Banish your hacking nerves

Scary spooks

If your pony’s always spooking, it can make hacking a real chore. Luckily, by doing some desensitisation work at home, you’ll find hacking much less stressful.

Go back to basics with your pony and set up an obstacle course in the arena with a couple of items such as fillers, buckets, tarpaulins or bales. Lead him around them, giving him lots of praise and letting him sniff each item if he wants to. Start small and gradually add items as he grows in confidence. Then, do the same on board, schooling around the spooky objects and aiming to keep his focus throughout. He can have a look, but he should listen if you ask him to turn away or make a transition.

This new confidence with the unknown should translate to your hacking, but don’t expect him to be brave as a lion straight away. Give him lots of time to look and take a confident friend with you for support.

Best of friends

Some ponies find hacking out with friends super-exciting. If this is the case for yours, try to make it less of an event. Ask a couple of other friends to ride with you in the fields at your yard. Practise schooling near each other, overtaking and riding past in walk and trot to begin with until your pony finds it less exciting.

When you go on a hack, keep the pace slow to start with. Ride in front and behind, and let your friends overtake you to help him get used to it. With plenty of practise, he’ll start to find outings with pals relaxing rather than exciting.

TOP TIP

Always lead in gloves, a helmet and sturdy boots.It’s also helpful to put a bridle on your pony to give you extra control.

Riding in open spaces

Lots of ponies find open spaces a great excuse for a blast and, while they’re the perfect place for a pipe-opener, you still need to be in control.

Make use of the fields at your yard to start with. Ride in walk, trot and canter around the outside, making lots of transitions and changes of direction to keep his focus on you. Build up to cantering across the middle and asking your pony to come back to trot at regular intervals. He’ll soon learn that he can have fun without tanking off with you.

You can practise the same things out hacking. Let him enjoy a canter – it’ll be just as fun for you – knowing you can pull up as soon as you want. Hacking’s loads more fun when you know you’re in control, so make sure he’s listening carefully to what you ask.

On the road

If you’re nervous about riding on the road, here’s what you can do…

• wear plenty of high-vis so other road users spot you sooner and have more time to slow down – at least one item on you and one on your pony
• stick to quieter times of day when there won’t be so many cars on the road
• take a friend with a confident pony to lead the way

Remember that your pony can pick up on your nerves, so try singing a song or telling him about your day to help you relax. If your pony’s nervous in traffic, it’s important not to take him on the road until you’ve been able to work through his worries with your instructor or a behaviourist. Ponies build confidence from lots of positive experiences, so don’t rush him, but avoid roads until he’s confident with cars.

TOP TIP

Try not to canter in the same place every time you hack. Otherwise, your pony will anticipate it and get even more excited.

Homeward bound

Napping can be a really tricky problem to handle by yourself, so if your pony naps out hacking, don’t try to solve it on your own.

First, you need to figure out why he’s napping – it could be discomfort, so get your vet and saddler out to make sure he’s pain-free. Once you know the problem isn’t physical, take a lead from a friend and their pony on short, circular routes to begin with. Avoid out and back routes where your pony might rush on the way home. Slowly increase the length of your hacks as you feel more confident.

Practise getting your pony off your aids in the arena at home, too. He should be quick to move off your leg, so use transitions to get him thinking forward. This means he’ll be more likely to go forward when you put your leg on out hacking, too.

TOP TIP

Consider asking your instructor to hack your pony out if you’re really struggling to keep him going. They’ll give him extra confidence and be able to work out what’s causing him to nap.