Any Ideas as to why he would do this please

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SAL66

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I tried a horse last night, and he was nice looking although carrying too much weight, and to start with was a little sluggish, but had gorged himself on grass all day, after he had warmed up he was quite resposive to the leg, he had a lovely walk and trot and a weird canter, he really was like a rocking horse and I felt like I was rocking and not really moving, when I gave him abit more rein he seemed to lengthen his stride and do a "normal" canter although when my reins were shorter he was fighting me nor was I holding on to his mouth, he may well have 2 types of canter, never experienced this before.

Anyway back to my point, every now and again, whilst riding he would lower his head as though he was going for grass , but never getting that low, only for a few seconds each time, i tried to see if he was opening his mouth but I couldn't quite see, I tried to get a feel when he was going to do it and just gave him a little contact with the inside reign and this stopped it sometimes he was never rough and wasn't scary and i don't think he was doing it to get me off, if he was he was doing a really bad job of it.
He was ridden in a waterford but on the snaffle rein, so the owner told me and has done this since she has had him.
Is it a habit that I can break, or has he a problem .

Also he doesn't quite work in an outline, will this improve with time or being as he's 12 will just stop as he is.

Temperment wise he was great, price wise good too, I am going to see him again as he really was quite nice for the money that I want to pay, I know a horse is never going to be 100% perfect, but I really do not know why he does these things.

If I do buy him , will get him vetted first, the first thing I will do is put him on a diet, he's on 1 hard feed a day and out on grass all day and hay/haylage at night, he did have a belly on him bless him.

Any help on this would be great, if you haven't fell to sleep reading this it does go on abit I know, sorry!
 
Could be how the owner has schooled him.
Bit confused he is is a waterford on the snaffle rein?? was it a gag then?

As for can the schooling change definately tho obiously as an older horse may take longer to brake the habbit!
 
With regards to the canter, was he not just collecting it a bit on the shorter rein? This would explain why he felt like he was rocking but not moving forwards as much. Then going into working canter on a normal rein?

You will be able to work the horse into an outline eventually but this wont happen until he has developed the correct muscles in his neck and over his back and get him working from underneath and behind.

And putting his head down sounds like he is leaning on the bit. This will also improve with schooling and possible a change of bit, a good instructor will be able to point you in the right direction. Or it may be possible he was just not going foward enough, next time you try him try and push him a bit more into the bridle and keep having a gentle feel down the rein.

Also I dont understand what you mean about the waterford being on the snaffle rein, was it a dutch gag?
 
The waterford being on the snaffle rein confused me also,she said that when she bought it he was in a snaffle , and thought she would try something different, tbh the owner and the horse just don't appear to click, so if I bought him I would try him in a different bit, as he seemed quite light in the mouth and certainly didn't have to apply much rein for him to respond.
I must say that I am not very experienced in changing bits all my horses have kept the same bits as they worked well in them without problems.
 
The reaching down is an evasion of making a proper outline - my youngster does it to avoid having to work properly. It is easily correctable by kicking them up into the bridle. They soon learn not to do it.

Teaching a horse to work on an outline can be done at any time - my 16 yro has spent the past 1.5 years being totally retrained from pokey nosed to collected dressage horse and I think he loves the feeling of power it gives him when he carries himself like that. You just have to give them time to adapt. (i'm sure it won't take you that long - jack was being rehabilitated from illness!)

The rocking canter you describe is very ponyish and sounds like he has been taught to canter like that out of his rider fearing he'll zoom off, it will just take a bit of schooling to teach him to extend a bit.
Sounds like you liked him tho so good luck!
 
thanks for the comments i really really appreciate them.

OrangeyEmpire- yes I do like him, he's never going do wonder's in the ring, he's just a nice genuine horse, who really tries for you.
 
Waterford is merely a mouthpiece - you can have a waterford in many variations, i.e. snaffle, 3 ringer, hanging cheek etc etc - I guess you mean it was a continental snaffle/dutchgag/bubble bit - i.e. one with several rings but the rein on the big snaffle ring?

Re the canter, sounds like it may have become disunited/4 time? It probably just needed pushing forward a bit.

Re the head down - could be just a leaning/snatching/on the forehand problem, possibly not helped by him feeling unfit/overweight. If so, you'll probably find that will lesson with time without you having to do too much other than disallow the habit. If you were working him into more of an outline than he's used to, it could also be muscle tiredness - i.e. aching a bit & just needing to stretch.

I'd suggest specifically mentioning it to the vet on the 5 stage vetting & ensuring the horse is RIDDEN for the vetting (not just lunged), so he can see the problem. Once the vet has seen the action & checked the horse out, he should be able to advise whether it's likely to be a problem/pain or a ridden problem.

If it were me & I really wasn't sure, in addition to the vet I may also want a physio to check the horse as vets aren't always great as spotting muscular problems on sound horses. If the owner is trustworthy & decent, she should be happy with this additional check. The extra £50 (say) cost of the physio would be nothing compared to the cost of purchasing a horse who turns out to have real problems...
 
I think your best idea would be to take an 'expert' with you to look at the horse again. Your vet will be great for soundness etc, but tbh some vets have never ridden and don't know much about schooling issues. Try find a qualified or experienced instructor/rider to look at him with you to help you decide.
Good luck
S
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The putting head down could be him trying to lean on the bit which may be why he's in a waterford. Also if he is unfit and carrying too much weight he may have been struggling to work in an outline.

Also if his current owner hasn't been doing much with him schooling wise and maybe just hacked out with him on a long rein then he may just be used to pootling along with his head down. If he is trying to lean though then it would become more noticeable in a different bit.

From what you have said though he sounds lovely. Good luck if you do decide to go ahead.
 
The horse that I viewed is in Melton mowbray and I live in Derbyshire so although I don't think its far, alot of "horsey" people that I know think that it is, are there any independant people that you can pay to have a look with you and give you their honest opinion maybe ride him as well.
 
Breezebenefactor - are you asking if he is a cob ?
No he isn't a cob , not sure of his history, I think basically he just needs working.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Your horse is a cob & probably spent a while in a riding school?

[/ QUOTE ]

believe me TB's can behave just the same way! My TB was a nightmare to get going forward, would lean on the forehand and fight any contact by dragging me out of the saddle.......so not just cobs
 
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