# Can you "cure" napping?



## bex1984 (9 April 2007)

Asking this out of interest really...new pony (he is 7 years old) is a little bit nappy in the school, nothing serious (no bucking, rearing, spinning etc) - he just wants to go back to the gate, wriggles backwards and comes off the track, but if I kick enough he gives in and goes forwards!

So, I've never once let him beat me, he gives in fairly easily and I always get my way! He has only been with me for two weeks, and is improving every day.

My questions is, if I keep doing this and his napping never pays off for him, will he just give up? 

Is it possible, through being confident and consistent to effectively "cure"  napping or is it something that, once a horse discovers it, they will always do? Just interested to know what people think?


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## Blizzard (9 April 2007)

Its an interesting one, my older boy, well his previous owner sold him at 5 yrs old because he napped over 2 miles home with her! He was a VERY VERY bad napper.
He has been in his present home ever since and yes of course he tried it, and he was basically smakced until he bloody went out ( everything checked , no pain etc). He was just a little monkey, or rather big monkey, who had learned to get his own way. He is 18 now and although when he is fit he can try it on a little bit, he soon gives up.

Its just a case of never letting them win and keeping at it I think.


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## guisbrogal (9 April 2007)

I am not sure if you totally cure them but I have had a HUGEMONGOUS improvement in Ellie.

She was sold by at least two people that I know of because they couldn't get her out of the gate on her own!  
	
	
		
		
	


	





I too really struggled and when I did get out she would stop dead and plant her feet about twenty minutes into a ride. She would then literally just stand there or run backwards if I really got mad with her. I tried dismounting and dragging her (not easy with 16.3 ID x TB  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 ) and circling her. None of it worked so on advice from HHO  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 I sat her out (took 25mins once  
	
	
		
		
	


	




 )and she eventually decided that she might as well move  
	
	
		
		
	


	





Basically after two or three goes of this she stopped doing it. She occasionally tries it on now and again and I just say 'ok we'll stand' and I sit really quiet and she literally stops for 5 secs and then walks on. She only ever does it out on her own though and I have accepted it is becasue she is anxious.


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## Cobland (9 April 2007)

My 4 year old would nap at the gate only, however after weeks of a smack with a schooling whip and me growling, she has stopped.

Hubbys 5 year old TB would nap after jumping, if on the right rein going away from the gate. Hes had a tumble many a time. Hes getting loads better now.


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## BethH (10 April 2007)

I think napping is a bit of a lack of self confidence to start with that can turn in to a well reheared routine/habit.

If you can be quiet and confident when riding and your horse can learn to trust you and allow you to take the lead that gets them over a lot of it and I completely agree with sitting it out so that they get bored and choose to move forwards themselves.  If you wallop them, tempting though it is (i speak from personal experience!) they just learn to be scared of wherever/whatever they were napping at, if you sit it out, it becomes their choice to move forward and they end up much more confident.  They key thing as the rider is not to allow them to go backwards or spin, just give them a choice to stand still or go forwards.  

I am not an expert but my experience is that my horse napped initially through pain and then became terrified of everything including people walking their dogs!  He is now doing really well and is very positive.  It has taken time but was well worth doing it the kind way as he has become quite bold.  Do also check that this habit isn't pain related through a bad back or problem with teeth tho.


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## the watcher (10 April 2007)

I don't know if you can ever call it a cure, but you can achieve long term improvement. It would have to be several years before a horse forgets it has confidence issues but will learn to have confidence in its rider or handler in a matter of weeks or months.


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## jinglejoys (10 April 2007)

Sarah-lee would nap occasionally but we came to an agreement the first time she dug her feet in---she could go forewards,sideways or backwards but she could never turn her back on the problem.In return I never hit her,gave her a loose rein to work her own way through the problem and if she wanted to go backwards she could....only I would make sure she carried on going backwards a few yards after she had decided to stop


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## vicijp (10 April 2007)

If the napping has been made, then yes.
I have nearly cracked one myself. He was/is seriously bad. Wouldnt even go out of the yard on occasion, would put his head on your knee and run away from you sideways. Hve been in ditches, hedges the lot. On his good days he will go, but wont strike into canter. Instead drops his head, bucks and spins. At times he has run backwards and bucked at the same time. 
Tried all methods, pulling backwards (lies down), hidings (bucks bigger), doing nothing (got 100 yds in 2 hours), rode with 2 lunge whips (good the first time, then learnt how to get away with playing up).
At the moment am longreining him away from home and riding him back, all is good so far.
However, he is like this because some idiot had tried to break him with 2 horrific wolf teeth. It has taken me months of lungeing and longreining to get him mouthing correctly(the BHS wouldnt like the tack I have had on him to help this 
	
	
		
		
	


	




)) and I am convinced that is the root of all his problems.
In an older horse it would be even harder to overcome, but possible - you just need to eradicate years of bad riding from the memory.
Some horses are just horrid. It starts with napping, then goes on to rearing, then to smacking themselves over backwards. It takes a lot of experience to spot these types, imo there is no hope for them.


