Think I woke the entire village up!

[Rudders74]

Got up for an early hack this morning, just me and pony. She's been back in work 3 weeks and a little spooky/nappy, getting slightly better each time. Well we have some scaffolding work going on a few doors down and they have put a big freight container on the side for storage of their tools. Needless to say pony has not been impressed and I've had to walk her past it the first few times as she has been using it as an excuse to nap and that hasn't done my nerves any good either! Well today I got out of bed with the bit between MY teeth! I stayed on her and lots of leg and repeatedly shouted GET ON GET ON GET ON GET ON GET ON GET ON! I think the whole village must have heard! But past she finally went and had the best behaviour on the hack so far this year. Small wins .........

 

[Coblover63]

Any neighbours given you filthy looks yet for waking them early? Well done for winning the battle though.....

 

[Nosey]

Well done you! Early rides are the best & less traffic or people walking annoying dogs!

 

[Rudders74]

Any neighbours given you filthy looks yet for waking them early? Well done for winning the battle though.....

Luckily my next door neighbour and closest to the container is a horse owner who would likely sympathise! 😃

 

[hibshobby]

Love it ! I regularly hack through the village at 8am on a Sunday morning. If I remember it's 8am I walk otherwise clatter through at a spanking trot. The way I see it, if they're awake enough to be bothered, they are awake enough to get up !

 

[Aoibhinn]

You're a better person than I am so hibs, I clattered through the village at 6am the other morning good thing I didn't stick around to get my head bitten off

 

[Auslander]

If I got woken up on one of my precious weekend mornings by someone screeching at their horse, I'd be straight out there in my dressing gown with a lunge whip to crack rouind the arse of the shouter. I've never felt the need to bellow at a nappy horse-that's what my legs are for...

 

[Rudders74]

Theres me feeling pleased that I hadn't let my pony call the shots and that I had done well to assert myself despite my nerves when just leg wasn't working but didn't think it would take long for someone to put me down again. Thanks auslander, I am a novice trying to overcome a nappy horse trying my best, perhaps we dont all have your skills.

 

[twiggy2]

what time was early?

 

[Rudders74]

what time was early?

8.30am

 

[twiggy2]

that's not as early as I was thinking you meant, so I am still a bit on the fence with this one, at the weekends I think anything that is going to be noisy should not be done before 9am, if you knew the scaffolding was going to be a noisy encounter I would have expected you to go in the other direction or at a later time. I work with an have owned horses for most of my life and I hack out very early (first light) sometimes but part of the reason is I enjoy the quiet. being horsey does not mean I understand early morning shouting if it can be avoided. Not that I find shouting helps much anyway I think it raises anxiety in the horse because it is a sign of anxiety in us, a quiet/calm and confident approach is more likely to produce a horse whos confidence grows in the rider thereby reducing the times that there is a problem.

 

[Auslander]

Theres me feeling pleased that I hadn't let my pony call the shots and that I had done well to assert myself despite my nerves when just leg wasn't working but didn't think it would take long for someone to put me down again. Thanks auslander, I am a novice trying to overcome a nappy horse trying my best, perhaps we dont all have your skills.

Ok - I'm sorry I was a bit harsh, but the title of your post made it seem as if you thought it was funny to have disturbed the peace of a village full of people. People who may well have worked hard all week, and been enjoying a bit of a lie-in. I'm very anti-noise, hence choosing to live in a very quiet rural area. It would infuriate me to be woken up by someone yelling at a horse early on a weekend morning. Mind you, it would infuriate me at any time of day - but I'm not a fan of shouting in any situation.

I went through a shouty stage as an older teenager, and my trainer pulled me aside and said "Every time you shout at your horse, you are using oxygen that could be better used to fuel the muscles that are not currently able to push your horse through the tantrum he is having". It made me stop and have a think about where I was directing my energy.

