First Horse!!

[GoneWithTheWind]

Just very recently bought my very first horse! And was wondering if you'd share your new horse experiences and advice. Anything would be appreciated!

Ps sorry if this has already been asked! New to this page too!

 

[alliwantforchristmas]

congratulations on your new horse! have you posted about him/her somewhere?

I'm always happy to talk about my new lad, Henry ... so ... Henry is a 7 year old, 15hh irish cob gelding (skewbald) who I bought around mid-December last year. When I tried him he felt amazingly safe, and was very quiet to handle. Hacked him alone and in company, handled him on the ground, all fab. When he arrived home the weather was utterly appalling (and remained so for pretty much all winter, as I am sure you are aware) so what we could do was very limited - however it quickly became clear that he was very scared of people, and life in general. Whether that was a result of his move to me, or whether he had been a bit 'shut down' at the dealers (or perhaps a combination) is hard to say. So I made the decision to not just launch out and ride him as the weather was against us and I wanted to build up both our confidences. So we have spent time on foot handling (farrier gave us a 100% improvement comment yesterday), leading out in hand, mounting block work, short rides in the school, grooming, spray bottles for tail etc, getting him used to a bitless bridle and generally building a bond and improving trust in each other. When weather improves a bit (please ... ) I plan to do some obstacle work to build up his confidence, more in hand walks out on the mountain, and perhaps some long-lining out and then building up to short rides outside. It also took about 10 weeks before the other two horses finally decided to accept him - but we are there now, and he is much happier for it, rather than being kept in the next field! Fast forward to now and I have a horse who stays lying down in his stable while I poo pick around him (he lives out, but comes in to a big barn/stable area for hay and to have a rest every evening, with his two pals - and they can all go in and out as they want to. He whickers every time he sees me, irrespective of whether he expects food or not, comes to call with the others and puts himself into his enclosure willingly when I open the door for him. I can get a bridle on without dismantling it (he was very head shy) and stroke and handle him pretty much all over without any objection now - we did have some ears back and bite threats for a while, but I felt he just felt very defensive and didn't get into any conflict with him, and it all just died away. He is much more relaxed and trusting and I feel we have a good foundation to build on when the nights get lighter and we can do more things together. He happily stands by the mounting block for me to get on and off as well (which is a big help to me!). I have used a lot of Ben Hart's shaping plans to quietly work through everything, identify any 'holes' as such and get the foundation solid. So I guess my advice would be to take things nice and steadily and don't set either of you up to fail at this early stage in your relationship. Give him time to settle, establish friendships with the other horses and help him feel safe with a routine and plenty of positive experiences. Good luck with him/her.

 

[GoneWithTheWind]

Awww that's a lovely story of how you'd have bonded over time.

My first horse is so new that he only arrived yesterday! He is a 16.3hh Irish Sports Horse. When he arrived he just walked onto the yard like he's been there his entire life, he is incredibly nervous and won't come forward to the door and look around just yet so I think we'd need to work on ground work like you did before rushing into things and cause cracks in our future relationship.

 

[LHIS]

I'm a new horse (pony actually) owner too. I can't stress enough how important I think ground work is - I found it a massive help in building a bond with my boy and getting my confidence up and creating a mutual trust.
Take your time and enjoy him x

 

[croissant]

I bought my first horse almost a year ago and she still seems new! I already knew her because I worked on the yard where she was. Handed over the money and quickly figured out that she had some issues I couldn't handle on my own. I kept her there for a couple of months while I waited for a space on my RI's yard and didn't really enjoy her until we moved, I relaxed and she realised she had her feet well under the table.

Riding wise we have had several set backs and it was very much "1 step forward, 2 steps back" for a while. It is still difficult - you correct one thing and another thing goes awry - but she's starting to look like a proper horse. Having my RI around all the time to supervise, answer questions, allay my fears and give me regular kicks up the arse has been a godsend, I am no longer biting my nails all week until my next lesson comes around worrying about doing things wrong.

It's not been easy, a far cry from the fairytale I pictured in my head, but I wouldn't change it. I've got my teeth into her now and she's the best project I've ever had.

My advice would be to find someone you trust to help you, listen to them and soak up all their knowledge, learn at every opportunity. Pick your battles. Accept constructive criticism, accept praise and keep smiling. And if ever you can't smile, just grit your teeth.

 

[Sugar_and_Spice]

I'll tell you about the time I bought a horse and moved to a new area at the same time. I'd come from an area where things were very "correct" on the whole and land was plentiful. Horses lived in or out as appropriate and were fed mainly hay and grass with those who competed or dropped weight in winter being fed hard feed.

Then I moved. Horse and I arrived at what I thought was a professional sort of equestrian centre, one which ran a riding school and NVQ training/exams as well as taking in RSPCA foster horses and doing livery. I'd previously looked round and agreed on grass livery for my horse (a cob who had been living out with previous owners). So out in his new field he went. Next day I went in to catch him and discovered that all that greenery was dock leaves and ragwort with barely a blade of grass in sight. Cue a trip to the local feed store where I asked the assistant which bagged forage was best for an overweight cob. Why do you want to feed an overweight cob anything other than hay? They asked. So I told them about the dire state of my "grass" livery and added that no minicab driver was going to let me put a bale of hay in his car (I didn't drive back then). There started my expensive journey into horse ownership in my new area.

