Help......how do you overcome a seriously nappy horse???

skychick said:
TGM and Blazing saddles thank you.
If he has done this alot and he is 12 years old is it likely that he can be cured of it?
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I doubt he will ever be 100% cured of it, in the sense that if he changes hands again or moves to a new yard, he might start the behaviour again. However, as he was hacking alone happily for a long time in his old home, I think it is quite likely that it could be possible to get him hacking confidently alone in his new one. I've have known quite a few horses that have napped badly in a new home, but then settled down to hacking out on their own after a while.

However, the real question is whether you feel confident enough to work through these problems with him.
 
Im guessing that plenty of hacking out with others etc and maybe quite a bit of leading out tacked up should help.
I was as i said 100% confident on him lastweek.....but i have to admit, i am now a bit apprehensive about riding tonight etc, even in the school. But i guess i need to just see what happens when i get on him. It could be the case that he goes back to being well behaved in the school again and then i can organise rides out with others and get him used to the area.
I think the circling tightly etc when he bucks/rears/spins will help him to learn that he isnt going to get away with anything.
I really do think alot of it is habit and naughtyness as aparently he has done it before. It could be just a case of judging when he is actally aprehensive and when he is taking the p*ss so that he can be "encouraged" accordingly.
 
I think the fact his previous owner was able to ride him thorugh his initial napping is a good sign.
Your decision is whether you are confident enought to force him to take your word for it that he's now safe and you are in charge, or not. I have had horses who have learned to stop at strategic points, ditch mum & head for home. Almost without exception I used the whip, got mad & shocked them into doing what they were told. That's fine if you are confident & used to problem horses.

This tactic has worked with your horse with previous riders and he's now simply trying it on with you. It shoudln't really matter that it's a new environment or whatever, he either has confidence in his rider or not. Horses go new places all the time & don't nap or buck.

If you aren't confident enough to 'ride him through' this - and that is perfectly understandable, and you can't send him back, then in your place I would get a plan.
I would get a confident strong rider to hack him out & ride him in the school and ride him through this issue, they don't have to beat him, but he needs discipline.

For yourself I would arrange for a while to do stuff with him which is within your, and his comfort zone, hacking in company, lessons, long reining him. The idea being to still have fun with him, without getting injured or scared.

The upside is that you know that underneath the naughty horse is one which can go out and compete affiliated etc. You just need to work out how to get him onside.

One other thing I would do is still get that tack checked. If previous owner had problems with him in the same tack it may not be helping him.
 
Sorry to hear your having such a rubbish time.

I would take it easy for a few weeks/months - as long as it takes for the horse to wind down. As people have said if he is confident being led out maybe do that for a few weeks and do some schooling?

Would your instructor be willing to ride him out for you a few times with you on another horse. That way you can see what is happening and how she is dealing with it as well as your horse having a bit of company??

Really hopes the situation gets better for you.

(p.s. I am in the same situation where I have a new horse and he is unsettled so totally understand how upsetting it can be!)

All the best, let us know how you get on
x
 
Sorry to hear your having such a rubbish time.

I would take it easy for a few weeks/months - as long as it takes for the horse to wind down. As people have said if he is confident being led out maybe do that for a few weeks and do some schooling?

Would your instructor be willing to ride him out for you a few times with you on another 'nanny' horse that hacks confidently. That way you can see what is happening and how she is dealing with it as well as your horse having a bit of company??

Really hopes the situation gets better for you.

(p.s. I am in the same situation where I have a new horse and he is unsettled so totally understand how upsetting it can be!)

All the best, let us know how you get on
x
 
The question is why has the temprement of the horse changed so much between trying him out and bringing him in to new surroundings?

One thing is quite clear and that is the person that sold him to you did not reveal the true reasons why she was selling him.

It is also quite possible that the horse was doped or dehdrated (This is why you need the horse to be vetted when buying it as blood is taken for instances like this). Even though you bought the horse privately you can still return it and ask for your money back. In the event of the owner refusing to do this you can either instructing a solicitor or apply (on line) to the small claims court for your money back and the costs of keeping the horse.

