Trail / Road Riding Drama - shall I whip him? or is there another approach?

Question

My OTTB is fine when riding in the arena/paddock, but as soon as I take him out I have problems. First he keeps stopping every three steps and needs major encouragement to move forward. Once we are ten minutes in the ride, he simple spins round. Originally I thought he was turning to go home, but if you let him walk 20 steps towards home, he spins again and turns the other way. This can go on for ages. If I am firm, we start doing dances in the street and as he can be a bucker, I have taken him slow and tried to just encourage him. 3 months down the track, and its still the same. Shall I stop the softly softly approach and just give him a sharp whip when he does this. I'm worried to do so as I have trained him completely without a whip and the sight of one can make him 'hot up' and revert to his old ways of bucking and pig-rooting. (He doesn't seem to be scared of anything, but the problem starts as soon as he sees a paddock of other horses which are all around, I can't avoid them).

Answer 1

OTTB+road+whip=disaster. I would not whip him on the road if he's a bucker, because of the possibility of stuff happening. Espically since you didn't train with the whip. If he goes down on the cement he'll have a h**l of a time getting back up. Maybe you should try hitting the trails with someone else to give him a confidence builder. Otherwise your just going to have to take it slow, and let him get used to stuff. Don't get mad, but don't pussyfoot around with him either. If you want let him know it.

Answer 2

there is a better way, and there is a reason your horse acts like this.

first, try to see it from his point of view. there is the possibility that he is sour. wat does he get out off carrying you thro the trail, why should he do it? or, it could be a frightening experience for him, he probably has no confidence about going so far away from home.

i suggest to tighten ur bond do lots of fun ground work with him. really get him thinking. so he knos its not all about work. and to boost his confidence, take it slow. not to farm from the paddock at first then progress to the trail and mayb bring a buddy. if u cant bring  buddy then just hand walk him on the ground for a while. lots of walks by lead and encouragement.

but u never want to go with a whip, it truly only makes things worse. u will start acting off each others negativity and weaken your relationship.

Answer 3

It wouldn't hurt for you to meet some of the neighbors doing ground work and get some help from them.  Your horse has respect issues that are best addressed by going back and retraining him to respect you and stay focused on your cues when you ride him.  He needs more graound work.  What I would be suggesting for you to do would be just what the neighbors are probably training anyway.  To overcome his fears on the trail, he has to put his trust in you.

Answer 4

Try hacking him out with a buddy. Our OTTBs always needed a supportive hand when they started out. He may need to follow another, older and calmer horse or if he's one of the super competetive types even having an older horse following will be enough to calm him down. I find TB tends to react by example and if they have nothing to learn from they get upset.  

Answer 5

I would avoid using the whip. Eventually he will get used to it and things will revert back to the way they were. Maybe you should try a harsher bit, it can help with controlling him. My horse used to do the same thing with stopping on the trail and I really do think she was just lazy and thought it meant we would turn around and go back to the barn. I would get off of her and walk her for awhile not letting her turn around. Eventually, she would continue on her own without stopping.  

Answer 6

Okay first off hitting him with the crop will just be punnishing him for something you cant handle...he is just going away from his friends and has anxiety over it...which is understandable...he just isnt confidant enough and hitting him with the crop wont make him confidant.you need to fix this soon because if this isnt fixed in early life he can stay introveryted and only wiling to work in familiar surroundings for his whole life.take him out on the trail maybe only a few steps and then...i know this is supposedly a "no no" but for this it can be an OCCASSIONAL exception...let him graze for a minute or two and go back hom the SAME way you came to get him familiar...this takes time so only take him a few steps on the trail, graze, then turn around and go back and when he gets more confidant go a LITTLE farther and so on but u dont hav to let him graze everytime maybe every and now and then so it doesnt become a habit and remember to talk to him too...he may find your voice comferting.

best of luck!

Answer 7

Suggestion if he is stubborn, then i was use a crop-gentle tap him on the front shoulder-this will not result in a BUCK!-not a dressage whip.

