To gallop or not to gallop...

iris_surreal_euphoria · 11-25-2007, 03:19 PM

Does anyone have this problem?

I enjoy a good gallop- for a few seconds on flat ground. Everytime I do though- Rebel gets so hyped up the ride might as well be over cos it's just no fun afterward.
Today we got the horses out and were riding around the feild. Kyle was on his horse Rudrah and I on Rebel. Well, I decided to have a quick gallop. (Rebel trots like a cement mixer- her gallop is as smooth as a cadallac though)

After we had our little romp she turned into a moron. Head aimed to the heavens, side stepping and her "walk", I'll just say she jarred me to the point I was getting a headache. (I was sitting deep since I didn't know what she'd do next)..

I MADE her go as slow as possible and took her back in while Kyle and Rudrah had a wonderful time in the feild.

My question is- should I totally just skip the gallop all togeather? Or just wait until the end of the ride? She used to not have a problem. We could take off and cool right back down.

cascy · 11-25-2007, 03:24 PM

I would (and this is just me) make her go until she didnt want to go anymore... Then we'd still go a little more then that until it was "my idea" to cool down, not hers.

Then she'll figure out, she better cool down when your good and ready or it will be alot more work for her in the long run.

Hope that helps, that's the only thing I found to help one gelding we had that always wanted to run home, well, we did, we ran, and ran, and then ran some more... after that, it wasn't so fun to run all the time

JoAnne · 11-25-2007, 03:25 PM

I'd wait until end of ride, for now, in meantime try to find books dVds on retraining how to calm and get back to work after a gallop, perhaps a book on retraining race horses might help?/ they have websites too, ask one of them I'm sure you'll get good insight!

dcandace · 11-25-2007, 03:30 PM

Cascy gave great advice. Everything should be your idea, not the horse's. And if she wants to run let her, then when she wants to stop, ask for more. Make her work.

horsebabyhehe · 11-25-2007, 03:31 PM

lots and lots of circles. one rein stops are great and changing the direction of the circle right in the middle of it. do anything to get her focus back on you and not how exciting the gallop was. also, i was a bit confused are you talking about a full blown race horse gallop or a nice lope? if you're talking about just a nice lope then the problem could be a number of different things. check your saddle and fittings to make sure everything fits your horse properly. the horses body moves differently at the lope/gallop and this could be putting pressure in sensative areas like the withers. also it could be lack of exercise. that's right. i don't know how often you ride but if you only get a couple chances a week like me and you don't work with your horse from the ground it could be causing your problem. think about how you feel after a light workout. you feel invigorated, ready to take on the world. your horse could be feeling the same way. try going a little farther, make her a little more tired and see if that fixes the problem.

hope this helps. good luck.

Jules_luvs_her_ponies · 11-25-2007, 03:38 PM

I hafta say I agree there's nothing like a good full-out gallop to get the blood flowing! Tends to have the same effect on the horse though too. Yeah I would agree when my girl's being silly on the trails I usually keep her at a good steady lope or trot for awhile until she's begging me to let her slow down. She smartened up really fast!

iris_surreal_euphoria · 11-25-2007, 03:45 PM

You guys are probably right when you say lack of exercise. I think it is a mixure of that and just 'too hot to trot' attitude.

When I say gallop mean not a flat out run- but start from a trot- and speed her up until it quits bumping me!

) I guess you'd call it a lope.

Last week we galloped and she got all hyper afterwards- I had the time and we cooled it back down. It took an hour though but I was able to switch it up walk trot gallop back to walk. It was quite the battle.

Anyone have a suggestion on a specific book or DVD? If there is one that can help me learn how to focus her quicker afterward I will put it on my christmas list!

princesskristin · 11-25-2007, 04:06 PM

Now you got me confused. a lope is a soft slower run. It is a western term like canter is a english term. A gallop is a flat out fast run. The horse will momentarily pick up all four feet from the ground. If you are unfamiliar with a gallop, it can feel like a bolt.

