Tips on riding a VERY excited horse

McNally

McNally

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My old horse has come back to me unexpectedly and tho he's brilliant in traffic we have moved yard since I owned him and now have to negotiate very busy high traffic roads to get anywhere. This horse is a little tb and much of the time quiet but when he gets hot headed it's the fizziest bounciest horse I've ever seen! I think I'm happy to ride him just to keep him ticking over til I find him a home even tho I'm suffering confidence problems after a few falls because as excited as he gets I've never fallen off him!
Would appreciate some tips tho to calm him when he's difficult if anyone has any ideas?
 
I find that keeping calm and not tensing up (easier said than done, but comes with practice) helps. Also, sitting back and deep. As silly as this may sound, try squeezing with your knees. When somebody told me to try this, I thought it was a load of old tosh and wouldn't work. It's now a staple part of my riding if I find K gets a bit hot headed. Try the knee thing, you'll be surprised.
 
Try to keep him occupied with plenty of transitions & if he's up to lateral work some of that too. Make sure that he is actually going forward and using his energy to fizz up. If he's just come back to you could just be the initial excitement of a new place & might calm down soon anyway. Also try not to tense up, make sure you sit up, use plenty of half halts & if possible try to hack out with a calm horse.
 
Sounds daft but rising trot and when you rise do a big exaggerated thrust forward each rise. It works! It apparently is throwing their energy back t them. Not sure it ifs right but it does work. My mare is the most excited thing on the planet and if I sit there trying to get her to walk it isn't going to happen. Lol
 
Thanks! No when he's like this He uses his energy going up! Not forward I kind of remember trotting is much better than walking and holding him back more. Trying lateral work confuses him a bit sometimes
Making it worse but others it seems to help!.... He's a bit special!
 
Try not to take hold as that is guarenteed to make an excited horses worse. Stay really calm and relaxed and talk to him in a really calm soothing voice. Sit up and use your back to add breaks. Stroke the middle of his neck- lowers their pulse rate. Best of luck!
 
palomino_pony said:
Sounds daft but rising trot and when you rise do a big exaggerated thrust forward each rise. It works! It apparently is throwing their energy back t them. Not sure it ifs right but it does work. My mare is the most excited thing on the planet and if I sit there trying to get her to walk it isn't going to happen. Lol
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Its putting you behind their movement so your seat depresses a reflex just behind the saddle just as the back is trying to come up, as you land (what we are normally trying to avoid!) and also gives the appearance that you are ahem ******ing the pommel. Not a good look!

You being nice and calm helps, singing often helps as it regulates your breathing, changes of directions, stopping backing up poles to go through/around etc anything to keep his focus on you and what you're doing not what the bird in the hedge is up to!
 
Assume when you say using his energy to go up you mean in the vertical sense rather than in the self carriage sense lol? Don't forget to use your leg to push him forward before he gets silly and especially when he is being silly. Try a transition every 10 strides or so, walk trot & halt. If he is in a nice controlled trot that you've asked for then that's fine, but will only make it worse if horse breaks into manic trot of his own accord & you keep going. If your trot does get silly, sit tall & slow your rises down, horse usually follows suit.
 
I find if mine plays up he'll calm down if I ask him to do shoulder in he settles/finds it harder to mess around. I think I read somewhere that if you have control of the shoulders you have control of the horse.

Also taking nice big deep breaths, really concentrate of breathing in/out deeply as this calms you and them down.

And echo giving them something to do as I find if mine has too much time to think this is when he starts being a twit xx
 
Keeping them moving helps, as does lungeing beforehand and/or a calmer at first, then making sure your horse is in sufficient work that the fizz is much reduced.
 
Littlelegs- I don't mean vertical no thank god! Just the bounding and leaping get more! He's not a rearer or really a bucker tho we do get the odd one on a bad day! Lunging first really doesnt help, he can be the quietest laziest horse for the first hour or more of a hack then just go off on one! How much work he's done before makes little difference and in fact the first 15 mins is the time I cam guarantee calmness for some reason.
The bit I find a bit hard is that too keep hold of him often means we end up sideways usually bum to traffic then it's hard for cars to pass with him being a div!
 
If you end up sideways in traffic then ask him for a nice forward trot, its much safer. If he's calm initially then use this time to get him listening & working nicely. I know its probably tempting to leave him alone when he's being calm but don't, just gives him chance to save his energy for being a prat. Obviously not on roads but if poss circling also helps whenever he starts bouncing! Try not to think of it as holding him, more of 'what can I do with all this lovely impulsion'
 
Having just broken a very nervous baby who would shoot off (the bum would dissapear underneath and the head up) the best tip I've had is 'sit there like you are smoking a cigarette!'. Now I dont smoke but I guess it just conveys the idea of being ultra relaxed!
Seriously though, stick a neck strap on, keep a hold of it and if he acts the maggot your instinct will be to pull on it not the mouth. Hence they dont react... I found this really helpful - also with my mare I found if I keep my seat light and not sit too deep in saddle she calms down.

I've sat on all sorts of bad behaviour but never had to deal with this before, shes taught me some valuable lessons!
 
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Agree with most things said here, including keeping calm, kind tone etc- but I actually find that being firm (NOT aggressive/taking hold/loud etc, just firm) can help a lot, as it reinforces the idea to him (and you ;) ) that you are the one in control, and just because he's excited he can't get away with murder!! ;) I gather he is excited, not nervous, and therefore I agree with all the people who've said to keep him thinking about something!
If lateral work can be a bit hit and miss in terms of having an effect (plus, not always exactly practical to leg yield through traffic :P ), why not just something basic like flexing his head and neck to the left/right? Just asking him to give a couple of inches pf bend one way or another, be firm and insist (still positive, relaxed and not forceful) that he at least has a go, big pats when he does. Find this works with my ex racer out hunting/competing.

For you- even if you don't think you are tense, maybe you are! What i always find works is 'unknotting' everything- work from the head down, roll your head round on your neck (if you get me!), roll your shoulders back, stretch your legs down and around him so you're definitely sitting really deep, flex your ankles to check you're not gripping him with your feet- just a basic mental checklist to work through yourself, sure that seems really obvious but it's amazing how you can find you're storing tension in odd places.

...oh and I find the classic, 'Don't dip, dazzle' never goes amiss ;)


Wow sorry bit of an essay from me!
 
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