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## vieshot (10 April 2007)

QUOTE:
Some horses are just horrid. It starts with napping, then goes on to rearing, then to smacking themselves over backwards. It takes a lot of experience to spot these types, imo there is no hope for them. 

I dont agree. Im a firm believer that no horse is born bad, but are made bad by poor training orpoor treatment. I also believe that any horse can be 'fixed'. I know a mare that used to fit your description who is now jumping 3ft6 and point to pointing.

The answer to stopping a horse napping is persistance, you are obviously riding him through it already, just keep doing what you are doing and he will soon stop trying.
xxx


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## Amymay (10 April 2007)

[ QUOTE ]
I dont agree. Im a firm believer that no horse is born bad, but are made bad by poor training orpoor treatment  

[/ QUOTE ] 
You're wrong I'm afraid.  Sometimes they just come out horrid.  We have a particularly beautiful three year old on the yard.  She's as sour as they come, and she's never had a bad experience in her life.  She is going to be one of life's challenges - and in the wrong hands will become an absolute nightmare.


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## Parkranger (10 April 2007)

I think alot of this depends on the horse - Ty will always try something on once - napping into the school, napping when going out of the front gate, but a swift slap and he doesn't do it again.  I suppose I'm just lucky that he's too lazy to fight too much!


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## bex1984 (10 April 2007)

it is really interesting to hear all your opinions on this!

In my pony's case, he's a complete sweetie, and is just seeing what he can get away with, which makes me wonder if he will eventually give up? Interestingly, if you put a nervous rider on him in the school he doesn't try it at all.


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## bamboozle (10 April 2007)

my horse for a whole 6 months napped alot. he was a right bugger but hes not napped since really - we had a lot of trouble with him getting him forward, hed buck, rear and spin...was a right wally really. but since then hes not napped since really. apart from once in a lesson, he showed the signs, just hollowed a bit and put his ears back and stopped moving forward as much, stll going forward but i could feel him thinking about it, so my instructor told me to give him a smack, and he then started to get pissed off,, then we just had to kick and kick to get him really foward, as in galloping. now hes great - ive worked him out and he just wants to have loads of contact, its like im holding his hand...hes just insecure bless him!


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## benrolo (10 April 2007)

Here's a slight variation on the same problem - my 12 year old daughter's pony which we got in November (13'2 hh and 6 years old) has never put a foot wrong, suddenly he decided at a show jumping competition recently (in a school he has been to before) that he was going back to the gate after every other jump, and while warming up on an open field managed to take her back to the trailer twice.  We have put a flash on him to give her more control, trouble is he is not doing it everywhere we take him, it's quite unpredictable so what is the best way to handle it?


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## vicijp (10 April 2007)

Sounds like hes purely taking the mick. A few round the ring when he does do it should solve the problem.


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## BethH (11 April 2007)

Jinglejoys has a really good attitude to this - One tip is that if they stop or reverse backwards with you, you turn them round and make them reverse backwards past whatever they were napping at - worked a treat on my youngster with the cows and before they know it you have them where you want them - mind you jumping's a bit different but it would ensure the horse doesn't win on his journey back to the trailer!


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## Lucy_Ally (11 April 2007)

Spring was like this hacking on her own to start with. I have ended up in ditches with Spring too, she would refuse to leave the yard and the more pressure you put on her the quicker she would go backwards 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 smacking her lead to bucking. In the end I had someone walk with us with a lunge whip, at first they led her to gain her confidence and then walked behind her and made lots of noise and smacked her bottom so she wouldn't go backwards when she started to nap. Touch wood she is fantastic to hack now, she happily leads and will go out on her own. Occaisionally on her own she will throw a strop about leaving the yard, but she gets asked nicely 3 times to go forward - if that fails she gets a smack with the whip and then she knows I mean busines and walks on! The key is to never give in otherwise you just perpetuate the problem. When I read about other horses napping from the posts on here, Spring doesn't seem so bad!!


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## siennamum (11 April 2007)

I have to agree with Viki, your pony is learning to take the mick. I wouldn't get too concerned, but your daughter does need to nip it in the bud.
there are so many ways she can ride him to avoid this behaviour, but no one seems to teach them anymore.
At a show on sunday, in five classes my son was the only rider to circle his pony in walk prior to allowing it out of the ring after his round. I was dumfounded at the bad habits &amp; lack of horsesense about. To ensure your pony is straightened out you probably just need some effective lessons, she needs to make sure she always walks home, &amp; back to the box, and always keeps going &amp; doing a circle qietly after the last fence &amp; before leaving the ring.


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## Autumna1 (11 April 2007)

From personal experience I think it all comes down to building mutual trust through patience and quiet persistence.

Mine was dangerous - napping, full height rears etc, even in the school.  We have just quietly persisted, applied some psychology and "bunny hugging" techniques, a magnesium calmer in his feed and 14 months later he's a much happier horse.  Now, that's not to say that we've completely cured him, but I'd say we're about 80% there now.  He's so much happier and nowhere near as worried about life in general.  I feel as though we're a team now, rather it being a me and him confrontational situation every time I get on his back.

Good luck.

A.


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