Your views please...

I've haven't had to get off during a ride yet, but never say never. I would get off if the need arose. I just haven't yet been in the situation where it crosses my mind to get off. There's a difference to being pig-headed and being naughty though. I took J out once on his own and he grew about two hands and was just like a pogo stick all the way round. I just sat there and let him get on with it.
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However, with a youngster arriving this week I will take every incident as it comes.
 
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My personal opinion is that if you can't ride your horse past something then your horse either doesn't have confidence in the rider, has learnt naughty habits that rider isn't strong enough to overcome, or the rider is just plain sh*t scared!

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best of the answers so far......................


that would be my thoughts too
 
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Think the two are different. If a horse plays up when I am on it, I tend to kick it forward (am a great believer that going forwards solves alot)

Clearly this is not an option from the ground.

My horse is laid back when I handle him from the ground, sharper when on top.
 
I always stay on. The only reason is because he has some *issues* about peole being on the floor
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He will go backwards and not let you back on. We are working on it
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So yeah I normally stay on, i feel so much more in control. If you are leading, couldnt you easily drop the rope? however if your riding, it may take more to chuck you off! x
 
to those who say they'd get off.....

what do you lead them with??

do you take a long line out hacking, just in case??
 
I was taught that you always have more control from on top rather than on the ground and I have to say I feel much happier staying on when I'm having trouble than getting off and risking them jumping on my feet hehe
 
I presume you would take the reins over their head and lead them by the reins. I was always taught to lead a horse on a road in a bridle, like this. Is this wrong?
 
I can't help with the 'why' but Trike is a perfect example of a horse that will behave differently. We have a wooden bridge that we have to go over to get into the bigger woods near our yard. He will follow another horse over it without batting an eyelid, and he will allow you to lead him over it without bother....but can you get him near it when mounted ? No ! I've spent hours battling with him but to no avail, so I now just accept that if I want to go that way I get off and lead him lol! It's the only place he won't go too
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re: Do these people, who say "turn his head away" understand the range of vision a horse has No, you face whatever it is head on - you let the horse look, snort, evaluate, and (hopefully) realise that there is not a dangerous horse eating tiger hiding somewhere near

Weezy, i can see what you're saying, but if you're trying to get past something on the near side of the road, say, and you let the horse look at it, he will usually swing his quarters out... into the traffic. this is my worst fear, and i've found that turning the head slightly away (shoulder-fore position to the right, sort of thing) means that you control the quarters. i'd rather go past parallel with the side of the road, a foot or two in, than with the head looking at the scary object and the quarters getting wiped out by a lorry.
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it's not a case of not letting the horse see the object, it's more minimising the danger to the horse, and making him think about something else, like trotting on smartly past it.
 
Ok mulling over I think the difference is when your on thier back you can tell them it's nothing to be scared of but that's about it.

When you dismount you can get off , get infront of the horse and activley show/demonstrate to them that it's nothing to be worried of. It's like sometimes they just can figure out what something is, if you get of and touch it or walk on it you help them understand what it is.

Hence the case of stepping on the board covering up the hole in the road.

That's my theory anyway.
 
I am really surprised that people are happier on the ground with a panicking horse.

Its quite easy for a 650kg horse to barge you out of the way and p*ss off home causing an accident.

I'd rather be on the horse every time, however as stated on other posts, I did have to get off recently to jump a ditch with one of mine, as he didn't get it (still doesn't get it and more training required!)
 
I will NOT get off unless the situation is getting dangerous - example a few months ago Rocks was doing his nappy rearing thing and was backing up towards a ditch - I leapt off at last second as his back legs went down the ditch - if i had not I would have ended up in the ditch with a horse on top of me - as it was both me and him were ok.

Those types of moments are the only moments I will get off. If you jump off your horse every time it stops to nap/spook whatever it will soon learn its a quickfire way to get you off its back!
 
I went to the beach the other day and my horse was being a total idiot - normally I would have had a good old fight with him but there were too many tourists about so I had to get off and lead him - he followed quite happily onto the sand after that. I think its a following the herd leader thing. I am his leader if I say go he goes and he has enough faith to follow me when he is being a total plank. Afterwards I had another battle to get him into the sea but less tourists around so could be more insistent with him when on board and he went.
 
