Help - I have a new horse but he naps and rears!

A

AmberHughes

Active Member
Joined
4 May 2007
Messages
32
Location
Cornwall UK
Visit site
Hi everyone Im quite new to this forum but I thought I would ask for some advice, I hope you dont mind

Basicly I have taken on a stunning lovely 16hh wb gelding he is 19 years old and I love him to pieces already, however he has a few problems.......

*Naps - nothing bad just turns around when hacking and doesnt like to take the lead and that is nothing I cant handle
*Rears when being led away from his friends or if he doesnt want to go somewhere can sometimes attempt to gallop off
*He has no respect and doesnt care if he knocks you over and barges the door and threats to bite also kicks sometimes
*He came from a small yard with only 2 other geldings he is now with about 10-20 horses and being turned out with a stunning arab mare who he loves and wont leave if she goes away from him he panics and attempts to go after her which is making his napping worse and he doesnt want to leave her

He has only been with us for 4 days or so but I want to nip this in the bud.

Please help any advice would be great

We are being firm but kind with him and I do have help at the yard which is lovely but I really want to learn how to deal with him I just want him to learn some manners and respect me a bit more.

Im not giving him back or giving in I love him but he is old enough to know better lol!

Thanks people know its a long post lol

Amber x
 
I think you doing the right thing in being firm but kind.

It sound like and insecurity thing to me rather than napping so i would just give him time to settle in.

It sounds like it is quite a big change for him so needs time to adjust.
 
It sounds as though he is trying boudaries, warmbloods are generally a bit more quirker and need to learn who is the boss from day one. I would have some lessons on him to help you get him forward and taking you. This should help the napping. Also he may be uncomfortable with his tack or teeth so may be worth getting checked. How was he when you tried him out?
 
[ QUOTE ]
I think you doing the right thing in being firm but kind.

It sound like and insecurity thing to me rather than napping so i would just give him time to settle in.

It sounds like it is quite a big change for him so needs time to adjust.

[/ QUOTE ]


Yeah defo probably just adjusting, were letting him go oppostite the mare in the stable so they can see each other but in a few weeks time if he is still doing it then Im worried I wont be able to do anything with him but hopefully he will learn to trust me and think mummy will take care of me

Thanks for your advice though
smile.gif


he landed on someone rearing though have to stop that business
 
Hi

Had (have!) the same problem with my new mare who I ahve had six weeks now and she is getting much better. The first lesson I taught her was standing in her box. She has to go right back when i enter and i make her stand at the back for five or so minutes, just talking gently and putting her back in the same spot every time she moves. Then I progressed to keeping her standing at the back while I was next to the door. Then I would make her stand with the door open and she isn't allowed to leave until I ask her to walk out of the box. Once we had cracked that we did it on the yard, walking a few paces and halting, walking and halting, walking and halting (probably a million times until she had grasped the idea). Once she learnt these two things she became so much better. I only ask for a couple of minutes of nice standing or a couple of paces of nice walking and thens he is rewarded/praised. I think it's importnat to spend lots of time, not necessarily making fuss, not all liek that but he needs ro get to know you. 4 days is not long at all btu I think you're right in wanting to nip it in teh bud, start as you eman to go on, be firm and think of it liek you would train a foal, go back to teh beginning and make everything a lesson, and make sure you reward him when he does the right thing, even if it is only standing still or walking to the field nicely.
 
[ QUOTE ]
It sounds as though he is trying boudaries, warmbloods are generally a bit more quirker and need to learn who is the boss from day one. I would have some lessons on him to help you get him forward and taking you. This should help the napping. Also he may be uncomfortable with his tack or teeth so may be worth getting checked. How was he when you tried him out?

