ANY ADVICE?!

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abbie.b

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hi all, i have posted on here as i am currently a bit stuck for ideas! i have recently just brought a new horse, 5 year old 16.2 tb mare (owned her 7 weeks) she is a lovely mare very green but got a lot of tallent; hense why i brought her, to bring on and event.

however she can be a handful sometimes - what do i expect with a 5year old tbh!! haha. after 5 days of owning her she had me off by leaping in the air and just ditching me, we overcame this problem and she improved hugely!

everything was going well untill yesterday, i was just riding in the school, walking warming her up like usal. i was riding for about 15 minutes when out of no where she went mad! bronked the whole way around the school before spinning sharply leaving me on the floor before her second lap, resulting in me breaking my ribs and being very badly bruised!! i regualy have the physio, dentist etc and they have found no problems so it cant be pain related.

i was wondering if anyone has had this situation with a sensitve, green horse before. i wasnt sure if calmer would help her to stop getting in a situation like this, it feels as if she just panics all of the sudden and completly turns herself inside out!

any advice would be great!! thanks :)
 
Oh how familiar this sounds ;) My previous horse was exactly that when I bought her -

I lunged the teets off her, got her working correctly on the ground, building up the muscle enough to carry me and her correctly. This combined with strict work as in 6-7 days a week made her thrive. I had to be very religious in the way I did things though, she was to walk with her head down low as soon as she had her 'work' gear on so she knew that the head up and run off scenario was absolutely NOT an option. Even just walking to and from the school. I would advise lungeing, lots of, and wehn you do get back on - neck strap and at no cost fall off. I spent nearly 7 days gripping on and just pushing forwards through it but once she learnt there was no route out but to settle, she was wonderful.

TB's are intelligent and sensitive (mostly) and will react to tension in an instant. Teach manners on the ground and DO NOT get on until you are tension free. Only my opinion but it worked for me :)
 
Yep, my horse was also the same, I think he panicked more as well when I did fall off. I solved it by changing his bit (the bit I had him in was useless for him, had no security at all, and i put him in something where I had a bit more control, that if he did start bucking I could pull him up easier) dont know if a change in bit could help your control?

He still carried on a few times, and Im afriad you may have to learn to sit to it! Once she realises you are still there, she might calm down and not panic if she knows knows you are not going to leave her (intentionally or not!)

Best of luck, these first few months can be the hardest! Once you have built up a solid relationship it should be better as well
 
Winklepoker said:
Oh how familiar this sounds ;) My previous horse was exactly that when I bought her -

I lunged the teets off her, got her working correctly on the ground, building up the muscle enough to carry me and her correctly. This combined with strict work as in 6-7 days a week made her thrive. I had to be very religious in the way I did things though, she was to walk with her head down low as soon as she had her 'work' gear on so she knew that the head up and run off scenario was absolutely NOT an option. Even just walking to and from the school. I would advise lungeing, lots of, and wehn you do get back on - neck strap and at no cost fall off. I spent nearly 7 days gripping on and just pushing forwards through it but once she learnt there was no route out but to settle, she was wonderful.

TB's are intelligent and sensitive (mostly) and will react to tension in an instant. Teach manners on the ground and DO NOT get on until you are tension free. Only my opinion but it worked for me :)
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thank you for your reply, my mare sounds exactly how your horse is! the more work i give her the better she is, i lunge her often and she tends to explode and then settle and work very nicely, 9/10 she is perfect its just that one time and i have no hope. warming up is where the issues lie, once she has streched and working she goes stunning; its just getting there! i manage to stay on 90% of the bronking its just when she starts spinning, stopping and leaping; typical youngster tbh!

im glad to hear your story and you have managed to work through what im going through! i love tb's but blimey they can be hard work!!
 
kirstykate said:
Has she raced/come from a racing yard? What do you feed her?
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she was breed in a racing yard and went through training, however has never raced. i have her on allen and page calm and condition and hi-fi, and hay at night, i avoid all feeds with anything which will give her energy so try keep her calm
 
abbie.b said:
she was breed in a racing yard and went through training, however has never raced. i have her on allen and page calm and condition and hi-fi, and hay at night, i avoid all feeds with anything which will give her energy so try keep her calm
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Was thinking more along the lines of ulcers?? Although most TBs are quirky wirey buggers!!!!
 
hayleyshep88 said:
Yep, my horse was also the same, I think he panicked more as well when I did fall off. I solved it by changing his bit (the bit I had him in was useless for him, had no security at all, and i put him in something where I had a bit more control, that if he did start bucking I could pull him up easier) dont know if a change in bit could help your control?

