tips for ponies that won't hack alone

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sallypops

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anyone have any?

i'm gonna start riding poppy again, i feel alot more confident now, but i kno she gonna act up when i take her out. i have no choice to take her out alone (conflicting work times with other peeps at yard) i've taken her out in company near enought all the time in the past before her feet went bad. when i was out in comapny i tryed making her go infront, didn't work, i tried distancing her from the group, didn't work. she will go its just a huge battle! she's not scared it just seems to be out of naughtiness. do i just need to be extra firm with her?
 
Does she refuse to go out of the yard or does she get so far along and decide something is so scary that she can go no further? What does she do - just plant or does she do more dangerous stuff? I know you can't get someone to ride with you, but could you get someone to walk out on foot with you to start off with?
 
Set yourself small targets - start with v short walks down the lane and back, building up gradually to going further and adding trot and so on. Use lots of praise and let her know how proud you are of her , but don't let her turn back until you ask her to. Also insist that the turn around is a smooth calm turn.

If you have a sticky moment, you could try reversing her in the direction you want to go as it means you are asserting yourself without resorting to getting cross.
Good luck, I'm glad your confidence has improved so much already - really good stuff!
 
well sometime she won't leave the yard, but if i lead her out and get on her on the road, she'll go a wee bit then just stop turn and charge off home, she is very very very very very strong so it difficult to stop her, and it worries me when we are on the roads cause people here have a blatent disregard to horses. i try to turn her back in the right direction and be firm but she's just so dam stubborn. she will go if she is forced but an hour long ride will turn into a 3 hour ride.

i can get my boyfriend to walk beside me when he has the time, my mum would aslo do that but she would need to take time off work
 
Are you sure shes not scared? It sounds like she has confidence issues to me. My horse is exactly the same and it has take me 18months to improve him. We still have to walk him backwards to get him off the yard, then talk to him the whole time and be very alert and use my aids before he plays up.

He will not go infront on the way out in company, but will on the way home. I started to build up his confidence by taking him alongside another horse with him a head infront where it was safe to do so. Then as soon as we went for a trot or canter on bridelways I would zoom him infront and he would usually stay there. I took him on very short hacks on his own and built them up. If he was dangerously naughty I would get off, lead for a bit then get back on as its not worth risking the safetly of you and your horse. I can now antisipate the nap and back my leg up with my whip just before he does it to drive him forwards. Doesnt always work but does 8/10 times.

I think he will always have it in him as he has been alowed to use his napping to get out of work in his previous home from what I can gather, but he is so much better now. Just be patient, reward him when hes good but dont get worked up when hes naughty, simply sit there until the horse is calm then try again, if its anything like mine it gets 100 times worse if you start kicking and smacking in the middle of a paddy. I just smack once then tell him to stand and release all contact, then start again.
 
what do you ride her in? If she is that strong you may need a stronger bit and some spurs, a whip etc, espec as its naughtiness from what you say.

Lance used to nap for england (napping 2 miles home with previous owner who then gave up!)
At first he had to be ridden out with 2 whips so which ever way he tried to spin sround he was made to go on, worked after lots of hard work.

Also spurs if your leg aids arent strong enough and she is just being stubborn and not scared..
 
i forgot to add i currently ride her in a dutch gag bit with a flash noseband and i also use a martingale (doesn't seem to make any difference)
 
i also take a short whip with me, i had thought about a stronger bit but i'm always told its not the bit thats the problem. but i'm a very strong girl and when she charges off i fell like theres nothing stopping her .me and poppy both need work, and i think my mums gonna get us some proper lessons for christmas which might help too.
 
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i also take a short whip with me, i had thought about a stronger bit but i'm always told its not the bit thats the problem. but i'm a very strong girl and when she charges off i fell like theres nothing stopping her .

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If she charges home and you have no brakes then you do need a strong bit as it clearly isnt having any affect on her!

When she evades the bit and charges off, what does she do, stick he head up, between her legs etc?
 
