A bit of a moan and advice welcome on calming a young horse.

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sweethearts

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Charlie horse (~16hh, nearly 4 years old, ID x Appy) and I were having a lovely weekend up until yesterday evening. We had been on our longest road hack on Friday and seen lorries, trains cyclists etc, then on Sunday we went back in to the woods for the first time since I’d fallen off about a month ago and other than a few silly bits he was really good and we were really starting to get our confidence back together.

Then yesterday afternoon I hacked down to the nearby school with my friend and on the way there Charlie horse was mucking about, getting himself wound up and spooking at stupid things and then once we got in to the school he was just plain naughty; one minute he’d be walking calmly then the next he would be bunny hopping, spinning and then would suddenly do a whole long side of bucks. Not quite sure how I stayed on tbh but I then walked him around and did lots of walk/halt transitions and after about 25minutes I finally managed to get him trotting without too much napping towards his friend or bucking bronco displays. We did a couple of circles and went round the school and then just left it at that.

I just feel a bit disappointed that we seemed to have made so much progress over the past couple of weeks and then it feels like we have taken a few steps back again. I realise that he is still totally a baby and that I am expecting a lot of him, its just frustrating that one day he can be so calm, settled and sensible and then the next day he’s loopy, tense and like a coiled spring ready to explode at any minute (which he has done a few times with me ending up on the floor twice).

Does anyone have any tips about how to calm him down when he gets himself so tense and uptight? At the moment I talk to him lots and give him lots of encouraging pats and my riding instructor advised me to give him a good trot as a lot of the time he just uses things (such as bikes going past) as excuses to act up whereas if he is trotting he doesn’t have as much time to think about messing about. I did try this and it definitely helped but it isn’t always going to be practical. Also I’ve been thinking about feed supplements, does anyone have any they could recommend just to give us a bit of help? At the moment he is turned out 24/7 on his own but with his friend next door, and he has a slice or two of hay a day. He is ridden 3-4 times a week for about 1-1.5 hours at a time, with a mixture of hacking and schooling in walk and trot.

Any advice greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading :o)
 
I think you're doing exactly the right thing with reassurance and trotting, I think you just need to keep up with it and eventually he'll grow out of it really. My horse is loopy atm too and I think it's some weird delayed spring grass reaction. I think it's just a matter or time really. Sorry if it doesn't help :)
 
Do you know the 'calm down cue'?
Practice in the school first so you get the feel for it .... Whilst riding in walk bend Charlies neck (either way as you'll do it on both reins and give with the other hand whilst asking) so that his nose bends towards his shoulder.

Don't let him turn and keep him walking and as soon as you feel him give to you (you should feel the give and possibly a slight wobble in his head) then straighten him up and let him walk on as normal. Repeat on the other rein and continue so that you have 6 or 7 submissions. Do this often enough in the school (i use this as part of my warm up if my horse comes out a little sharp or we're out competing) and then when out hacking you should be able to use this to calm him down if he gets a bit full of himself.

Just to note ... when 'teaching' this to him - don't let him snatch the rein from you - it has to be a soft submission as this is the 'calm' bit.

Hope this helps
Lisa
 
My thoughts are that a. he is getting fitter & sharper. I would work him for shorter periods and ease off the fitness if he were mine.
b. Often horses don't need reassuring they need bossing. People tend to pat & sweet talk a horse which is unsure, when they need to be a bit more bullish & that is more reassuring than pussyfooting around. When he is napping & jibbing, get after him a bit more.
c. Don't be disheartened, the only thing you can count on with young horses is that it's 2 steps forward & one step back.
 
I totally agree about the 2 steps forward, one step back with youngsters...

Sounds like you are doing the right things. My horse responds well to voice and a reassuring stroke on the neck also....he's highly strung and bossing makes him worse- but only you knows what is best for yours as an individual.

I would also just check your saddle fit.....if he's working more and he's out at grass he may have built up some muscle/condition and the saddle may be nipping over his withers.

(Only saying that as over the weekend my youngster threw in some impressive bucks and rears and was 'rushing' everywhere.....then I realised he had built up and his saddle was too tight at the front..... a change of saddle cloth later from sheepskin to 'normal' and he was a totally different and very happy horse again)

ETA....I'm using Global Herbs Supercalm as my horse is a bit of a worrier.....it seems to relax him without making him dopey. :)
 
I think he might be showing he's feeling rather fit and well!! I was told to ride my 4yo for a maximum of 20-30 minutes and do it twice a day if i had time rather than long sessions. It helped to keep his concentration and was certainly more constructive. It also prevented boredom so he didnt pick things to spook at to make his day more entertaining! I would suggest walking your horse for 25 minutes just doing walk halt transitions is making him behave because he's totally switched off not because he wants to do it.... i shall wait to be shot down in flames but that is just my opinion!!
 
Thank you all for you helpful advice so far.

