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No more napping
Posted 27th February 2020
Don’t let napping spoil your enjoyment of your horse – find out what’s causing it and how to stop it with our simple guide
Horses are herd animals – this we all know and use to inform our management and care plans for our beloved equines – but how does it affect us as riders? While some horses seem quite independent, others are definitely happier following another tail, whether that’s around the arena or out on a hack.
Napping may be your horse’s last resort way of telling you he’s not happy with a situation, so don’t ignore the behaviour. It’s important to get to the bottom of what’s causing it and work to resolve the issue, rather than attempting to bully him through or avoiding the situation altogether. This will make finding a solution to the issue much easier.
There are four main reasons horses nap…
- Lack of trust Trust is an essential part of every equine–human partnership. Your horse needs to believe that you’re a reliable, safe companion, and that you’ll only ask him to do things that are safe and achievable.
- Lack of confidence While a lack of trust is about your horse’s confidence in you, his own self-confidence – or lack of it – can cause napping, too. A horse who doesn’t have the tools in his kit to enable him to tackle different questions will commonly just refuse to play ball. Which, when you think about it, seems like a reasonable response.
- Pain A simple reason, but one that’s commonly overlooked. While napping is more about evasion than fear, pain can result in an aversion to either all work or certain kinds.
- Learned evasion If your horse has napped in a particular location before and it’s achieved his desired outcome – being allowed to turn for home, or avoiding a particular corner of the arena, for example – it’s likely he’ll try it again in the same location.
How to stop it
Be realistic with what you want from your horse and ride confidently to inspire his confidence in you. Essentially, it’s important to fake it until you make it.
It’s also worth considering exactly what you’re asking of your horse – have you presented him with a fair question, based on his experience, fitness and mental state? It’s better to under-ask than over-ask. When it comes to encouraging progression, there’s always next time.
Pick up a copy of April Horse&Rider, on sale 5 March, for more great advice on getting to the bottom of your horse’s napping.
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My 25 yr old mare suddenly started napping then rearing at a certain spot on a regular route Imy fortunate to live in a small village with bridleways and rides in every direction so can easily avoid this track where she rears and naps Although this isn’t ideal I have been riding since childhood now in 50’stock I try to go down that particular track but the result is always the same when we reach that point at the end of the ride, which is literally 2 min away from home when she will go up every time The odd thing is that if we go out that way & do the ride in reverse we haven’t had a single issue there going the reverse way. I’ve tried to stay on her when she goes up but she rears vertical and is scarey as hell . She has never reared before this & I’d now a habit I fear