I DONT KNOW WHERE ELSE TO TURN, PLEASE HELP ME

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hollylouise

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I have had horses since I was 4 and I have just bought a new one in November. He is a beautiful 16.2hh Irish Sports Horse ex hunter from Ireland Ireland. The Problem I have is, although he is very forward (he was advertised as being a 100% in everyway, and although he was fine in the trial, he started to play up when I got him home), I find it hard to stop him, I just tend to sit deep in my seat and either half halt or turn him in circles when he takes off or wont stop. He is a maniac in the school. I can only walk him, and even then he plays up, if I ask him to stop (and he knows I want him to stop) he walks backwards and gets silly, He keeps trying to head for the gate. I was in the school last week, and I trotted him, and he decided to take off and jump the school gate, which is bloody massive, and it scared the living day lights out of me, not to mention that its incredibly dangerous. When I do trot or canter him, he throws his head to so I lose my reins, then he takes off! I have tried lunging him before hand and everything! I just cant control him in the school. Out of the school, he's fine, well I say fine, he's controllable and actually quite enjoyable, although he is VERY forward.

I don't know what to do. I have had the vet check him in every which way, which cost me a fortune (checked his teeth, flexion tests, lungs, heart, back) the full shibang and he is very sound. I then got a saddle fitted and his bridle checked, and bought a specially fitted saddle for £800, so I dont know what else it can be or how I can control him. I am concerned, as I can't do what I bought him for (which is to compete in local shows).

Also, if I canter him, everything is over, as he gallops wont stop (in the school/barn and even when I hack him, although he's easier to stop when we hack) and he cuts the corners like a motorbike, so much that I have to lean the other way to make sure he doesn't fall over.

He is actually a danger sometimes. I just don't know what to do with this horse, he plays up, walks back wards when I ask him to stop, naps, and wont listen to a thing I say, I put a martingale on him and he freaked out, and its not that something is wrong with him, and I have had an instructor to watch me ride, which they say is fine.

Please help, my partner bought him for me, and is regretting buying him for me with all the money I am spending trying to get my "100% horse" to a100%!! I am not scared of him, and if he throws me off, I jump straight back on, its just I don't want to deal with him like that forever.

Oh and he's 12, ridden in a snaffle, has a sensitive mouth, so if he takes off and you do pull on the reins, he will bronk and male sure you get off.

HELP ME PLEASE.
 
Can I ask, how old are you and what is your riding ability? What disciplicine do you do?

Plus, what were your previous horses like? Have you had ex hunters before?
 
That sounds awful with out seeing the horse it's difficult to advise but it sound like he needs completly retraining.
Reduce his food right back to hay and a balancer if you have not done it already.
I would advise you get him professionally assessed ASAP someone experianced needs to see the behaviour an advise having heard the whole story and watching you on him and seeing your routine and management with him.
Concerntrate on hacking out calmly until you get help
If whoever comes advises you to part with him do so it's happened to lots of people the important thing is to enjoy your horse and be safe.
 
Hey, I have a general knowledge of showjumping and dressage and have done many local shows. When I was 15 I used to back horses (well sit on them and hold on for dear life), and then when I was 18 I went to Canada (where my family is from) and learnt western and rodeo from my cousins and competed in a few local shows there. I dont know the fancy dressage stuff, as my parents basically sat me on a horse when I was 4 and said go so I never really had a lot of lessons, I have learnt from experience and used to ride everyday for basically my whole life, and I think I have a good seat, but because I am an absolute sucker for sob stories, I have been able to turn a lot of horses around that have been bequithed to me, but this one I just do not know what to do!

I am on the edge of the Hertfordshire and Cambridgeshire border and I am 23.
 
you say you've had an instructor say that your riding is fine, but have they seen you ride this horse? What did they say about him? Where did you get him from? Have you spoken to his old owners? Have you considered sending him away to a professional and having him schooled?
 
Het am insured professional in at once to assess, and formualte a plan of action. Sounds like lessons are in order on reschoolimg. Good luck.
 