Yes! horses characters can change when moving from one home to another and/or changing owners but if it a real laid back bombproof spokproof horse this will not happen.

My advice would be if you feel that you are loosing confidence then return the horse before you have an accident or loose interest in riding out.

Next time you buy a horse buy one locally so that you ahve the opportunity of trying out the horse several times and wheer the true temprement and history of the horse is known by locals.
 
Lock your saddle away for a month, give him a week to settle, groom him every day, then do some meaningful groundwork with him; lunge him, long rein him, and get him very responsive to you and your voice...then get back on him.
 
A napper that bucks is a confirmed napper in my books. Go carefully OP and find out what works best to encourage him forward. My horse will try it on ocassionally - but would never buck, rear or spin.
 
He is definately not really spooky, when i rode him when i tried him out, we went through the middle of a town and there was busses, lorries with big flashing lights, motorbikes, kids on skateboards etc. We had to pass signs, roadworks, etc and he was as good as gold.
On the hack i did when he first came to me, we passed signs, etc 2 kids came hurtling around the corner of a quiet country lane on scooters and he didnt flinch.
So i dont think its spookyness that has caused the napping or really fear tbh. There was nothing to be scared of where my yard is its a very quiet place, we live in the middle of nowhere.
I think alot of the problems have developed with the girl who had him for the 6 months before i bought him. She totally overhorsed herself and she has admitted it in some old adverts we found for him. But it transpired form talking to the owner before her thoe one that had him for 3 or 4 years and did everything with him etc that she stopped riding before xmas because she was scared of him. The girl who had him for 3 or 4 years thinks that she let him get away with alot.
TBH i am not sure that i am confident enough to have a full on scrap with him, due to the fact that as i said although i have ridden for 15 years, i havent done alot in the last 2 - 3 years.
I am lucky that my riding instructor owns the livery yard that i am at, so maybe i should pay her to school him for a while, She rode him yesterday and had issues with him as soon as she got on. But she has broken and worked with hundreds of difficult horses over the years and if she cant get him going then no one can.
However....is it likely that if she gets him going then when i get back on him....is he going to start again?

Gotta love horses hey! My OH thinks i am mad....he has never been around horses before and thinks i am completely bonkers for wanting to persevere with a horse that threw me off 3 times in about 15 mins! I guess they just dont understand how much we want to enjoy our horses and for our horses to be happy!
 
My TB napped horrendously when I first had him. It took time & perseverance but he came round. He went from rearing, broncing, spinning, reversing etc to now being a horse I can happily hack out on a long rein.
We progressed slowly from hacking out with others, to with my dad on a bike in front, to next to me, to eventually behind me. It didn't take long but I ensured I was totally consistant with what I asked of him & always responded to his protests in the same manner.
We also did alot of walking in & out of the yard - backwards & forewards until I knew that when I asked he would do.
Even now I occasionally do that - just to test he is listening to me! We will often walk past the yard on the way back from a hack - mean I know, but it essential I know he is listening.

Good luck with it, nappers can be sorted out, you just have to be patient & consistant. Totally agree with angus - abandon the riding & do some ground work with him. I did stacks of long reining & it helped loads to get him a bit more independant but still listening to my instructions. Great fitness for you too!:D
 
Scatty_bird, sorry to hear you are having problems too. Thank you for your comment and suggestions. Its a good idea to try and ride out with my instructor on him and me on another horse so that i can watch and see how she deals with him.

Sienna mum that i shall try lungeing, longreining and schooling and see how things progress. I guess the more leading out i do then the more i will get him used to going away from the yard and then he knows that we come back and all will be ok. And then when he is used to that then i can start trying to ride him out.