 

[LauraWheeler]

As the owner of the king of napping I sympathise with you Rudders74.
Sometimes legs just don't work. I used to end up walking 90% of hacks when I first got Herbie as getting off and dragging him was the only way to get him to go forward. It took a while but he now hacks out. Still has the odd nappy moment but mostly my legs work, or sometimes a growl. I do still need to get off him on a bad day but they are now few and far between now.
Keep up the good work every victory nomatter how small is a step twords a less nappy horse. Ignore negative comments I got plenty on here about me getting off Herbie when I first got him. I was told you should NEVER get off a horse. But I worked so I don't care what the book says sometimes you have to think outside the box afterall we are dealing with living breathing animals with minds of there own not machienes.
If you ever need help or advice (or just someone to moan at about you nappy horse ;P ) Feel free to message me anytime and i'll try to help out if I can.
But keep up the good work you'll get there in the end. xx

 

[twiggy2]

As the owner of the king of napping I sympathise with you Rudders74.
Sometimes legs just don't work. I used to end up walking 90% of hacks when I first got Herbie as getting off and dragging him was the only way to get him to go forward. It took a while but he now hacks out. Still has the odd nappy moment but mostly my legs work, or sometimes a growl. I do still need to get off him on a bad day but they are now few and far between now.
Keep up the good work every victory nomatter how small is a step twords a less nappy horse. Ignore negative comments I got plenty on here about me getting off Herbie when I first got him. I was told you should NEVER get off a horse. But I worked so I don't care what the book says sometimes you have to think outside the box afterall we are dealing with living breathing animals with minds of there own not machienes.
If you ever need help or advice (or just someone to moan at about you nappy horse ;P ) Feel free to message me anytime and i'll try to help out if I can.
But keep up the good work you'll get there in the end. xx

getting off and leading a horse increases your horses confidence in you, you are showing him there is nothing to fear and allowing them to follow your lead-growling is not the end of the world either but yelling is as stated above a waste of energy

 

[Rudders74]

I really wasn't being literal, I was being lighthearted! I didn't really wake an entire village. I live in a village with about 10 houses and only one, my neighbour is near the container. I was just trying to convey the event in a light hearted way, and to be honest I was happy with the result.

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

Well done OP on getting your horse out and having a good hack. I wouldn't consider 8.30am early, a friend hacks past at 5.30am some times, trotting on. As for shouting well if it works for you why not, I don't raise my voice often but when I do the horse knows I mean it, although I start off with click click click, slap on the shoulder with the whip, kick kick etc. and as for getting off I baled off my 23 year old on Friday, had to lead him past pigs, he won't go past with me on board and he's got worse over the years, do whatever works for you!

 

[Rudders74]

As the owner of the king of napping I sympathise with you Rudders74.
Sometimes legs just don't work. I used to end up walking 90% of hacks when I first got Herbie as getting off and dragging him was the only way to get him to go forward. It took a while but he now hacks out. Still has the odd nappy moment but mostly my legs work, or sometimes a growl. I do still need to get off him on a bad day but they are now few and far between now.
Keep up the good work every victory nomatter how small is a step twords a less nappy horse. Ignore negative comments I got plenty on here about me getting off Herbie when I first got him. I was told you should NEVER get off a horse. But I worked so I don't care what the book says sometimes you have to think outside the box afterall we are dealing with living breathing animals with minds of there own not machienes.
If you ever need help or advice (or just someone to moan at about you nappy horse ;P ) Feel free to message me anytime and i'll try to help out if I can.
But keep up the good work you'll get there in the end. xx

Thank you Laura, you don't know how much I appreciate your words! I have my first owned pony at home so often feel a bit isolated, I ride alone, as there are no other ponies in the village ( we can't keep up with not doors TBs), I suffer with confidence but keep working through it. I educate myself all the time and am constantly learning and developing myself and my knowledge. I have lessons, and I've done lots Of ground work and parelli seven games over the winter to improve my assertiveness with her. I try my best. I thought this forum would really help but I find so many judgemental people (I know there are also lots of supportive ones but you have to suffer the others too to get to them). I'll probably go back to just reading posts to keen from them and not post. Thanks again for your lovely reply.

 

[Highlands]

8.30 is very acceptable unlike my neighbour whose lawn mower starts t 7 am every Sunday as for the noise I can be gully of this as given a chance my highland can spin on the spot ... Frighted no, naughty and a chancer but never Gershwin away with it...

 

[LauraWheeler]

Bless you Rudders74 we can only try our best.
I ment what I said about the PM's feel free if you ever want to. I'll try to help if I can or can just lend a friendly ear to bend

 

[EquiEquestrian556]

8.30am isn't early at all Well done you for getting her past the container!