I would happily get off a horse and lead it past something that is scary. Obviously i would try persuassion before getting off but i would rather get off and keep things calm than have a horse thats getting agitated so that when it is repeated it isn't remebered as stresful.

It has worked perfectly with several young horses who are all now excellent at hacking so there is no need to get off any more. If i had to do it everytime then i wouldn't see it as a useful method.

Not sure if that really answers your actual question though.
 
I think that it depends on the situation - if she spooking and being a stroppy stubborn whotsit i stay on, if shes scared and putting herself and me in dangerous positions i will get off - BUT once i'm on the ground she is an angel, she will literally follow me over anything (tarps, boarding etc etc)
i dislike making a big situation over little things.
if your horse doesnt respect your personal space when your on the floor you a lot safter on board!
 
Just a note to add that if the horse is panicing and prancing around I back off and wait for the horse to settle before I dismout and then take it as slowly as necessary to get past safley and happily.
 
I have the exact same issue with jack that p_g has with archie. Its not a matter of stubbornly refusing to go past something, its an issue that he will spin very very fast and leg it at full speed. He had an accident last year that meant he needed stitches in his mouth and since then, he'll freak if i have to take a sudden contact in his mouth (such as if he runs) - does that make sense?

Now hes never had me off doing it but hes been very very close and stopping him is a nightmare.

On the ground.. he'll walk past anything like a baby.

Perhaps it is a confidence issue (i expect i predict this somewhat by now?) although he doesnt actually scare me so it would be subconscious on my part (pretty sure it can still work like this though). But if hes led past whatever, i can just get back on and continue.

Part of me says i shouldnt do that, the other part of me thinks its safer as he does seem to run blind when he takes off.

Ive always wondered if perhaps its almost like a herd issue for horses? Maybe they feel more part of a herd if the person is on the ground rather than on board? I have no idea really though :P
 
That is a very interesting topic! I had a horse who was sh1t scared of anything bigger than a car. I live in the sticks, so to speak and everywhere we ride it's all country lanes, no off roads
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But, my old horse, if he caught site of a tractor coming would turn tail and pi55 off down the road before you could blink, EXCEPT, if you got off him! Don't ask me why, he was so bad in traffic before I had him.
He was fine if you could get on a grass verge or in a big gateway but if something tried to pass him that he wouldn't like, he'd sit on his bum, turn tail and off!
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But you could get off and lead him past absolutely anything. Funnily enough, he would even do it an event, if a lorry tried to pass us whilst on our way to/from the lorry park
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There have been some fascinating replies here. I think (for what it's worth) that this shows a horses relationship with it's owner / rider.

Does anyone think perhaps horses see themselves as the 'leader' when being ridden? Sure, they listen to commands but see alot of it as their own responsibility? I only ask this as there's an obvious difference in when we lead them past something scary? So do you think they see us differently on foot as opposed to on their backs? Or am i talking complete bull?
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I have only ever got off twice when riding. First time was when I was riding an experienced pony stallion. He was just being silly, jogging / pulling etc. We came to a downhill road and he was still being silly, and i knew MY riding was making him like that. i was tense and nervous, my mind telling me to ease my hands and keep the leg on, my body refusing to do so. I couldnt risk him slipping and hurting himself so I got off.
Second time I was hacking someone's horse for them. Someone cantered past us, and he got excited. Was snorting etc, again, i tensed and made it worse. He backed into a ditch and wouldnt go fowards, and I was worried he'd hurt himself. So I got off and led him home. I explained to his owner I was nt prepared to risk the horse through MY riding.

In both instances I was in a position of trust, and wasnt prepared to ruin months of hard work.

