1 step forward and 6back!!hacking

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MoveOverClover

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Oct 29, 2020
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Hi sorry if this is in the wrong thread.bit of backstory.ive been riding since I was 7,am now 35.i have a 2.5year old daughter,born by csection.my horse is a 15hh Irish cob,and was a traveller pony.i got her at 7,as a loan pony.in the 6 or so months prior,she had had six loaners!!!!
When I got her,we would hack out with others nearly every day,and it was great.then one day I had a silly fall,nothing major staight back on ,continued the ride,no drama.the next day,I was scared.and I mean scared.perservered,started schooling a lot more,got confidence back etc.
In 2019,we moved yards as clovers owner was moving away,and he left clover in my care ,so we moved to a new yard.i carried on working in the school,and she was ridden by a couple of other People out on the road with other,no problem.during lockdown 1,I was pregnant and classed as high risk pregnancy,and was advised not to ride.i then had an emergency csection,and was cleared to ride in January 201.we then got the opportunity to rent a yard with two other people,one is my sister.the owner said they were putting in a sandschool,so we moved there,as it was closer and just a nice yard.over the last year,clover and I have built up our confidence together,and started hacking out on the road together.in July last year,a dog was loose in their field,and clover tried to jump the metal five bar gate,crashing into I,bending it and smashing her face on the road as she fell over it she's now pretty scared to go out on her own.the other horse at the yard is my sister's,and retired .she will walk her out in hand whilst I ride,no drama.
But the moment I try to ride clover out alone,she will walk out the gate onto the lane,and will walk maybe six foot,then we are spinning,bum up the hedge,napping,spooking....the list is endless.over the last size weeks I have made great progress,however the last two times I've tried to ride her out alone she has been awful,and my confidence has hit an all time low weds,we walked to the cornfield,about a 1/4 mile away of that.it took ALOT of persuasion and gentle guidance,with me singing to her as we went.we got to thebgateway and she just flipped,for no reason I could tell .she took off into the field,and I lost my stirrup and nearly came off.i managed to rein her in and we walked round the field,no problem,before going back to the yard .today,she was a pain getting her to the field,almost rabbit hopping at times,and yanking her head forward so I was almost dragged out of my seat, repeatedly.spinning,the whole works .we got to the cornfield and carried on past the gate,but halfway across the gate way,she spooked,spun and tried to take off down the road.i got off,lead her back and forth past the gate,she was fine,walked in hand to the end of the lane,maybe another half a mile,then went to get on to ride home.she wouldn't even stand at this point for me to get on properly,and was just camping at the bit trying to canter up the lane.in the end for our safety,and my sanity,I got off and walked her home.i then got in outside the yard,ride apart the gate the other way,and she was fine for about thirty foot,then stopped and the whole palaver started again.
I am absolutely sure this is not just her fault,and I am also probably causing some of this.but I'm stuck at what to do now.i ended up crying thinking she would be better off elsewhere.she will walk out fine in hand alone,and like I said ride out with another horse,but it isn't practical as we only have two days off a month together where we can go for a ride.
Does anyone have any idea what I can do??any advice appreciated.also, forgot to add,the sandschool never got built,so there's not really anywhere in the yard I can ride.theres hardstanding and I will ride their,but it's not great and I can only really walk on there .
Sorry for the long-winded message.
 
With all you've said my gut reaction is find a good sympathetic pro to hack her out, and at the same time go to somewhere that does hacking where you can go out on a safe horse. It will remind you you can not only ride but also enjoy yourself and not have to anticipate a problem. A pro who rides many different horses - check them out, make sure you're happy with what you see and how they'll treat your girl - will give you an honest opinion, but the chances are they'll be able to get her hacking happily on her own and then help you to do the same. You've done it before so you can again, but sometimes it's best to get some help.
 
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I’d agree with getting help. You could also try long reining, it puts them out in front so they aren’t just following and can be a useful step in giving them confidence alone. Obviously do it in the field or on your hard standing until you feel confident to go out.
 
Thankyou both for taking the time to reply.the long reining is a good idea,I haven't done that with her in a long time!I will have a look tomorrow at finding someone to ride her,and find a horsey someone for me to ride and get confident on.i honestly felt awful earlier,just rubbish.i will try the long reining in the meantime ,and let you all know x
 
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Big hugs @MoveOverClover , I hope you can get this sorted out and that by the end of the summer we're reading posts about you both hacking out happily together. Don't rush it, you're better off making slow secure progress than biting off more than you can chew and scaring both of you. Good luck, not that you'll need it if you cann get help and put the work in!
 
Hi all,just a quick post to say thanks for all your advice.ive been building on our confidence,and on Sunday and today,clover quite happily went out of the gate.sunday she hesitated a few feet up the lane,but today she didn't,and despite her going tentatively,we got to the cornfield fine.then the napping began,and she absolutely would not go any further.rightly it wrongly,we rode home,no problems,and then I rode her round the hardstanding a few times,before getting off and walking in hand to the cornfield.i took a lunge whip with me,and as we approached the field,flicked the end a little behind us and coaxed her on,and she walked past it fine.we walked to the end of the lane,where I mounted and we rode home(which actually was quite difficult with such a large whip 🤣).as we approached the cornfield from this side,she stopped ,had a look and then rode on again.im stupidly happy with our progress,I know we will probably have a few steps back, literally,but it's going well
 
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Over the last few weeks clover and I have done really well,we are now getting to the end of the lane,however now she seems to be napping at the top of the hill.shes fine is we walk in hand down halfway and get back on,and then she's absolutely fine,and quite happy to ride back up etc.the problem I now have is this...she doesn't like me to dismount now!she is fine at the yard and when SHE wants me to get off,it is literally only when she knows I'm getting off to walk her somewhere she doesn't want to ride .it's a bit dodgy,she's starts walking back,forth,side to side,even leaning against the bank so I can't get off.today,we did a bit of schooling in the spare field,and she was a bit spooky because of the wind.she started trying to walk towards the gate to the stable yard,and when I kept turning her the other way,she started getting grumpy.when I was ready a few minutes later,I went to dismount and she did it again,spinning and backing up.im sure she thought it was because I was going to walk her somewhere else 🤣 she's had the saddle fitter check her and all is fine there,she had a dental last month and the vet checked her over fully at vaccination recently.im.sure she's just trying me,has anyone got any ideas as to how I can teach her this isn't going to work?
 