Poppymoo- A couple of weeks ago I did start to think his saddle was starting to get a bit tight on his withers so we have gone up to the next gullet fitting (he has a wintec 500) and I got a more experienced friend to check that it was still sitting correctly etc. Also he has got his booster vaccinations in a couple of weeks and I'm going to get the vet to check his teeth and back at the same time just to double check that he is comfortable.

Siennamum-yes I think I do need to get after him a bit more especially when he is blantantly being naughty/ spooking at things he's seen lots of times before etc. I am awful at making excuses for him.

lisaholton- thank you for your advice I will give it a try, I think we maybe already ind of doing this but totally unintentionally when he is trying to avoid circling- he seems to be able to bend his neck so his face is almost touching my boot whilst still going out of his shoulder, all with very minimal rein contact! Obviously I realise this is not what you mean I should do but it will be interesting to try it when I actually mean for it to hapen and whilst walking straight.

I'm hoping he has got his sensible non-mental head on tonight as we are due to go for a hack with my friend at 5:30 eek :eek:!!
 
Sounds very much like the spring grass has gone to his head!

Fast growing grass has a low magnesium level and more often than not makes horses spooky and sensitive. Sometimes called grass tetany as it has similar symptoms as tetanus.

Try feeding him this mix twice daily while the grass is grwing fast.

1 level Tablespoon each
Epsom Salts (Magnesium) calms the muscles
Baking Soda - reduces acidity levels in the gut
Yeast - absorbs any mycotoxins in the system
Dried Thyme - a general blood cleanser

Try to give one dose about 1½-2 hrs before a ride as the Epsom Salts is metabolised fast.

This is an old NZ Stockmans recipe - Works far better than the commercial preparations.
 
I think this horse is saying he's had enough of work, doesn't understand what your asking, is confused. He's not yet 4 and is doing a lot of work both mentally and physically. IMO he needs to be turned away for the summer and brought back in the autumn.
Sorry, probably not what you wanted to hear!
 
He's young, there is bound to be testing times ahead and days where he just doesn't want to play by your rules despite how good he's been on other occassions.

For now, I'd take your foot of the gass, he's young and by the sounds of things there will be a mixture of 'Kevin the Teenager' and also lack of confidence and being over faced at times.

Stick him on a mag calmer, keep things short, simple and enjoyable for him, you'll see a difference. :)
 
All these above things are good but - imo you are working him for far too long ,at his age. He's not even 4 yet! 1 hour and a half , 3/4 times a week is a lot ...Even with my 6yo coblet , they says 35 mins is enough. Do smaller work sessions , I think it'll make it easier. xxx
 
Yes, I was told 20-30 mins max in the school with my four year old, any longer and they get mentally tired, like an over tired kid. I only ride for longer if we are hacking. She is on magnitude just in case, and is generally good ridden and less so in the stable.......
 
KristmasKatt said:
Yes, I was told 20-30 mins max in the school with my four year old, any longer and they get mentally tired, like an over tired kid. I only ride for longer if we are hacking.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more. Our 3 year olds, once backed, do 35-40 minute hacks (quiet ones) OR 15-20 minutes in the school. At 4, they'll move up to 45-60 minute (quiet) hacks - and a couple of 30 minute sessions in the school. Normally they are ridden 5-6 days a week - 4 hacks, and 1-2 schooling sessions.
 
Thank you all for your replies. We only ride in walk with a bit of trot on soft ground, and we only school properly once every 2 weeks when we have lesson and that is broken up with lots of little breaks (for us both!), the other times when we go in the school it is not for too long and again it's mostly in walk. I guess I hadn't really thought about the length of time of time i'm riding each time as I have just been doing the loops that I used to do on my old horse. I think I've more been worried that I'm not riding frequently enough! So maybe I've really been getting it all wrong!!

Maybe I should try and cut down my riding time to 30mins and see how we go with that. It's just so hard to know what's best to do as if he is in a hett up mood he generally settles once we have been out for about half an hour and really seems to enjoy being out and about.

We've been up to the woods for ~50mins with another horse tonight for the first time in ages and other than a couple of silly hops and leaps, which I pushed him on through,he has been really good and even stood totally still when a little old woman and her dog insisted on squeezing themselves past us on a narrow track. Well I'm not planning on riding again until Friday and we'll try and keep it short and sweet and see how we get on. If we are hacking all the looped routes around us are ~1hour long, so do you think it would be best to just get to a certain point and then turn for home,I'm just not sure if that would confuse/hype him up more if he is being stressy??

What kind of work does everyone else do with their 4 year olds? (He is 4 in just under a month) Maybe I have just been getting a bit carried away as the other horses on my yard are a bit older.

Just as a slight edit he has only been back to work like this since March. He had November-March pretty much totally off, think we maybe went out about once or twice a month.So I've really not been working him in to the ground or anything like that, feel like a terrible mother now :(
 
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