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Eriskayowner

Eriskayowner

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I am seriously lucky to have been able to take on Jazzy. Owner is brilliant and lets me treat him as my own. He has his issues, but we have worked through most of them and he has now a well rounded horse that is happy to be worked. YO said he was seriously grumpy last week as I wasn't able to get up to the yard at the weekend (dreaded 'flu)! YO says that Jazz is much better than he used to be, and it's all down to how I have worked with him. OH is great - we have a joint account but we pay Full livery for Jazz (not cheap) and he is trying to save up to buy him for me.

The issue!

Some of you may have read about Horse (in a previous post). Horse has been playing up badly on rides with his owner to the extent that she won't ride him, and he has also managed to get someone else off. The other rider has hunted all her life and is a good rider. Horse scraped her off by jumping in a ditch and rubbing along a P+R fence and a tree then jumping out of the ditch
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I rode Horse out yesterday with no issues and he is the perfect gentleman on the ground. I was due to ride him today, but there was no-one to go out with, but a friend and I lunged him in the school. Before we started we felt all over him - he is VERY tense (even stood in the stable) on his offside, and dips a little when fingers are pressed along his spine. This is why we lunged him instead of riding him.

On the right rein he was balanced, working correctly (head carriage is lovely) and forward. On the left rein he was reluctant, shuffly and head-up. This is the side that would have to stretch to get him around a corner. The muscles won't do that as they are totally seized up. His flatwork (normally) is to die for. He moves really nicely.

I think that he is misbehaving on hacks because a) he has been allowed to get away with it and b) because he is now in soooo much pain that he's had enough.

I have a HORRIBLE feeling that poor Horse is going to be sold on without these issues sorting out. Owner wants rid of him, but wants a LOT for him.

Owner has been given three options really - Potters, market or hunting. This is a really genuine horse that needs sorting out sensitively. Hunting will destroy him. He must be in agony.

Horse is standing at the back of his stable - he knows that people have given up with him. He normally greats everybody.

I don't have the money to buy him or pay another set of full livery bills, but I can't let him go
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:'(

Advice???? Any ideas????

Galaxy ripple if you get this far x
 
poor horse, sounds like a nightmare for him.
is the owner approachable? can't you ask the owner to watch while you show how sore he is, and then to get a mctimoney chiropractor out to him. realistically, another £40 is money well spent no matter what - happier, more valuable, safer horse.
if it comes to it, ask if you can get a mct chiro to him, and have a whip-round on here. i'll pledge a tenner if it comes to it.
 
nice situation! maybe you should speak to the owner about getting his back checked by a physi and a chiropracter. i had my mare checked by a chiro and it changed her dramatically - also make sure the riders are straight as again mine dropped into a lovely outline as soon as i stopped sitting wonky!!

hope this helps and good luck!
 
chiro and massage.

poss vet to check no real underlying issues

any chance of sticking him a field for a bit to destress before picking back up again

how does owner think she is going to get a lot for him? she cant show him to anyone. iI struggle to see how she is going to get rid quick unless he goes to potters (think wait lisr atm) or sales (no idea when next is locally) neither of which is going to get her the money she wants.

I would suggest to her that you would like chiro to see him before doing much work as he appears uncomfortable and its pointless working on him if he hurts. All this going into ditches he is bound to have tweaked something, mine can manage just doing normal stuff.
 
Thanks Kerilli - the tenner might well come in handy!

YO has got a really good "back lady" coming out to another horse next week so will have a look at Horse at the same time. I will pay for this is YO doesn't (she did hint that she would yesterday). Not sure if it's a McTimoney but she's done a fantastic job with Jazzy (he was really screwed up at one point). Owner is the old-fashioned type of owner. I doubt she'd believe in equine physios etc. The bridle she has on Horse is 30 years old and she won't consider anything else!!!

The secondary issue there is that the owner is one-sided. She freely admits this and is aware of this - she has uneven legs. So even if Horse was sorted out and she could ride him again, this would keep re-occuring.
 
me and frank set eachother off and make eachother wonky as I'm not straight so that is a problem- hence why my regular chiro often does both of us at the same time
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Hi Ester.

