dissapointed- horse really really played up today

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clairefeekerry1

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bit gutted. horse really messed me around today-resulting in 2 full on proper rears.more and more he's been getting really excited over what seems very little and starts to bunch up and canter on the spot, trying to ride him thru it but today he kept bunny hoping then just got higher and higher. couldnt help it, i got off, know i really shouldn't but its done now. when i got back on he was fine again so sure he's taking the p. only had him 6 months and he was such a safe horse for first few months so really a bit gutted but want to nip this in the bud. what do you think i should do, he had never even hotted up until this all started, back, teeth, tack all done recently, no change in fee or management
 
Don't worry hun, its not just you. I was talking with a few of my horsey mates today who have all had enough with their horses takin the P today. Its something in the air, they are all really skittish and over excited! My boy humped my mare this morning - he's never done that to anyone else.

Take a breather and try again in a couple of days.
 
Do you have any facilities where you could lunge him first? I find the best thing witha horse like that is to get them going foward on the lunge. This not only tires them out a little but it all also makes them think forward and when they're thinking forward they're less likely to go up.
 
ye i do, but suppose the point is he wasn't supposed to be like 'this'. didn't want another horse that was exciteable/stressy etc (had enough of that with old horse!) so went for a horse that was sane and sensible, which he 200% was for the first few months!
fully expect some sharpness/antics etc etc esp after the recent weather- do not expect full blown rears. plus he been back in work for 2 weeks now.
 
If he hasnt had much work it could be exuberance,exitement or crossness (depending on what sort he is ) about working again after the grot weather. Another thought, even if back, teeth and tack have been checked, might be worth getting a second opinion. I had a horse who would buck after jumps and sometimes after a canter for two years, Saddle & back were checked numerous nimes. New saddler said that saddle is no good for her, got a new saddle and hey presto problem completely resolved.

Finaly is it possible that it might be something you are doing. Perhaps yopu are tense, fixing with your hands/legs or something. If he was ok, and now is not, and if you had problems with your last horse could be a bit of a vicious cycle going on, had this with my daughter & her TB, perhaps you could get someone in to asses him and you.

Good luck though. Its not muchgh fun when things start to go pear shaped.
 
I'd agree that there are a lot of people who are finding that their horse is a bit less manageable than usual at the moment, I've had several calls in the past week to arrange a visit to help people work through these things. It's really difficult when as you say, you bought a horse that wasn't supposed to give you these problems. But if he was that good for so long, then you should be able to work with him to get back to that behaviour. It may be that you need someone to help, to look at the way that you are with him and see if there's anything you need to change in order for him to behave more reasonably for you.

One thing I noticed in your post is that you thought it was a bad thing to have got off when your horse was messing around. IMHO this is an old wives tale. How can it not have been the best thing to do if as soon as you got on again he behaved himself fine?! There is lots that you can do on the ground to develop the relationship between you and your horse and improve his respect for you. I used to ride all sorts of horses (somehow I developed a reputation for riding dangerous horses, which I've now managed to get rid of thankfully!). People used to say that I was really brave, but that's not the case at all - it's just that I'd spend as long as it took to develop an understanding on the ground first before even thinking about getting on their backs. And if once I was on board things weren't going quite right, I'd get off again and do some more work on the ground. It must have worked, because business is always busy!

Hope this gives you some encouragement that you did the right thing,

Sue
 
My lad is exactly the same at the moment. I think its just the time of year and the fact that the weathers been so crappy. Chances are he'll go back to normal once the weather picks up a bit and you can get out on him more
 
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ye i do, but suppose the point is he wasn't supposed to be like 'this'. didn't want another horse that was exciteable/stressy etc (had enough of that with old horse!) so went for a horse that was sane and sensible, which he 200% was for the first few months!
fully expect some sharpness/antics etc etc esp after the recent weather- do not expect full blown rears. plus he been back in work for 2 weeks now.

[/ QUOTE ]

Remember he is a horse though, an animal - not a machine. Just because he wasn't meant to be like it unfortunately doesn't mean that he won't be - as you're finding out. There are very few horses that wouldn't be on their toes after the recent time off due to weather etc. 2 weeks isn't long to have been back in work and depending on the work you've been doing with him it could have barely scratched the surface.
Give it a couple of weeks and i'm sure you'll have the horse you thought you had back, these things just take time.
 
Exactly the same thing is happening to me at the moment, and having just come off ponies and this being my first big show jumper i'm not particularly happy with it! But am hoping that it will all sort itself out in time and can't wait for the summer when he will chill out! But for now maybe get someone to help with inhand work, it's totally boring, but i had natural horsemanship lessons with one of my showjumpers and if you keep it up it works like magic! I was never interested in natural horsemanship but it was a last resort and really did work!
 
thank you all for your replies.

ts- on reading that part of my post back, i realise that was a silly thing to say, of course he is an animal, just bit dissapointed really!

think i mite try to ride him a bit more positively. at the moment, as i'm aiming to keep things very chilled i tend to hack him on a loose rein at whatever pace of walk he chooses, i.e he tends to rush. maybe if i'm firmer with him, i.e ride with a shorter contact, in an outline, he may not find it all so exciting!!
 
Take him out for a 4 hour ride. Even if you only want to walk at least it will take him out for a long time. Tell someone where you are going! Make him go at the pace YOU want to go, ifyou let him take over it makes him into the leader, or boss, and not you.

The boss horse controls the horse's feet, which includes the pace at which you go.
 
My horse started this, everytime I turned for home he would be like a coiled spring and leap about, one day i hacked him and everytime I turned for home, if he started, I turned him back away and trotted him in the opposite direction. After 3 and half hours of this he calmly walked home. He has never been naught out hacking again.
 
you're not the only one - my pony was an idiot today and so when we jogged etc all the way home when i got back to the yard i made her do schooling in canter and loads of transitions and worked her really hard. this normally stops her wanting to get home!!

only problem with that is that shes fitter than i realised and ive ended up aching!!
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serves me right i guess
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Grow up! The weather has been bad not much riding lunge before you ride and you've only owned him 6 months and you expect him to be a SAINT every time you ride and do you really know him and he you?
 
Hi Clairefeekerry1
I suspect many of our normally sane equine friends are not quite as sane as normal!!
Not sure what your routine is, + well aware of weather, so you may not be able to turn him out, but my TBx lot are out 24/7 (rugged, unclipped, with access to stables, haylage + scoop of nuts spread out). (Granted none of them are in full work, but they are sane when i do get on board)
Are you able to turn the lad out? If not, can you turn him out in a school for his bucks/letting off steam? Another forum friend has suggested lungeing, which i totally agree with, as it will get him thinking forwards again, rather than upwards!
He was sensible for your first few months, so i rather think that it's something to do with dark nights/bad weather, etc, etc, when we can't ride. He sounds nice, + you like him, so give him a chance.
There's help out there also (BHS website).
These horses teach us something new every day - it's up to us to learn! Good luck, friend, hope all works out, with my very best wishes, BS x
 
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