The_snoopster
Well-Known Member
This may get long so please bare with it, last August I went out and found a 14.3hh gypsy cob mare in a very depressed state on a tether with a foal at foot. Owners said she was bombproof ride and drive blah blah blah, anyway for some unknown reason I bought her home. I did ride her up a road very quietly as I felt anymore would just not be fair but just needed to be sure she was broke and ok in traffic as I am in a town, she went forward nicely but opened her mouth quite a bit so looked in her mouth and saw her teeth were very ragged and she had sores on the sides of her mouth.
Once home I wormed her gently (just incase of a large burden), de-liced her and got all the feather mites treated. Dentist was called out and she had her teeth done, dentist said she had good teeth that were just over grown and the sores all healed up. I decided to turn her away for winter and just get the weight on her slowly as she was slightly poor from feeding the foal on limited grass on the tether.
The first few days were weird she barely moved from one spot like she was on a tether still, but she soon settled although the first time she galloped over to see me she put the brakes on after a few strides like she was waiting for the tether line to snap her back. She was very timid and although lots of ears back she never followed through with any of her threats, so I just kept handling her and she grew in confidence now the only time she puts her ears back is at bucket time and even that is getting better.
Now spring is here the feed as stopped as she is up to a lovely weight, she was good for the vet for her vacinations and also had blood pulled to make sure she was not in foal again (she is not in foal phew). Also had to learn her that having her feet up and trimmed was something she just had to except, she is now great with her fronts and her backs are getting better but I still have to use a broom on them for a few mins before trying to get in the kicking zone, now she just tries to move away untill the broom desensitises the area for a while, then she will allow me to lift and groom by hand, this is also taking less and less time. Then had her back checked and tack fitted ready for her to come back into work, she was actually quite scared about the tack but is easy to tack up now.
So now we have got to the getting on bit, she stood quietly for the rider to get on but then refused to go forwards backward or sideways when she did move it felt like her mouth was a lump of concrete no stearing or brakes. Kicked for all they were worth and even tapped with the crop, all she did was lift her head high and shake her head saying no. So we took her back in the field to try and establish what she knew, which was very little tbh.
I am fairly brave on the ground but not brave at all in the saddle, so I feel sending this mare away for some proper schooling is the way forward for her and me, it is going to take me a few months to save up for some proper schooling so need some ideas what I can do to help her along. I only have a field and no school, I always knew when I bought her that once she was up to weight and feeling well I may have a completely different horse on my hands and I definatley have lol. I could feel a right temper building up, so need to stay safe.
I do have long reining equipment which I inherited from a lot job on ebay, but because I have never done it before its just sat in a cupboard. Would it be worth having a go ? I dont want to make things worse for her future schooling. I feel I want to give her a huge whallop from behind but without a school I dont think it would be safe enough in a two acre field lol and the ground is still quite rutty from all the rain last winter.
Answers on a post card please and jaffa cakes if you made it this far, but its better to have her full history as I have since discovered she has done not much else but be a brood mare. However I did ride her up the road with no arguments but I put her lack of mouth to being from having rough edges and being sore.
cheers The snoopster x
Once home I wormed her gently (just incase of a large burden), de-liced her and got all the feather mites treated. Dentist was called out and she had her teeth done, dentist said she had good teeth that were just over grown and the sores all healed up. I decided to turn her away for winter and just get the weight on her slowly as she was slightly poor from feeding the foal on limited grass on the tether.
The first few days were weird she barely moved from one spot like she was on a tether still, but she soon settled although the first time she galloped over to see me she put the brakes on after a few strides like she was waiting for the tether line to snap her back. She was very timid and although lots of ears back she never followed through with any of her threats, so I just kept handling her and she grew in confidence now the only time she puts her ears back is at bucket time and even that is getting better.
Now spring is here the feed as stopped as she is up to a lovely weight, she was good for the vet for her vacinations and also had blood pulled to make sure she was not in foal again (she is not in foal phew). Also had to learn her that having her feet up and trimmed was something she just had to except, she is now great with her fronts and her backs are getting better but I still have to use a broom on them for a few mins before trying to get in the kicking zone, now she just tries to move away untill the broom desensitises the area for a while, then she will allow me to lift and groom by hand, this is also taking less and less time. Then had her back checked and tack fitted ready for her to come back into work, she was actually quite scared about the tack but is easy to tack up now.
So now we have got to the getting on bit, she stood quietly for the rider to get on but then refused to go forwards backward or sideways when she did move it felt like her mouth was a lump of concrete no stearing or brakes. Kicked for all they were worth and even tapped with the crop, all she did was lift her head high and shake her head saying no. So we took her back in the field to try and establish what she knew, which was very little tbh.
I am fairly brave on the ground but not brave at all in the saddle, so I feel sending this mare away for some proper schooling is the way forward for her and me, it is going to take me a few months to save up for some proper schooling so need some ideas what I can do to help her along. I only have a field and no school, I always knew when I bought her that once she was up to weight and feeling well I may have a completely different horse on my hands and I definatley have lol. I could feel a right temper building up, so need to stay safe.
I do have long reining equipment which I inherited from a lot job on ebay, but because I have never done it before its just sat in a cupboard. Would it be worth having a go ? I dont want to make things worse for her future schooling. I feel I want to give her a huge whallop from behind but without a school I dont think it would be safe enough in a two acre field lol and the ground is still quite rutty from all the rain last winter.
Answers on a post card please and jaffa cakes if you made it this far, but its better to have her full history as I have since discovered she has done not much else but be a brood mare. However I did ride her up the road with no arguments but I put her lack of mouth to being from having rough edges and being sore.
cheers The snoopster x
