jane-s
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 163
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Post by jane-s on Apr 7, 2011 17:04:51 GMT 1
We had a mad dash along the lane the other day due to a cyclist coming up from behind. Our normally calm neds are in the grip of spring fever. Murphy continued to have his head in the air looking for things to be scared at so I got off. His head went down straight away and we walked a short way until I found a convenient gate to remount from. You do what feels right for you at the time. Just need to be careful that you can get off while keeping control - don't want them getting away from you.
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Post by narkymare on Apr 7, 2011 18:28:33 GMT 1
ty jane - im not scared at all of him gettign away from me - i know 100% i can lead him safeley in his reins and cope wiht any silliness - this is why i get off - im not so confident i can do it on his back yet unfortuanteley though i am working on it - im thinking of doing some spook busting work in the school with my instructor - will help us both build our confidences up i think - i need him ot spook when she is there so she can see what he does and show me exactly what to do - its all my confidence, if i can deal wiht nasty spooks whilst riding in teh school i know i will deal much better with them out - tbh this wont be difficult, its really not hard to spook my boy lol xxx
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Post by narkymare on Apr 7, 2011 18:30:00 GMT 1
I think im worse because i have only ever done walk and trot - we have not cantered yet, definiteley not galloped - so when he spooks he is so so fast and im petrified i will fall and then he would be off!
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Post by christmasandben on Apr 9, 2011 13:38:23 GMT 1
ive always been taught that your safer on board never get off, if i it was me i would ask myself if he makes you feel like this is he the horse for me,
my last horse use to get so excited coming towards home, i would remain quiet and ride him through it.
i also rode a horse that was a known bolter, he had back teeth etc all checked but he would get to certain point in a ride and just go, luckily we have the forest so when he went with me i was like you want to were go, we went straight past the yard and kept going for about 5 miles charging, when he went to stop i kicked him on and said come on keep going then you wanted to gallop he tried it for two more times before he learnt if he bolted i was gonna ride him hard, he is now hacking out quietly and hasnt bolted in 6yrs.
i think your horse has learnt from you that if he jumps about youwill get off and its un nerving you, does he do this with anybody else and are you able to ride him forward maybe push him into a trot and turn some circles to get him listening to you.
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Post by sned on Apr 9, 2011 14:24:23 GMT 1
I have to say if you were in real danger then jump off (if its going to be safer) but If you know yourself that you can sit these spooks and so on in the school why not keep riding in the school for now? I would definitely do some spook busting with him start off in the school leading him then work up to long lines then riding and once you are both completely happy with this move out side back on the long lines take some tarpaulins outside and whatever els and work up to riding again you could long line him out the way you usually ride so he gets a chance to get brave and bold without you sitting up top terrified, this will give him a chance to get good at going out without someone beside him so he can have his little spooks without unnerving you and in a way being rewarded for dancing around when you jump off plus as he gets brave and bold you get to watch this from the comfort of the ground which will make you feel better as you watch him improve It's a win win he gets brave, you get brave, less chance of getting into trouble, no reward for him for dancing and your emotions don't get in the way, give yourself a pat on the back for how confident and trustworthy a leader you are for your horse on the ground tho if this is the state he gets into when you leave him down there by himself
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Post by narkymare on Apr 10, 2011 13:17:48 GMT 1
ty so so much sned - brilliant advice and one i shall definiteley follow. We havent hacked out since, jus tschooled because i want to speak to my instructor about it and do some spook busting (for us both) in the safety of the school. Ty for your comments about him feeling safe when i alongside him - on the ground we really do have the perfect relationship - i am not frightened at all, know i can control him and in return he relaxes and stops beign silly. We have all summer to transfer those skills both of us into the saddle - we will get there, Im determined to
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Louise
Olympic Poster
Advanced Poster
Posts: 553
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Post by Louise on Apr 10, 2011 21:22:07 GMT 1
Only a quick reply I am afraid, but I have to say that I usually try and encourage people who get nervous in these situations to not only get off when one of the 'scary' situations happen, but just randomly throughout a ride (for absolutely no reason) and walk for a bit where you can - in my opinion then you are just making it 'something that you just happen to do sometimes' - this then gives the horse no reason to think that you may be rewarding a certain behaviour (which I know is what most people state as a reason for not getting off when things go wrong i.e. you are 'letting them win') and also gives you a bit of control over your nerves. Most people find that they actually start to ride through some situations that they struggled with before because they feel they have a bit more control over the situation - it almost helps that you know that you can just get off whenever you like and takes the pressure off the situation which helps to keep the nerves under control. I am not sure if that really makes sense - trying to concentrate while the other half is watching the golf (hence why I am on the computer ;-)), jumping up and down with excitement and of course doing a running commentary for me, which I have to pretend to be listening to and interact a bit saying things like 'Wow - really?', so I am slightly distracted!