Carri · 11-25-2007, 06:17 PM

My advice would be to only gallop her when you have plenty of time to work with her afterward, to work her through being so hyper. My horse is the same way, sometimes I take him for a good run to wake him up a little, since he can be lazy! He will come down pretty easily, though. I would just let her walk around all hyped up, even if it is bone jarring, until she calms down. She should get the picture.

EquineAlberta · 11-25-2007, 06:24 PM

I vote not gallop for now. It sounds like galloping is making her anxious.

I would wonder how you are asking for the gallop. If you are just giddy-up and go all of a sudden, then she might feel tense waiting for you to chase her again. I would do lots of excercises at walk and trot for now, working on how to prepare her for an increase in speed until she can come forward and back between gaits and within gaits in a subtle manner before you try to ask for the canter/gallop again.

Karen

AlwaysAppy · 11-26-2007, 03:24 PM

It really all depends on your riding skill and how out of hand she gets. I'm sorry if this was already answered but is it a fast lope or a true gallop? If it is a fast lope I agree 100% with cascy. I had a young gelding who always wanted to run. So I let him run (actually a fast lope) and run and run and when he was tierd and wanted to stop I made him go faster. I pick the speed, not you!!!

In the end he decided running all the time wasn't that much fun and he was much happier acting like a broke horse. If it is safe for you to do this you will get great results if not don't try. I do agree with the above that if you do run make sure you have time afterward to give her the time she needs to end on a good note.

luckyhorseshoes · 11-26-2007, 03:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cascy

I would (and this is just me) make her go until she didnt want to go anymore... Then we'd still go a little more then that until it was "my idea" to cool down, not hers.

Then she'll figure out, she better cool down when your good and ready or it will be alot more work for her in the long run.

Hope that helps, that's the only thing I found to help one gelding we had that always wanted to run home, well, we did, we ran, and ran, and then ran some more... after that, it wasn't so fun to run all the time

Dido. I do the same when I'm riding and the horse decides to be stupid for a bit.

dreamcleaner · 11-26-2007, 03:37 PM

No No No!! Gallup bad. Make butt go boom hard. Walk, slow walk. Good.

Just MO

AlbertaGirl · 11-26-2007, 04:15 PM

Non-gaited horses go walk, trot, canter, gallop. Like other people, I'm a little confused too, does she get that hot just at the canter

? A gallop is all-out, really fast...

You probably know this, but I always try to avoid running for home, and usually try to just walk the last good bit, to make sure they don't develop that habit, and are nicely cooled out. They're usually not as fired-up heading away from home

Slim Pikkens · 11-26-2007, 04:55 PM

Haven't you noticed a few horses turned out together will get to playing at biting, then a little leg display, then as the intensity increases, some sideways movements at the canter, a little bucking then they get running. And quite often a wide open gallop with some fast stops, bucking and more galloping. It seems to take about 10 min for this to settle down. This keeps a horse in shape for the fast sprint from a predator. You may be creating the same feeling in your horse when you go for a gallop.

Quarters N Paints · 11-26-2007, 05:10 PM

Sounds like she has been made HOT, with a little to much of the galloping and she thinks it is the whole purpose of the ride now...........

I see this alot in barrel horses people think when they get on them they need to run run run, and the horse sarts anticipating this is the purpose of the ride.
Have picked up several when they are blown and re-habbed them to make them solid minded citizens again. It is a shame people do this and then blame the horse.......

alot of slow quiet work and then trot/ lope work , also alot of quiet hands.

Takes alot more time and effort to undo the hot than it does to put the hot in there.

iris_surreal_euphoria · 11-26-2007, 05:10 PM

Well, I've been sitting here trying to figure out...
am I galloping or cantering?

Hmm... I think it's a gallop. I think that is were I'm going wrong.

DreamCleaner- You are right!

It takes so much to perk Rebel up the last time I rode I got her going and basically said "Get it!" She took off and actually jumped a ditch. (more like a little place on the ground that wasn't level- ask her it was the grand canyon.) It was such a rush, I guess it was for her too. Only thing was our energy just wasn't matched.

**gbarmranch** · 11-26-2007, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cascy

I would (and this is just me) make her go until she didnt want to go anymore... Then we'd still go a little more then that until it was "my idea" to cool down, not hers.

