Help, My Pony Is A Tourist!!

[Showjumper]

I took Dolly out for a hack tonight, just 3 miles round a really easy circular route that we've done at least 20 times before. She used to nap a lot on this route, but not tonight.

Tonight, she was a total tourist. On the whole, she was very forward going and lovely, but at times, she would come to a complete halt, stick her head into the air, give me the V with her ears, and refuse to walk forward. At one point, she stopped on a fairly narrow lane when a car wanted to overtake. I couldn't budge her, but fortunately the driver of the car was horsey and led her into a driveway.

I tried loads of things: sitting it out (I got bored long before her and it was 20 minutes til dusk!), hassling her until she moved (she didn't care), and the best (but still not great) was keeping her collected and really riding her, being really firm. Although the last worked slightly better than the others (she still stopped twice when I was doing it compared to about 10 times with the other methods) I want hacking to be fun for her, not hard work.

She was perfect on the roads - it was just on bridlepaths and tiny country lanes that she did the "tourist".

Any ideas what I can do to prevent this? Other than that, she was fabulous and is really getting fitter (trotted for 10 minutes straight and pulled up with plenty of fuel left).

[aliw]

Bless her, she always manages to sound sweet, however naughty she's been! Do you carry a stick with you? If you don't, maybe it's an idea to carry one with you. You might not even have to use it, just the fact that it's there might be enough for her.

It sounds as though she's testing you out - the fact that she moved when someone else led her forward gives me that impression. Cos normally I have better chances of getting them going when I'm actually on them, not on the ground. Dolly probably knew that this person meant business! :)

I was laughing at the thought of you sitting on Dolly waiting for her to move! :D lol

[Showjumper]

I do carry a schooling whip which I waved about and she even got a flick with it but she just turned her head, grabbed the end in her mouth and chewed it...

[Dales_Lover]

I do carry a schooling whip which I waved about and she even got a flick with it but she just turned her head, grabbed the end in her mouth and chewed it...

:D Sorry but that made me laugh - I could just imagine her doing that!! Ebby does exactly the same - it takes a couple of flicks or schooling/short whip I have with me to get her back on track and on 'me' again - she likes to look at the ponies in the fields :rolleyes:

Have you thought of a wip-wop? That could get her back looking where she is going.

[Showjumper]

I hadn't thought of a wip wop - might be worth a try! :) She'll probably think of it as a toy as well though :o

[KarinUS]

I have never heard that term used for a horse doing that! I pictured her in a hawaiian shirt with a map between her teeth and a camera around her neck... :rolleyes:

[Stiltz]

...

[kyanya]

If she likes seeing the countryside, maybe you should embark upon a showing career with her! She'd get to see a lot more of it then :D;)

I think the answer may just be sitting it out. I can understand you don't want to when dusk is falling and it's getting colder, but try when you have lots of time and no reason to get back in a hurry. It sounds like she really was just interested in everything around her and wanted to have a good look at it all. If so, she eventually will get bored and move on but in her own time. But hopefully, once she's done this, she won't ever need to do it again (or at least not for the same length of time)

You could do something as well while you're waiting for her. Maybe take a walkman to listen to (just one ear though) or a magazine/book, depending on how trusting you're feeling!

[virtuallyhorses]

ummm what is a wip-wop?

the wip-wops (or woop woops or wops - depending on your place of origin) here means - out in the wilds , beyond human habitation ....

[Silver1]

I think its this:
http://www.montyroberts.co.uk/shop/displayproduct.asp?UID=19949

[Showjumper]

Silver that is indeed a wip wop (a very overpriced lead rope with tassles and a hand hold)...

lol Kyanya! I can just imagine the looks dog walkers would give me sitting on my pony reading a book :D

hehe Karin - I couldn't think of any other way to describe her - she was just a tourist: completely ignoring me, but fascinated by the countryside...obviously the roads weren't as interesting because she behaved perfectly on them...*shrugs*

[Big Ears]

Rosie does that too. When we are up on the downs we have to stop and stand and look in every direction, watching the pheasants, the deer, and just checking the horizon in each direction.

Fortunately when you aks her she walks on. I tend to let her stand for a few minutes and take it all in - she is just interested in looking around and then off she goes.

Having said that when we first got her we couldn't get her down the road at alll......so I understand where you are coming from.

she is ridden with a wop and it works perfectly on her. when she refuses to do someting she is wopped continuously till she moves on and then it stops at once. she understands it totally and usually moves on the third flick. i made mine from marine rope as it is thick and very soft and just made a hand loop - it cost a few quid. with a stick i think she would fight you more.

[Showjumper]

With 2 votes for the wip wop, I think I will get to work making one :)

I'll take my camera out on our hack this morning so I can show you the things she finds fascinating...

[Big Ears]

only thing is will it work if it is used on its own as it was introduced to Rosie as a follow on from pressure halter training and NH techniques. so it was imitating the work from the ground.

[Showjumper]

I've spent years on Dolly's groundwork teaching her to move from pressure so I don't think the principle would be too lost on her.

I rode her out this morning, just up the long bridlepath and back. This one is far more boring as it's just empty fields either side. She only stopped twice (once because there were cows in a normally empty field and the second because she saw a horse at the top of a hill in the distance). I'm going to lead her out tomorrow and see if she still stops when I'm on foot...

[notpoodle]

hm .. angel has days like this as well. she is also a tourist, but in a different way ie. when she sees an open door/stable/she/gate she just has to try and investigate whats in there :rolleyes:

when hacking, she's currently only playing tourist (and believe me, the hacking round here IS very boring and evolves around the same one path time and time again ...) when we're with another horse and angel goes first (did this today because my friends horse had been having problems going last, so we thought wed practice!), she's quite on her toes when she goes first (probably think whoevers behind is out to get her) and we almost reversed into a car today because of this :rolleyes:

julia
x

[Miriam]

Glad she acted like a tourist and not a nutball like mine although primarily she was good overall till she rushed through the post