As much as I'd like to pretend that everything is peachy keen and perfect, it has become glaringly obvious to me that new horses do not come without struggles. My struggle with Tim comes in the form of a rather pony like behavior - drop head, spin in circles repeatedly until allowed to return to the herd. SO MUCH FUN. Except when he tries to run us into a trailer. Or a fence. Or a truck. Or another horse. See where I'm going with this? The fact of the matter is that the spinning becomes more and more dangerous every time it happens, yet I have absolutely no effing clue what to do about it. I can sit back and pony club kick him, crack him with the whip, try to turn him around, etc. but we just end up spinning continuously until I get freaked out enough to dismount or someone leads us from the ground. I also don't know him well enough yet to know when it's coming, nor am I brave enough to beat the shit out of him and show him who's boss. This leads me to my questions...
have any of you ever dealt with a spinner? How did you handle it when it happened? More importantly, how did you prevent the behavior from recurring?
The spinning started the first time we hacked out alone at home. He was great, perfect really, until we got to the scary section of the farm near a house that is under construction. Scary noises, spooky corn, new farm - okay, I convinced myself that he was just getting settled and that it wouldn't be a problem again. Then, a few days later as we walked away from the barn towards the jump field, same deal. This time, my trainer saw it and had to lead us to the field because he refused to walk forward. That leads us to yesterday, when we schooled XC for the first time. He was a saint until my trainer told us to warm up and we split off from "the herd." We were calmly trotting around when he suddenly grabbed the bit and dive-bombed for the nearest trailer with a horse tied up. In one of the more embarrassing and scary moments of my life, we almost spun into the horse and trailer and once again had to be led away by the poor owner of said horse/trailer.
Now, I am fairly certain that all of this originated in insecurity in me as a leader, barn sourness, and herd boundedness (?). Limerick had his barn sour/herd bound moments, but nothing at all resembling Tim's go-to maneuver. I'm sure that he is just testing me, and right now he is definitely winning the battle. Luckily, the rest of our XC schooling adventure was mostly uneventful, though we're hopefully going again this week to work out some kinks. Have bunches of pictures from yesterday, HUGE shout out to the bestie for documenting the whole experience :)
 |
| GAHHH SO CUTE |
 |
| Heel wayyyy down. YAY! |
 |
| WEEE! Proof to me that I can actually jam my heels down.. there's still hope! |
 |
| Up the hill. Work those butt muscles |
 |
| Need to fix that pesky jumping ahead issue, be he's adorbs |
 |
| Trying to remember to keep a soft/loopy rein |
 |
| I |
 |
| LOVE |
 |
| THESE |
Ugh! How unfortunate! Where Ramone is definitely not a leader and herd bound he doesn't exhibit this bullyish of behavior. I have no clue.. I would assume your trainer would have some suggestions? Maybe a good old thumping from her will get him more civilized?
ReplyDeleteEek... No advice here. Hopefully your trainer can help you out! I bet the more confident you get, the better he will get :)
ReplyDeleteSorry - no help from me either! Likewise, hope the trainer can kick that behavior to the curb for you or work you thru it.
ReplyDeleteI've dealt with this from time to time. One thing is learning the "signs/triggers" that it's coming, much like bucking and rearing. The only way I know to correct it is to find a way to make them go forward using pony club kicks or your whip or spurs or what have you. He IS most certainly testing you. If you're thinking you can't get him through it, I'd definitely have your trainer get on and push him through it a few times. Ultimately though, you'll probably have to push him through it yourself a few times before he actually takes you seriously enough to stop. Spinning sucks, but better to nip it quickly before it becomes a habit. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteViolently spinning and backing is Bobby's favorite game EVER when he doesn't want to do something. The only thing I've managed to do is keep pressing the issue of FORWARD until he gets sick of himself and carries on. But no amount of beating, loopy reins, kicking, whipping, etc will get him to do it. I think he just wears himself out on it and decides it's easier to do what I asked.
ReplyDeleteThis is a problem he's had for the past two years. He'll do it multiple times in one ride sometimes and the amount of time it takes to get him forward is less with each tantrum, but I've never been able to get rid of it completely.
Hopefully someone else will have some troubleshooting techniques for you, but I feel your pain. It's a serious problem and it's SO HARD when they refuse to listen to you up there.
I also used to ride a spinner. I agree with the above comments. The only real thing to do is to push them forward. While Walker isn't a spinner, he has moments like this - where he doesn't want to work and comes up with whatever he can think of to get out it. It's been my experience so far that you really just need to get the upperhand. Your trainer could probably stop him if she were riding, but you're probably going to need to do it yourself. They know the difference between you and her! If you can't push him forward, maybe just try working him on the spot, and the minute he stops doing it, reward him.
ReplyDeleteUgh this is an annoying habit, I feel for ya. I second everyone else's suggestions of going forward. Maybe it would help to keep his brain busy before he has chance to pull his stunt? For example, while walking out to hit the trails - do leg yields back and forth. Then ask for shoulder in. Then ask for a circle. Do ANYthing to keep his brain busy, and keep you in the leadership position. I know that's not the most relaxing trail ride .. but maybe it will help the first few times? I think the key is to prevent it from happening in the first place.
ReplyDeleteAgree with the forward thought though I know you attempted to make that happen. Glad to know your next school was more successful :)
ReplyDelete