I have ridden a pony that napped badly, but he would stop in the road and just wouldnt move. You could kick, coax, talk to, sing to etc for as long as you liked, and then you could get off and try and lead/drag/coax/sing/sit on the side of the road and pass the time.....and then suddenly he would just start walking on again for no apparent reason apart from that he prob got bored. Eventually he gave up as he knew we would never go hom and did it less and less and now he is fine.
But spining, rearing and bucking is a bit of a different kettle of fish! That is something that i will have to get my head around and see how i get on with dealing with it i think.
 
I think you are absolutely right in your view of him. I wouldn't despair though. If your instructor is happy to have a few sessions with him, you can also work him to ensure you are consolidating her work.
He will at some point probably still try it on with you, but once your confidence & his submissiveness have grown you could well end up wondering what you were so worried about.
Horses like him will try it on with every new rider they have, soon as you established whose boss you could have a lovely boy.
 
Doris 2008.....that is great to hear that you got your horse sorted in the end. I am certainly not afraid of putting some work into him hence i am on here and not going through the courts to get my money back etc. The horse is great asides from this issue, which had i know about prob would mean that i hadnt bought the horse despite how confident he made me feel and how easy he was to care for on the ground.
But it is the risk you take when buying horses, so i have a horse which napps.
I think i am going to do what you have done, enlist the help of several others....i.e people to ride out with.....friends/family on bikes......people walking with me......long reining and ground work etc.
Fingers crossed the hard work will have paid off.....i know he has been moved around an awfull lot....but there has got to be hope when not the person who i bought him from but the person before her had had him for 4 years and loved him and enjoyed him.
 
Talk about generalising! Some horses DO need a good smack. I don't think nessacarily so in this case, but in a lot yes it is quite nessacary! Reassuring and talking to a piss-taking horse will only make it worse - its all part of their game!
Just to add, I've seen several nice horses RUINED by people taking the nicey nicey approach. Horses are animals, they are used to being in herd situations. They need to be put in their place BENEATH people, their mothers will kick them and bite them if they step out of line, so IMO a sharp smack from the rider (who should essentially be in charge) is really not a bad thing?
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Its not always about being nicey nicey. There is more to training horses than black and white- nicey nicey or whacking with whips! There is an inbetween. You have to be firm, consistant and fair. Just like in a herd. But no, you dont need to resort to whacking. Horses dont play games, they behave according to how they are ridden and treated. Often this means they are taught things by accident- i.e. feed a horse every day at 5pm and it waits at the gate after just a couple of days. This isnt because it wants to come in, its because it is conditioned to wait because it gets food.

The same for ridden work. This horse has moved frequently, it is insecure. It doesnt want to leave its security, so somewhere along the line it has learnt that if it bucks, the pressure it cant handle is removed. its not playing a game or taking the p1ss, it is responding how it has been trained and in a way that a horse does. Repeat the same thing just a few times consistantly and a horse learns, good AND bad. You dont then whack the poor thing because of it, or because it doesnt understand.

This problem can be cured but it requires re-training. If the horse was happy to hack out alone 2 weeks ago when it hadnt been ridden since christmas, with patient training it will be ok in the new home. But whacking it with a whip wont work.

Good luck OP. the horse sounds fine in every other way, you just have to persevere slowly with help and you will soon have the horse you bought.

I re-trained a very bad napper- with full up rears and spins in 6 weeks, no whip necessary. When she stopped, her first reaction was to rear. So i just sat there- no point in asking her to go forwards, she would rear. When she stopped anticipating a battle the rearing and whipping around stopped. I had to sit on the side of the road for half an hour some days. If traffic came i got off and led her to a gateway then got back on again. eventually she went forward and even 2 strides was rewarded with me sitting still. After 2 weeks no rearing, 4 weeks less stopping, 6 weeks an angel to hack on her own. It can be done, you just have to be consistant and dont push the horse to the point of danger (bucking, etc).
 
teddyt said:
Its not always about being nicey nicey. There is more to training horses than black and white- nicey nicey or whacking with whips! There is an inbetween. You have to be firm, consistant and fair. Just like in a herd. But no, you dont need to resort to whacking. Horses dont play games, they behave according to how they are ridden and treated. Often this means they are taught things by accident- i.e. feed a horse every day at 5pm and it waits at the gate after just a couple of days. This isnt because it wants to come in, its because it is conditioned to wait because it gets food.