He still carried on a few times, and Im afriad you may have to learn to sit to it! Once she realises you are still there, she might calm down and not panic if she knows knows you are not going to leave her (intentionally or not!)

Best of luck, these first few months can be the hardest! Once you have built up a solid relationship it should be better as well
Click to expand...

thank you for your reply. looks like i should have hope! she panics a lot when i do fall off which just makes it worse, she is currently in a loose ring snaffel with a lozenge. i find she goes well in this bit however do you have any suggestion for bits which may work?

i have to agree with the fact that if i can sit to it all she may stop, i manage to hold on through the bronking its just when we start leaping and spinning im out the side door, think a lot of super glue may help me stick my bum to the saddle!! haha
 
abbie.b said:
thank you for your reply. looks like i should have hope! she panics a lot when i do fall off which just makes it worse, she is currently in a loose ring snaffel with a lozenge. i find she goes well in this bit however do you have any suggestion for bits which may work?

i have to agree with the fact that if i can sit to it all she may stop, i manage to hold on through the bronking its just when we start leaping and spinning im out the side door, think a lot of super glue may help me stick my bum to the saddle!! haha
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Its Def the spinning that gets us all:p:p:p
 
My late TB mare (seeing a TB, mare theme here?!) would explode if I tried to school her when I first got her.
I hacked her for 6 months as she was good out hacking. Every day! I taught her how to school out hacking, lateral work along the road ect. When I first re-introduced her to the school it was with lunging and in hand work then simple ridden work doing the stuff I had taught her out hacking.
She was brill, she adored schooling in the end would get 75% plus dressage. She just needed time, she was lovely. I had her 5 years and never fell off her :).
 
it's always the spinning that manages to floor you!

if she was mine I'd probably be lunging her before I got on for now. She will need time to learn that she doesn't get to explode like that with a rider on. But for now, let her get rid of her tickle without you on board. Then when you get on I wouldn't be walking around on a loose rein, but crack on with a short amount of trot and canter work then call it a day. Keep it all short and sweet at this age but frequent - work her 7days a week if needed. I'd use a martingale as it helps with them not getting their heads so high when misbehaving and also gives you something extra to hang onto.

good luck!
 
My lad (only 1/2 TB) was exactly the same as a 5yo if work got a bit too difficult - couldn't find his balance for work but could fly buck for england - worked him twice a day for 15mins instead of onr block of work and as he got stronger it stopped - sounds a typical baby to me ;)
 
abbie.b said:
thank you for your reply. looks like i should have hope! she panics a lot when i do fall off which just makes it worse, she is currently in a loose ring snaffel with a lozenge. i find she goes well in this bit however do you have any suggestion for bits which may work?

i have to agree with the fact that if i can sit to it all she may stop, i manage to hold on through the bronking its just when we start leaping and spinning im out the side door, think a lot of super glue may help me stick my bum to the saddle!! haha
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Well obviously it is what is best for your horse, but funnily enough I had mine in a loose ring lozenge as well! Lol, I just found it too loose for him and once he decided to take off, I couldn't stop him until he felt like it! I switched him to a single joint (nutcracker style) snaffle with cheeks and havent looked back!

Obviously the nutcracker effect is something only some horses like, but maybe a different bit may give you some more control until you get her more under control? :)
 
slightly different thought. there was a post on here not so long ago where the 'calmer' foods were discussed. I might be wrong but I am sure a couple of people remarked that the P&A feed had the opposite efferct on their horse..
 
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