I was going to say check saddle fit and get a vet check since refusing to go downhill can be a sign of physical discomfort, but it seems you've done all that. That being the case keep on with what you've been doing since it's clearly worked so far. I wouldn't be getting off unless I felt really unsafe, I'd make sure I had plenty of time and if needs be I'd just sit it out until she went down the hill, but then I'm not good at getting back on when we're out so leading is a last resort!
 
carthorse said:
I was going to say check saddle fit and get a vet check since refusing to go downhill can be a sign of physical discomfort, but it seems you've done all that. That being the case keep on with what you've been doing since it's clearly worked so far. I wouldn't be getting off unless I felt really unsafe, I'd make sure I had plenty of time and if needs be I'd just sit it out until she went down the hill, but then I'm not good at getting back on when we're out so leading is a last resort!
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Hi yes,sorry I have never mentioned but I'm a veterinary nurse,so am on it with healthcare etc .I think the reason I get off is because I'm a unconfident going downhill still(I had a fall on a hill previously,just before I fell pregnant,and then wasn't allowed to ride( as high risk,the a csection etc)however I am getting better .I've even brought a neck strap,as I was worried it was me holding the reins too tightly on hills.
Another thing I didn't mention,three weeks ago,my sister walked her retired mare in hand and I rode,and clover rode straight down that hill no problem,behind daisy x
 
In that case I'd say you've got another attempt at napping, and she's picked a point where she senses you aren't as confident. The neck strap is a good idea, though be careful that in using it you don't bring your shoulders forwards and unbalance yourself going downhill. Could you go out with your sister a few more times so that you feel more confident on the hill? And "just" keep on with what you're doing until she realises the napping will no more work on the hill than it did when she would do it a few feet from the gate. Stay calm and praise any right action, since it started as a fear response you don't want to get her worried again. You've done well though, time was the hill wasn't a problem because you couldn't get that far!
 
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carthorse said:
In that case I'd say you've got another attempt at napping, and she's picked a point where she senses you aren't as confident. The neck strap is a good idea, though be careful that in using it you don't bring your shoulders forwards and unbalance yourself going downhill. Could you go out with your sister a few more times so that you feel more confident on the hill? And "just" keep on with what you're doing until she realises the napping will no more work on the hill than it did when she would do it a few feet from the gate. Stay calm and praise any right action, since it started as a fear response you don't want to get her worried again. You've done well though, time was the hill wasn't a problem because you couldn't get that far!
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I will try and get out with my sister as much as possible,it's difficult though as we both work ,and she does awful shifts.i will bare in mind the shoulders forward and keeping them back,I think if I fell off on a hill again I would be traumatized for life,so definitely don't want to unbalance myself.
Thankyou,it's hard sometimes to see just how far we have come in the last two months or so,I have to keep reminding myself exactly what you said..that not too long ago we couldn't get out the gate,and now we are going about half a mile,which is great progress x
 
I think you've got a clever horse! It sounds as though you're doing a fab job at making progress though. I can't add anything useful other than I loaned a nappy horse a long time ago and we did become great hacking partners in the end, I could take him anywhere. I pretty much got there by doing what you're doing. It took a while but we got there in the end.
 
Hogan had a particular hill that he was shockingly behaved on, hence my name for it - "The hill of doom". Nothing would persuade him to go up or down it without throwing a complete hissy, and Hogan's hissies are legendary. A kind friend came out with me, her on foot, and we kept on going up and down until he behaved. I think we had 5 goes (both directions). When he did it OK, she walked away and made me do it without her by his side. He's fine now, though I can tell he thinks about having a strop, but doesn't follow through. It did take us about one and a half hours, but it was worth it.
 
Huggy said:
Hogan had a particular hill that he was shockingly behaved on, hence my name for it - "The hill of doom". Nothing would persuade him to go up or down it without throwing a complete hissy, and Hogan's hissies are legendary. A kind friend came out with me, her on foot, and we kept on going up and down until he behaved. I think we had 5 goes (both directions). When he did it OK, she walked away and made me do it without her by his side. He's fine now, though I can tell he thinks about having a strop, but doesn't follow through. It did take us about one and a half hours, but it was worth it.
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That's a good idea,weather permitting I will get my teenage son to come along and try with him on foot.if she won't walk with him there,I can try with my sister.i think the issue (or one of them 🤣) with me is prior to the toddler,I was riding about five times a week,and now it's two,weather permitting.the yard I was at before had an indoor and outdoor sandschool,and a round pen.where I am not is just fields and a bit of hardstanding.so I could ride in the dark,in the rain etc,and my confidence was so much better.
 
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Bodshi said:
I think you've got a clever horse! It sounds as though you're doing a fab job at making progress though. I can't add anything useful other than I loaned a nappy horse a long time ago and we did become great hacking partners in the end, I could take him anywhere. I pretty much got there by doing what you're doing. It took a while but we got there in the end.
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Thankyou,that gives me hope that we will get back to where I want to be one day.
 
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