The same for ridden work. This horse has moved frequently, it is insecure. It doesnt want to leave its security, so somewhere along the line it has learnt that if it bucks, the pressure it cant handle is removed. its not playing a game or taking the p1ss, it is responding how it has been trained and in a way that a horse does. Repeat the same thing just a few times consistantly and a horse learns, good AND bad. You dont then whack the poor thing because of it, or because it doesnt understand.

This problem can be cured but it requires re-training. If the horse was happy to hack out alone 2 weeks ago when it hadnt been ridden since christmas, with patient training it will be ok in the new home. But whacking it with a whip wont work.

Good luck OP. the horse sounds fine in every other way, you just have to persevere slowly with help and you will soon have the horse you bought.

I re-trained a very bad napper- with full up rears and spins in 6 weeks, no whip necessary. When she stopped, her first reaction was to rear. So i just sat there- no point in asking her to go forwards, she would rear. When she stopped anticipating a battle the rearing and whipping around stopped. I had to sit on the side of the road for half an hour some days. If traffic came i got off and led her to a gateway then got back on again. eventually she went forward and even 2 strides was rewarded with me sitting still. After 2 weeks no rearing, 4 weeks less stopping, 6 weeks an angel to hack on her own. It can be done, you just have to be consistant and dont push the horse to the point of danger (bucking, etc).
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I agree overall BUT, it took you 6 weeks to retrain your mare. Using a whip with one nasty nappy horse I had, it took me 20 minutes, with another - who had repeatedly hospitalised previous owners - it took me 5 days. Both times I pretty much had a full on battle & I wouldn't do it now as I'm too cowardly, but it worked 100% neither horse to my knowledge napped again.
Another mare I had I couldn't have a battle with as she would simply freeze & refuse to react. It took me months & the kind of treatment you are describing above to get her hacking alone.

I think the whip absolutely does have a place in reeducating spoilt horses, just in the right hands.
 
It wasnt my horse, it was for a customer but whether my horse or not i re-trained it without the need for violence. Yes, it took longer than you but personally i wouldnt care how long it took if it meant i didnt have to battle with the horse. Battles dont always go the riders way and IMO fighting with a horse is too dangerous, training should be done in such a way that the rider stays safe and the horse understands. Also, battles suggest that the horse is disagreeing with the rider- so i ask why? And the answer is normally because the horse doesnt understand/is frightened/insecure/un-trained/badly trained, etc. In any of these situations i want the horse to be happy and willing, not having to move because it is forced through fear of pain from a whipping.

I ALWAYS carry a whip when i ride but probably only ever really need it once a year! the only place that a whip has a place with spoilt horses is for the stupid person/people that got the poor horse to be spoilt in the first place.:)
 
There is a huge difference between an uneducated or young horse and an older horse who puts you on the deck 3 times, next time it could be infront of a car.

Agree, if its a young horse or uneducated then it would be totally wrong to lay about it with a stick as you will just loose the horses trust in you, instead you would gain the horses trust by long reining, leading, riding with another horse, working the horse in the arena etc.
But, this horse sounds like he knows what he is doing and has done it before. If she told you he has done it once you can guareentee its happened more times that that.
I would ride him in the school/field and really get him in front of the leg and working forwards before hacking out. The minute he drops behind the leg back the leg up with a tap with the stick( schooling whip so you can keep control of the front end) , then when it comes to hacking out, again, keep him up to the bridle and in front of the leg. The second you feel a hesitation back your leg up with the stick.Try not to let him drop behind or come off the contact at any point.
Put a running martingale on too.

Agree that there is often a good reason for napping but sometimes the horse does it because he can and has been allowed to.
Napping is one thing, dumping the rider is another.
 
