of right leg or on neck? I've had to take to applying a corrective aid when my Horseface is having a "that squashed pigeon looks like it'll take the form of a feather monster" moment
 
Mine is an ex racer as well!

She was fine when she went out on loan and while on loan this only started after she came back and my sharer started riding her.
problem is as she's only does the trying to turn after spooking when she's on her own I can't easily see how my sharer is dealing with her when she does it
She only seems to spook at 'nothing' (leaves moving birds in a hedge) actually scary things are fine!
Shes currently in a snaffle and standing martingale but I may try a harborough and see if that helps

thanks
 
canteron said:
4. I will probably be slated for this, but is it worth wearing either/or a gadget (harbridge?), a pelham bit with double reins or spurs. The object being not so much for make her go in an outline, but to ensure you can get her attention when you need to and she doesn't get into a habit of napping.

Good luck!!
Click to expand...

I'm not slating you as all ideas are good ideas :) ...However, I'd be careful going down this route. For example if OP were to go out in a harbridge and horse decides to sppok then realises it can't...horse may panic/take behaviour to extreme and rider will be able to do nothing about it. Horses can still rear etc in a harbridge if they really want to.

Also, by using spurs/stronger bit when horse isn't used to them and doesn't really need them, if the horse is truly nervous about something (whether it is the items being spooked at or not) then punishment with strong bit/spurs will only re-enforce the horses belief there is something to be scared of.

Again, that's just my opinion, not saying I'm right or you're wrong etc :)

I'm all for keeping them occupied, get them going forward, maybe stick to a nice steady trot working in an outlline and keeping the neck flexible and relaxed on the roads, then chill out a bit more on the tracks if the horse is more relaxed here. Good luck :)
 
I don't normally trot on the road but I may try it, only problem is first bit is down hill so not sure that would work that well
Willing to try anything tho atm!
 
Achinghips said:
Know this one, Nocturnal, where do you use stick, by side of right leg or on neck? I've had to take to applying a corrective aid when my Horseface is having a "that squashed pigeon looks like it'll take the form of a feather monster" moment
Click to expand...

If he's swinging his quarters out he gets a tap on the bum, if its his shoulder going astray (happens less often) then it's a tap on the shoulder ;)
 
My horse can be like this, he's a Ex-racer as well lol.
Sometimes he's fine on his own but sometimes he is just in a spooky mood! I can tell the moment we are out the yard and we have to trot pretty much the whole way round. He will try and stop and not go forward sometimes he will spin, to get him to go I often have to smack him behind my leg, kick and canter him past, this does sometimes involve a few paces of canter on the road.
It's not ideal, I hate trotting on the road but I have road nails in and I bring him back to walk when he feels like he is settleing. Mines the same on road or off road, off road over fields and such like I just let him trot and canter, he's not strong.
Again mine only spools at nothing too! Something simple like changing direction or going on to a different track is the excuse for mine. Something actually scary like riding past the village fete, builders cutting up concrete or a combine harvester and he shows responsibility and is a good boy!
I think mine will always be an 'interesting' hack but he doesn't rear or buck and I can get him round it's just not very relaxing lol.
He's still quite young so I'm hoping he will get better with time.
He's fine in company :).
 
elsazzo said:
Sorry no suggestions but If it makes you feel any better I hate my horse today too (see my thread!):( its not often i say that
Click to expand...

:) Twice now cars have had to stop and then reverse. She did double takes all over the place this morning. Not only do I hate her today - I'm livid too. Had to lead her to her field in her bridle as she's in season - no amount of join up would make her listen or get her shoulder behind mine.
 
Achinghips, I'm now getting pretty sure yours and my horse are related. My mare is exhibiting exactly the same behaviour to the point that yesterday I took her out long-reining as I'm getting sick of it. So she freaked out, got herself wrapped in the lines, nearly went down a cattle grid, and was generally a pain in the backside. I didn't let her go home until she had calmed down completely and was taking notice of me. Rode her today in the school - completely different horse - absolutely fabulous. But I won't be hacking her for a while until she long-reins absolutely perfectly again! It might be worth long reining yours because it's so much easier to get after them from the ground and minimises the risk to you. Hope you get it sorted!
 
Thanks, it's just one of her off days today, I think. She napped badly at the "plastic bag spot" where she spun on our last hack, she is so clever that she has learned association of place to bag on the hack. She was ok after that really, just "banana shaped" and bending at the kness every now and then for half a mile. Truth be told, she's probably picking up some of my anxiety through the rein.

Also, this was the first hack in a while and I didn't do any schooling first so got what I deserved really.:o
New mare in field next to her today doesn't help either.

I shall get a friend over who is superb at groundwork to be my logical self tomorrow, in case my impatience with her causes me to cry in frustration and makeimaginary but very realistic selling plans - lol
 
Last edited:
Oh,I cried plenty after Thursday night's episode......it's just too traumatic to go into detail....I feel I may suffer post traumatic stress disorder if I even try to recall it in words! LOL!!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top