Hi

I have a five year old Welsh Section D called Ruben. I have been riding him for the last three years, we have our moments with him running off sometimes when he is spooked but I've got used to dealing with this and can stop him.

Recently though he has found a new trick. He just stops in the lane and won't go on. I kick him on, use voice commands and use the stick but he just ignores everything, then will just start walking again when he feels like it.

What should I do? My friend says I should just sit there and ignore him and wait for him to move but is this giving him the wrong message that he is in control and not me?

Hello Sandy sorry to read you are having a few problems with your young horse when he stops is he looking at anything with head held high or showing fear of anything,is there any thing you can think of that maybe uncomfortable
for him like saddle friction or fitting, girth rub, bit or mouth problems,teeth,shoes ,hooves,legs,back,rider off blance,eye site,ect.

How old is he is he green.

Is there a certain place he stops or just any where going out or coming home.

Do you know why he has run off does he give you any warning.

if you can answer these qns i may have some suggestions for you as i use natural training for problem ponies i take in how ever i would need to know more about him if you feel i may be able to help let me know and i will offer some suggestions.

I have section ds and cs .

He is five and you have ridden him for three years! That was starting very young imho, and D's can be notoriously slow in their mental development trying to be bullies before they learn manners. He is far from mature and at 5 is still teething and growing too.
You could try waiting but then YOU must decide when to move on or he will think he has decided. Sometimes with nappers we turn them round in a circle and then try and move them on, works with some, others we change direction and that helps. Have another horse take the lead. Or when he decides to move make him halt and wait, circle, turn , whatever so you remain in firm control and in charge.

Is it always in the same place he stops? Why does he do it - is he alone, does he want to go back to his friends or to food? Do you feed him after the ride? Sometimes changing feed times to before then onbviously waiting at least an hour before the ride means thay are not so eager to rush back home.

Good Luck and stay safe

Hi

Thanks for the reply.

He doesn't always stop in the same place. Mostly at the moment he is doing it before we have even left the yard. I get on (which until recently was a bit tricky but we have that sorted now) and then he just stands there. So not sure if it's that he doesnt want to leave his friends but this is new, only in the last few weeks. The people who own the yard have led him down the drive a couple of times but I've asked them not to now as it might become a habit.

We don't always ride out on our own, sometimes we have company and he is ok then. But it's not always possible to have someone with me.

He jumps at all sorts of things, bikes, joggers, a door slamming, cows on the other side of the hedge. I don't usually have any warning and he spins round and tries to run away. I can stop him from running now but the spinning always takes me by surprise.

We do have a close bond and he seems to trust me, he will walk past lorries and tractors with no problem. He has a very nice nature, no nastiness in him.

It's so frustrating because he has been going so well. My friend says it's a teenage thing and he's just messing me around.

His feet are fine, the farrier came a couple of weeks ago. I might get the saddle checked but we've only had it since April and it was professionally fitted.

If he is doing it to be naughty or nappy do a couple of tight circles to keep him moving. When he is forward then carry on.

Does he do it with company or on his own?

Jake my horses whois also a section D and is 15YRS OLD!!!! Is very nappy on his own and spins around and runs off. I take a schooling whip with me and he always spins right as the hedge is always on the left. I keep whip in right hand and if he goes to spin I just place whip by head so he can't turn. He also rears up to get his way and I just take one rein and pull and do a circle so he aint on hind legs.

do you have an enclosed area where you could lunge him before you go out a hack?
My point is hopefully that when you are lunging you are engaging his brain to go forward. Then when you go your hack his brain will still be thinking and going forward also when lunging you are on the ground and encouraging him forward by voice commands which again you could utilise when out and in a sticky situation when he's not listening to the leg. and again when lunging you are the one thats in control! instead of using a stick on the hind quarters or shoulder you could try the element of suprise with a schooling stick tickle down at the hock area (if you can reach) to again encourage the brain to move forward and away from the annoyance! You did say he was spooky so again an element of caution with that one! Or you could try rubbing or light tickly taps around his dock area to try make him go forward!
Most important thing is to keep calm and if you feel yourself getting frustrated take a minute before actually doing anything!

Good luck hun!

Random question, but Ruben isn't Palamino by any chance is he?? Only I used to ride for a friend of mine (Jody) and we had a very sweet little horse called Ruben that sounds very similar! He had an amazing pop on him loose in the school.

When he stops, is there anything around that could be causing him to do so, such as cows in a field, or anything spooky? If not and there is no real reason for him to be geuninelly worried, I'd imagine that he's just being a bit cheeky, and you want to get this in check now while he's still young enough, otherwise you'll allow him to become nappy in more situations. If it is the Ruben that I worked with, he'd respond very well to voice aids, start with a pat on the neck, firm leg aids, and a 'good boy, walk on', if this more softly approach doesn't work you'll need to be a bit more firm with him, and insist that we walks on when you want him to!

Sounds like he's perhaps lacking some confidence on his own, but this will come in time, he's still young.

Good luck!!

Have you had his teeth checked - has he any wolf teeth I had one that had them and he was a total nightmare did almost the same thing but once his wolf tooth was removed, he took a lot of schooling but came right in quite a short time

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My first though was saddle, i have a young pony and we went through the same thing. Unfortunately with youngsters a saddle which fitted in april may not fit now. They change shape so quickly that a saddle may not fit any more.

Hope you can sort this

Steph

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maybe going back to ground work,and schooling/longreining for a while,And of course all the usual back/teeth/tack checks

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(formally clare7577)