friends new horse - advice sought

O

Ottinmeg

Well-Known Member
Joined
5 July 2007
Messages
2,188
Location
Suffolk
www.equestrianimage.com
just had an email from my friend who has recently bought a new horse after being out of the horsey loop for years (she bought daughters a pony last year and got the bug herself again ) anyway new boy is not cauding any major problems but ,and she was told this by old owner, he is an absolute snail in the school. she says she has to ask 10 times and a tap with the whip to get him to trot,canter etc. old owner wore spurs and used the whip to get him to move so i guess he just ignores it now! when she jumps over small jumps , if he isnt approaching in canter he crashes through them but face him at a bigger jump and he will put himself in canter and fly over it..in the field he is much more forward going and out on a hack getting him moving forward isnt a problem. it just seems to be in the school that he switches off and she isnt keen on using the whip to get him to move etc
any ideas ?
 
Next time in the school do lots of transitions and circles to get the horse listening , put some trotting poles out to go over to make it a bit more interesting rather than just going round and round in circles, put a few jumps up in the school and just do a variety of things to make it fun ! hope this helps
smile.gif
 
Why did it get to the stage where she had to ask 10 times with the leg before she gave him a wakener with the whip?? would this not be why he is so dead to the leg, etc.

If your friend is just coming back into riding after a long break, this is probably just what she needs right now, to build her confidence and get her back into it gently. But after that it sounds like he could do with some re schooling to me.

He needs to learn that he must respond to the leg first time, constant nagging will have made him dead and switched off.

You didn't say how old he was, or what breed etc
 
he probably hates the school as he associates it with whacked and kicked with spurs and hard work, maybe try some ground work exercises with him and make it less boring, even carrot stretches and stuff?

and dont over cook him in there, 10 mins at a time wil be enough for him to think its not that bad.

sophiexxx
 
Have just re read your post, and it sounds to me that the poor guy is bored stiff too!!

He needs to learn to enjoy his schooling again, make it fun for him, do lots of different things, both ridden and loose schooling, to get him to realise it can be more than just punishment.
You need to get him thinking. And liking his work, he sounds stale and bored to me
 
We sold a horse like that, he nearly killed me in the vetting i couldt keep him in canter i was so knackered! in the end, mum had to chase us with a lunge whip to keep him cantering for long enough in the vetting!!!
Just what they wanted thought as one of the riders had severe arthritus and couldnt afford to fall off so needed a slug to walk down the road and the kids to play around on
smile.gif
 
How much hacking is your friend doing? Can she do nothing but hack for a while (several weeks at least) but get him to really work forward and use the hacks as schooling sessions? It might help change his attitude when he gets back in the school?
 
As my instructors say - there is no such thing as a lazy horse, only a lazy rider (despite my protests!)

However using the squeeze, kick, flick method I've got my horses much quicker off the leg

Key thing is not to nag with your legs and teach your horse to stay at current pace until told to change
 
Our arab cross was exactly like this. He used to be ridden in spurs before we got him and your legs would feel like they were about to drop off after about 5 minutes of riding him (we don't use spurs and he bucks if you smack him with the whip). What it's taken to get him much more responsive to the leg (and by this I mean just a gentle squeeze and not a kick) is some very patient working through sequences. Start by squeezing with your seat (it should feel like squeezing a penny between your cheeks !), if no response (ie change of gait) from this then squeeze with the legs, if no response from this then make a clicking noise with your mouth just once, if no response then hit yourself gently with either the reins or a short rope, if no response from this then hit him gently with the reins/rope over the withers or behind the saddle. You should get a response from the final stage of the sequence at the very least, if you are patient and keep at it. (and if you repeat this over half an hour or so you should fairly quickly get to the stage where you get a response from stage 2 or 3). This approach has had amazing results with our boy who HATED the school and would mentally switch off as soon as the gate closed behind him. It also means that we don't need an oxygen tank and resuscitation from exhaustion after schooling him. I should add that we also play games with him in the school so he doesn't just associate it with "boring" work. It took about 3 weeks and we haven't yet got to the seat-squeezing stage, but I'm ever the optimist !
 
GH , this horse is exactly as the one you have described, safe enough for the kids to play with and calm enough to get her back into it.
i believe the horse has been allowed to get away with far to much from previous owner as he always looks for treats and nibbles clothes and is a bit bargy through gateways etc but have told her under no circumstances to allow him to get away with that behaviour, he is 7 and i havnt a clue what breed he is (only seen him from a distance so far ) but think there is some connie in him. i will pass on your advice! thanks
 
[ QUOTE ]
Yey wheezy, is that known as "the pony club kick"?? lol

[/ QUOTE ]

Not really. The way it works is horses like this one described have usually just gotten dead because they have been nagged, nagged, nagged and become ambivilant to it, therefore you take your legs away and then thump them, once - it usually shocks them into waking up and behaving - it DEFFO worked with P, who is now far more responsive.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top