Talking horses out in hand?

[JoBo]

So how many of you walked your horses out in hand before you started hacking them? There seems to be many contradicting views on whether you are safer being on board or on the floor for introducing you horse to the big wide world of cars and scary things you find while out and about.

I have to say I started out by taking Bodey out in hand while following my sister on our schoolmistress, and I really believe doing this gave him much more confidence now that I’m actually hacking him out. I found that being on the floor meant that when he wanted to ‘look’ at something I could get his attention back much quicker as I could be there with a treat ready for him and he used me to follow, kind of like ‘well if you think it’s ok Mum, then I will follow you’.

Just interested in people’s opinions.

[Joyscarer]

Good question.

I rode Joy out in company with little problem (weird as she had only really been used in the school and some hacking on farmland - our hacking now is all on quiet roads so I wasn't sure how she'd be with traffic) but she wasn't able to hack out solo and I wasn't capable/confident and it scared the pants off me!

On the ground my relationship with Joy was different and she looked to my lead which I just couldn't get (and still don't to the same extent) as in hand work.

So I took Joy out in hand down the track for some grazing and she was fine with this. Taking her on in hand then progressed to focussed walking and this took a bit more time.

All the time this was going on I concentrated on riding, in hand, liberty in the school and riding out in company. Funnilly Joy was happy to be held back or pushed on to lead by a long way in company and that all worked towards our goal of finally going solo. At this stage I didn't even think about going out solo as my confidence was so low and Joy's progress would go backwards if she couldn't see me as a confident person worthy of her trust rather than wound up and frightened.

Then one day we had an excellent session in the school, Joy and I were both chilled and the sun was shining so I rode her out for about 1/2 mile keeping to the private track leading to the yard and then turned her back although she would have continued. She was alert and skittish but willing so I didn't push her good nature too far.

[Dina]

I am taking Chunky for walks inhand at the moment,he does'nt like to hack alone so I am taking him out inhand by himself just to get him used to hacking alone again.
I feel like I have more control of him on the ground,and I think in some ways he feels more comforted having me walking next to him rather than riding him.
But I would'nt take Joe out inhand for a hack,last time I did he was very strong and I have much better control of him when I am riding him.

[Tots N Dots]

I have my own issues with traffic due to having a horse that I had a personality clash with, I didnt want to transfer this to my youngster so I have taken him out in hand as he would feel me tense more while sat on him. I have also managed to get him in fields near to roads which I have arranged on purpose ;)
He had not really seen traffic when I first got him, so I started by driving my car round the field and then with a trailer on, now if I drive in the field I can drive right up to him, rev the engine and use the horn and he just sticks his head through the window to say hello to the kids in the back and tries to eat my headrest :rolleyes: , my son also rides his petrol motocross bike round the field with the horses in, they dont bat an eyelid :D as you can see on this thread :cool:
Progressive Desensitisation (will hire for right price ;) ) (https://www.newrider.co.uk/forum/showthread.php?t=109707)
I dont think we will never have any issues over traffic but I am hopeing I have helped his education :D

[Flony_Pony]

I have different views of this myself!

I took out my youngster in hand, she was a star and would follow me everywhere, through water under scary bridges etc. But then i found as when i walked her in hand i had to go past them first, so when hacking on my own I found myself having to keep getting off to get her past them.

I then tried more to stay on but even now (nearly a year later) i have to get off at some scary objects, i never have to tug her past she just follows but she has it in her head that i have to go first.

HOWEVER i built a stunning relationship with her where she trusts me completely but would just prefre i went first!! It's a ticky one!

[raggydoll]

Im leading hattie out in hand at the moment to get her used to my usual hacking routes as im more confident on the ground and also dont have a saddle yet. Id still lead in hand first if i did have a saddle. I did it with Bim too and it worked well.

[JoBo]

But looking at it from a positive way at least you know you can get her past the scary object even if it means getting off and walking her passed it. If you hadn’t done the initial leading out would you now be having problems whether you tried to ride pass or lead pass, that is the question?

Is you horse still young, if so then maybe she will get braver as she gets older, a year really isn’t that long?

I have to admit with Bodey not being 4 and only first backed at the end of Feb, I haven’t attempted riding out on our own yet. Always followed another horse. However we have been out on our own in hand but just around the block.
Thankfully for my sanity Bodey doesn’t appear to be a partially spooky horse.

[Tots N Dots]

I took out my youngster in hand, she was a star and would follow me everywhere, through water under scary bridges etc. But then i found as when i walked her in hand i had to go past them first, so when hacking on my own I found myself having to keep getting off to get her past them.

I did worry about this one due to other peoples advice and the experience I had with my last youngster, I too had to get off to walk him past things, I dont find that to bad, now if he had been 16hh I would have struggled more lol.
so I have taught Pickle to "walk on" in hand while I stand still to follow slightly behind the girth area, we do this through jump wings and gates etc, with the hope that as our ridden work progresses he isnt used to having me at his head :)
I have also longlined him quite a bit now, through huge puddles and strange coloured buckets etc with the same idea,
maybe setting out odd things and longlineing your horse past may help?

[Flony_Pony]

She is only 14hh so its not difficult to get off, i do worry about her back getting on from the ground tho!

She is getting braver and i will praise her when she works her own way past things, if my older horse is being an idiot (very rare!) and she cant see the problem she keeps going! She is responsive to my voice and is a very brave lil girly, we keep working on it.

She is going to be turned away this winter (she is 5 ish) and i am going to start long reining, iv never done it before so i am going to get some practice on a pony that knws what they are doing first!

I try not to push her if she is genuinly scared then im happy getting off but try riding first! she is improving and i can see a big improvment in her! We also did walking over plastic etc when we had a proper school and she is fine with that, still somtimes jumps water things out hacking but i just laught at her!!!