Then she'll figure out, she better cool down when your good and ready or it will be alot more work for her in the long run.

Hope that helps, that's the only thing I found to help one gelding we had that always wanted to run home, well, we did, we ran, and ran, and then ran some more... after that, it wasn't so fun to run all the time

Yup, work that horse a few times when she gets stupid like that . then cool her off ad tie her up for a while, and ride her some more... at a slow pace.. She will figure it out quick enough..

I do lots of figure eights, half halts, stops,, backs, etc.. they learn that it is better to listen then misbehave..

Willow · 11-26-2007, 09:14 PM

I agree with Alberta Girl; you need to practice on your transitions; and plenty of them! This will encourage her to become flexible throughout her whole body and teach her to respect your directions. You want her to work with you and not against you.

I wouldn't advise you galloping, stick to a top-speed of calm lope for the time being until you are both comfortable with the harmony you should be creating. It shouldn't be a fight riding your horse, it should be a pleasure, so if you take the time now to teach her properly then you will reap the benefits for a long time to come.

SACREDWINDWALKER · 11-26-2007, 09:30 PM

I had to use a hack/gag on my QH morgan when he used to get fired up on trail rides and I found out that's all I could stop him with when we ran barrels.....he wasn't a barrel horse but he sure gave them a run for their money....before I had this type bridle bit combo...he would take out the side of the arena...give gas, go full blast, no brakes....the first time I used it I was running an arena race (he's only 14.3HH) and we did it well except for the stop....I didn't know he was going to stop that fast....so he stopped, I didn't....I went over his head after 2 harsh jarring stops with the reins still in my hand, the announcer said, "12 seconds on the ground" you talk about embarrassing....but the hack/gag worked! Then, on regular trail rides, he'd get real choppy (roughest thing you'd ever sit on) if I held him back.....so I let him run until his heart was content to catch up with the others...he hated being left behind.....but I knew I could stop him if I wanted to.....so I really feel secure with it...

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Gallop and the farrier	Orchid	Horse Stories	8	10-26-2005 06:04 PM

11-25-2007, 03:19 PM
iris_surreal_euphoria Long Yearling Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Somerset, Kentucky Posts: 1,077	To gallop or not to gallop... Does anyone have this problem? I enjoy a good gallop- for a few seconds on flat ground. Everytime I do though- Rebel gets so hyped up the ride might as well be over cos it's just no fun afterward. Today we got the horses out and were riding around the feild. Kyle was on his horse Rudrah and I on Rebel. Well, I decided to have a quick gallop. (Rebel trots like a cement mixer- her gallop is as smooth as a cadallac though) After we had our little romp she turned into a moron. Head aimed to the heavens, side stepping and her "walk", I'll just say she jarred me to the point I was getting a headache. (I was sitting deep since I didn't know what she'd do next).. I MADE her go as slow as possible and took her back in while Kyle and Rudrah had a wonderful time in the feild. My question is- should I totally just skip the gallop all togeather? Or just wait until the end of the ride? She used to not have a problem. We could take off and cool right back down. __________________ If wishes were horses this room would need a good mucking! Visit our website: http://www.freewebs.com/lazziassacres/

11-25-2007, 03:24 PM
cascy Kid Safe Join Date: May 2006 Location: arkansas Posts: 6,404	I would (and this is just me) make her go until she didnt want to go anymore... Then we'd still go a little more then that until it was "my idea" to cool down, not hers. Then she'll figure out, she better cool down when your good and ready or it will be alot more work for her in the long run. Hope that helps, that's the only thing I found to help one gelding we had that always wanted to run home, well, we did, we ran, and ran, and then ran some more... after that, it wasn't so fun to run all the time __________________ To strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.

11-25-2007, 03:25 PM
JoAnne Started Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Florida Posts: 2,442	I'd wait until end of ride, for now, in meantime try to find books dVds on retraining how to calm and get back to work after a gallop, perhaps a book on retraining race horses might help?/ they have websites too, ask one of them I'm sure you'll get good insight!

