6 year old gelding has turned into the devil!

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tallywhacker

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Advice/help/experiences wanted please! My 17'2 warmblood x tb has just turned 6 and my god do i know about it. Hes always been a bit bolshy on the ground but he was wild up until i bought him at 4. But being young and gangly i could cope. It took a while to gain his trust but once we had that i backed him and he was a lamb. Always been quite spooky but since turning 6 hes been quite defient, spooky and nappy. Hes had a full mot including saddle, teeth, back. He is turned out except for a few hours when he comes in to work so dont think hes suffering with ulcers as he shows no symptoms.
Just wondering has anyone else been through this? He randomly bucks and spins to run back to other horses. Im trying to do lots on my own but am finding him rather difficult at the moment...
 
It sounds like you need a good trainer who has experience with this type of thing. It is common for a horse his age to test out the relationship a bit (somewhat like a teenage human finding the boundaries) and you may need help putting the boundaries back in place now that he is feeling stronger and more mature. Strong-willed horses are often more compliant at 3 or 4 than at 5 or 6, and spinning and napping can easily progress to rearing and bucking.
Just my thoughts, but i think you are at the point where a professional could make all the difference to your safety and his future.
 
Mine went through a phase of this at age 6 too, compounded by only hunting for the first year of his ridden life so he didn't see why he should have to start proper work, which was hard. I gave him to my instructor to school for a few weeks to get him through the worst of it, wouldn't have been able to do it alone. And for the next 3 months I think I had 2 lessons a week too, to make sure I was keeping up her good work.
 
Keep things consistent and get help from a good instructor - I feel your pain, Jazz was an angel when I bought him as a 6 year old but almost as soon as he turned 7 he became a nightmare!
 
I am having 2 lessons a week at the moment and do get lots of help from experienced people. I can go out for a lesson he acts like a nause for 20 mins then he accepts and gets over it...tack up the next day and its the same again. After an argument he gives in..just wish we could miss out the argument bit. Hes so so talented! And im trying so hard. Make his work life varied. Hack, school, jump, lunge, use gallops, in hand work in the school. Even did a handy pony sarurday just so we could play and he could chill. 5 rides out of 7 i want to put him on the transfer list! Ha ha ha!
And when i hack if im behind you could literally put your nan on him..put him in front and out comes damien!
 
Perhaps either follow the advice of your instructor, who should get you through this, or change your instructor to one who can.
I could suggest some things that i have used and that have worked for re-training horses, but the problem with forum-type advice like this is that you will get different versions of what you can try, but no one will actually be reading the horse's body language at the time so that some might work and some might make it worse for that particular horse (and you may even need to do different things on different days). Have you sat down with your instructor and worked out why he is doing this and what the best training plan would be? Sorry not to be more help, but if it was my horse then I would be concerned that it takes him 20min before he starts to listen every time he is ridden and would want to sort that out before it becomes a habit. Perhaps it would be worth getting your instructor to put a few weeks worth of work into him to overcome this?:)
 
It sounds as if you are doing all you can but at this stage feel you are making little progress, it takes him a long time to settle in a lesson and you say he is a different horse if at the back of a hack, this sounds as if it is lack of confidence as much as him being argumentative and lacking the ability to concentrate.

What is he getting fed? have you tried magnesium or cutting everything out and just giving grass and hay.

When warming up have you tried just getting going in trot or canter letting him warm up on a long rein without asking him to do any more than go forward and stay vaguely in the correct direction, only picking up the reins properly once he has relaxed, you and your instructor may need to think outside the box with how you approach the work, if whatever you are doing is not really working then rather than persist because it is the way "it should be done" change things and see if you can find a way that works better, using poles in the warm up may work, starting off without an argument will make life easier for you both you just need to find the key which will help you avoid that each day.
 
It certainly is not unusual for a warmblood to get to 5 or 6 and suddenly decide they are the bee's knees. Keep on with the help of your instructor and I'm sure he will grow out of it. Consistent handling with definite boundaries will help. It might not help with your horse but I tend to find that working for three days and then two days off and then working for three days keeps things ticking along nicely.
 
I've heard of this before - someone buying a lovely quiet 3 or 4 year old warmblood and then when they get to 6 find them, erm, difficult and very strong. There is good advice above.
 
When Jazz was having his teenager phase I always lunged him before I rode in the arena - he was fine to hack but in the school he was always looking for an excuse to act up. I found that lunging (even just for 5-10 mins) before getting on took the tickle out of his toes and made him more manageable. My instructor also rides him once a week and that helped loads; it also took the pressure off me a bit as I work full time and can't always get up to ride in the evening.
 
My insructor is fab, we keep things varied use different methods to warm up and to get his attention. I think it is a confidence thing also, but he does seem to just get his head up his arse then thats it..i was doing alot of schooling maybe 4 times a week due to him being so spooky alone and with my hours i work no one really is at the yard when i am to ride with. But my instructor and i thought maybe this had something to do with his behaviour so i only go in the school max twice a week.
Ive taken him off of all hard feed and all he has is hay when he is in to be worked and grass.
Has anyone had a horse like this and came out ok the other side?
 
Take heart, they do come out the other side and turn into normal balanced horses. It's a phase. Just like teenagers become adults. It sounds like you are doing the right things. If I could offer one piece of advice it would be never to start an argument you don't think you can win.
 
Having gone through something similar over the winter I sympathise but I would also say to get a second opinion on the back and saddle.

I was assured that the saddle fit was good and also that his back was ok but neither were correct and I knew something wasn't quite right. I got a different physio, different saddler who gave me a very different opinion.

