Hacking alone

[Annaandbuglet]

Wonder if anyone has any tips or ideas - my little mare is a star hacking out alone. She's as sensible as I could ask on one hand but on the other she really lacks impulsion on the first half of the hack and I some times feel like I should be getting off and pushing her!! I try not to nag her too much with my legs but believe me, it's blumin hard work!! She's the same, if not worse if she has to take the lead in company and other horses get stacked up behind her as we cover very little ground very slowly!! Once we get passed half way, she suddenly picks up speed and we head home at a fairly normal pace!! Typical eh?? How can I get her round the first half with a bit more umph?
Thanks in advance!!

[Yann]

Not a welshie is she? I read recently somewhere that it's one of their 'things' and it certainly seems to hold true for Rio:D She's also a horse of two halves with a built in compass, though maybe not as bad on the way out. Varying your routes and keeping a lively pace (if you can) might help but I've not found an answer to it yet. She's clever and she knows where she is:D

[Annaandbuglet]

Yann, YES SHE IS A WELSHIE!!!! She knows the half way mark of every hack in the area, even if we alter the route slightly!!! She has every other welshie trait so I reckon this is another one to add to the list! I think short of getting brutal (which I would never ever do, rest assured) that's the way things are. We will just keep plodding on. I've tried a variation of leg work on my part and the odd flick of a schooling whip to get her to walk out but no! I've got calves of rock! Thanks.

[Big Ears]

I have the original model of this. Rosie does her famous egyptian swaying camel horse for the first 20 minutes or so, she takes exageratedly slow steps, so slow that she sways, it must be more effort than walking normally, it is so so slow, about 5 minutes to do 100 yards, then as soon as she gets int he woods she clicks into nice horse, go faster.

it is just her nature and nagging her gets you nowhere. once she clicks out of it she is a very lively responsive ride but we have this initial period of purgatory.

[shirley]

Do you always take the same route? What about going the opposite way she may then think "going home!!!" and walk quicker all the way - may not even as welshies have a good degree of savvy!!!!!!! Not so easily fooled one thinks!!!!!

[Annaandbuglet]

Shirley, you are quite right, nothing fools this little mare! She is a bridle path map on four legs - the sort that would get you home from the pub - not that I go to the pub on her but you know what I mean!! Have put it down to her being her and tend to ride in company if my legs are feeling weak!! Did think about reviewing her feed but to be honest she's quite highly strung in other ways and didn't fancy flying back on the homeward stretch instead of the impulsive trot we normally have!! :p

[MuddyCob]

Quite late on this post, but this sounds exactly like my cob and my friend's cob too! Alone, they both go out very very slowly and are always looking for the next gateway (they have both got it into their heads that if we trun around it is most likely to be in a gateway...) Then we get to the halfway point and it's normal chirpy happy mode all the way home!
When we ride out together, they have both worked out the shortest rides and will often try to veer off down the road/bridleway that will make the ride shorter. They seem to think we don't notice this... :rolleyes: