Youngset running napping backwards

squiz22

squiz22

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I have a four year old dutch warmblood. He is 17hh now (didn't envisage him getting quite so big) and whilst he generally the most trying of horses and a complete sweety in and around the stable he has started refusing to go out the yard gate.
He was poor when i got him and his naughty habits have crept in now he is feeling better in himself which is to be expected. I know he is just being nappy and naughty but its hard when its through the yard car park and there are quite a few cars parked around which i don't want to hit.
I don't think he would rear but at the same time i want to get to the bottom of this effectively without excessive walloping, although he does need a smack every once in a while to keep him in check.
He also gets hal way down the road and decides he wants to come home and does it again. We do get there in the end most of the time but it takes ages and its on the road which worries me and once he slipped over.
Any advice on what other people have done with their youngsetsr and how they got them used to hacking alone?
 
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Can you lead him out? Or is this worse? The way i got my youngster going was to lead him out with the older horses, then with another youngster then with one of the foals so he was "the head horse" per say!! This worked fab as he is rising 2 and will happily lead out with me. . . . prob doesnt help as not everyone has foals but maybe something similar? Also take someone he trusts with you on foot or on a bike, so he isnt completey alone?

Hope something helps
:)
 
Hey.. thank you for your comments.
He leads out fine, he walks out with someone on foot fine, he walks out with other horses fine.
He walked through a town centre and passed HGVs and a double decker bus when he was with other horses!
Its literally just when he is on his own. Maybe its just a time thing and I need to keep walking him so he gets more and more secure. I just wondered if anyone had anything similar to this?

How do I get him to be confident on his own?
 
My horse at 4 did exactly the same, getting more extreme each time. I didnt want a massive battle either but it progressed to one day he ran backwards into a car on the yard. The next day he ran backwards, I thought he was going to rear, stupidly leant forward and he did a massive buck and I fell off ending up in A & E with torn ligaments. I had tried, nicey nice, making him walk backwards, even turning him different ways whilst we were going backwards, getting off and leading him (always worked but not really practical), sitting it out but I spoke to someone who had had the similar trying stage of a young horse and they said I needed to tell him once and for all and stop the habit. I was nervous but I put my body protector on and the minute he stopped I cracked him hard a couple of times, I didnt give him time to think. He shot forward, shocked and never napped again. He does get times now when hes scared of something but that different, I would always be patient then but my horse wasnt scared he was napping trying it on. I knew the un confident things he did and led him past things or got another horse to lead and was patient with him. I dont condone beating horses but his napping was becoming a big problem, that luckily was sorted quickly.
Good luck with your horse
 
Forgot to add, timing is important, I wouldnt hit him once hes going backwards as it could make him even worse, you have to do it the moment you feel/sense hes going to do it.
Please be careful :)
 
as he is only 4 can you not get him back on the long reins and going forward confidently and you can keep driving him forward. so often this stage is cut short in the breaking process, but is really invaluable. i long rein my breakers for several weeks up the roads and round the bridlepaths on their own, so hacking ridden has never been a problem yet.
 
When i brought teddy the first few months he napped really badly he copied other horses, he doesn't anymore he's great to hack out! you have just got to keep at it. Don't give up. I agree i didn't use my whip. You've got to be the boss be firm but there's no reason to be dis-loyal to your horse. If they spin , spin them back again. Use your voice and just keep working on it. If they pass that point give them a treat and lots of praise. They might be nervous or just plain naughty. If it is being naughty i used my voice alot and it seemed to do the trick! but don't avoid the bogy area's if you come up to something and you know he's going to nap flash that out of your mind and get him to trot to keep his mind off of being silly. It worked for me i hope it does the same to you too. Good luck! You will get there, Just put lots of consistend effort into your riding! ;) But my horse didn't get out alot before we had him so he was nervous alone so it's just boasting their convidence but it made my riding stronger. So nappy sort of did me a favour how to handle a young horse,

Once again good luck ;)
Hannah x
 
Just wandering what they would have said maybe 50-100years ago, as no doubt they had the same problem? Realised things don't change over the years.
I'd say he's feeling on top of the world as it's spring and a hefty wallop on his backside wouldn't come amiss.
 
Thank you all for your comments!

I do actually agree withthe hefty wallop idea. It does work! I know he is being naughty and trying it on. I think that because he is young he is a bit of an unknown quanity and I am not 100% sure what he'll do.
The body protector goes on and we generally get there but it takes a while.

Good point about the long reining thats def something we don't do very much of now hes backed..

Thank you for all your comments!
 
long rein him out and when you are 1/2 way around a circular hack, jump on and carry on the hack.

keep this up, if all goes well, decrease the amount of long reining needed and increase the riding.
 
My experience was slightly different as my mare was terrified of everything out riding, we only used to ride round fields but she would get so wound up, jumping everywhere, cantering sideways it was just a nightmare, so volatile.

Being honest I just did more schooling until she was better able to respond to what I asked of her, the more challenging the schooling became the more she would try it on there, but it meant we had our battles in an enclosed school where it was safe for me to argue back without worry.

It took a lot of time and she is still spooky but mostly she listens to me and we can ride out now with much fewer problems.

I appreciate it is hard though, our yard is full of bits of machinery and potential dangers, sometimes one good whack on her bottom makes her mind up for her and she just gets on with it.
 
Obviously your horse is confident when your at his shoulder (leading him) or when another horse is riding out at the side of you, but as soon as your on board and he’s got nobody around him its obvious he's lacking in confidence and he becomes the decision maker and decides what’s best for his safety and not you, you need to turn this around and teach him that you’re the boss, to take leadership from you because it’s the safest and easiest option or him.

Do some ground work, even if he’s as good as gold in the school, doesn’t matter go through it all again, get back to basics to re-fresh him and fine tune everything, stick him on the long reins and work him around your yard on the reins, once he’s doing this well and understand what the crack is, try long reining him out.

It’s safer because your on the ground but at the same time he’s not got anyone to cuddle up to, yes he may be a bit scared and being a big baby but it part of growing up.

Give him a wollop and make him go forward as soon he even thinks about stopping, a good growl can work wonders, he’ll buck and no doubt throw his teddies, but he will eventually go forward and think hell its easier to be brave and listen to what is being asked than hang about her and get my back side whooped! (old school but it works for most).

You have done the whole understanding thing, getting him used to stuff, now he has to learn to deal with the big wide world on his own and he will, it will take time and yes you will need to have the patience of saint, its not about loosing your temper and attacking him with a whip, not at all, but about learning to go forward and growing in confidence when your behind him, hopefully he will gain this with by going back to ground work, long lining around your yard and learning to trust your judgement and leadership skills, you may be pleasantly surprised and find that it works straight away or at least a few times.

Don’t ask too much though, you have to meet him half way, if he goes forward down the drive to the bottom, that’s great, mission one accomplished, finish on a good note, turn around and give him lots of praise, he’ll wonder what all the fuss was about.

Just keep it short and sweet, don’t push the boundries too far and expect to long rein him all the way round the village as soon as he leaves the yard drive, just take it step by step.

You do need to be careful though, when he’s running back/bucking or whipping round on you, yes it can be dangerous and you may have fight on your hands for 10 minutes but once they give in, go forward even for 3 steps, your on the way to fixing it.
 
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