Owner wants back what she paid for him. I can see her reasoning, but Horse is "un-rideable" and unsellable. I think she will just give him to someone to hunt for the season and sell him off the field. But I think this would be disaster for Horse.

Turning him away could be difficult at yard - we don't have 24/7 turnout and Horse loves fussing and attention (he hasn't had much recently
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). I was thinking just gentle lunging to stretch him out a bit to keep him ticking over? Is that completely wrong?
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[ QUOTE ]
me and frank set eachother off and make eachother wonky as I'm not straight so that is a problem- hence why my regular chiro often does both of us at the same time
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[/ QUOTE ]

Good advice (I wouldn't mind that as I'm all out of line (hyperextension of both knees)) but not going to help owner as she has one leg longer than the other!
 
gentle lungeing will prob need to be worked up to. if seen by chiro normally day off then a few days of straight lines to let it all settle first. and depending on issues some more specific stretches.

Unfortunately my regular chiro has just had baby, v inconvenient!
 
Thanks Ester.

Would leading him out help? I can lead him off the Jazz horse to try to get him to loosen up after back lady sees him?

I would really love to buy Horse and make him my competition horse and have Jazzy as my hack and madness horse but I don't know how to do that! Can't afford livery for two (not both a full livery anyway) and would feel awful buying a second before buying Jazz!
 
def if he has issue under saddle, frank is normally just back end and shoulder so I tend to give following day off then hack, walk a couple days, then trotting then cantering al over about 5-7 days or so before I do any circles- I know how stiff I can be after seeing chito so..........!

Last time he was a bit sore at back of saddle so I long reined him round the lane a couple of times ( i don't lead him in hand as he is a lazy welsh sod but loves being long reined and strides out which is better for him.)

def the more flatwork they do the stronger they then are, frank will be fine for ages now its only cos I know him so well he gets a bit wrong legged sj that means he is stif/wonky.

He is being seen tommorrow after our accident last week as prefer to nip it in the bud if he has done anything.

I have a wonky pelvis so ride with wonky stirrups a lot of the time
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If this horse is destined for potters, you're only talking of a couple of hundred quid to buy him.

Put your horses on part or diy livery - and hey presto, you have the money to be able to afford him.
 
[ QUOTE ]
If this horse is destined for potters, you're only talking of a couple of hundred quid to buy him.

Put your horses on part or diy livery - and hey presto, you have the money to be able to afford him.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good thinking! Only issue is that Jazz's owner wants me to keep Jazzy at present yard. I have no issue with that as it's a fantastic yard, but two there would be ridiculously expensive. I was thinking of offering £500 to buy Horse but it's the livery issue which is the sticking point
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OH would kill me!!! That would be the perfect plan though. I could buy Horse then sell him on in a few months, knowing that I've sorted him out and made him a happy horse again.

There aren't that many good DIY/Part yards round here though but I haven't done lots of research really!
 
what if Horse doesnt come uo sound tho?you could end up spending a lot of money on him for nothing.....
sorry to be negative i just thought id better add it in..id definatly get the reasons behind his tensed up muscles checked out before buying in case its something more serious...
 
The back lady is coming out sometime this week, so will know more about him then. He is sound, just really stiff because of the tense muscles.
I've known him for over a year, and he's never had a fall or kick etc so I don't think there could be anything chronically wrong, but you never know!
I just really hate the thought of him ending up as dog food when he could be easily curable :'(
 
OH said that he'll buy him for me (for the meat money Potters would give) but I think the owner will go for the hunting plan - give him to a man to hunt for the season and try to sell him off the field.

What do I do?! OH insists (wrongly!) that we can afford both liveries.

Horse will be destroyed (probably literally) by any form of hard riding and needs intensive physio but owner won't understand that.

Do I just leave well alone and concentrate on Jazz or try to give Horse a chance? He's sooooo genuine, and really miserable looking at the moment
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