hi :) newbie with issues :(

devil

devil

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Hiya its a long one guys sorry..

I have a tb hes 9, had him 2 years in april, bought him poor brought him round got him super fit in first summer could take him anywhere.. gave him last summer turned out and hardly rode him, started bringin him back in this winter, now hes fab in traffic etc but we have a prob coming home.. hes a nutter! will ride OUT all day soon as he knows hes headin home thats it we jog go sidewards, trot.. bronk the lot.. now i tried diff routes he knows his way round here, and we only have one route back to the yard.. iv cut his feed down but thats only recent what else can i do ?

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Hi,

You will know your horse best, so these may be worse than useless as suggestions.

Is he better in company?

What do you do with your horse when he gets home? Jump straight off, sort him out and then feed him?

I would perhaps try taking him in the school (if you have one) and doing 10-15 minutes of really boring stuff, just cooling down and walking about, doing circles etc. even just get off, loosen his girth and noseband and walk him around the yard for 10 minutes, don't let him mooch, keep his attention on you. He might then get the idea that going home isn't quite that exciting.

If you are going to cool him down at home then maybe trot back, would he just want to go faster if he is trotting? Don't make a habit out of it, but it could be worth trying.

Or, perhaps try this one...

Make hacks short, turn for home at the top of the road and head home. If he mucks about, turn him around and go out again. Ad infinitum if necessary, if he walks, or behaves acceptably then call it a day even if he has only gone up and down the road.

I have done this with an arab before now, she would not walk from the field to the barn, so we spent three hours doing it until she did, we had some mighty temper tantrums, but she did it. Fortunately there were three of us, we got a rest, she didn't.:D
 
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hi, thanks

Iv done the short hack and also long hack to tire him out, next step wa t trot him back then school but i think this would just hype him up even more

when we get back i cool him off, and leave him to be fed by yard staff so its not like hes getting anything good when he returns

he isnt getting any turnout at the mo we cnt till 1st may this isnt helping

hes exactly the same in company :(
 
Well thats it isnt it? He needs some turnout, and is probably feeling the spring feeling and a little on his toes. Does he get enough exercise? All mine get like this, but i have all year round turnout so its less of a problem.
 
devil said:
hi, thanks

Iv done the short hack and also long hack to tire him out, next step wa t trot him back then school but i think this would just hype him up even more

when we get back i cool him off, and leave him to be fed by yard staff so its not like hes getting anything good when he returns

he isnt getting any turnout at the mo we cnt till 1st may this isnt helping

hes exactly the same in company :(
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Ive had two tbs t/o is the only thing that helps keep them sane.The more they are t/o the better they behave.I would consider moving to yard with t/o hope thats option for you.:)
 
unfortunatly movin is not an option theres nothing near me and i quiet like it ther, spose i should just persevere till turnout day it cant come soon enough lol!
 
Have to say that the t/o is probably what is causing the problem in the short term, things may well improve in May for you. However, by that time the rushing home may have become an established habit.

I feel that you have a leadership issue here where the horse has started to make decisions himself.

My plan would be to ride him out on a short hack then turn for home. When you get near the yard go back out again. Repeat as many times as it takes to get a calm walk home. Finish as soon as this is achieved. It will take ad long as it takes.
 
I had a similar problem with my arab a while ago, a friend suggested that I tried some Bach Flower Remedies. He's a registered practitioner so trusted him totally! I tried him on impatiens (I think that's how it's spelt) and it worked wonders! After about 2 weeks all the rushing and jogging to get home had stopped! I think it's definately worth a try! Good luck
 
AndySpooner said:
My plan would be to ride him out on a short hack then turn for home. When you get near the yard go back out again. Repeat as many times as it takes to get a calm walk home. Finish as soon as this is achieved. It will take ad long as it takes.
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Think this is fab advice - just be prepared to have more patience than him. As soon as he is a prat, around you go and try again!

Def agree with the others re turnout, it will make things harder for you and more stressful for him - can't he even get out for a couple of hours a day? Might be enough to make a big difference while you wait to be able to turn him out for longer?

Is there anything in his food that might be heating that you could cut down on for the time being?
 
I'm another one for the turn round as many times as it takes for him to walk home calmly.

I had a mare who took this up as a new funny trick and every time she messed about on the way home I turned round and walked for 5 mins away from home and then turned for home again. Luckily she was pretty intelligent and it didn't take her long to realise that being silly on the way home resulted in a much longer ride!

He will probably also be better once he can have turnout but I still wouldn't let it become a habit because it can be a difficult one to break and can result in napping eventually.
 
Do you have rides whereby you can hack out, turn home but then pass the yard and continue on a longer ride (so he thinks he is going back to the yard but is in fact not) or i agree with the above as to taking him in the school either before hacking out (to exert some energy) or after (so he learns he still has to work even after getting back to yard).

I do agree wholeheartedly that the cause of the problem is probably the lack of turnout. I have a tb mare and i cannot begin to imagine how she would be not being allowed any turnout- she was bad enough after 3 weeks box rest :rolleyes: you need to think what is best for your horse as you are putting yourself in a dangerous position if he really is becoming a handful on the roads.
 
Think i'd be feeling pretty full of myself if I were your horse too. From his point of view, that is his only opportunity in a 24 hour period to kick up his heels, have a boredom breaker, change of scenery, stretch...... the list goes on!

A cooped up tb on hard feed and this regime is not making things easy on you when it comes to riding i'm afraid.

No matter how much I liked a yard, my horses sanity would be paramount - sorry.

You've had some good advice on here with regards to the hacking itself but ultimately I think a different rountine will do the trick if possible :)
 
Thanks guys, im going for the short hack /turn around option starting tomorrow, they go out 24/7 as of april so hopefully my nice calm gelding will come back, also started dropping his feed back

wish me luck :)
 
******* said:
Do you have rides whereby you can hack out, turn home but then pass the yard and continue on a longer ride (so he thinks he is going back to the yard but is in fact not) or i agree with the above as to taking him in the school either before hacking out (to exert some energy) or after (so he learns he still has to work even after getting back to yard).

I do agree wholeheartedly that the cause of the problem is probably the lack of turnout. I have a tb mare and i cannot begin to imagine how she would be not being allowed any turnout- she was bad enough after 3 weeks box rest :rolleyes: you need to think what is best for your horse as you are putting yourself in a dangerous position if he really is becoming a handful on the roads.
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unfortunatly not our yard is sat under a motorway with one way in/out there isnt any rides where we can do a circuit either so u have to come back the way you went out
 
Agree with other posters. Turn out is necessary. Move him (at least before next winter).

In the interim try switching to a forage-only feed and all the other good suggestions about the hacking itself (tired most of them with some success in the other direction with a nappy horse!).
 
after a drop in feed we managed a hour n half hack yesterday without a bit of trouble.. seems my nag is seeing sense :) thanks everyone for kind replies
 
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