What do you when your horse is being a twit out hacking?

Don't ride him on the buckle, plenty of leg and a good forward gait, no walking with the handbrake on allowed. A horse that is listening to you won't have chance to look over the top of hedges :D
 
Mine spooks at everything possible :rolleyes: I usually hack her on a long rein and let her have a look at whatever she wants, when she spooks I apply leg and give her a pat for going past said spooky object.
 
Call him a knobhead, give him a kick/smack, sit up, leg on, set the "nipple eyes" to forward (who was it who said that in CR the other day?) and man up.

If he's being silly on the way home we turn around and go back the long way / take an extra loop / walk back and forth till he stops knobbing / go round again ;)
 
meesha said:
tell him he is a big girls blouse ! and tell him to get on with it ! ride on with a purpose !
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This /\/\
Rode my friends mare the other day and she was a nervous wreck, i have known this mare about 5 years and this is the worst i have ever known her, pigs were the main issue!
Anyway after having to dismount to get her moving forwards not backwards we did end on a good and calm note after I managed to stay calm and not react to her being a nervous wreck,certainly tested my confidence to the max!
I always try and stay calm and not react and grip tightly as this makes them worse in my experience, i try keep very light and soft hands and keep pushing them on and trying to ignore their panic

scribble said:
ignore it, stay calm and relax, pick up reins and kick it on so it doesnt have time to look for things to bugger about at.
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And this, very gentle hold of the reins and kicking on
 
Laugh. Mine doesn't go in for spooking, but riding anything else I laugh & use my legs to push it on. If it continued I'd give it something useful to think about & do.
 
I put my whip in my right hand as she generally whips around to the right (so I'm ready to tap that shoulder to keep her moving straight and forwards). I then make sure that I'm sitting up and I have my leg on. :)
 
I always think it is very very important what you say to them out loud ! if you say "oh my god.. oh no ...... etc " you will wind yourself up ! if you make out they are being a twit and then there is nothing to worry about ie. "dont be such a big girls blouse" you will make youself and them feel better as your tone of voice will convey calm.

Also think the growling works - seems to stop them in their tracks and puts you in control.


.... I also am heard to say "silly little pony" alot - he is 16h of runaway train !
 
JFTD said:
set the "nipple eyes" to forward (who was it who said that in CR the other day?)
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Auslander :D :D :D

QR, my horse is never a twit out hacking :p

With others, I just make them work, as others have said :) Do not reward spooking/stopping by patting and reassuring, use your leg/voice to get them going forwards. If there is something your horse finds spooky, do not look directly at it! That just reinforces the fact that it is scary :p
 
Um... nothing.

They are allowed to spook you know. As long as they are not putting me or anyone else in danger I couldn't give a monkeys if they spooked. Spook away, like get in on yer spooks while they're on sale hossy!!!!

Go mad ned! Go off yer box nag!! I mean look there... a leaf!!!! Aaaarrghhh!!!!!

As long as you go back to my desired gait afterwards, fill yer boots.
 
Depends what type of spook! Ned has a huge variety :P

'Wobble' - nudge with leg, and "Silly pony!"
Shy to the side - Leg on whatever side he spooked to.
Stop - Let him look for a moment, he usually sorts himself if I let him look.
Spin - Kick, tap with the whip and a very loud, growly "GET ON STUPID BEAST!"
 
I would like to revise my earlier description to:

"Hit him, Hit him, Hit him with my rhythm stick"

:D
 
Laugh and carry on, if I make an issue of it he has total melt down, gets really uptight and worried if I get annoyed and cross with him,
 
if I know a horse is spooky or if it is their first time out in an area (had this recently with my boy) I tend to get them working in an outline and school my way round the hack so that they are listening to me and not looking for excuses to play silly beggars.

I sing too - partly because I'm a dreadful singer so it's great punishment if they are in a spooky mood, and partly because it regulates my breathing so stops be tensing up and winding them up in the process :D
 
Mine loves to be dramatic!! today something (poss a bird) stuck in a tree, stopped dead spun round and tried to nip off back the way we had just come. Turn round, big pat, tell him not to be so stupid and rode him past the horror in the hedge. He is fifteen and i have had him seven years, but i know he can do this and he is very quick, but its part of his character and i have never not ridden past what ever it is that has scared him even it has taken a bit of time. At the end of the day they are horses and i dont know many that never spook at all in fact dont think i know any!
 
Actually I lied earlier, I get off, feed them treats & walk them home for a feed. But nobody else has horses that spook as much as all the ones i've ridden, so they just don't understand.
 
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