Due to the field being mainly mud, my boy refused to lie down to sleep, necessitating a move onto DIY livery and the discovery that he was very wet in the stable and got through tons of bedding. Not quite the plan when I'd gone out to buy a cheap and easy to keep, hassle free cob.

Just as I'd breathed a sigh of relief that the battle with mud fever was over, along came spring and with it - sweet itch.

It all worked out ok in the end. My advice is to keep an open mind and try new things, but don't believe everything you're told and never trust anything you haven't seen with your own eyes, including the grass.

 

[Dougal9]

I've had my new and first horse 10 days and 3 hours now - he is a 12 yr old connie x, 15.1hh. He is an absolute diamond to handle on the ground, even though I've only had him a short time my confidence has grown so much, he is just soooo good. I can bathe him, groom him, tack him up, turn him out/bring him in, put his rugs on and off - its brilliant He has turned out to be very affectionate too - when I go and see him in his stable he comes across and nuzzles me, first one ear and then the other - it really makes my knees go weak (is that wrong !!). However, my riding has gone backwards as I guess the trust that is on the ground isn't in the saddle yet and so I've lost confidence and because of this he does make me nervous. But I am working on it, twice weekly lessons and arena work once a week too and hopefully a hack or two inbetween. I have the most brilliant yard manager who I could not have done any of this without, she even came with me to look at him and make sure he was OK for my level of riding (novice). I trust her completely and I'm learning so much every day from her and the other girls and liveries at the yard. I just feel so so lucky to at my age (55) finally have my own horse and be in such a supportive place. I've got hard work ahead of me with my riding, but boy am I looking forward to it.

 

[Hannahgb]

I've had my new and first horse 10 days and 3 hours now - he is a 12 yr old connie x, 15.1hh. He is an absolute diamond to handle on the ground, even though I've only had him a short time my confidence has grown so much, he is just soooo good. I can bathe him, groom him, tack him up, turn him out/bring him in, put his rugs on and off - its brilliant He has turned out to be very affectionate too - when I go and see him in his stable he comes across and nuzzles me, first one ear and then the other - it really makes my knees go weak (is that wrong !!). However, my riding has gone backwards as I guess the trust that is on the ground isn't in the saddle yet and so I've lost confidence and because of this he does make me nervous. But I am working on it, twice weekly lessons and arena work once a week too and hopefully a hack or two inbetween. I have the most brilliant yard manager who I could not have done any of this without, she even came with me to look at him and make sure he was OK for my level of riding (novice). I trust her completely and I'm learning so much every day from her and the other girls and liveries at the yard. I just feel so so lucky to at my age (55) finally have my own horse and be in such a supportive place. I've got hard work ahead of me with my riding, but boy am I looking forward to it.

This made me so happy reading that! Glad you've found one!!

 

[luckyoldme]

i have had my first horse seven years this month.
id waited all my adult life and finally got him when i was 42. I had nt had much to do with horses since i left school and ended up in a dodgy irish dealers yard.
He seemed very quiet (doped) and looked to me older than his (dodgey) passport said. He was a total saint..till he got home. He was in fact well into his teens and had very fixed ideas about what he would and would nt do. In short he walked all over me , threw me off more than i stayed on and generally made me realise what a total dick i had been buying an unvetted horse from a dealer who i would never have gone anywhere near had i googled his name.
I gave up any thoughts of riding him and decided just to get to know him, and over time we bonded (after 4 or 5 visits to a nd e) I only wanted a quiet hack to plod round the lanes on, and by pure chance once he settled he became just that. Despite paying a lot more than he was worth at the time im really really pleased he came into my life.
Having said that i have learnt my lesson and i will be a lot more carefull next time i go horse shopping.....or will I? I might have gone the long way about it but in the end i got just what i wanted.

 

[coblover01]

Hi all,
i have had my lil boy nearly 3months.
hes not my first horse, but my first youngster and my first cob
havent had a horse for like 6 years and fell in love with him at first sight..luckily for me my friend buys and sells so see him for few months before buying and ive not had one regret.
he listerns most of the time lol just an absolute pleasure to be around, comes when called, i trust him 100%
any ideas on what ground work i can do to make our bond even stronger?
hes roughly 20months old currently standing 13hh was told to make roughly 15hh? anyone got any ideas? be much appriciated!
thanks xx

 

[LHIS]

Hi all,
i have had my lil boy nearly 3months.
hes not my first horse, but my first youngster and my first cob
havent had a horse for like 6 years and fell in love with him at first sight..luckily for me my friend buys and sells so see him for few months before buying and ive not had one regret.
he listerns most of the time lol just an absolute pleasure to be around, comes when called, i trust him 100%
any ideas on what ground work i can do to make our bond even stronger?
hes roughly 20months old currently standing 13hh was told to make roughly 15hh? anyone got any ideas? be much appriciated!
thanks xx

Congrats on your new pony. Can't advise on the height, but re the groundwork, I can recommend Kelly Marks books, Perfect Manners has lots of groundwork exercises that will set you up well for future handling and riding.

 

[coblover01]

thank you ill look it up.