I think it's quite important to realise when it's the horse causing the problem and when it's you. If it's you there is no point whatsoever sitting there using the whip or trying to force them to do something when your body and nerves are telling him otherwise.
 
i agree that the horse sees himself as the "leader" when being ridden... or at least as being at the very least 50% responsible for what happens to you both. the fact that his head and brain are in front of the rider means he is leading, however much he's listening to instructions.
once the rider's on the floor, i think most horses think "okay, i've got a leader now, i'm safer" and take confidence from this.
i've had horses panic and have a very definite "i'm getting us both out of here" feel... this happened once in a field with a herd of cows which decided to chase us. i tried to make him stand and his attitude changed to "i'm dumping you, you're a liability who's going to get us both killed, then i'm getting out of here!"... as soon as i legged him on again, it went back to "i'm getting us both out of here."
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i don't see any loss of face in having to get off the one horse i've had to do it with. it's the only way that works for her, and success = getting her past the problem without either of us (or any passing motorists etc) getting injured. btw, she backs into ditches too... and they're about 15 foot deep around our way!
 
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Very good thread Weezy.
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To be honest, I will stick on board the horse. As I would rather have the horse gaining the confidence to move forward, with me on his back- Rather than him learning that he can only cope with any situation that frightens him, with me walking him past.


When a horse is frightened, I am more than happy stay quiet, for as long as it takes for him to calm down and take a good look.
 
I was always taught to ride past a scary object by making the horse look at it, and keeping his quarters OUT of the road for the reasons you stated, but also that no matter where you position their head they will see the object anyway, and it's beter for them to face it head on and see it and gain confidence from it.
 
I think Chex feels braver if I'm walking next to him, or if I touch the scary object first. He's not a spooky horse though, so it doesn't come up very often. If there is something he's scared of I make him walk up to it, and eventually the snorting turns into sniffing and stretching to touch it. He realises that actually its not a horse eating monster and we don't have any more issues with it.

If he was generally terrified of something then I'd get off - I can't be bothered wasting half an hour battling to get past something when I can lead past in a matter of seconds. Control isn't an issue because he's knows better than to misbehave when being led or ridden (thats the plan anyway
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). I would act differently wither a younger, more impressionable horse I imagine.
 
I used to think getting off gave me extra control, but when you have a 17.1hh I have learnt better to stay on if not purely because it is hell to get back onto a mad 17.1hh!
 
Hmm, interesting. I think regardless of what the individual rider chooses to do, there are times when a horse can derive comfort or confidence from 'seeing' someone not being afraid. I have watched mine in the field when a scary object has appeared out of the blue (Utd Utilities are working in the field next door
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), and even though they are not the best of friends they physically lean in towards each other and touch each other with their noses - almost as if they are daring each other to go and check it out. So I think it reasonable to assume that sometimes a horse could derive comfort or confidence from actually seeing (and feeling !) its herd leader go past something. As opposed to being told from above.
 
Depends on horse and rider. I make a point of never getting off unless I have to. I spent two very frustrating years hacking out Murphy when I first got him. He was very nappy and I had no one to ride with and so even getting him down the drive was a mission. Something told me that if I started the getting off business that it would make it worse in the long term and my gut instinct was right. Eventually after nearly 9 years of owning him he is an angel. I can only count a handful of occurances when I had to get off, all hacking related. This usually came after a good deal of coaxing, then swearing and finally my losing my rag and crying (!). Then I'd get off, he'd still refuse to move and I'd have to smack him, yes I do smack my horses. This was usually accompanied by a big sigh from Murph and he would move on.
Now with Mr T, I have only ever got off in a planned fashion while out hacking to try and encourage him into a river for the first time. Unlike Murphy, Tarquin can have his moments and this is usually the form of ducking and diving around and occaisionally rearing. This I feel is my fault as I sometimes get a bit snatchy on the reins and clamp my legs. I always get straight back on when I come off him even if he is still in a tizz and I believe that this is the best way.
I hack out with a girl whom I think is a little bit scared of her pony. She is always making excuses that Tarquin winds her horse up and gets off it at the first sign of trouble. The pony is fine, just needs a little firmer handling. Murphy has a fear of pigs but with a little encouragement he will walk past them, I would never dream of getting of him to lead him past as I feel this would achieve nothing but to compound his fear. My friend always gets off to lead her pony past the pigs even though she often has a lead off me on Tarquin (who is 5 and the pony he gives a lead to is 8) and my other friend and her elderly horse. Our horse are fine and walk past, but I find that my friend getting of her pony upsets Tarquin as his friends is usually then whirling around his rider, snorting and blowing while she screeches at him to calm down.
 
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