11-25-2007, 03:30 PM
dcandace Weanling Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Hart County, KY Posts: 488	Cascy gave great advice. Everything should be your idea, not the horse's. And if she wants to run let her, then when she wants to stop, ask for more. Make her work.

11-25-2007, 03:31 PM
horsebabyhehe Yearling Member Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Kansas Posts: 558	lots and lots of circles. one rein stops are great and changing the direction of the circle right in the middle of it. do anything to get her focus back on you and not how exciting the gallop was. also, i was a bit confused are you talking about a full blown race horse gallop or a nice lope? if you're talking about just a nice lope then the problem could be a number of different things. check your saddle and fittings to make sure everything fits your horse properly. the horses body moves differently at the lope/gallop and this could be putting pressure in sensative areas like the withers. also it could be lack of exercise. that's right. i don't know how often you ride but if you only get a couple chances a week like me and you don't work with your horse from the ground it could be causing your problem. think about how you feel after a light workout. you feel invigorated, ready to take on the world. your horse could be feeling the same way. try going a little farther, make her a little more tired and see if that fixes the problem. hope this helps. good luck.

11-25-2007, 03:38 PM
Jules_luvs_her_ponies Newborn Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 5	I hafta say I agree there's nothing like a good full-out gallop to get the blood flowing! Tends to have the same effect on the horse though too. Yeah I would agree when my girl's being silly on the trails I usually keep her at a good steady lope or trot for awhile until she's begging me to let her slow down. She smartened up really fast!

11-25-2007, 03:45 PM
iris_surreal_euphoria Long Yearling Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Somerset, Kentucky Posts: 1,077	You guys are probably right when you say lack of exercise. I think it is a mixure of that and just 'too hot to trot' attitude. When I say gallop mean not a flat out run- but start from a trot- and speed her up until it quits bumping me!) I guess you'd call it a lope. Last week we galloped and she got all hyper afterwards- I had the time and we cooled it back down. It took an hour though but I was able to switch it up walk trot gallop back to walk. It was quite the battle. Anyone have a suggestion on a specific book or DVD? If there is one that can help me learn how to focus her quicker afterward I will put it on my christmas list! __________________ If wishes were horses this room would need a good mucking! Visit our website: http://www.freewebs.com/lazziassacres/

11-25-2007, 04:06 PM
princesskristin Coming two Join Date: May 2006 Location: Maryland Posts: 1,596	Now you got me confused. a lope is a soft slower run. It is a western term like canter is a english term. A gallop is a flat out fast run. The horse will momentarily pick up all four feet from the ground. If you are unfamiliar with a gallop, it can feel like a bolt. __________________ Sometimes you just got to take a ride of faith.

11-25-2007, 06:17 PM
Carri Bombproof Member Join Date: Dec 2006 Location: Alpharetta, Georgia Posts: 10,608	My advice would be to only gallop her when you have plenty of time to work with her afterward, to work her through being so hyper. My horse is the same way, sometimes I take him for a good run to wake him up a little, since he can be lazy! He will come down pretty easily, though. I would just let her walk around all hyped up, even if it is bone jarring, until she calms down. She should get the picture. __________________

11-25-2007, 06:24 PM
EquineAlberta Seasoned Join Date: Aug 2004 Location: Alberta, Canada Posts: 4,688	I vote not gallop for now. It sounds like galloping is making her anxious. I would wonder how you are asking for the gallop. If you are just giddy-up and go all of a sudden, then she might feel tense waiting for you to chase her again. I would do lots of excercises at walk and trot for now, working on how to prepare her for an increase in speed until she can come forward and back between gaits and within gaits in a subtle manner before you try to ask for the canter/gallop again. Karen __________________ Hillside Stable, Ardrossan, AB CHT Horse Stories!