 

[horsesforcourses]

Well done for getting your pony passed.
As an owner of a nappy horse, you have to try/use what works at the time.
Mine, hates going through the village, have used the "sit it out", the "going in reverse" and even the smacked bottom methods. All have worked in some degree.......but the one that seems to be working the best is the patting and reassuring method. When he stops, i let him look for a couple of seconds, pat his neck 3/4 times and then ask for him to go forwards. Even if he just takes one step and stops again, i repeat the sequence. It seems he just needs his "brave pants" boosted up to get past this stretch of village. Once through, he is a lovely ride, . He will come back through village no problem, but then he is heading for home.!! Good Luck.

 

[Tess Love]

I really wasn't being literal, I was being lighthearted! I didn't really wake an entire village. I live in a village with about 10 houses and only one, my neighbour is near the container. I was just trying to convey the event in a light hearted way, and to be honest I was happy with the result.

My mare is very voice orientated and a stern walk on if she naps works better than anything - kicking certainly doesn't work. Well done you I doubt anyone heard you xx

 

[Rudders74]

My mare is very voice orientated and a stern walk on if she naps works better than anything - kicking certainly doesn't work. Well done you I doubt anyone heard you xx

Thanks, yes mine has always been very voice responsive too. If I think she is genuinely scared, a soothing "good girl" encouragement works well, if she is taking the "p*ss" then the growl works much better. I tend to know which is needed! ��

 

[npage123]

Well done OP, that hack was a victory! If that's what it takes, for you to use your voice at the same time as positively riding forwards, then keep doing it. Each time you manage to ride past that scary point in the hack, the easier it will become, and pretty soon you probably won't need to growl at him any more. A horse who naps and rear etc on a hack, can sometimes be no fun at all. Sometimes they're so bad with it that you can't even lead them past the object, so hats off to you for persevering with the hacking and getting past it. Sounds as if you've done a lot of in-hand walking past the container before riding past it, so it must be a great sense of relief that your patience has paid off. I once hacked past someone's house where the elderly owner sat in their garden and said to me if he can hear horses' hooves on the road, then everything feels all-right with this world. I bet your neighbour will be pleased for you, and not be annoyed at hearing you. I certainly jump up every time I hear a horse going past my house to try and get a look at them. Can't get enough of horses!

 

[Rudders74]

Well done OP, that hack was a victory! If that's what it takes, for you to use your voice at the same time as positively riding forwards, then keep doing it. Each time you manage to ride past that scary point in the hack, the easier it will become, and pretty soon you probably won't need to growl at him any more. A horse who naps and rear etc on a hack, can sometimes be no fun at all. Sometimes they're so bad with it that you can't even lead them past the object, so hats off to you for persevering with the hacking and getting past it. Sounds as if you've done a lot of in-hand walking past the container before riding past it, so it must be a great sense of relief that your patience has paid off. I once hacked past someone's house where the elderly owner sat in their garden and said to me if he can hear horses' hooves on the road, then everything feels all-right with this world. I bet your neighbour will be pleased for you, and not be annoyed at hearing you. I certainly jump up every time I hear a horse going past my house to try and get a look at them. Can't get enough of horses!

Thanks, yes lots of leading past on the days beforehand, that's why I got up thinking, today's the day! Sometimes it's about me being ready for the battle as well as her ��

 

[Notimetoride]

HAHAHAHAHA I wonder what they thought, hearing someone shouting that, but being unable to see what was going on ?? I'll leave that to everyone's imaginations . . . . .

 

[Rudders74]

HAHAHAHAHA I wonder what they thought, hearing someone shouting that, but being unable to see what was going on ?? I'll leave that to everyone's imaginations . . . . .

LOL never thought of that! And in our sleepy Hamlet too ��

 

[Rudders74]

HAHAHAHAHA I wonder what they thought, hearing someone shouting that, but being unable to see what was going on ?? I'll leave that to everyone's imaginations . . . . .

LOL never thought of that! And in our sleepy Hamlet too 😳

 

[Spotsrock]

Theres me feeling pleased that I hadn't let my pony call the shots and that I had done well to assert myself despite my nerves when just leg wasn't working but didn't think it would take long for someone to put me down again. Thanks auslander, I am a novice trying to overcome a nappy horse trying my best, perhaps we dont all have your skills.

My legs don't work half the time so voice is my only constant, works for me and mine

Well done for being determined and succeding

 

[Spotsrock]

But I worked so I don't care what the book says sometimes you have to think outside the box afterall we are dealing with living breathing animals with minds of there own not machienes.
xx

I find the biggest problem is my horses haven't read the same books as everyone else