Well, that's our rein-back sorted!

[spookypony]

So, well, I knew already that the Spooky Pony is good at walking backwards: sofar, he's only been asked rein-back in one Novice test, and he got a 7 for it (his medium canter, on the other hand, was judged "entertaining" after the judge had emerged from underneath her table, where she had ducked to avoid his kung-fu-kick transition, and after she had waited for him to finish his three high-speed circuits of the arena). Ah well, that was last year.

Now, he's decided to extend his mastery of the rein-back to any time he doesn't feel like going forward. It's long been a favourite evasion, but I think I know why he's refined it to an art of late: when we were having our brushes with laminitis this past summer, a clear signal (among others) that he was uncomfortable was a tendency to walk backwards and buck when asked to trot, resulting in my backing off and stopping work...it doesn't take a lot of imagination to work out his thought process of "walking backwards+bucking=no more silly circle-making"...

...unfortunately, now that he's trying this tactic, I know his feet don't hurt, because unlike his pottery behaviour in the summer, he was charging about the tracks in his very best attempt at a nice big active trot just minutes before we got to the school. It's just bl**dy annoying to deal with!

Usually when I'm on a hack, I'm quite short on time, so I tend to deal with any reversing in what experience has shown to be the quickest way to get going again: dismounting and prodding with the schooling whip. A few days ago, when he once again decided on a hack to express his lack of desire to take a particular path by engaging reverse gear, I realised I had more time to wait him out, so I decided to play along, turned him around, and asked for rein-back---in the direction I wanted him to go. He initially complied, and then got plenty irritated when he realised he had to continue...eventually, when he seemed fed-up enough, I turned him around again, to see if he'd got the idea...and he walked backwards again, back the way he wanted to go. So I turned him around again, rein-back some more the way I wanted to go (we're talking quite a distance here, not just a few steps)...etc. etc. ...eventually, I lost patience again, and rather than completing the entire hack in reverse, hopped off and hauled him along the path until he gave up.

I've been thinking lots about strategy for the next time it happens. Do I just sit there and wait him out (pretty sure he has more patience than I have time before work), do I continue completely consistently with the reverse-psychology-champion-rein-back approach (and do the entire hack backwards?), or do I stick with my patented hop-off-and-smack-on-rear approach that at least gets him going forward in the direction I want him to (although dismounting is annoying and feels like a cop-out)?

I asked my instructor if he had any better suggestions. His answer, simple and elegant as always: just turn the Spooky Pony's saddle around!

 

[Festive_Felicitations]

Glad to hear that Spooky Pony is keeping you on your toes!

I rode for a while a horse that would go backwards when he decided he'd had enough. One day I got really angry and made him walk backwards (the way I wanted to go) for a good km or so, this involved a short steep hill, ditch and gate. By the time I let him turn around and wolk forwards he was seriously relieved and after that when ever he stopped dead I only had to make him back a few strides before he was trying to go forwards.
So the whole make him back thing may work.

I have a friend who just makes her horse back into a tree/fence post when he hits reverse, the shock tends to make him go forwards.

However I also have a friend who rides a 22yr old mare that they have owned since she was 6 and they have never found a way of curing/stopping her backing habits. They just try and avoid situations that might trigger it, and hope she doesnt do it on narrow trails with a big drop/ditch on one side

 

[YorksG]

I made the mistake of often ending a schooling session with rein back (mainly becuase we had trouble with it, have now cracked it), with the result that the current Appy thinks if she goes backwards, we will stop being boring in the field and go and play out!
Having ridden a large part of a hack backwards on the now retired cob mare, many years ago, I would go with the do the ride in reverse, they do get fed up of that (well she did) and decide that forwards is the answer. Good luck

 

[Brownmare]

I would also go with reversing for the whole hack as needed but when schooling you could try a bit of reverse psychology (excuse the pun ) and finish each schooling session the second he starts to feel really free and forward going - even if that means you only have 5 minute schooling seesions for a few days. If he learnt the reversing trick like this there is no reason he shouldn't unlearn it the same way

 

[spookypony]

I would also go with reversing for the whole hack as needed but when schooling you could try a bit of reverse psychology (excuse the pun ) and finish each schooling session the second he starts to feel really free and forward going - even if that means you only have 5 minute schooling seesions for a few days. If he learnt the reversing trick like this there is no reason he shouldn't unlearn it the same way

Brownmare, that's possibly the cleverest thing I've heard all week! I'll give it a try.