Help - Horse is feeling his feet

[staceyd]

Hi,

I brought my horse (16.3 full irish thoroughbred) about six weeks ago and up until now he hasn't put a foot wrong. when i first got him he was ribby and didn't really have much muscle/topline. He is now looking a lot healthier, not ribby but still slim, his topline is building up and he's a lot stronger across his back in general. trouble is as he's looking a lot better he's also feeling it too! he was quite full of it on our hack Monday night and kept jogging everywhere. when i tried to get him to walk he would start going backwards and then pound the floor with his front feet. however, when i had a couple of canters on him and he was brilliant and controlled and didn't pull once.

last night i had him in the school and was planning to jump him which i have only done once but he loved it and got excited. when i took him in the school he kept throwing his head about nearly head butting me (what's the point in a martingale?). he did his backwards trick and kept jumping about throwing a strop!! he then did a lovely rear with a big twist at which point i fell off ( i can take being excited but this is stupid and dangerous behaviour which i need to stop ASAP)! i jumped straight back on but was so upset i spent the next 15 minutes crying as i got him to go round the school doing a lot of halt walk transitions and then built up to trot (had to go back to halt-walk at one point as he started playing up). in the end we had a nice canter and ended on a better note then what we started.

i just feel nervous of the next time i ride him now and am unsure as to how to deal with this as we were getting on brilliantly, he neighs when he sees me and comes trotting over, has been as good as gold out hacking and in the school.

HELP - what do i do next? i need to tell him who's boss but don't want to ruin what we've got so far. i know that with some good schooling and something to think about he'll be fine but how can i achieve this when he keeps playing up before we even get started.

 

[AmyMay]

What are you feeding him and how much turn out does he have? What was his history prior to you getting him??

 

[*hic*]

What's he being fed? If the answer is anything but grass then cut all hard feed out. If he's on haylage feed hay. It's great to build them up BUT not at the expense of being able to ride them. Get him a bit poor again until you are confident.

As for riding him, if he's being a git then lunge him first for a good time and then see if his behaviour is improved any. If it is keep up the lunging before you ride until you are feeling confident of him again. If you are riding him and he starts to worry you hop off and make him work on the lunge.

 

[staceyd]

He's just on a cool mix with some alpha A and a supplement that aids digestion. i was using this to build him up which it's done and am now reducing the quantity. he's turned out 24/7 and in the day he's in a neighbours padock as they have too much grass for their little pony so he's grazing that down.

when i said nervous i am also nervous of doing the wrong thing and taking 3 steps backwards.

I will lunge him tonight as a full work out and then just ride him in the school for 10-15 minutes. does this sound ok?

 

[AmyMay]

Take him off the mix and alfa. Both can be heating (even a cool mix). Ride him off the field and put a standing martingale on him.

Good luck with him.

 

[staceyd]

Thanks for the advice. X

 

[Flame_]

Could you afford a few lessons with him? Someone on the ground might be able to see what the problem is and can point you in the right direction.

 

[Rouletterose]

I agree totally, definately!! Alfa A is rocket fuel to my horse even the lowest grade one.

 

[peanut]

[ QUOTE ]
I will lunge him tonight as a full work out and then just ride him in the school for 10-15 minutes. does this sound ok?

[/ QUOTE ]

Definitely a good idea. And take him off the mix and alpha A as has been suggested.

 

[staceyd]

Quote - Could you afford a few lessons with him? Someone on the ground might be able to see what the problem is and can point you in the right direction.

I've had a couple of lessons on him and the first went really well (when he was in poorer condition). we had a second lesson at the weekend and my instructor said how much better he was looking, he had improved his trot dramatically which was his worst pace but he did start to be a little naughty in the lesson by pulling on the reins when asked to work properly. my RI said he was just being naughty and to push through it.

i will drop the feed and see how he does. i was originally feeding him honey chop and only changed to alpha a as someone said it was good for building weight. he was fine on honey chop but that might of been because he wasn't as fit as well.

thanks for your help and i'll let you know how we get on. was just so upset last night as he'd been brilliant and was giving me loads of confidence and pleasure and then something like that happens

 

[ladyt25]

Def stop with the hard feed. If you're concerned about minerals etc then get a good mineral lick put out in the field for him.

I second the standing martingale but I would also double check his saddle/back. If you are wearing the same saddle you've had from the start when he was thin and now he's filled out it could be it is pinching him. Same if he's also still young and therefore changing shape. This could explain the head throwing and rearing.

 

[charlie55]

I agree, you said he has put on weight and condition since you bought him, if he has changed alot them hes saddle will no longer fit him, which has probabley caused a sore back. So getting these checked is the first thing i would do.. My horse kept broncing with me, i found out he was sore and his saddle needed flocking, now hes a different horse!!

Alfa A also turned my youngster into a loon as its high energy feed

Good luck hun x

 

[BackInBlack]

i was just going to post a thread a lot like this! so i know where you're coming from. my horse chucked me off in the field the other day and has been taking the mickey ever since, and then today he took a dislike to a road sweeper (he's usually an angel on the road) and spun around, backed up to hedges and ditches, reared, bucked, shook his head, pawed the ground. scarey. i managed to stay on but had to divert from going home via a bridle path to trying to get him to walk along a road. i'm certainly going to follow advice you have been given too! good luck

 

[Hovis_and_SidsMum]

When hubby first got omar (ID/TB X) he did the same. His fav trick was rearing and spinning whilst throwing a grade A hissy fit.
Hubby dropped his food back, hacked the legs off him and worked and worked and worked him. It turns out his last owner had been scared of this behaviour so when he did it she got off. Viola! Instant opinion that that trick got him out of work.
It took some time (and i hate to say a broken arm) but omar now hasn't thrown a strop in months.
A standing martingale might help, hubby did ride omar in draw reins for a few weeks to keep the buggers head down and that seemed to work.
I guess the key thing is to just keep not allowing him to get away with it - easier said than done i know!
Well done for even getting back on him - i hate rears far more than bucks.

 

[joe_carby]

id agree with all the feed advice but also he could be just seeing how good you are. 1st time i hunted my new lad he floor me and i meen big time floored me. i got straight back on and led over the next wall as no one thought there horse would lead over it so i thought right lets see what your really like gave him a kick in guts he went straight over and never put a foot wrong again. i wouldnt say it was the excitement of hunting as he new his job in that department thoroughly he just wanted to test me and see what i was made of.

 

[Louby]

My horse heats up on cool mix but was fine on Spillers Slow release energy mix, wierd and Alfa A can cause some to heat up too. If you want to feed anything I would reccomend Hi Fibre cubes with a bit of Hifi. My horse is very spooky at the moment and I think its the grass after all this rain.
Also horses do often test you once they have found there feet. Id swap his food first and maybe avoid jumping for a short while so not to knock your confidence more whilst you get through this 'testing' time. A couple of lessons for a bit of back up sounds good.

 

[MyBoyChe]

Just echoing what's already been said about feeding. My normally very sane TB threw a bit of a paddy a couple of weeks ago. My fault entirely, had let him have access to far too much fresh spring grass, his winter diet was fibre, fibre and more fibre, his weight had dropped off a little and I thought he'd be fine. I think the low magnesium levels and the high sugar fried his little mind. I have made him a smaller paddock where the grass had been eaten down, he is now not so stuffed full of grass and I can get him to eat 2 very small meals of High fibre nuts with some chaff and a scoop of magnesium in it. Touch wood, he has calmed down and is back to his old chilled self. A lesson learnt.