Help Please :(

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Rowan13

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Hey, I've only just joined here as I didn't think of doing this before hand.
Anyways I need some horsey peoples advice and help.

I've been with horses for 13 years mainly just having lessons and the odd pony loan etc. Last year my mum finally gave in and bought me my first horse, however I went the entirely wrong way about it. I didn't take anyone experience with me and even though he wasn't the first horse I had been to view I ended up leaving with what I thought was a good horse.

However when I got him home he changed dramatically, I put this down to stress and not being settled. We have now been at our current yard for a year and he is still causing me stress. I had to stop riding for a bit due to injury and he has dropped weight badly as well as muscle. I'm getting the weight back on him but the silly thing slipped in his field last month and has flared up an old stifle injury.

My problem is since he has had this accident he has turned even more aggressive and has bitten both me and my mum and bolted off several times hurting me.

He is still basically the same horse I bought over a year and a half ago. I can't get him to trust me or anything he just doesn't want to know.

Has anyone got any ideas what I can do or have I just done what many people have done before and bought the wrong horse for me :(

I'm running out of ideas :(
 
Do you still have lessons? or have a handy experienced person to help? How old is he? He sounds too much for you and honestly, I'd be tempted to put him on loan if he's not dangerous or sell. Horses cost a ruddy fortune and you should be enjoying your time with him, not being stressed.

Maybe have him re-schooled?
 
Firstly - I made this mistake as well. It's so easy to be duped when you don't have experience of buying/selling. Try and not beat yourself up about that. You can't change it, so it's time to take a deep breath and move forward from that decision.

Do you have an instructor currently?
 
Maybe you did buy the wrong horse for you. But there is a solution to each problem so they say! I think ground work is the place to start. He needs to trust you. Maybe a trainer or experienced friend might be able to help you with it? I know it's not much help but I think starting from the ground is a good place to start? Hope some others have more useful advice for you :)
 
Where did you get him from and was he sold as a schoolmaster, and did you have him vetted and blood tested at time of purchase? Sounds like you need professional help with the horse to turn him around - it's meant to be a pleasure - so no point suffering on your own!
 
best thing would be to get a vet to check him over first to make sure hes not in pain, and then get a trainer (is there a local one who travels for lessons?) to ride and assess him and then if theres nothing wrong with him have lessons on him or if he not right for you have him schooled and sell him! there are lots of people who are willing to take a bit of a project .x
 
I'm on a yard where there are a lot of experience people but they keep changing their minds on what they think I should do. I went to my old instructor last week and am trying him on what she said to do.

He's 16 so is most probably set in his ways but yes he was sold as a school master.
He was vetted but no blood tests till recently.
I got him from a dealers in east Sussex.

I haven't had lessons since march this year which was at college and my instructor then wasn't very helpful.

Thank you all for being so kind. I keep waiting to be told the usual " I told you so" from friends and family so am in a bit of a state atm.
 
Blood tests would mean nothing after 18 months - vets only keep them for 6 months after the vetting unless requested otherwise.

So, go back to basics. You need to do the obvious checks first to rule out physical discomfort, so teeth, back and saddle, particularly as he has lost a lot of weight so will have changed shape. If you don't have anyone who can do this - ask for recommendations. Rough guide to costs - EDT - shared visit for me is £35 per horse so ask in the yard if anyone else is due. Back - physio costs me £50 per session, Saddle - really varies. Mine is a busy yard so can normally sneak in on the back of another visit to check my tack but ask for a quote and get a proper saddle fitter or master saddler (again ask the board for recommendations). I am assuming you have had the vet look at him as you said he had fallen over?

Once you know he is physically OK, then research for an instructor who you get on with. This board will give you good names and then see where you go from there. You may have bought the wrong horse, it may just have GONE wrong. 18 months is a long time!. Horses will nearly always test their boundaries and he could just need setting back on the right road. You don't say if you are on DIY or part/full livery. With regards to loss of weight, buy a weigh tape (very cheap) and work out what he should be. You can ask on here/google it or ring any of the manufacturers feed lines to ask for guidance on what he should be fed. I am a fan of increasing forage first before hard feed - so weigh your hay out, it is very easy to miscalculate but would normally stick to basic feeds to start with - ie horse and pony nuts and chaff.

Good luck - you have asked for help so have taken a big step to sorting this out!
 
Gut feeling is that he is trying to tell you in the only way he knows how that he is in pain. Get a physio in to check him out and once he's feeling better I think you will find that he becoems a changed character.

And I agree with Luci07, find a trainer who is sympathetic both to you and your horse. In a little while I am sure you can look back on this as just a blip!
 
Agree with the poster's who have already said get him checked by a vet/physio. Horses obviously can't talk and so a change in behaviour is the only way they can try and tell us something is wrong. Good luck :)
 
Get him checked, he sounds in pain. You're in Kent? Go see Jason Webb at Australian Horse Training. Absolute magician with all issues with horse and then owner
 
I would get his back checked firstly as it sounds like he could be in pain, then teeth and saddle. Does he like his bit ?
Once you have ruled out pain, then possibly try to build up trust and respect with him. And go from there.
My boy was a nightmare for over 18 months but systematically working through everything has now got us to the stage that he trusts and respects me to do right by him. But I made a lot of mistakes (first horse) along the way which set us back every time. Don't give up :)
 
Along with the checks for pain I'd recommend getting someone like this out to help you while you're sorting out any physical problems. It really is worth the money as you will be given instruction,'tools' and ideas to get through this and that will stand you in good stead for the future.
http://www.fridayfield.co.uk/about.php
 
Your horse at 16 should be well settled and established in it's ways. Yes go ahead and get a good equestrian vet to check out your horse but if nothing detremental is found my advice would be that you are not compatible with each other and sell your horse. There will be someone out there that will get on and bond with your horse. We are all different!
Then go out and find yourself a more suitable horse.
 
As everyone else has said. Start with the vet. What worries me is his weight loss. Unless you have dramatically cut or changed his feed or circumstances have changed hugely this shouldn't be happening. Could he have ulcer?. You said you were off with an injury this year so unless someone else was galloping him into the ground I'd have thought if anything he'd be a bit plumper.

Don't give up on him. There's something odd going on and it doesn't sound at all as if it's your fault. And it may be more easily sorted than you think.

Meanwhile, just try to bond with him on the ground. You can build up so much trust and respect before you ever get in the saddle.
 
Dealers in Sussex eh? And the horse is totally different now? Bet I can guess who the dealers are. And I bet if you did have him vetted they recommended a vet? Have a search for their name on here.
I can second the Jason Webb recommendation.
But horses are meant to be fun. If he's not right for you after all this time then sell him.
 
Sorry to hear you are having such a rough time, some dealers are totally unscrupulous.

I would agree with others and eliminate any possible causes of pain, and then I would recommend buying a copy of Kelly Marks Perfect Manners, she has some brilliant advice in there as well as some excellent groundwork exercises in there, which will help you put boundaries in place (soooooo important, you can't have a good relationship without them), improve your relationship with your horse and start to build the trust between you,
 
I agree with most of the above.

First of all get him checked out by a good horse vet to eliminate any physical problems.

There are two good suggestions for trainers, but you can also go to Kelly Marks website Intelligent Horsemanship and there is a list of approved instructors. You should be able to find one in your area.

Another very good, sympathetic and brilliant trainer is Michael Peace. He has a website Think Equus and will take horses in to retrain or he will visit your yard to help you with your problems. He can read horses' minds!
 
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