Help With A Horse That Just Wants to GO GO GO?!

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cruising_for_you

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Hi! I'm just wondering does anyone have any tips to help a tense and excited horse relax?
We just bought a new horse who is very excitable. He is perfect on the lunge and is so calm, but once he has a rider on he just wants to go! He doesn't walk, he jogs. The only sort of trot he'll do is very extended, and in canter he tucks his head right in to his chest (he is strong and is used to being ridden in a pelham, though we think this is what caused him to hold his head so in) and collects so much it's almost cantering on the spot. We are planning on lunging him in a pessoa to get him working long instead of riding tensed up, but does anyone have any other tips onn getting him to relax? Or if you've retrained a racehorse, how did you do that?
We love him to bits, he has lovely paces when he isn't ridden and is absolutely beautiful, and I know once we get him sorted he'll be such a good horse!
Thanks!
 
I asked a kind of similar question and was recommended to canter said horse everywhere for a few weeks. Worked remarkably well. When she was tired, I made her to faster, took a while mind ;)
 
Sounds like my old chap Andy. Eventually you'll come to love the enthusiasm, Andy had two speeds flat out or bounce everywhere.

He did always seem better after a good blast surprisingly and he hated being held onto so I just learnt to sit quietly and let him get on with it. He was so much fun and amazingly honest but sometimes with horses like these you need to take a back seat. :)

Alternatively he may just be settling in and in a few weeks or months he may be a different horse.
 
either walk everywhere for a couple of months but do at least 2 hrs per day preferrably twice a day and must be walking out properly, or hire gallops/go to beach/or similar and canter and canter and canter when horse wants to stop canter some more-an old trainer once said to me once you have the confidence that they will eventually stop so you stop trying to stop them, they stop wanting to go. It does work but takes a while and may mean you have to box to somewhere safe to keep going
 
http://youtu.be/cfAdFhoJcsI

Here's a little vid of Andy's 'moments' sadly this is after a few years of calming him down. You'll be amazed the difference a good instructor can do. Whereabouts are you OP as one person in particular was the massive turnaround from me clinging on for dear life and being able to canter on the buckle.
 
Kokopelli said:
Eventually you'll come to love the enthusiasm, Andy had two speeds flat out or bounce everywhere.
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Yes, you will! I have one of these, I started off focusing so hard on trying to get her long and low and chilled out as she was completely off her rocker when she first arrived, but she just got herself more and more wound up as she hated being held back, so I took the approach others have suggested of just cantering everywhere, all the time, for really long periods. With some horses they will have a quick blast and then settle, she is sadly not one of them and never seems to tire - she just gets herself incredibly fit, but I too have learnt to love the enthusiasm and my new fast-paced life! After about 30/45 minutes of solid cantering about she will suddenly switch personalities and drop her head, and will relax and do some beautiful work, but it can never be hurried and I have to "warm up" for lessons well in advance....! I've learnt to accept that this is just "her", however I'm definitely not saying this will be the case with your boy as she is quite extreme

How is he to hack? I say this as my horse is forward going out on roads/tracks, but not the fruit loop she is in open fields or a school, and she is significantly more relaxed walking and trotting around lanes. Perhaps some relaxed hacking out with a chilled hacking buddy will help him to settle? If it's still early days he may just be feeling a bit unnerved by his new surroundings etc - how was he when you tried him?

I do use an equiami training aid with my mare which has really helped her to carry herself correctly, they are amazing - unlike your boy she doesn't tuck her head in when tense, she throws it up and tilts it to the side like a wonky giraffe, but after a lot of equiami sessions she does this a lot less now, and has a lovely muscley topline and definitely finds work much easier than she did before I used it. She really relaxes into it and seems to enjoy her lunging sessions.
 
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Might be worth checking that the saddle isn't too tight. Mine changed shape a lot during his early days and would start to rush when the saddle was too snug at the front - he has huge shoulders.
Learning to "drop" your own energy level while riding is also a good thing to do.
 
I have had horses straight out of training and it takes time for them to realise that they do not have to run. First make sure that there is nothing physically wrong. I find ACPAT qualified physics to be the most helpful at identifying problems but each to their own on this front. If there is nothing physical and it is all in the head then we start off with lots and lots of walking, and with another horse who is calm and sensible. I use a balance strap on all my saddles but anything that allows you to relax and not fight the problem, such as a neck strap, will help you keep calm and still. It can take some time but we always get there in the end. Once the horse trusts you and you can trust the horse you move on to the next stage. Mine will still bounce along sometimes and even foam up, but they are going nowhere so I can just sit and enjoy their enthusiasm.
 