Sorry you're having so many problems, it's so hard with a new horse at the best of times. To be honest I think you need to have lots of regular lessons with a good instructor to help you work through your issues. No matter how good a rider someone is they can always benefit from lessons, and having someone on the ground to make suggestions is invaluable as they can see things which you can't.

My horse has been a bit of a handful since I got him (although nothing as extreme as yours, just settling in) and just a couple of lessons have made a huge difference to us and helped no end. Good luck :)
 
Sounds very much like he has hunted his whole life and never been given the basic groundwork lessons.

Therefore when you ask him to trot etc, he throws his head up to take off.
He may of hunted full time and therefore gone from walking to cantering across countryside in a group of horses.

Have you tried lungeing him?

I agree with others. He needs to go back to basics and you need to get an intructor to assess you both together
 
That he was 100% hacking/schooling and will make someone a "great dressage horse". I dont want some rough person riding him and reschooling him without me overseeing it, because he has had enough of that when he was ridden to the ground in Ireland. Am I being too soft?
 
What is he like out hunting? Was he ridden by a man? Are you small and lightweight?
Maybe he needs a massive amount of work to keep him sane. Why is he an EX hunter?
Perhaps he has never done any schooling.

Apart from cutting out hard feed entirely and having lessons, I can't think of anything else.
If he could be hunted, sell him to the local MFH for next season.
 
hollylouise said:
That he was 100% hacking/schooling and will make someone a "great dressage horse". I dont want some rough person riding him and reschooling him without me overseeing it, because he has had enough of that when he was ridden to the ground in Ireland. Am I being too soft?
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Why do you assume that a reschooling person will be ''rough''? It isn't about being rough, it's about skill.
 
He is fab, absolute gentle man, he will stand for ages being groomed and will pick up his feel (well he used to kick out and I persisted and now he wont cow kick anymore). He has never kicked me or bitten me. He loads like a dream and he is a happy horse from the ground. My 4 year old brushes him and he is ever so gentle.
 
Because I have seen many reschooling people being rough, and I just dont want to take that chance and someone doing that to him. He was ridden by men who were I think very heavy handed. He jumped 3 feet for me yesterday when we were out in a hack no probs! Its just the schooling aspect he hates, but we need the basics!!
 
Hmmm, you need a good instructor willing to take you two on, then.
There aren't that many options, really, you either need to reschool him yourself, which clearly isn't going the way you wanted it to OR you need to send him away for reschooling/have somebody come down and ride him.
You could always get rid, of course.
 
It sounds like you have a complete misunderstanding about what training entails.
If this horse has just hunted which is a very exciting adrenalin soaked job it's not surprising he does not understand what is required . Did you see his ridden in a school when you bought him?
has he hunted in the UK ?
Did he comes from a dealer or a private sale?
 
By the sounds of it you've bought a horse that has only ever hunted and has had none of the schooling done,which is not his fault, so think of it like having an ex racehorse who needs to be retrained. what does he do when you lunge him? does he listen or does he just tank around? if you want to keep him then you're going to either have to put the work in yourself or pay a professional to do it.:)
 
You say you need the basics then you need to be trained in the basics as you clearly have not got the skills to retrain this horse yourself with out a trainer on the ground at the very least.
 
Why don't you sell him as a hunter and buy a more suitable horse?
Many hunters have never been in a school and I know plenty that wont school/showjump are spooky to hack but are machines on the hunt field - which is what their job is!
If that is what he loves and is good at why try turning him into something he's not?
I don't mean that to sound harsh but it might be the best thing for both of you to stay safe and happy?:)
 
It can be tricky to take on a big powerful horse that was previously ridden by a man, as even if they are a skilled rider they are naturally much stronger without realising it.

Not saying that it can't be done, and you have had plenty of riding experience, but I think you definitely need help from the ground from a good instructor.
 
jessie7 said:
Why don't you sell him as a hunter and buy a more suitable horse?
Many hunters have never been in a school and I know plenty that wont school/showjump are spooky to hack but are machines on the hunt field - which is what their job is!
If that is what he loves and is good at why try turning him into something he's not?
I don't mean that to sound harsh but it might be the best thing for both of you to stay safe and happy?:)
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Good post at 12 it might be kinder to sell him to do a job he understands.
 
