In hand walking

tetleyteabag

tetleyteabag

My favorite type of tea!!
Nov 12, 2008
457
0
0
south wales
I have been in hand walking Tets now 3-4 times a week as I am trying to build his confidence up with being out alone. When we hack with another horse he is chilled but when I have tried taking him out alone he is very spooky, nervous and has no confidence at all which also doesnt help mine:eek:

Due to the weather and my main riding partner breaking her fingers I thought I would start taking him out and about in hand to help him get used to being out on his own with just me for back up.He is coming on really great and his confidence is definately growing as is the nevousness and spooking. He enjoys going out so much now that as soon as he sees the dually halter (our in hand walking headcoller) he starts prancing around like a dog who has been told hes going for a walk:rolleyes:

The people from my yard think I am mad and that if I wanted to go for walks then I should get a dog and that it is doing him no good at all:confused:

So what do you guys think, I do still hack him with others and do schooling and groundwork so its not just walking. Am I wasting my time?????
 
Can you hack him out with someone else on foot? My OH comes along with me whilst I'm getting my horse used to solo hacking and it really helps.

Don't worry about what the others say at your yard, he's your horse and you should learn at yours and his paces so just take your time - you are doing other things with him too so that's fine. When your hacking partner is riding again why not ride out with them one day and then take your horse on the same route the next day with someone on foot - this is working for me. No point pushing yourself too far it will just knock your confidence..if baby steps is what is needed then there's nothing wrong with that - you will get there :)
 
Thanks for the support. Unfortunately I have no-one who can walk with me, I cant even get OH to the stables yet alone walk next to a smelly horse:rolleyes:

I feel it is helping both our confidence, previous owners never took him out on his own so he is just really nervous when its just him. When I first started taking him out alone he used to nap terribly and we have overcome this slowly by just taking things step at a time but my confidence gets the better of me which I know doesnt help him:eek:
 
i am starting walking shannon out as of tomorrow, she is only two but i want to keep her mind active and take her new places and let her meet new things, people are going to think i am mad walking her along the road me in my high viz and her with leg bands on but i dont care, she is my pony :)

i think what you are doing is a good idea and if my mac was not 17.2 i would do the same with him to get him used to being by himself, i think as long as you have control of your horse and you are happy then do it, i think its a great idea. :)
 
I have a show to go to on Saturday - its only a 15 minute hack from my field but I will still walk her there 'in hand' even if I get strange looks from everyone else arriving in their horse boxes or on horseback. I want to arrive at the show both of us chilled, if I try hacking chances are we will get stressed and it will not be an enjoyable event for us but I am planning to hack her back home when it doesn't matter how long it takes even if I need OH to be the escort!!:)

one step at a time...it will help build that trust in each other that you both need

BTW - my OH is very helpful so I'm lucky, but I find hacking to local pubs keeps him even more interested in helping...could that work for your OH??
 
Last edited:
I find that walking out in hand builds trust. The more you do it the more she will learn to trust you even in scary situations....I'd say ignore what others say and if you and she both enjoy it and it is helping with her spookiness then keep doing it. :D
 
Keep it up! Not only is it bonding time for you two, but it's exercise that you can enjoy. I've done the same thing with our mare (17hh, 5 year old)...sometimes the OH will come along, even though he whines about it sometimes... :rolleyes: But our girl's coming along nicely. The in-hand walks have allowed me to take her away from the barn safely, introducing her to a large school bus (on a narrow roadway), a large delivery truck (she did NOT like that "sneaking up" on her), a truck with airbrakes (again, she wasn't amused), and a teenaged boy on a small bicycle, doing little jumps and tricks. Pretty well ANY of these things would normally have her spinning around and bolting for the safety of the herd, but with me leading her from the ground, she's had to face up to them...the WORST to date has been a small boat...the first day we walked past it was covered with a lightweight, form-fitting cover...the next time, the cover had been pulled/blown mostly off, and she snorted and huffed at it, and when I slapped it and it moved AND made noise...well, she tensed up so quickly that all 4 hooves cleared the ground by about an inch, and slapped pavement....TWICE.
Again, something that would've sent her over the edge...but I was safe from the ground, and she's learning to trust ME. Not the other horses.

Don't worry over what other people think of what you're doing...worry over the results you're getting. Not just with your horse's training, but your confidence as well. ANYTHING that you can do with your horse that you two can enjoy safely, and gain confidence...will be worth it when you're in the saddle, IMO.
 
I agree with all the above and hand walk nearly everyday in summer and at least once a week in winter.

Me and pony both have health problems and I only ride him for 20 mins once a week. Sometimes we skip that for weeks on end, but we always enjoy going for a walk down the lanes to find the longest possible grass to have a break/munch.

Great for bonding, who ever said a horse has to be ridden at all if you are having fun. We do parelli and clicker training too. I enjoy the time we spend together.

Stick to what you enjoy and never mind what people say.
 
I walk my 3.5 yo out in hand several times a week - it's built up my fitness after a knee injury and helped us bond sooo much. We explore the local fields and the streets & even the double decker bus depot ;). It's great fun and NOT a waste of time at all! Better than sitting round the yard doing nothing, which is what I used to do!!
 
I agree that you should do what you feel mosst comfortable with.

I personally do not feel comfortable taking a horse out in-hand unless I know the horse is really good with traffic, dogs, bikes , lorries etc. I'd rather be on board than on the ground, I don't think I have much control from the ground in comparison - but that is a personal thing, and I do think you should do as you wish.
Make sure you wear hat and gloves for your own safety though and hi-viz if you go on the roads at all.
 
Absulutly not, your building confidence + being a leader.
Weve taken a few of the herd for walks before, its actually quite fun.
Also we sent them thru puddles + tight spaces, so it wasnt just plain walking, we made them think about it ;)
 
Thanks to you all:D I knew I could rely on you lot to help me out.

I feel very safe with him on the ground and always take him in the dually halter just in case as he respects it very much, I only use it on the normal hook but feel safer just knowing I can swap it over if things get hairy:eek:

I also do parelli with him which I bring into our walks and also go searching for things that I know he would normally worry about if ridden. He is going on 9 now but is more like a 4 year old who has just been broken so I have just gone right back to basics with him and started from scratch as he has no confidence whatsoever.

Today I hacked with him a short route we normally walk, my friend walked along to help my confidence but kept her distance and he was fab, he was much more confident in himself and strode off without a care in the world whereas normally he would creep along stopping all the time as if waiting for a monster to come. I was very proud of him and now definately feel that what I am doing is helping him so much:D

Roll on the summer:)
 
newrider.com
Top Bottom
Back