When I bought Ols he was a dream, non spooky, patient amazing bought through a dealer. On trying him we took 1/2 an hours worth of video and lots of photos. The woman was going to deliver him as part of the deal. He arrived plodded off the lorry into his box, old owner even put her 4 yr old on him no hat bareback no headcollar and I thought she must really trust him! He was sold to me as a riding school horse that my groom could also have as 'her' horse while she was with us. Perfect.

Nope next morning was going to turn him out got out of the barn, rear, rear, rear, I could not hold him and I am not small or lacking muscle, had to get OH a farmer used to holding bulls and even he was dragged, finally OH got him in the field. Ols remained like this for a year, he is 95% better and now mostly has great manners but if we do not insist on manners he would eat us for breakfast. Not a novices horse in any way shape or form.

Ollie is my heart breaker, I often wish I had sent him back in the first few weeks as I was legally entitled to. Turns out after a huge amount of digging he had bounced back to the dealer 3 times. Napping, nasty, bolshy behaviour. My dilema he is 95% angel 5% idiot, to hack a total unpredictable nightmare even 5 years on (even with other experienced more able bodied riders he was the same).

I closed my riding school due to ill health, my own Welsh D had to be PTS and somehow I ended up keeping Ols, upshot is I hardly ever hack, really want to compete as my riding is up to a good standard but end up staying at home cause he can be such a git. I am not enjoying riding as much as I know I should. I need to sell him but to whom? He is so gorgeous people think ahhh I could sort him out, then he is a complete monster because they are not as strict as me.

I warn caution with your new horse, you may end up stuck in a what the hell do I do now situation and always making excuses for him. I can perfectly well manage my horse and keep him in line but due to my health I do not want to risk his explosions and getting hurt out competing and hacking. Boring just riding in the school all the time.

Every spring I say yep gonna sell him but due to how complicated he is I think it will end up a huge mess or I think I cant sell him and risk him bouncing around owners for years to come. It is me that is having a boring time of it, I put so much time, effort and money into horses I should enjoy the riding bit more. But here Ollie and I still stand...Together. Think carefully, once the two weeks are up they are gone. Would you want to be in my position?
 
teddyt said:
It wasnt my horse, it was for a customer but whether my horse or not i re-trained it without the need for violence. Yes, it took longer than you but personally i wouldnt care how long it took if it meant i didnt have to battle with the horse. Battles dont always go the riders way and IMO fighting with a horse is too dangerous, training should be done in such a way that the rider stays safe and the horse understands. Also, battles suggest that the horse is disagreeing with the rider- so i ask why? And the answer is normally because the horse doesnt understand/is frightened/insecure/un-trained/badly trained, etc. In any of these situations i want the horse to be happy and willing, not having to move because it is forced through fear of pain from a whipping.

I ALWAYS carry a whip when i ride but probably only ever really need it once a year! the only place that a whip has a place with spoilt horses is for the stupid person/people that got the poor horse to be spoilt in the first place.:)
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I think (in the interests of a healthy debate) that you have a missed a category off your list of why horses behave in an undesirable way. Horses do learn they can question your authority and that can become dangerous.
The OPs horse has learned, by the sounds of things that it can frighten the rider into giving up - it's also learned that it can get the rider off. Lots of ponies do this, they can become adept at dropping their riders off a shoulder. They are sometimes really well schooled and managed.
You can re-educate them for a few months, but as soon as a different rider gets on board they will do the same thing. Just as this horse has done.
She could spend 6 months re-educating this horse, or if she has a good rider to hand they can knock it on the head in one or two sessions. OP will probs have to have the whole 'who is in charge' issue out with this horse at some point, she can just chose her time and place.

If she were more confident she could do as the previous/previous owner did and retaliate when the horse questions her authority, give it a smack and resolve the issue in 10 minutes flat.

Both the horses I hit btw went on to have happy and willing careers, one went on to be an outstanding RC horse, one was a good event pony.
 