[/ QUOTE ]


absoloutly perfect when i tried him calm and lovely he is brill to ride, he had his teeth checked i was told before i got him and he has a different saddle on now but not made a difference, its mainly leading and stable manners that is the problem
 
[ QUOTE ]
Hi

Had (have!) the same problem with my new mare who I ahve had six weeks now and she is getting much better. The first lesson I taught her was standing in her box. She has to go right back when i enter and i make her stand at the back for five or so minutes, just talking gently and putting her back in the same spot every time she moves. Then I progressed to keeping her standing at the back while I was next to the door. Then I would make her stand with the door open and she isn't allowed to leave until I ask her to walk out of the box. Once we had cracked that we did it on the yard, walking a few paces and halting, walking and halting, walking and halting (probably a million times until she had grasped the idea). Once she learnt these two things she became so much better. I only ask for a couple of minutes of nice standing or a couple of paces of nice walking and thens he is rewarded/praised. I think it's importnat to spend lots of time, not necessarily making fuss, not all liek that but he needs ro get to know you. 4 days is not long at all btu I think you're right in wanting to nip it in teh bud, start as you eman to go on, be firm and think of it liek you would train a foal, go back to teh beginning and make everything a lesson, and make sure you reward him when he does the right thing, even if it is only standing still or walking to the field nicely.

[/ QUOTE ]


absoloutly i will try that sounds like a good plan to me, he isnt afriad to use his weight though and barges so he can be strong but i will teach him though he does try to turn around or just stand on me, he hasnt reared in the stable though so thats the main thing thanks for that i will give it a go

with him getting attached to this mare there are two theorys on the yard, one that he could be a rig and the other was that he is using her a security blanket what do you think?
 
I would work on establising some manners on the ground. When he has respect for you then you will be able to ride through some of the quirkiness.
 
It's VERY common for horses to get incredibly attached when they're moved. Their instincts tell them that being an "alone" horse means you're going to end up being someone's dinner so when they're removed from their secure environment the very first thing they do is seek out new company. Think about how you would feel if one day someone showed up and took you away from everything you know and stuck you with strangers without any explanation!

Which is not to say the bad behaviour on the ground should be tolerated - he should not be endangering himself or others! It sounds like he's on the green/excitable/bolshy side - do you have much experience with such horses? Honestly, if you don't it might really pay off to get a professional out once or twice both to "tune up" the horse and to work with both of you to get your relationship off on the right foot.

I know you want to go it on your own but this is almost impossible information to get over the internet because how you approach it depends a lot on why/how the horse is behaving badly. It's sooo much easier to show someone this stuff than to describe it and it's important to make sure your solutions are "situational". It also may be that there are holes in his education which are showing up under stress, which is a good thing if you look at this as an opportunity to learn how to teach him to respect you. This will stand you in good stead later when you want to compete etc. because horses work on patterns it's likely the same sorts of problems might crop up then.
 
Hiya I hope you manage to sort out the problems with your horse, I'm sure you will though
smile.gif
Patience and perseverence are the two things that matter most and if you use them you will soon have him acting and behaving exactly how you want.
We had a few issues with our youngster Mcfly when we had him last September. He was very green and still is in certain areas of horsemanship. But we have conquered some of his fears and one of his main issues was rearing when you were picking his feet and then stamping down and he even did this the first time the farrier came as well. We have sorted that though and he is brill for the farrier now ( third visit last time) and we believed it was because of him being scared and feeling vunerable as the farrier and I guessed he had only seen a farrier about once or twice before I had him as he had lived out for 6 years and was broken in last year before we got him at the sales last year.
The other horse is much older, 16 but he too has a few issues. Like when mounting and moving off. Napping when hacking alone. He seems scared of shadows and when on a track is nervous of what is around the corner. He will look at objects in the distance, people, dogs anything and will have a high head carriage despite being ridden in a sheepskin nosecover, bubble gag and martingale.
He does sometimes have bad manners and will whip around in the stable for hay/feed etc with little regard for your safety and as he is such a huge horse in all ways you have to be careful.
He will huff and puff at new smells or sights. Anything out of place or new people and his senses are heightened. Age does not make any difference to a horse I have found as I thought older and wiser less likely to spook etc and I have since found out that is not the case.
These are my first horses after more than 20years of riding and I am learning all the time.
I also agree about the horses getting attached to each other as Mcfly struck up a good friendship ( if you can call it that lol) with a lovely grey gelding called Chaos ( see pic sorry about the quality). When I had the horses there were a few horses at the yard and two of them were a short stay, one a mare one a gelding (as sexes are separated at the yard on turnout). They were there for a few months while the owner had their fields re-seeded. I think mcfly missed his mate when he went back home but I found out the other day they will be coming for a short stay soon while owner is on hols so it will be interesting to see if he remember his cantering buddy.
Good luck and I wish you all the luck in the world with your new horse, don't give up x
Cazx
mcflyandchaossept.jpg
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top