I want my pony back...especially after yesterday!

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SnowPhony

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My loan lad went back to his owner last week and yard owners very kindly offered me the use of one of their horses to play with, take out to the odd show, hunting etc.

Such a lovely offer, and he really is a lovely lad. He's been off work for a few weeks having a break and I got on him at the weekend to see if I liked riding him. We really clicked, he's just my sort of horse and I was looking forward to all the fun times. Took him for a walk up the road as me and owner were unsure how much hacking he has done as he's only a baby and he was an angel.

Yesterday...well yesterday was a different story. On the yard he was a moron, when I got on he was even more of a moron and it ended up him rearing up repetedly. I kicked him on, my friends were looking on with thier perfectly behaved mounts while I was spinning around and doing river dance. Still don't quite know how it happened as it was all so quick, but he managed to throw me right of balance, headbutt me and ditching me on the gravel.

Owner decided she would get on him despite my protests so we swapped and he was just as much of a monster for her. Ending up in him freaking out, throwing himself sideways in a massive ditch, rearing up and scrabling out the other side before nearly running backwards into the same ditch. She got off ( how she was still on board I will never know!) and refused to get back on so led him home.. And he behaved. Getting back on the bugger tomorrow, no way I'm going to let this one beat me! But how much do I wish I had my loan pony and his sensible, sane hacking!! Won't be hacking him out however, going to ride him in the school as don't fancy scrabbling through ditches.

We are hoping its just a case of lack of experience, lady who has been schooling him insisted he was fine out hacking alone and in company, and the lady who broke him never had a problem with him so I'm hoping it's just babyish stupidness with the other horses he'd not met there.

Any help and advice will be greatfully appreciated, not ever experienced a horse that hacks out fine on its own but is a lunatic in company before!
 
The ususaly, bad back, ill fitting saddle, bit he does not like, and also what hapened to us at the wekend , something tickling him.

All sorts of things can cause this, it does not ususaly come out of the blue.

If he has been off for few weeks he could have put on / or lost weight so his tack is not as comfortable, or indeed his muscles.

Our pony was ok by herslef, but lost in it company. We think because she felt under pressure
 
Don't think it's back, tack or teeth, all been over the last couple of weeks. He's normally such a sweet natured lad, yearling in the field got extremely attatched and was calling from the field which wasn't helping, not sure if the horses he hadn't met before switched his brain back into 'colt' mode as he was only cut early this year! But then that wouldn't explain why he's been fine at shows if he does that.

I'm stumped!
 
Still quite a baby then - no accounting for what sets them off
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Everyone handles these things differently and I don't think there's one right way, but if it were me I'd see how he is tomorrow - first in the stable, then in hand (maybe walk him round a bit), then see what he's like to mount etc. There're faaaaaaar more experienced people on here than I, but whenever I've dealt with youngsters I've always tried to bore them rigid with new things (e.g. walking them over to new things etc) as much as possible
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Sounds like a something's hurting him. I'd get his back checked.
Although if he's fine in the school, and hacks alone then maybe it's purely a mental issue. Has he hunted? I've known several horses whose brains would almost explode and they'd not be able to contain themselves out hunting. I wonder if he associates riding out with others with something like that which he's done in the past? Could be an interesting project. What's he like out with just one other horse?
 
It does sound like typical back pain, but his back was literally done last week so I'm not convinced it's that. He's never hunted yet, I was gonig to be taking him to give him something else to think about. All he's ever really done at schooling livery is jump and compete and I'm not entirely convinced he'd been hacked all that much while he's been there.

Not tried him with just one other horse. I've literally only got on the little monster twice and owner only knows what they have been told from the people that had him for schooling.
 
Can you get the lady who was riding him out fine to come and have a look? You may be doing something differently to her, and as he's young he might be a bit less tolerant of that. Not wrong, just differently, like rein contact for example.
 
Turns out lady who had been riding him hasn't hacked him at all, after a bit of digging it appears that all she has done is jump jump jump him. No wonder he's lost the plot slightly doing pretty much nothing but jumping from 3 years old.

Rode him yesterday and he was fine at first, then had a paddy when I asked him to halt to adjust my stirrups, started throwing himself around again, gave him some rein and pushed him forward and he settled straight away.

Definitely a project that needs to get out and do something other than jumping!
 
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