Hi sorry if this is in the wrong thread.bit of backstory.ive been riding since I was 7,am now 35.i have a 2.5year old daughter,born by csection.my horse is a 15hh Irish cob,and was a traveller pony.i got her at 7,as a loan pony.in the 6 or so months prior,she had had six loaners!!!!
When I got her,we would hack out with others nearly every day,and it was great.then one day I had a silly fall,nothing major staight back on ,continued the ride,no drama.the next day,I was scared.and I mean scared.perservered,started schooling a lot more,got confidence back etc.
In 2019,we moved yards as clovers owner was moving away,and he left clover in my care ,so we moved to a new yard.i carried on working in the school,and she was ridden by a couple of other People out on the road with other,no problem.during lockdown 1,I was pregnant and classed as high risk pregnancy,and was advised not to ride.i then had an emergency csection,and was cleared to ride in January 201.we then got the opportunity to rent a yard with two other people,one is my sister.the owner said they were putting in a sandschool,so we moved there,as it was closer and just a nice yard.over the last year,clover and I have built up our confidence together,and started hacking out on the road together.in July last year,a dog was loose in their field,and clover tried to jump the metal five bar gate,crashing into I,bending it and smashing her face on the road as she fell over it she's now pretty scared to go out on her own.the other horse at the yard is my sister's,and retired .she will walk her out in hand whilst I ride,no drama.
But the moment I try to ride clover out alone,she will walk out the gate onto the lane,and will walk maybe six foot,then we are spinning,bum up the hedge,napping,spooking....the list is endless.over the last size weeks I have made great progress,however the last two times I've tried to ride her out alone she has been awful,and my confidence has hit an all time low weds,we walked to the cornfield,about a 1/4 mile away of that.it took ALOT of persuasion and gentle guidance,with me singing to her as we went.we got to thebgateway and she just flipped,for no reason I could tell .she took off into the field,and I lost my stirrup and nearly came off.i managed to rein her in and we walked round the field,no problem,before going back to the yard .today,she was a pain getting her to the field,almost rabbit hopping at times,and yanking her head forward so I was almost dragged out of my seat, repeatedly.spinning,the whole works .we got to the cornfield and carried on past the gate,but halfway across the gate way,she spooked,spun and tried to take off down the road.i got off,lead her back and forth past the gate,she was fine,walked in hand to the end of the lane,maybe another half a mile,then went to get on to ride home.she wouldn't even stand at this point for me to get on properly,and was just camping at the bit trying to canter up the lane.in the end for our safety,and my sanity,I got off and walked her home.i then got in outside the yard,ride apart the gate the other way,and she was fine for about thirty foot,then stopped and the whole palaver started again.
I am absolutely sure this is not just her fault,and I am also probably causing some of this.but I'm stuck at what to do now.i ended up crying thinking she would be better off elsewhere.she will walk out fine in hand alone,and like I said ride out with another horse,but it isn't practical as we only have two days off a month together where we can go for a ride.
Does anyone have any idea what I can do??any advice appreciated.also, forgot to add,the sandschool never got built,so there's not really anywhere in the yard I can ride.theres hardstanding and I will ride their,but it's not great and I can only really walk on there .
Sorry for the long-winded message.
When I got her,we would hack out with others nearly every day,and it was great.then one day I had a silly fall,nothing major staight back on ,continued the ride,no drama.the next day,I was scared.and I mean scared.perservered,started schooling a lot more,got confidence back etc.
In 2019,we moved yards as clovers owner was moving away,and he left clover in my care ,so we moved to a new yard.i carried on working in the school,and she was ridden by a couple of other People out on the road with other,no problem.during lockdown 1,I was pregnant and classed as high risk pregnancy,and was advised not to ride.i then had an emergency csection,and was cleared to ride in January 201.we then got the opportunity to rent a yard with two other people,one is my sister.the owner said they were putting in a sandschool,so we moved there,as it was closer and just a nice yard.over the last year,clover and I have built up our confidence together,and started hacking out on the road together.in July last year,a dog was loose in their field,and clover tried to jump the metal five bar gate,crashing into I,bending it and smashing her face on the road as she fell over it she's now pretty scared to go out on her own.the other horse at the yard is my sister's,and retired .she will walk her out in hand whilst I ride,no drama.
But the moment I try to ride clover out alone,she will walk out the gate onto the lane,and will walk maybe six foot,then we are spinning,bum up the hedge,napping,spooking....the list is endless.over the last size weeks I have made great progress,however the last two times I've tried to ride her out alone she has been awful,and my confidence has hit an all time low weds,we walked to the cornfield,about a 1/4 mile away of that.it took ALOT of persuasion and gentle guidance,with me singing to her as we went.we got to thebgateway and she just flipped,for no reason I could tell .she took off into the field,and I lost my stirrup and nearly came off.i managed to rein her in and we walked round the field,no problem,before going back to the yard .today,she was a pain getting her to the field,almost rabbit hopping at times,and yanking her head forward so I was almost dragged out of my seat, repeatedly.spinning,the whole works .we got to the cornfield and carried on past the gate,but halfway across the gate way,she spooked,spun and tried to take off down the road.i got off,lead her back and forth past the gate,she was fine,walked in hand to the end of the lane,maybe another half a mile,then went to get on to ride home.she wouldn't even stand at this point for me to get on properly,and was just camping at the bit trying to canter up the lane.in the end for our safety,and my sanity,I got off and walked her home.i then got in outside the yard,ride apart the gate the other way,and she was fine for about thirty foot,then stopped and the whole palaver started again.
I am absolutely sure this is not just her fault,and I am also probably causing some of this.but I'm stuck at what to do now.i ended up crying thinking she would be better off elsewhere.she will walk out fine in hand alone,and like I said ride out with another horse,but it isn't practical as we only have two days off a month together where we can go for a ride.
Does anyone have any idea what I can do??any advice appreciated.also, forgot to add,the sandschool never got built,so there's not really anywhere in the yard I can ride.theres hardstanding and I will ride their,but it's not great and I can only really walk on there .
Sorry for the long-winded message.