This is probably silly advice and has probably already been thought about but would a daisy rein be appropriate if he keeps bucking, just until the napping is sorted?
 
How are you feeding him? If I was you I'd cut any hard feed to nothing and only give hay for now. Do you have a school - if so, I'd lunge before riding, and stay in the school for a few days until I'd got some confidence back.

Then, set out for short, circular hacks once he is a little tired and has already done some school work. Don't turn round and come back - keep going forward, so he learns the best route home is to keep going. Ideally have someone with you, I think it helps you and the horse.

If you can, drive him forward everytime he thinks about napping, so that he doesn't have the chance to stop or to get you off. If you can keep him moving, or at least stay on and win each battle, then he should soon forget it and be fine. If you can't he is probably going to get worse and I'm afraid he is the wrong horse for you. That is the fault of the seller, they should have been more honest.
 
teddyt said:
I dont see anything wrong with leading the horse out, hacking with company, etc.

All the horse needs is understanding from his point of view- not a good whack with a bl**dy whip.
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I dont see anything wrong with leading the horse either or hacking out in company.. what i do say is that this horse is not young or green and dumping someone 3 times is excesive! if it was just insecure it would have ran back to the yard or not moved off it.. bucking someone off more than once just shows that this horse knows what its doing as its done it before.

You could spend hours being nice to the horse and 'building its confidents' for it to not cure it. You can not let them walk over you and they will try and be the boss if they think they can.

I did not say anywhere that the horse needed a good whack!. It needs a firm hand, and someone to establish wether its taking the piss or or is generally insecure and then to decided the best plan of training for it.

It has now come to light that the horse has done it before so yes i do believe that it is more taking the piss than anything else. If the OPs riding instructor feels the it can be sorted out and they can go on and have a good horse after that then im all for it. It was good of the OP to contact the seller but if they didnt tell you the horse did that before then what else didnt they tell you? Do you feel you have to confidents to ride the horse after? and its all very well someone else riding the horse to sort it out but if the horse thinks he can do it with you on board then it dosn't sort the problem out.

I just think that while you have time on your side you could reture the horse and get something that won't do this. I know if it was me it would have knocked my confidents just from that epsoide. I do hope you get it sorted out.
 
atwork, thank you. I am not feeding him anything at present other than haylidge which he gets morning and night. He is a pretty good doer so doesnt need hard feed.

What i was going to do tonight is lead him out without tack. See what happens. Then maybe tomorrow or over the weekend lead him out with tack. See if there is a difference.
Then ride him in the school. See if he plays up. If he doesnt then i know its just the going out hacking that is still the problem.
If he does, i am going to take of his back shoes. He hasnt had back shoes for 9 months, i put them on as i do a fair amount of roadwork. The reason i would take of his back shoes is because all of this naughty behaviour started on monday when he was shod. He seemed to completely change personality. He has become a bit grumpy in the stable etc. He wasnt all last week, when i tried him etc, he was really gentle and nice.
I know its unlikely its the shoes as he is not lame, or sore etc. But to me it just seems far too much of a co-incidence that he was perfect in the school on sunday and we were jumping and having fun then on monday i go out for a hack after shoeing and he was a bit nappy but wasnt allowed to get away with anything and went on fine after 5 mins of jumping about and turning round, but was grumpy when we got home and then tuesday became a deamon....grumpy in the stable, and a complete sod. Weds he was grumpy too and even worse when my instructor took him out for me. Not even getting as far as the yard before he started.
He has also not had his head over the stable door much since being shod.
Maybe i am just trying to find something to blame but even my OH who knows nothing about horses at all has questioned how he could have a personality transplant in 24 hours and the only thing that has changed has been him being shod.
 
Lialls...i havent contacted the seller about this yet. I contacted the owner before the person i bought it from as the person who sold him to me turns out is very inexperinced.

I contacted the person who had him before the person i bought him from as she had him for 3 or 4 years and i know she had done a fair bit with im so i wanted to get her view of him before i decided what to do with him.

