It may be the end of a beautiful relationship

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ken1

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Hi everyone, I haven't posted for a very long time as work commitments have had to come first. However, I would appreciate your thoughts before my wife and I make a fateful decision.

We have had a thoroughbred (ex-race) for getting on 3 years and love him dearly. Have stuck with him thru a serious heart problem and a very dramatic colic attack. He was in a school when we first bought him but after a few months moved him into full livery so that my wife could get a closer bond/connection.

Overall he has been a great horse and rides/jumps well in the school (alone) or out around the paddocks. However, he has changed as, when out on a hack with other horses fairly recently he bolted and galloped thru the woods for about a mile and the only thing that saved my wife was her keeping her head below his withers (big medal for staying on). Also, in the school he now seems to be unable to behave if there are more than one or two horses with him, he just sods off, fights the bit and canters (he has a very fast canter) up to the other horses, no thoughts of stopping when he gets there, while bucking and spinning until my wife is thrown. I know tbs can be a bit sparky and his personality is part of his charm but my wife is now frightened to ride him anywhere else but on her own and can't even contempate the thought of hacking.

He is a very fit horse and perhaps he is just too much for her/us.

We are thinking of giving him up as we are both too old to still enjoy the "youthful bounce" when we are thrown off.

What do you think?
 
I think you need to rule out all other potential reasons for this change in behaviour first (i.e. teeth, back, saddle etc) before you make a big decision like that. Also have a look at what your feeding him.
A change in behaviour that drastic needs looking into IMO
 
haha when I started to read your message after the first paragraph I was convinced you were asking us if you should leave your wife...!

very glad you weren't! I agree with the above though, if it is a dramatic change in behaviour then check everything physical out first. Then maybe give him some time off over the winter to de-fitten him and given yourselves a break. Did he come to you very young?
 
Would echo what others have said about checks - but also, I think you said that he was in a school when you bought him. Do you know what level of work he was doing in comparison to the level of work he is doing now?

Might it be that he is used to being worked very hard and is now feeling well rested, fit and full of beans?
 
Have had teeth checked, back is fine, saddle too, we have a great farrier, regular vet checks etc. He is a complete dream when ridden alone even in dressage (has a local first place) but as soon as he is in a group lesson or hack he turns back into a racehorse. He is a rising 12 16:2 gelding and we have cut his feed to just chaff and a few nuts to try and calm him. If I didn't know better I would think he is a rig as he does have an eye for the ladies.

We got him at 9 years, he raced as a 3 year old and was then re-trained, competed as a jumper and then ended up in a school where we then bought him.
 
Rosie_m, yes good thought and that's where our thinking is going. We think we have got him through his medical condition and he is now too fit for us. Perhaps a stronger hand is needed.
 
Hi Ken1
Does he behave like this when other people ride him too?
Have you thought of asking a trusted trainer to have a sit on him and maybe take him for a hack?

I only ask as I used to own a little mare that would routinely spin and tank off in the other direction when I hacked her on her own. I got a good friend who is a cracking rider to take her for a hack for me and she plodded round like something out of a Blue Cross Welfare advertisement. It wasn't until my good friend pointed out that the difference between us was that she is super relaxed, whereas I was quite tense (anticipating the horse doing something stupid). Once I relaxed more and kept her to safer routes where I knew we wouldn't encouter anything too scary, she became an absolute pleasure to take out on her own.

Sometimes an objective eye can make all the difference.
 
It sounds like, as you say, he is feeling fit and full of himself. As Flicker said, it could also be that he's feeling the nerves too, and reacting to the lack of confidence. Its a vicious circle, so get an instructor to ride him/ ride with you/ give you a lesson. It may be that it can be overcome, or it may be that he is a bit much for you and needs to go to a more experienced home. This wouldn't be a failure on your part - sometimes its just not the right match for you, and its bigger and better to accept that and move onto something that suits you better. Many people don't do that, and scare themselves silly for years with the wrong horse, when they could be having much more fun with something else (as could the horse!). Give it a bit more time and get help, then make a decision.. I hope it works out..
 
You could try getting a really decent instructor to try him and advise.If they can sort the problem, fine, if not sell and get something you can enjoy.Life is too short and the damage being done to your wifes confidence could get chronic and difficult to overcome.I speak from experience.If you can find a good selling livery it will make everything easier and they may just find him that perfect home for him.That, for what its worth, was my experience.
 
Echo Flicker, TBs are often sensitive flowers and react to tension from the rider. I would be looking for a really sympathetic, sensitive teacher to both ride the horse and teach your wife.

Another thought: racehorses are usually brought up with a very strict routine. School horses also have their routines that they expect to stick to. Horses that are recovering from illness or injury do too. Could it be that he has become 'institutionalised' and now that different things are being asked of him he is getting very anxious? I don't know the time frame for his illness and recovery etc so i'm not sure if it is relevant, just a thought.

How much work is he getting? How much turn out? Is he getting time out with other horses to let off steam?
 
Hi again,

All the comments that are being made are true to some extent.

When he was in the school 2 years ago he was worked up to two hours per day plus our own riding and it's fair to say that since then he has probably not been worked that hard. Having said that, after only a few months he got a heart condition so was out of work for 6 months. So he does need more work now.

After his illness he was brought back into work gradually up to June last year and is in peak condition now. The thing is that he has been behaving fine since June last year but has recently started behaving like an arse.

We have had him ridden by a very experienced rider (who is a competition rider) who thinks is he a handfull and last week he had to put the horse into a hedge to stop him after sodding off several times.

He is turned out 5 hours per day and is ridden 6 days per week.
 
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