The horse that I returned to the dealer was a hunter, and after researching his background he had only hunted. He was sent away on sales livery by his previous owner but was returned as not suitable by them for resale. He was very similar behaved to what you are describing. He was re-schooled too by a previous owner so did work well at times. But he would take off in the school and I used to worry he would jump out. He was very strong and when he wanted to go I couldn't stop him. He was perfect out hacking in a group with a horses in front and behind, on his own he would take off down the road for no reason he wouldn't go infront and spooked all the time if he didn't have a horse behind him. He was the most gentle loving horse I'd ever owned, so loving apart from running off from me when leading him in from the field. I decided at my age I wasn't prepared to get hurt or cause injury to others as out hacking he was dangerous on the roads, so I returned him to the dealer. As I believe he is now in a riding school :-(
 
You have two options - take it back or get some help. If it's help, it needn't be rough or involve being 'ridden into the ground'.

Do you really know his history ? Have you checked it out for yourself ? Is there a reason he was ridden hard (if he was) to keep him sane perhaps ?

Sounds like more issues than just a horse that has hunted for a few years. Mine is an ex-hunt staff horse who had done nothing but hunt before coming to me at 13. He has a few issues (thinks he should be going with the 'group'/can be very strong and anxious in company if left behind) but nothing like yours.

He sounds unschooled - mine is slowly working out arena work after 3 months - but he also sounds unmannerly and not what he was sold as.
 
guido16 said:
Sounds very much like he has hunted his whole life and never been given the basic groundwork lessons.

Therefore when you ask him to trot etc, he throws his head up to take off.
He may of hunted full time and therefore gone from walking to cantering across countryside in a group of horses.

Have you tried lungeing him?

I agree with others. He needs to go back to basics and you need to get an intructor to assess you both together
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^^^This^^^

Whats he like on the lunge ? Is he balanced on the lunge in walk, trot and canter ?

When you describe him as motorbiking, it does sound as if his schooling was pretty limited and he's unbalanced. Is the surface in the school decent ?

Is he relaxed around the yard or does he find the yard a spooky place ?

Things you might try are, cutting out feed to just hay/grass if possible, increasing turnout and getting an instructor to school him and give you lessons.

When I got my last horse, she was great on hacks but in the school, it was a question of people holding her while I leapt on and then she'd run round the school at 90 miles an hour. Her problem was physical and once sorted she was a star.

Finding the cause of your boy's behaviour is the difficult bit, so fingers crossed that you find a solution.
 
Must also say....just because he is ridden in a snaffle, this doesnt mean that it is the right bit for him!

The chances are he had something stronger in his mouth when he was hunting. He may well of been put in a snaffle to sell as people think it makes them a calmer and more biddable horse.
 
If you keep him the you definitely need some help from a good instructor.

In them meantime, I think I would learn to long rein him as that is something you can hopefully do without gaining any more bruising and gradually retraining him and teach him some nice manners which can be transferred to ridden work.

Ideally get someone to show you long rein. However if you are pretty much on your own, start by thinking of it as lunging with 2 reins, learn h ow to turn the horse (once you control speed and direction you have a chance of 'dominating' him). Then you can progress from there.

If you do a search on here and also YouTube for long reining it will give you loads of information.

Good luck.
 
canteron said:
If you keep him the you definitely need some help from a good instructor.

In them meantime, I think I would learn to long rein him as that is something you can hopefully do without gaining any more bruising and gradually retraining him and teach him some nice manners which can be transferred to ridden work.

Ideally get someone to show you long rein. However if you are pretty much on your own, start by thinking of it as lunging with 2 reins, learn h ow to turn the horse (once you control speed and direction you have a chance of 'dominating' him). Then you can progress from there.

If you do a search on here and also YouTube for long reining it will give you loads of information.

Good luck.
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Sorry, but if this horse already needs reschooling, someone who cannot long rein should not be learning to do so with him! This will just create a mountain more problems.

Long reining is nothing to do with "dominating" a horse!
 
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