Wasnt sure where to put this but guess Im looking for an NH friendly response so this seems as good a place as any.
Napping; when Rosie thinks she is on her way home she gets faster. In the past this has been stupid fast and jogging and she winds herself up and goes from being chilled and unflappable to being speedy and spooky. Most of the time I counteract this by changing routes, mixing it up, when we get to within sight of home going back round on another loop etc and its been great and most of the time it doesnt happen BUT this isnt always possible. In the past it really used to frighten me and would put me off riding her, especially in particular places but now that Im not frightened of it any more and can keep control I feel ready to look at it in a bit more depth and from her perspective. So, here are the two opposing scenarios - Im just not sure which one is right although Im kind of more inclined to go with B. I will say I absolutely draw the line at 'jogging' and will not accept it. We are talking about a very fast walk only.
a) Im the rider, its her responsibility to go at the speed I say and that if she starts rushing I should take whatever measures to calm her down and walk at the pace I choose, which generally on the way home is dead slow. This may mean circling, sideways, backing up, hind quarter disengages, turning round and going back the way we came etc etc - the idea being to get her to focus on me and my requests and to be obedient. If I let her rush then it establishes a pattern that this is acceptable behaviour and it will continue to the extent that she will think that she can always and actually should behave like this on the way home. By stopping her from doing it at all we are not setting up the expectation that its OK
b) She knows we are on the way home, shes keen to get there and therefore enthusiastic and excited. It doesnt matter that she gets faster and more active as she remains under control and although a little more likely to spook than normal isnt scarey or stupid and can be reassured that everything is fine. Stopping her from going at this pace just winds her up and makes everything worse - akin to me being in 'business mode' and people trying to make me sit and do nothing - it would make me really angry! By retaining overall control but allowing her to walk fast we are showing her that we understand her anxiety/excitement and can work with it but I am still in charge. By allowing her to express herself but still remain under my leadership in time she will feel the need to behave in this way less and less as she gets used to the whole idea.
So which do you think is true, if any, or is there a third or fourth explanation Im not even considering? The bottom line question is: should I let her walk much faster on the way home and it will settle itself in time or should I nip it in the bud before it become a much bigger issue?
Napping; when Rosie thinks she is on her way home she gets faster. In the past this has been stupid fast and jogging and she winds herself up and goes from being chilled and unflappable to being speedy and spooky. Most of the time I counteract this by changing routes, mixing it up, when we get to within sight of home going back round on another loop etc and its been great and most of the time it doesnt happen BUT this isnt always possible. In the past it really used to frighten me and would put me off riding her, especially in particular places but now that Im not frightened of it any more and can keep control I feel ready to look at it in a bit more depth and from her perspective. So, here are the two opposing scenarios - Im just not sure which one is right although Im kind of more inclined to go with B. I will say I absolutely draw the line at 'jogging' and will not accept it. We are talking about a very fast walk only.
a) Im the rider, its her responsibility to go at the speed I say and that if she starts rushing I should take whatever measures to calm her down and walk at the pace I choose, which generally on the way home is dead slow. This may mean circling, sideways, backing up, hind quarter disengages, turning round and going back the way we came etc etc - the idea being to get her to focus on me and my requests and to be obedient. If I let her rush then it establishes a pattern that this is acceptable behaviour and it will continue to the extent that she will think that she can always and actually should behave like this on the way home. By stopping her from doing it at all we are not setting up the expectation that its OK
b) She knows we are on the way home, shes keen to get there and therefore enthusiastic and excited. It doesnt matter that she gets faster and more active as she remains under control and although a little more likely to spook than normal isnt scarey or stupid and can be reassured that everything is fine. Stopping her from going at this pace just winds her up and makes everything worse - akin to me being in 'business mode' and people trying to make me sit and do nothing - it would make me really angry! By retaining overall control but allowing her to walk fast we are showing her that we understand her anxiety/excitement and can work with it but I am still in charge. By allowing her to express herself but still remain under my leadership in time she will feel the need to behave in this way less and less as she gets used to the whole idea.
So which do you think is true, if any, or is there a third or fourth explanation Im not even considering? The bottom line question is: should I let her walk much faster on the way home and it will settle itself in time or should I nip it in the bud before it become a much bigger issue?
It's not an easy thing to overcome completely as it's basically instinctive, so I think it's more a case of finding a compromise that you can both live with, possibly a mix of a and b if you like. And also look for as much energy and enthusiasm on the way out, as they're clearly capable of it on the way home 