Going against the others advice and sharing my experience here with my ex racehorse as I'm not brave enough to gallop everywhere and it would've blown my horses brain off. Plus he has so much energy he would've just ended up super fit!

Have you ever seen how western riders train a sliding stop? Not quite the same reaction but useful to know. I used the technique to riding the horse with loose reins in walk at the pace I want and every time he changed the pace I used one rein and pulled him round on a tight circle - think nose to knee - when I felt the horse slow down I gave him a pat and released the rein and let him walk on. As soon as he decides to increase the pace I repeated this again, always be quick to praise the right reaction of slower footfalls. Eventually when you pick up the rein they will turn and stop. There is an excellent video on horse hero demonstrating this. The key points of exercises are always loose reins and praise when they respond. You want the horse to lower his head carriage so he is relaxing. I did this in trot and canter too but it really worked and actually worked quite quickly. I am able to use leg to ride him forward now though he does occasionally revert to speedy mode but flex the rein and he know to slow, responds great to half halt on outside rein.

Its takes time to master it but if you watch the video they explain it better than I do and it really does work without anyone getting exhausted or getting a super fit horse.

Hope that was some help
 
Sadly from Ireland Kokopelli :) He was such a speedy thing- would remind me of my jumping pony who I'm just coming off, they carry their heads exactly the same, gotta love giraffes! Though saying that his trot on the beach scene is just what the new horse does!
 
Starryeyed, looked up the Equiami and it looks really good! My other boy is a giraffe, and as we're moving up to 1.3m soon we want him to really start using his back\whole body more, so might be worth investing in one of them! Thanks!
Haven't taken him hacking yet, but that's actually a good idea, we have another mare who's just like that.
When we tried him he was the same as this, and with the woman, though it's fun riding him, we won't get anywhere showjumping if he;s just going to bounce around on the spot xD . God from how I'm describing him he sounds like an awful purchase, he really is lovely- just needs a few adjustments :) !
 
kez1001 said:
Going against the others advice and sharing my experience here with my ex racehorse as I'm not brave enough to gallop everywhere and it would've blown my horses brain off. Plus he has so much energy he would've just ended up super fit!

Have you ever seen how western riders train a sliding stop? Not quite the same reaction but useful to know. I used the technique to riding the horse with loose reins in walk at the pace I want and every time he changed the pace I used one rein and pulled him round on a tight circle - think nose to knee - when I felt the horse slow down I gave him a pat and released the rein and let him walk on. As soon as he decides to increase the pace I repeated this again, always be quick to praise the right reaction of slower footfalls. Eventually when you pick up the rein they will turn and stop. There is an excellent video on horse hero demonstrating this. The key points of exercises are always loose reins and praise when they respond. You want the horse to lower his head carriage so he is relaxing. I did this in trot and canter too but it really worked and actually worked quite quickly. I am able to use leg to ride him forward now though he does occasionally revert to speedy mode but flex the rein and he know to slow, responds great to half halt on outside rein.

Its takes time to master it but if you watch the video they explain it better than I do and it really does work without anyone getting exhausted or getting a super fit horse.

Hope that was some help
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I'm definitely sound more like you- I've just come off a 14.2hh and the thought of trying to gallop a horse everywhere (even though my pony was very buzzy too) would get me feeling a bit worried! I will definitely try this, thank you for the tip :)
 
Kokopelli said:
http://youtu.be/cfAdFhoJcsI

Here's a little vid of Andy's 'moments' sadly this is after a few years of calming him down. You'll be amazed the difference a good instructor can do. Whereabouts are you OP as one person in particular was the massive turnaround from me clinging on for dear life and being able to canter on the buckle.
Click to expand...

You're mum (?) made me laugh when she said 'he's got to settle down!' That was a great video to watch you are very brave!
 
FfionWinnie said:
I was surprised how well it worked. You could also do it in an arena.
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My experiences with working dogs confirmed that as some always seem to be in a rush, particular youngsters, until they learn to take it easy.

The explanation I got many years ago is that it is like a young lad set to dig a trench. The first day he goes at it full blast and digs at a ferocious speed. But, if allowed to go on at that speed, he will soon get fed up and lean on his spade and stop for tea breaks like the others who have been at it all their lives!

I got that explanation above years ago but for a different reason. In my sport, we wanted the dogs to go fast, the faster the better. Working them hard for too long was the quickest way to ruin them (= slow them down!). FW will know not to over work a young dog.

The psychology is the same whatever the species.
 
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