spooky horse

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shygirl295

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can anyone give me some advice....i recently purchase a 15year old piebald and shes ok but lacks confidence when taking her out on a hack even in company. i have taken her to the same places several times but she still fights me to move forward and last week she bucked me off and bolted home. any advice? bare in mind i am not a confident rider and was told that she was a novice ride. only had her since september so am i expecting too much too soon?
 
I'm no expert and can only speak from my own experience.

I got my mare in Nov 09 she was 17yrs, by April/May 10 (5/6 mths ownership - my first horse so very novicey) we began hacking out. I was not particularly confident and she would spin slightly and nap towards home.

Fast forward to now, over 1yr ownership, horse now 19yrs, we hack everywhere and anywhere by ourselves - I'm more confident and she trusts me.

So, it is possible she is suitable for a novice, but you need to give her the confidence still, it's all still new to her and she may not be completely settled in yet.

Hope that helps, there should be light at the end of the tunnel, but maybe you just need more time to build up your relationship.
 
Doing a lot of groundwork at home and spook busting will help you build up a relationship and build up trust at the same time.

When hacking if possible try and hack out with three other horses one in front of you, one on your right hand side and one behind to give her confidence, ride positively forward and dont yourself look for things that she may spook at as this can trigger the spook. If she starts to hesitate, look straight ahead use the fact you are boxed in by other horses and trot past what is upsetting her.

Make sure you also have control of all her movements forwards, sideways and backwards so that she learns to obey you on command at home, it will make it easier when out hacking, if a horse has control of one direction then you will have problems as they will use that one movement to get away from the problem. Another thing I get my girls to do when hacking out and getting nervous is to sing (doesnt matter what), it keeps them more relaxed and by the same effect relaxes the horse.
 
You could ask an instructor or a more confident friend to hack her out for you to see if she does it with them, or if they can ride her through it. They should be able to give you some pointers for improvement. And even better if they can ride her regularly and help her build her confidence too.
 
I can only judge on my own experience.
I lost my nerve a bit in the last couple of years and I am trying to regain it.
The thing that I have found most effective in recent months is riding on a longer rein.
I went through a phase where my mare was being a bit of a sod and consequently I was really 'holding' the reins.
It took alot of effort mentally to let go a bit at first but it really seems to be paying off.

You need to try your utmost best to keep totally relaxed. Make sure you have a good handle on the reins while keeping them loose ish.
The best way I have found with a spooky silly horse is to ignore them, try and go along and say to yourself they are being silly, keep your body/seat relaxed and your hands relaxed and squeeze them forwards gently.
I know its easier said than done, but I really have started to regain my confidence after losing it with my mare due to various factors.

All the best with your horse. Oh and whistle and sing to keep your self breathing and your mind off worries, it may sound silly but it can really help. I recently sang Rihanna of all things all the way round my ride a few weeks ago, she was as good as gold even though it was fairly breezy...
 
Try the advice given but you're nearing 6 months with her now and at her age she is probably set in her ways, and maybe even trying it on a little having been 'allowed' to get away with it.

My point being that, having been in that situation myself, when you are no longer enjoying riding or feel like you're confidence is disappearing then don't be afraid to admit shes the wrong horse for you and move on to something that is genuinely a novice ride. As others have said before it's a far too expensive pastime to not be enjoying it or feel safe doing it.

All the best.
 
Teddybully said:
Try the advice given but you're nearing 6 months with her now and at her age she is probably set in her ways, and maybe even trying it on a little having been 'allowed' to get away with it.

My point being that, having been in that situation myself, when you are no longer enjoying riding or feel like you're confidence is disappearing then don't be afraid to admit shes the wrong horse for you and move on to something that is genuinely a novice ride. As others have said before it's a far too expensive pastime to not be enjoying it or feel safe doing it.

All the best.
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see thats what i keep telling myself...im not enjoying it at all but i have got a court battle with the dealers ive got her from so having to hang onto her until its all settled.
 
In my opinion/experience the 'set in their ways' mentality is wrong/not always true, I have a 19 year old who was always nappy on his own until I took him on and built his confidence. I also previously had a 16 year old cob who I did the same with. Persevere but be consistent, or if you are novicey get someone else to help. If they are good for the other person it could be a relationship/trust thing, if they are bad then the in hand idea is a good one, also just doing really short hacks so they always know they are coming home, just don't let them rush home. When I used to turn my 19 year old he would try and rush home but I would make him stand until he wasn't pulling then walk on and repeat as many times as necessary, he is fine now.
 
shygirl295 said:
see thats what i keep telling myself...im not enjoying it at all but i have got a court battle with the dealers ive got her from so having to hang onto her until its all settled.
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In that case I would stop riding her. Wait & see what the court case brings & then go from there.

I have recently lost my bottle over a spooky horse & haven't even fallen off. After the latest episode I've decided to call it a day, but luckily the horse is on loan. Not the horse's fault at all, just that my nerves can't take the spooks.

Could you just turn her away & wait to see how you get on in court? Good luck.:)
 
Do you have someone who could walk on foot with you? Or another rider so your Horse could follow another and gain confidence.

If not I would be tempted to lead out in hand with a bridle and lungeline.

Could be thats she's trying to test you to see how much she can get away with, if your lacking confidence she will be able to feel it and she might just be taking the pee. Do you have a confident friend to ride Horse for you?
 
I'm not sure what you're doing in court vis-a-vis the dealers but if you're trying to return the horse than I'd be VERY careful about riding her out, especially on or near roads, when you've already had this one incident of loosing her. You (probably) can't return a horse you've got run over!

Assuming you keep the horse (through choice, court decision or combination thereof!) I'd agree about
- getting someone else (instructor) to hack her
- riding out with others
- making sure you're actively riding both in the school and hacking
- keeping calm
you can also try
- schooling on hacks, e.g. leg yield gives you both something to think about beyond spooking!

I've ridden 'not novice' hacks as a novice (including ones who'll run for home if scared) and what worked for me and them was never pushing things beyond what was suitable that day.

Literally walk to the end of the yard's drive, turn around and come back.

If you can do that happily next time you feel like it (NOT necessarily next time you ride, you have to listen to both your tiredness/tension/mood and your horse's) go 10 paces further and so forth.

Small positive experiences are an easy and safe foundation to build on if you're not very confident about having a big fight on your hands (no reason why you should be!).

Pretty soon you should both be wanting to progress a little faster. When you do, go for it. But don't feel you have to push it until then.
 
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