I mean yes, horses do go through phases but I would suggest that more of this behaviour is caused by physical problems than we like to think and for the sake of a few quid I would rather rules these things out
 
His back has been checked twice in the space of a week by 2 different people and both said not much wrong. I will try a different saddler though. Im getting a bit desperate. Had a hairy ride today! :(
 
I was so expecting you to have a section D lol they too arenpften a nightmare age 6. You can almost Set the clock to them 1st Jan ofn6th year turn in Kevin then age 7 become so so much nicer.

I guess also being late to develop Wb,s are the same. Hopefully he will get over it at the latest on 1st Jan

All you can do is be firm, fair and very consistent
 
My lovely calm sensible 5 year old OTTB turned into an absolutely nutty 6 year old. Under saddle, he was a spooky hot mess (bearing in mind his nickname is Mr Minimum Effort, he'll do what is asked but using the least amount of energy possible) but on the ground, he was horrific. He spent most of his time on his hind legs. He used to nip my hands until he got a reaction and then he'd rear. He tried mounting my mare, who booted the crap out of him, so he went back for more. He used to bite her until *she* reacted and then rear.

He's now a calm, sensible, rising-7 year old!
 
I am going to copyright the phrase "6 year old w@nker phase". They all seem to have it, particularly warmbloods. Mine was a horror (comparatively, he was still pretty placid compared to most!) at 6, but lovely by 7 :D
 
Ah i feel so much better reading your stories. You see these 5 & 6 year olds out eventing and i cant even trot a circle without a bitch fit. I had a lesson today and we were changing things so quickly he didnt have time to spook. So thats what i think i need to do work him alot harder and stop moaning. He will be 7 soon :) 4th april...im on countdown 😂😂
 
Ah Kevin the teenager. I have one such teenager. I unfortunately also had the wisdom that if I left breaking her until she was a bit older she would grow up and bit and chill out. Haha! Silly me! Now not only do I have a newly broken horse who is a bit unsure about the world but she also thinks she knows everything and doesn't take it well when she is told otherwise! I have my absolute work cut out for me and I totally feel your pain. Ill have a day where its not so bad and can see the light at the end of the tunnel and the next day Im thinking ooooh dear.. what was I thinking when I bought her.. is she too much for me. Had a mini meltdown the other day on a hack (in company!) Shes been that way a good few times now but we had 7 arguments by the time we got to the end of the road! Think I was just exhausted as she wasn't really doing anything spectacular but for me its the not knowing whats coming that makes me nervous as she has been known to throw a good old wobbler on several occasions. I got off at the end of the hack and realised that the arguments, although quite frequent at the beginning of the ride, weren't really dangerous just stubborn and that things are in fact getting better albeit very slowly.
I guess me telling you all this is just to let you know that things take time and youre not going through this alone.. Im right with ya!! Cant wait to come out the other side of it though!
The only thing that really chills mine out is being tired. I have less problems in the school but when I did I just used to lunge her until she was visibly tired and her head was lower and then id get on and go straight into trot, no messing about.
Also don't feel like youre being left behind.. my friend has just broken hers and shes almost to show ring standard, whereas mine has been going a few months and im still trying to crack hacking out. Theyre all different and will go at their own pace and I think one of the dangers is people pushing them too quickly. Stick with it :) xx
 
Had a crappy ride today, really nappy and has now learnt to stop, plant, turn his head to my knee and do a small half hearted reary plungy thing in the direction of home. I then got my mr t head on and finished to the end of the driveway then took him in the school. Where he did some ok work in between some fantastic spooks. After 20 mins i cooled him off down the gallops with mother trailing behind me and actually managed a canter on our own no lead. So i suppose today i did acheive something. So through really squinted eyes i might be able to just make out a teeny tiny bit of light in this mahooosive tunnel we r stuck in 😂....
 
At the risk of sounding like a bit of a worrier, if he were mine I'd get the vet out for a loss of performance work up. He could well be being an arse, but he could also be gradually increasing the volume on his 'it hurts!' broadcast.. .
 
He was seen by the vet 2 weeks ago. Hes had everything checked. Im a worrier too and obviously wanted to make sure pain was not the route cause, which im convinced it isnt. Hes just so stressy. He was bought as a yearling by some people who wanted him to breed from they had personal problems and sent him back to breeder. He was then gelded and left in a field for 3 years until i bought him. He wasnt even halter trained at 4. It took about 3 months for him just to lead in hand. I think alot of it is down to this. If ive of had him from a baby i think it would be different . He really is lovley and will be amazing when we get over this. Xx
 
You've already been to,d that this is normal and been given good advice and seem to be doing the right things. One thing I would say,however, is that given a lot of the behaviors sound to be partly due to lack of confidence, instead of varying what he does, try sticking to just one predictable thing on a predictable schedule. I would suggest either flat work in a school for 20 minutes with some lunging beforehand or a gentle hack along familiar paths. Horses are creatures of habit and when you introduce too much at once or vary what they are doing a lot when they aren't quite sure of themselves, it can be counterproductive. Keeping things interesting is good once the horse can handle it. But try just one thing for a coup,e of weeks and see if you notice improvement...
 
My 6yr old WB is going through the 'kevins'. Luckily (so far) it is only showing when he is out in field, esp when poo picking with wheelbarrow. He will even leave his food, (fed in stable)
to come galloping out to perform!! He will run straight up and then hump to a stop in 2 strides. Rear, spin and snake his head and neck at you. Luckily field is sectioned off into several little paddocks, so i always make sure i am by the electric fence, to duck under. He has got bitey too.
How long does this phase last for........
 
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