It was her who said that he had done it once with her then was fine for the rest of the time she had him and that she realy enjoyed the horse whilst she had him. She said that he had odd moments but she used to let a 10 year old hack him out and he was never a problem.
She told me that he has had a lot of owners before her, and the person i had him from only had him 7 months and so i know now he obviously has a bit of a history of doing this but this person had him going nicely for 3 or 4 years. I have seen pics of her hacking him, doing xc on him etc.
 
siennamum said:
The OPs horse has learned, by the sounds of things that it can frighten the rider into giving up - it's also learned that it can get the rider off. .
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To look at it another way- the horse has learned that if it bucks the rider off it gets relief from stress, even if for a short time before it starts again. Its not had understanding from its riders so it has learnt to get what it craves by its own methods. He probably gave lot of small signals first but has reached the point where he bucks- he is in effect shouting at the rider (but in horse language)!

All the horse wants is security- it has learnt it can get it by bucking the rider off. It just needs to be shown that it can get it another way and it doesnt need to buck the rider off. This will take time and patience and imo not whips.

This is what i would do, others obviously disagree:)

So many people are very quick to say that horses take the piss, they are playing games and so on. And in the majority of cases it is just bad training and a lack of understanding. I gave an example earlier but i have re-trained numerous nappers and i have never had to resort to causing them pain by whipping any of them.
 
Good luck, I hope the farrier will find a cause for his problem, it is always possible that something has made him a bit sore and he is shouting about it.
 
Sorry skychick- didnt mean to hijack your post, just trying to explain my point of view on why the horse is behaving how he is.

Good luck, i hope you can sort it out.
 
skychick said:
What i was going to do tonight is lead him out without tack. See what happens. Then maybe tomorrow or over the weekend lead him out with tack. See if there is a difference.
Then ride him in the school. See if he plays up. If he doesnt then i know its just the going out hacking that is still the problem.
If he does, i am going to take of his back shoes. He hasnt had back shoes for 9 months, i put them on as i do a fair amount of roadwork. The reason i would take of his back shoes is because all of this naughty behaviour started on monday when he was shod. He seemed to completely change personality. He has become a bit grumpy in the stable etc. He wasnt all last week, when i tried him etc, he was really gentle and nice.
I know its unlikely its the shoes as he is not lame, or sore etc. But to me it just seems far too much of a co-incidence that he was perfect in the school on sunday and we were jumping and having fun then on monday i go out for a hack after shoeing and he was a bit nappy but wasnt allowed to get away with anything and went on fine after 5 mins of jumping about and turning round, but was grumpy when we got home and then tuesday became a deamon....grumpy in the stable, and a complete sod. Weds he was grumpy too and even worse when my instructor took him out for me. Not even getting as far as the yard before he started.
He has also not had his head over the stable door much since being shod.
Maybe i am just trying to find something to blame but even my OH who knows nothing about horses at all has questioned how he could have a personality transplant in 24 hours and the only thing that has changed has been him being shod.
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You could well have something there about his shoes (although that is no excuse for bad behaviour in my book) If you think about it, the shoes have altered his alignment with his body even though they're probably less than an inch high;if he hasn't had back ones on for years he'll feel like I do when I wear heels - which is incredibly rare and always makes me grumpy! Take them off and try again, if he's back to being the nice horse you knew then all well and good.
 
Skychick - oh right i see, sorry i misunderstood. Glad that you have been in contact with someone who owned him perivously though. Did they tell you anymore about the situation he napped in? They said how they delt with it, maybe when you are riding him again if it happends you could try that? I still think it sounds like he is taking the mick a bit, just trying it on with you, but it sounds as though you will be able to over come it. I think you are doing the right thing with leading him out without tack then with tack and so on.

It may just be a one off and you may not have a problem with him again, i hope this is the case. If its not seek more help before if knocks your confidents. I wish you all the best with him. It would be nice if you could keep us updated too as i would like to know how you over come this :)
 
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