Also sometimes horses have a huge fear of whips and will only walk forward when the rider isn't carrying a whip. I rode one that I could ride perfectly fine without the whip and someone forced me to use a whip on her and I could barely control her-she acted so weird including doing funny pigroots and bucking!

Yet when I wasn't carrying a whip-she wouldn't buck or pigroot-she was the 1st horse I rode as a beginner and was very high strung, so she spook and shy alot though at nothing.

She was not an IDEAL beginners horse!

One day I was riding this mare-i had no whip with me at the time either-we had free time, i notice this log and wanted  to try to jump it, at this time i could only walk& trot, i just turned the corner for the jump & cosomo spooked and bolted off, we went full on gallop over the log-lent forward, move reins forward and raise my bottom of the seat, i knew it was safer to let her go at that speed, rather then stop her as it would have created more danger at the speed we were going if i stop her. We made it safely over the fence and cosmo still galloping madly, i pulled up in front of my instructor.

Note this mare cosmo had a awful habbit of stopping before a jump& when you least expected her to jump, she would JUMP! So i was lucky that day that cosmo decided not to do her famour behaviour!

Answer 8

I had a young horse that did this when he was first being started under saddle.  His reaction was based out of nerves but also out of a aggression.  

There was one bend in the trail that he'd fight like the devil to turn and go back.  It took me several months go work but we finally managed to get in a semi-decent trail ride.  First I hand walked him, then ground drove him, and eventually rode him past the spot.

Persistence does pay off, but the methods others have mentioned will certainly help.  Also, Parelli has some really good basics that wouldn't do any harm.  I do understand what you mean by Parelli-ing them forever but the underlying principles of what he teaches are actually quite helpful.

Answer 9

I'm going to assume that most of your horse's problems with riding on the trail are nerves.  I think he's insecure and acting up because of it.  So the whip will probably just accentuate the problem - he'll probably spin harder, faster and get some serious bucks in if he's afraid.  Now, if you honestly think he's secure, but just playing you, then the whip is an option.

I've had similiar problems with other breeds of horses when beginning trail riding, and it does wear thin.  Some horses just seem to slip right into trail riding, but others are tough to get going.

One thing you should try first is - get him secure going out in specific areas by leading him.  Use a chain under his chin, if necessary, and take him for walks.  It's work on your part, but you can really improve things if you do this.  Walk him a half mile, then stop and allow him to graze.  Then walk him somewhere else, and stop and allow him to graze.  Then lead him home, saddle up and ride in the arena.  Try to follow the same path for a week or two, until its old hat to him to be lead that direction, and and until he begins to look forward to the places where he stops and grazes.  Then one day saddle him up, and ride him on that path.  He will have seen all the sights and should be over most of his fear, and his stomach will help him look forward to the stopping places.  Keep it to a walk, and if he starts being a jerk, dismount and lead him through the path for a while again.

I suspect that if you've used the same path for a week or two of leading, he will settle right into riding on that path.  Give it some time until you are both safe and secure there, and then start slowly branching off to different areas.  With horses like this you can't just go and ride someplace new everyday, you need to make the changes slow and steady.  Start on the new path, branch off and do some circle or work in a pasture nearby, then get back onto his familiar path and ride.  Then go someplace slightly different, do something there, and then get back to the familiar.

Obviously, riding with a calm and secure other horse should help.  

If you stick to this and he still gives you grief, you are going to have to consider whether getting firm is going to help, or not.  Truthfully, there are some horses that are never very safe on the trails.  And there are alot of times when we get firm, loose our temper, and don't make much progess (I know from personal experience!)  Decide how far you can push this horse, and then take it slowly and see how it goes.

Answer 10

hmm sounds a but like my pony, he hates riding out alone and he keeps stopping then walking back wards and spinning around. if you are a good rider and can stay on when he bucks, then it would be a good idea to give him a slap with the whip. if  he doesnt respond what you could try is getting off him and leading him a little bit so he has seen you walking on the road then maybe he knows it is safe.

hope i helped and good luck :)