Fun, fun, fun!!!
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Post by narkymare on Apr 10, 2011 22:40:41 GMT 1
omg louise what an excellent tip!!!! It sounds daft but i think i would enjoy hacking out much more if i did this - oh i love this idea its brillaint and yes i understand totally - you have explained me to a tee - I now know when i mount i have to try and stay on whatever happens and tbh it is a bit much, to say i dont look forward ot our hacks is a bit of an understatement - to know i can get off at intervals will be brilliant - why didnt i think of that!!! ty so so much !!! (Sorry about the golf lol - i have to do the same with football!!!
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Post by sned on Apr 11, 2011 14:00:19 GMT 1
Can we see pics of your lovely horsey? keep us updated on how you are doing Interesting Louise that sounds like a handy tip I too get on sometimes and think oh no this is it till I get back LOL I used to buy rescue remedy for riding a particular horse when I worked at the riding school I was fine on the bouncy ones but this horse Saracen that scared me was Dobbin the mule dead to the leg plenty brakes until a crisp packet looked at him the wrong way and I'm sure he just shut his eyes and run I believe he would have run me off a cliff edge for the sake of a leaf moving but I didn't know about IH then. He is fine now he has been there done everything but he terrified me at the time I suppose it doesn't help that the 1st time I rode him he dumped me and made me run about 2 miles back to the yard behind him Sympathy
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HelenG
Intermediate Poster
Posts: 231
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Post by HelenG on Apr 11, 2011 21:33:36 GMT 1
Thats a great tip about just randomly getting on and off. Give me somebodys elses horse or pony and i'd stay on it no matter what it throws at me but it's just so different when it's your own horse. I used to bail everytime i had an arguement with Jinks but then i got lessons with an amazing instructor that has helped me with my confidence and now i stay on and battle it out. I now think what was all the worry about lol
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Post by sned on Apr 12, 2011 15:04:42 GMT 1
strange because I always think if it was my horse I would deal with whatever it does? If I'm told "thats nuts watch out" I'm usualy fine whatever happens but if I'm told "this horse is so quiet, never puts a foot wrong" I'll get on and if it so much as tosses it's head I keek my pants and panic
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Post by holi on Apr 15, 2011 17:08:50 GMT 1
What ever you decide to do is right for you at that time. Don't beat yourself up for it and keep focusing on the positives.
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Post by guesstimation on Apr 18, 2011 14:05:41 GMT 1
A lot depends on the horse, me and a friend were talking about this the other day, I was saying how I normally get off if the horse is really spooked and lead as they then have you to follow and normally relax a bit more having someone on the ground - I have been told by so many people never to get off but I just can't see why it should matter, people seem to think if you get off the horse has "won"! However I've had horses that would never relax and can be less controlable when you are on the ground in which case it is better to stay on if possible.
Last week I was riding a horse I've just found to ride, it was my second time riding him and first time alone, he'd been an angel all the way around and we were close to home when he neighed, his field mate replied and we had a leap, a buck and I honestly thought he was about to bolt, I was in two minds whether to sit it out or get off, I decided to sit this out as the Jack didn't really know me and the road was quiet luckily and we were very close to home, fortunately he didn't bolt we just jogged sideways the rest of the way home!
What ever is safest is always the way to go :-) But no one should ever worry about bailing if they feel it is right whether because the horse won't walk past something or whether it's skipping around the road or about to run off!
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Post by northbynortheast on Apr 23, 2011 16:30:53 GMT 1
I would always get off. Your life is the most important thing. If you are at any risk bend your horse to a stop and jump off. Learn the emergency dismount in the school and be sure you can get off either side safely. Its not worth the risk to stay on if you are scared - you are no leader if you are scared. Just try to be a good leader on the ground before you take your horse to a place where you may find that is all you have!
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Post by narkymare on Apr 24, 2011 0:40:15 GMT 1
ty northeast you are right x
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