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You might be better long reining her out to start with to build confidence in herself and you, before you consider riding.

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to be perfectly honest i wouldn't dare take her out on the roads long reining, would love in if she would go but i feel if something went wrong it could be very dangerous
 
I hsve one that it's taken a few long months to get sorted. The main thing I have done is anticipate when he's going to turn and stop it before it happens. It takes a while to work it out, but it's definitely made things much easier. As soon as I feel it, he gets a smack and he grouches but carries on going forward now.

Prior to that he was spinning and heading for home, and if I did manage to stop him, he would rear when I tried to turn him round.
 
If she's lifting her head, a pelham would be more appropriate as dutch gags have a lifting effect which will only make the problem worse for you! Pelhams encourage the horse to drop her head.

It would be better however to learn to anticipate when she might run off and pre-empt it by asking her to do something to distract her. (ie turn, halt, trot, walk etc etc anything different basically)

I'm a big fan of trotting difficult horses everywhere as they settle into the rhythm and it is easer to keep them listening in trot than it is in walk.
 
she doesn't do anything as dangerous as rearing, i'm just worried about how i can't stop her, its like she's not even got a bit in her mouth thats how little effect it has. i dread to think what would happen if a car came round the corner at great speed
 
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she mostly sticks it up in the air, what kind of bit would you advise?? i'm happy to try different things if it gonna help

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a pelham might help, nothing with a gag action as it encourages them to lift their heads more.

ETS: i asked if she reared but you just posted that she doesnt.

Does she respond at all when you really ride her forwards?
 
if i cen get a hold of her and turn her the right way i trot her as far as i can cause she seems more settled in trot.

i never knew that about gags, that might be where i have really been going wrong then. could that of been giving her conflicting messages??
 
no no she doesn't rear, just shoots off home and i can't stop. i try and stay calm but i get so frustrated. so i thought it would be a good idea to find out as much as possible before i start riding her again so i will be in a better mind set if you know what i mean
 
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could that of been giving her conflicting messages??

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Not as such, more that the bit she's in doesn't help you. Try a Pelham, it could make all the difference. At least if you're confident you can stop if she does go, it could help you be more confident generally thereby reducing the chance that she'll run off in the first place!
 
definatly knowing i could actually stop would boost my confidence and i would be more willing to really push her on, so a pelham? now they seem very confusing lol!! can someone suggest a specific one? and how do they attach to the bridle?
 
als what about starting off with someone on foot, she may not take any comfort from it, but it may give you a bit more confidence.
I would also wear spurs.

Does she spin around the same way each time, if so have your whip ready, i know some people wont agree with this but it worked for lance, wave it towards her face as she spins to encourage her to turn back the other way, Lance span both ways hence needing 2 whips!

also lots of leg, work her into a contact so she is kept thinking and listening.
 
so the curb sits under the jaw?? does it need to be tight?

sorry for so many questions, thanks you all so much you are being a great help
 
Just a thought, but what is her general schooling like? Does she work in an outline, accepting the bit nicely etc and move off your legs nicely when in the school? If not, it would be worth getting some flat lessons and get her attention a bit more in the school, so you can manoeuvre her a bit better out hacking.
 
To be honest, I think you would be best to wait until you can get some proper lessons on her, as I think it is difficult to assess horse and rider without seeing them in the flesh. If she was just planting and refusing to move it wouldn't be too bad, but this running home sounds very dangerous
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An instructor can check help you work on obedience issues in the school and advise on what bits etc would be appropriate. You might find she would be willing to come out and walk with you when you start hacking out alone.
 
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so the curb sits under the jaw?? does it need to be tight?

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No not tight - just resting gently under the jaw when not being used.

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not slack so that it flops about, but not so tight that it comes into effect when the reins are at a normal contact.

re. schooling. You can achieve quite alot in walk practicing halts and turns and shortening and lengthening strides if you're worried about over taxing her if she is unfit.
 
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