Your horse naps when he refuses to do as you ask when he is under saddle. He could refuse to leave the yard. He could refuse to go a certain direction out hacking. He could refuse to do something he dislikes doing. So why is your horse napping and what can you do about it? Let’s take a look…..
1. Pain
Like humans, horses have different pain thresholds. Your horse could have a problem without being lame. Work with your vet and equine chiro practitioner to establish whether he has pain and if so this must be sorted before attempting to ride the horse.
2. Fear
Your horse could be afraid of something coming up like a scary object or some activity like jumping. This horse must develop confidence.
- This horse must also accept you as herd leader through join up
- When riding out keep to routes so the horse always knows his routes
- Try to ride in the company of another horse
- Never lose your temper
- Leading back and forth past the feared object before remounting can work
- Some horses just need to look at the fear or face in the direction where they know the fear will be
A dangerous situation for both horse and rider
Confronting a horse with behavioural issues can result in extreme reactions like rearing.
3. Dominance
Your horse could be lazy and not want to cooperate or athletic and not want to cooperate.
- This horse must also accept you as herd leader through join up
- Never loose your temper
- Using moderate force like reinforcing leg aids with a whip might work
4. Pain and Fear
- Solve the pain problem first
- Use strategies for fear when the pain problem has stopped
5. Pain and Dominance
- Solve the pain problem first
- Use strategies for dominance when the pain problem has stopped
A tip for both the fearful or dominant horse
Sit still very still and do nothing other than making the horse face in the desired direction with his head up. Have patience as this could take time because eventually the horse will step forward a stride. He may then stop and you must again sit still and wait. Eventually he will move again. After doing this for a few times he will give in and walk forward. This method causes minimum stress to the horse and is a safe for a rider.
Case study example
A nappy thoroughbred called Poppy. It took over an hour to get the horse to move a few steps. Then she had a normal ride. On the second ride the process took about 40 minutes, but the third ride I saw progress after 5 minutes. There afterwards the only thing I had to do was let her look at a fear for a few minutes and she would then walk freely on.
Once Poppy gained confidence she really enjoyed working. A typical forward thinking thoroughbred.
If you find yourself in a battle you probably will not win and the horse could well display very dangerous behaviours. Depending on severity, rearing, bucking, and backing would all be a dangerous problem.
If the dominant horse only puts up a token of disobedience you could solve the problem through moderate force. This depends on your experience in the saddle.
Understand the reason behind you horses napping and you will find a solution
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