# Walking backwards - what to do??



## djlynwood (16 September 2009)

The horse Im riding at the moment has started to go backwards when he does not want to do something. He has been known to do this when going into the menage as he does not want to work but the argument has been getting bigger. 

Last night he did it when we hacked in the field before schooling. he just stoppped dead and decided to go backwards. I didnt want an argument in the field with no-one around so I kept turning him instead of trying to make him go forwards. I know I should have pushed him on but he was getting into a right strop. I did use whip and leg but his actions became bigger he threatened to rear and backing up at the same time. 

Anyway, gets back to yard and try to go into menage. He starts his backing up trick, this time really throwing his head and doing mini rears. There were cars in the yard and he was backing into them, trying to get to his stable Im thinking. I did loose my bottle and got off and led him into the school and got back on. He was fine then.

What can cause this and what do I do when he does this?

Sorry for the numptyness but I have only been riding 4 years


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## sandr (16 September 2009)

Make him walk backwards. When he goes back, then stops, make him keep going until YOU say he can stop. You do this until he goes forwards. They soon learn that going backwards isn't fun


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## djlynwood (16 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
Make him walk backwards. When he goes back, then stops, make him keep going until YOU say he can stop. You do this until he goes forwards. They soon learn that going backwards isn't fun 

[/ QUOTE ]

Good idea, but does'nt this just gets him to where he wants to be rather than where we are supposed to be going?


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## Louby (16 September 2009)

I had the same problem with my then 4 yr old.  He ended up running backwards and into 2 cars, he just wasnt bothered.  He seemed to threaten rears but didnt actually rear so I suppose it wasnt quite as scary.  He did one day run backwards refusing to go in the menage so I leant forwards as I thought he was going to rear and he bucked me off pulling all my ligaments in my shoulder.
I was told I had to win the battle and that would be it.  I did try the nicey nice approach at first but it didnt work so armed with my body protector, hat etc I hit him when he refused to move, not a tickle but not a thrashing.  I had to do this about 3 times and he went forwards and never went backwards again.  Please dont everyone think I battered him as I wouldnt do that but he needed firm handling as he was taking the mickey.


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## MrsMozart (16 September 2009)

As BB says 
	
	
		
		
	


	




. Also turn and make him back past where he doesn't want to go. 

Don't get into a fight if you're unsure or unsafe in any way.

Dizzy's thing of choice is to go backwards (and she's flaming quick!), so we do lots of turns (rein goes very short indeed!) and twists and generally overload her brain so she starts to listen to me. Also, because I know her, when I know she's about to back up, I effectively throw my reins at her and give a couple of Thelwell kicks (works better than a stick in her case and gives less of an argument).

Think about making things in the school more interesting. Had to do this with Little Cob - he got bored of schooling so used cones and poles and played games in the school and he started to enjoy it again 
	
	
		
		
	


	




.

Good luck and hope it goes well hun.


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## stencilface (16 September 2009)

I would also ditto the make them go backwards idea.  By making them go backwards, yes they are going where they want, but you are making them do it.  The reason the horse wanted to go backwards in the first place was to disagree with you, which they are no longer doing if you want them to go backwards - does that make sense?  It has worked numerous times on a pony who liked to go backwards very fast!!

Either that, or have someon at the ready with a lunge whip near his backside, not to hit him, just to be there.  Most horses will move away from a lunge whip


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## Louby (16 September 2009)

I tried the making him walk backwards thing too and he would just keep going backwards, I had better steering at the time going backwards than forwards


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## alsxx (16 September 2009)

I think the best advice would be to get someone more experienced than you/ an instructor to help you through the problem, and possibly get on board themselves to work him through one of these episodes - I find in these situations you don't want to let them get away with it at any cost. I wont lecture you with the 'have you checked this that and the other' as I'm sure you probably have.

My new horse goes backwards, he's an ex racer and the trainer he came from said it was a habit he had come with when he first joined the yard, however he had improved somewhat since being with them, and has also improved greatly since I have had him. 

We have had a couple of 'arguments' and its a case of being confident enough in judging when to push him forwards and when not to (i.e. get the moment wrong and he goes backwards even more, whereas get it right and you can avoid the confrontation altogether and send them forwards nicely again), and I'd also say confident enough to have the confrontation with him in the first place! I have found that circling achieves nothing, it actually takes you to a point further back than you were before = he wins. I use my legs and voice, and when (if) he ignores my leg I use my crop behind my leg which sends him forwards and then i continue with the leg aids and repeat with the crop if absolutely necessary. I try to keep a light contact to push him into, but definately not a firm one as you don't want to restrict the forwards movement. Everytime he goes forwards he will get a 'good boy' praise and once the strop is over and he is going forwards nicely again he gets lots and lots of praise. We have had 3 instances like this in the 3 months I have had him, and to be fair he has learnt from them and doesn't do it again (the first 2 on the same hack, the third time was on sunday he had a nap going away from home just after leaving the yard, but he hadnt been ridden for 3 weeks due to loose/losing a shoe so it was sort of forgivable - the rest of the hack he was a star and didn't even attempt it).


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## MrsMozart (16 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Make him walk backwards. When he goes back, then stops, make him keep going until YOU say he can stop. You do this until he goes forwards. They soon learn that going backwards isn't fun 

[/ QUOTE ]

Good idea, but does'nt this just gets him to where he wants to be rather than where we are supposed to be going? 

[/ QUOTE ]

It does, but it breaks the control - you get control back from him 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 It's like when I used to ride a horse that liked to go fast: it wasn't a bolt as such, just damn rude! So when he started I'd push him on (and on and on and on and on) until he was kn*ckered and wanting to slow down. I got the control back and he learnt that going fast was not what he really wanted to do, unless I said so 
	
	
		
		
	


	




. Needed a big safe field to do it in though!


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## Fairynuff (16 September 2009)

Make him go backwards till hes sick of it-he will soon agree with you that going forwards is much nicer and a lot easier. Just be care ful that he doesnt suss that going backwards makes it an easy cop out to rear. keep his hind end engaged and his head down. He really is trying it on and it should be nipped in the bud, now! Good luck, Im sure you will turn him round (so to speak 
	
	
		
		
	


	




). Mairi.


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## cellie (16 September 2009)

My old horse did this  he reared as well .He was verbally told to trot on and  given a boot and whip  if he didnt respond.You have to learn to get aids on  before they  start thinking  negative  thoughts.
Yo also had problem  she let her horse back into ditch and it cured  problem.
I think a lot depend on the horse and what works for you and them .Personally I feel safer in saddle but can understand you getting off re car situation.How about having someone on ground  when you are schooling to send him forward as well and give him lots of praise shen he  responds.
You didnt say how old he was .My horse was  5  and he grew out of it ,it really was a confidence problem.


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## Louby (16 September 2009)

Forgot to add timing is crucial, you have to drive him forwards before he starts to run backwards.  I could feel the signs.  Once hes going backwards, hitting him will only make him go faster backwards.
The lunge whip idea is a good idea too to get him thinking he has to go forwards


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## camilla4 (16 September 2009)

I second those who say make him go backwards until you say stop - and make sure it is a good long distance too!  You don't need to be harsh - just very insistent. Had this problem with a pony I reschooled for someone years ago and the last time he did it I made him back the whole way across a very large ploughed field (with Farmer's consent in case anyone's hackles are about to go up   
	
	
		
		
	


	




).  It absolutely did the trick and he'd been using this evasion tactic for many years.  As someone else has already said, this is subject to any other cause having been checked out!


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## vicijp (16 September 2009)

Sounds as though he's taking the mickey a bit. 
Get someone experienced on him, and crack him round the hole till he cops on.


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## jumpthemoon (16 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
I had the same problem with my then 4 yr old.  He ended up running backwards and into 2 cars, he just wasnt bothered.  He seemed to threaten rears but didnt actually rear so I suppose it wasnt quite as scary.  He did one day run backwards refusing to go in the menage so I leant forwards as I thought he was going to rear and he bucked me off pulling all my ligaments in my shoulder.
I was told I had to win the battle and that would be it.  I did try the nicey nice approach at first but it didnt work so armed with my body protector, hat etc I hit him when he refused to move, not a tickle but not a thrashing.  I had to do this about 3 times and he went forwards and never went backwards again.  Please dont everyone think I battered him as I wouldnt do that but he needed firm handling as he was taking the mickey. 

[/ QUOTE ]

Ditto this - I had to do the same thing with my horse and he doesn't do it now


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## sportsmansB (16 September 2009)

I have to agree with vicijp above - he needs someone who is not going to be put off by the threatening behaviour, and who will time their moment perfectly, to give him a good sharp telling off. Someone on the ground if he is napping particularly at one place (gate, arena entrance) armed with a lunge whip or something solid to hand (if they aren't prepared, such a a broom) will soon make him catch on
and don't feel bad about walloping him if he is taking the piss, as long as there is someone there to make sure it is being done consistently and he understands EXACTLY what he is being told off for- one or two big telling off's could save a long time of small dramas and annoyance for both of you!!!


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## alsxx (16 September 2009)

I've not tried the making them go backwards even more approach as I have had success with my approach to the problem, however I'm curious as to how safe it would be by making them go backwards? I only ask as the times I have had issues with my boy, it would have been a damn site more dangerous to make him back up than it was to send him forward???? i.e. if you are on a road, parked cars around you, a ditch etc etc

I'm not picking holes I'm just curious as applying that method to the situations I have been in would have made the situation a lot worse.


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## MrsMozart (16 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
I've not tried the making them go backwards even more approach as I have had success with my approach to the problem, however I'm curious as to how safe it would be by making them go backwards? I only ask as the times I have had issues with my boy, it would have been a damn site more dangerous to make him back up than it was to send him forward???? i.e. if you are on a road, parked cars around you, a ditch etc etc

I'm not picking holes I'm just curious as applying that method to the situations I have been in would have made the situation a lot worse. 

[/ QUOTE ]

I've done the make them go backwards thing with Dizz because of the safety issue. Trying to stop it causes spins and the likeliehood that she'll shoot off backwards at any point. If I turn her whilst she is backing and continue to make her back up, we'll get to where we need to be in one piece. I find she's doing less often on the whole 
	
	
		
		
	


	




.


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## sandr (16 September 2009)

Alsxx - i wouldnt be taking him out UNTIL he learns that forwards is the only option, and IF i had no option, then Id make sure i have a schooling whip.


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## elizabethshaw (16 September 2009)

I'm also in the make him walk backwards camp! If you take charge of the back, he no longer will 'own' it, you will. We ride western and do a lot of backing - we will back a circle, back through cones, we find it useful to get them on their hocks and also helps in suppling and getting them to be obedient to the aids.


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## alsxx (16 September 2009)

Well with my particular horse we have established that forwards is the only option and he knows not to try it with me now as I win. However he doesn't do it at home in the school so taking him out was the only way he would learn what was right and wrong.


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## soph21 (16 September 2009)

My friends arab used to this for a while, she would turn him and make him walk backwards.
It got to the point when he stopped, she would go to turn him and he'd quickly start walking again 
	
	
		
		
	


	




They click on quite quick


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## millitiger (16 September 2009)

just beware with making him walk backwards- i did this with my old pony and it just made him rear vertical!

also we once walked over 4 miles home backwards, through junctions etc down the road and when we got back to the yard he reared and reared and reared.

i would instead get someone experienced on him to give him a good smack up the bum at the appropriate moment and reward him instantly when he behaves.


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## jumpthemoon (16 September 2009)

[ QUOTE ]
just beware with making him walk backwards- i did this with my old pony and it just made him rear vertical!


[/ QUOTE ]

I was just about to say this is what my horse did!


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## camilla4 (16 September 2009)

I think it goes without saying that you should only do this if it is safe to do so.  I would certainly never do this on the road, near ditches or holes or in a school if there were other horses working.  This is the reason I chose an open field which I knew well.  The fact that it was ploughed (not sown, I might add!) made him very tired by the time we got all the way across it!  If there is no opportunity to do this then I would agree that a well-timed reprimand with a whip will help to ensure that he learns that he can't get away with it.


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## alsxx (16 September 2009)

Hey I'm not asking for advice here... I offered my advice to the OP and then asked about those who did make theirs go backwards as IMO I didn't think it was a safe option based on situations I have been in. In my experience, a horse decides when it wants to play up and doesn't necessarily pick a safe spot....so you could be on a road, near cars, near a ditch etc and by asking it to go backwards you could be asking it to back into a car/ditch etc etc. Like I said before, I'm not picking holes, I was just genuinely curious as to how this works for people, or have they just been lucky that every time their horse has backed up it has been in a safe environment?

I would still use my own methods as I detailed earlier in this post as they work for me and I believe they are quite black and white for my horse who now knows not to do it!


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## Trackeroo (16 September 2009)

I had one that used to do this as soon as you rode away from the yard. One day it backed so far up the lane that it backed into the electric fence around one of our fields and that seemed to sort the trick - couldn't have had a better result if we had planned it !


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## soph21 (16 September 2009)

It never did D'art who was a 16hh arab stallion anytime. Who was known locally as a rearer!
I used to back him up wherever he played up, I was only 14


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## JM07 (16 September 2009)

crack it up the arse with the bristles of a stiff broom..

it wont do it again


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## Fairynuff (16 September 2009)

I was trying to be 'politically correct' for the 'new horse age' but, JM is right. Give him one up the hole, lower your heels and your hands and kick on. It is not nice being taken 'for a ride' by 500 ks of horse meat. M.


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## hunteress (16 September 2009)

my new horse did this but i let him walk backwards stand then I put leg on and he walked forward his old owner used to get off him when he did his and it was a very very bad habit now he go's forward plenty schooling and we hunt so thats helped but when I first took him hunting he did this and we laughed every one said look he's moonwalking i just didn't make it an issue also check out saddle teeth (which im sure you have) tack he might be in pain !! good luck.


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## chestnut cob (16 September 2009)

Mine does this sometimes.  The last time he did it, I made him go backwards until he sat on his ar£e in a prickly bush.  He hasn't done it since, strangely enough


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## moodymare1987 (16 September 2009)

My friends horse used to do it really bad. She got me on him and I give him a good few smacks and never really bothered since. In my opinion I would much rather give the horse a smack than try backing it down a bridlepath. I would end up in the canal or down steep banks. Or have horse rear over on me.


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## MrsMozart (16 September 2009)

I tried the few good smacks route with Dizz - well, tried one and it's bl00dy amazing how quick her back end can go up 
	
	
		
		
	


	




 The Thelwell kicks work well with Dizz, on the whole. We have been down a ditch backwards, which is not good.


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## Cuffey (16 September 2009)

An old couple I used to help would get the hunting whip out and walk behind the nappy horse/pony cracking it as necessary--it was never hit.
Then they always carried a hunting whip out hacking so if the nappy horse refused to go in front again the whip was cracked.
It doesnt usually take them long to realise life is actually more fun if you co-operate.


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## Storminateacup (17 September 2009)

My old mare used to rear spin and go backwards when I hacked out alone. I spent hours quietly trying to make her walk forward, then one day in desperation I made her back down the road ( it was a very quiet road) for about 100 yards. 
She was so confused, it worked and she never did it again.

The other method is throw a bucket of water over the rump, if you know when the horse is going to do it. 
Just shock tactics like this and the yard broom method really work.

.


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## sweepeep (26 April 2014)

This is happening to me now with my pony but I've read through everyone's comments and I'll be walking backwards aboard him the very next time this happens! I am seriously losing the will to ride him, especially when everyone else's horses on our yard are so well behaved  (sorry for the hijacking of the post) x


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## L&M (26 April 2014)

Backing up is a form of napping, but first you need to establish why the horse is doing it - it is scared or being disobedient? My 5 yr old was doing it on hacks, usually when something scared him, so was down to a lack of confidence. I would either let him reverse until he stopped himself, sit very quietly and let him assess the situation, then as soon as I had a hint of him going forward would leg on and praise. Very occasionally I would get off and lead him past whatever was scaring him, but never saw that as failure as we were still going in the direction I wanted to go. 

I am proud to say he rarely does it now, and as I have also learnt the signals, can 9 times out of 10 keep him going forwards as I feel him hesitate. He is learning to trust me and I feel more confident in dealing with the situation, therefore it is becoming less of an issue.

With the ones that are doing through disobedience, then I would be getting the stick/broom etc out, or if you don't feel confident enough to do so, get some help.

Good luck and hope you resolve the situation.


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