11-26-2007, 03:24 PM
AlwaysAppy Weanling Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Western Canada Posts: 212	It really all depends on your riding skill and how out of hand she gets. I'm sorry if this was already answered but is it a fast lope or a true gallop? If it is a fast lope I agree 100% with cascy. I had a young gelding who always wanted to run. So I let him run (actually a fast lope) and run and run and when he was tierd and wanted to stop I made him go faster. I pick the speed, not you!!! In the end he decided running all the time wasn't that much fun and he was much happier acting like a broke horse. If it is safe for you to do this you will get great results if not don't try. I do agree with the above that if you do run make sure you have time afterward to give her the time she needs to end on a good note. __________________ He knows when you're happy He knows when you're comfortable He knows when you're confident And he always knows when you have carrots. ~Author Unknown

11-26-2007, 03:37 PM
dreamcleaner Started Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: ontario Posts: 2,359	No No No!! Gallup bad. Make butt go boom hard. Walk, slow walk. Good. Just MO

11-26-2007, 04:15 PM
AlbertaGirl Greenbroke Member Join Date: May 2007 Location: Alberta Posts: 3,431	Non-gaited horses go walk, trot, canter, gallop. Like other people, I'm a little confused too, does she get that hot just at the canter ? A gallop is all-out, really fast... You probably know this, but I always try to avoid running for home, and usually try to just walk the last good bit, to make sure they don't develop that habit, and are nicely cooled out. They're usually not as fired-up heading away from home __________________ Some people say horses don't have a sense of humor... they obviously haven't met mine yet ;o)

11-26-2007, 04:55 PM
Slim Pikkens Started Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 2,998	Haven't you noticed a few horses turned out together will get to playing at biting, then a little leg display, then as the intensity increases, some sideways movements at the canter, a little bucking then they get running. And quite often a wide open gallop with some fast stops, bucking and more galloping. It seems to take about 10 min for this to settle down. This keeps a horse in shape for the fast sprint from a predator. You may be creating the same feeling in your horse when you go for a gallop.

11-26-2007, 05:10 PM
Quarters N Paints Yearling Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Monterey Michigan Posts: 790	Sounds like she has been made HOT, with a little to much of the galloping and she thinks it is the whole purpose of the ride now........... I see this alot in barrel horses people think when they get on them they need to run run run, and the horse sarts anticipating this is the purpose of the ride. Have picked up several when they are blown and re-habbed them to make them solid minded citizens again. It is a shame people do this and then blame the horse....... alot of slow quiet work and then trot/ lope work , also alot of quiet hands. Takes alot more time and effort to undo the hot than it does to put the hot in there. __________________ http://quarterpaintranch.homestead.c...AINTRANCH.html RIDE LIKE A PILOT NOT A PASSENGER

11-26-2007, 09:14 PM
Willow Newborn Member Join Date: Nov 2007 Posts: 41	I agree with Alberta Girl; you need to practice on your transitions; and plenty of them! This will encourage her to become flexible throughout her whole body and teach her to respect your directions. You want her to work with you and not against you. I wouldn't advise you galloping, stick to a top-speed of calm lope for the time being until you are both comfortable with the harmony you should be creating. It shouldn't be a fight riding your horse, it should be a pleasure, so if you take the time now to teach her properly then you will reap the benefits for a long time to come. Last edited by Willow : 11-26-2007 at 09:17 PM.

11-26-2007, 09:30 PM
SACREDWINDWALKER Started Join Date: Oct 2007 Location: Western Kentucky Posts: 2,111	I had to use a hack/gag on my QH morgan when he used to get fired up on trail rides and I found out that's all I could stop him with when we ran barrels.....he wasn't a barrel horse but he sure gave them a run for their money....before I had this type bridle bit combo...he would take out the side of the arena...give gas, go full blast, no brakes....the first time I used it I was running an arena race (he's only 14.3HH) and we did it well except for the stop....I didn't know he was going to stop that fast....so he stopped, I didn't....I went over his head after 2 harsh jarring stops with the reins still in my hand, the announcer said, "12 seconds on the ground" you talk about embarrassing....but the hack/gag worked! Then, on regular trail rides, he'd get real choppy (roughest thing you'd ever sit on) if I held him back.....so I let him run until his heart was content to catch up with the others...he hated being left behind.....but I knew I could stop him if I wanted to.....so I really feel secure with it... __________________ http://www.sacredwindwalker.com