Hacking Alone

Question
Hi
I have a 17hh Belgium Warmblood mare who REFUSES point blank to hack out alone.  This as you can imagine makes life very difficult indeed and I am at present only schooling her as the other horse owner has just had a baby.  I even went out with one of the other horses in the yard, but as she 'doesn't like him' she decided that after about 200 yards she would just stop and refused to go any other way other than home!
I am BORED schooling all the time, the school is quite small so I can only walk and trot with her.  I moved her 4 months ago but she was exactly the same at the other yard.  Another issue is that if you push her to do something she just reverses with no regard for what is behind her.  She is a lovely gentle, affectionate horse and is great in the stable with my 6 year old daughter and I have no issues with catching etc.  
Perhaps you can give me some pointers or some advise as to how to handle her.
Thanks - Viv


Answer
Hi Viv!

Training a horse to hack out alone, watch other horses leave it or to leave other horses is a very difficult process.  But, worthwhile and will come in handy one day!

It is simply time, patience and consistency.  Horses are hardwired by nature to be in the safety of a herd, under the watchful eye of a Boss Mare they trust.

In your little herd of 2, you must assert yourself as Boss Mare and make her feel secure with you and allof your decisions.  This comes through your attitude and firm resolve to make her obey and also through repetition that being with you is safe and rewarding.

Start small and build on that foundation slowly.  She should be longeing on voice command at all 3 gaits (I know, she's a B-I-G horse and small circles are hard on her)but, you must establish a pattern of obedience to your voice.  Longe her briefly before every ride to put her in the riding frame of mind.  Longe in full tack if you want and then when she is on point with you, climb on and put her through her paces in the arena she is comfortable in.

Everytime you touch her it must be with a training plan and a small, achievable goal at the end to reawrd her work.  So have a PLAN!

Now, you've longed her, ridden her in her arena...now comes the reward...Treats! Pick her favorite treat that she will only get during training and have a helper standing 20 feet from the barn with a bucket full.  Walk her out the door with a firm and forward seat directly to the treats.  She arrives, gets one and then YOU DECIDE to turn her and back to the arena for more work.  That's it for day one.

Continue in this same pattern everyday for short training sessions that end with her going all the way to the helper and then you turning her back on your timetable..never hers.  One misstep on her part and she gets a swift smack with hand or crop and a loud "NO!" and jump off take her in tack to longe and make her run.  If she wants to run back to the barn, fine she can run for 5 minutes on the longe without stopping.  No forgiveness here, no being nice and petting.  Punishment must be swift and complete.

Now, after punishment, she must go right back to re-try where she failed.  To really make it sink in solid, repeat as long as you have the strength until she does exactly as you asked.  Could take a few hours and you're both a sweaty mess but, you have proved your authority and that obedience is not an "option" for when she feels like it.

If she is successful at these short jaunts out the door, extend them a little farther each time and then, start to give her the treats only every other time and fill in a voice reward and pat instead of treats.  As she progresses and remains calm, relaxed and obedient, start to phase out the treats all together and just voce reward her.  This is called Intermittent Reinforcement.

Building slowly on these successes will get you as far as you want to go.  Just remember to not get over-excited and push her too fast because she is being good.  She will quickly overload and backslide and you will have lost all your good work with her.

Be firm and above all be consistent!

Good luck and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange