Loaning out a difficult horse

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Frumpoon

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As title really?

I've totally lost my confidence with one of my horses and I'm thinking the best thing would either be to retire him or loan him long term/permanent to somebody who is either a much better rider or slightly suicidal?

I don't think I'd sell him - he's too quirky and he coudl easily fall into the wrong hands.

Would anyone want this sort of animal though?
He's good looking and extremely well-bred, just really awkward and arsey.
I'm wondering what sort of job he could do?
 
I'm sure there is a home for him, But you would have to be totally honest about his behaviour. For a confident experienced rider who loves Horses with quirks. I'm sure they will snap him up :)
 
He's really feisty!!!!

Loads of attitude - he's very 'don't you know who I am'!!!!

He was rejected by his mother as a foal and so was bottle-fed and hand reared, so he does have 'mummy' issues

He was also meant to be a graded stallion on the continent, so he wasn't gelded til he was 4!!!

So he's a mover and gorgeous, possibly too arsey for dressage though, doesn't really jump too well. I thought about showing him in hunter classes maybe?
 
There will deffo be someone out there for h im, its just finding them!! I personally love quirky horses (hence the diva arab and ex racer) ;) just be completely honest!
 
I was having a similar thought the other day and looked on the 'Kelly Marks Intelligent Horsemanship site' and one or two of the associates do find loan homes for horses. If you found someone like that to help you find the right home who would then be able to support the loaneee it might just work!! Though I guess you may have to be prepared to have some on-going costs.
 
Frumpoon said:
He was rejected by his mother as a foal and so was bottle-fed and hand reared, so he does have 'mummy' issues
Click to expand...

Sadly this never turns out into a happy ending. Hand rearing and horses just doesn't work.

The thing would be just put some feelers out. Be honest about the horse and if someone is interested, they will snap him up. What about a sharer rather than loan? That way you can still keep an eye to make sure new rider and horse are happy.

xxx
 
Thanks everybody!!

I daresay I will end up keeping him and perservering.

But what job could I do with him do you think?
If he would hack out alone I'd be happy just to hack him but he's a big wuss.

His jumping is cute but hopeless.

Am I right in thinking you can't do dressage in a pelham?

He's not massively trainable and recently a bit tantrum prone [came off twice in the last few days]...

I've got him at a really excellent yard and I have loads of tuition and advice on hand so I am really lucky.
 
I don't think his problems are ability wise they are attitude wise.

Does he socialise with other horses and how well does he do that? How old is he now? Without having seen him or knowing much about him my instinct would be to completely turn him away and gradully lessen his contact with humans, then I'd start him again from scratch as if he'd never been backed. Be prepared to try lots of different things until you find what works for him - you might end up with a completely different horse.
 
Hey, yes we did that shortly after he arrived. Turned him away for 6 months then brought him back using NH methods and gradually turned him to classical methods.

To be fair to him he like 200% better than he was 3 years ago and he is very affectionate and loyal. He socialises well with other horses though is quite dominant, he gets on well with my other big gelding and they will play and graze with no major issues.

He's 10 now, I've had him 3 years.

Ignore me, I'm just sore and bruised, I'll get better and keep at it I suppose.
 
I know its something you’ve done but has he had his teeth done recently? My recently bought lad was sold as they were too scared of him etc etc and the people before kept getting thrown off … his teeth were an absolute mess (two huge hooks :eek:)!!!! xx
 
Hello
Yes I am good mum - he's had the vet out recently to check his back and spine, his teeth get looked at every 6 months, his saddle was fitted to him just 3 months ago - though I do need to change the gullet [it's a wow] so that my first job.

He is just a massively mardy horse
 
Frumpoon said:
Hey, yes we did that shortly after he arrived. Turned him away for 6 months then brought him back using NH methods and gradually turned him to classical methods.

To be fair to him he like 200% better than he was 3 years ago and he is very affectionate and loyal. He socialises well with other horses though is quite dominant, he gets on well with my other big gelding and they will play and graze with no major issues.

He's 10 now, I've had him 3 years.

Ignore me, I'm just sore and bruised, I'll get better and keep at it I suppose.
Click to expand...

Its hard to stand back and be objective sometimes with a complicated horse, but perhaps you have achieved far more than you think in 3 years. When you have a bad patch, it seems like you're getting nowhere, when in fact, progress is still bumpy.
If he is an intelligent horse, he'll thrive on work that makes him think and tires him mentally but gives him a sense of achievement. The problem is, that working with a stroppy character is hard work and he needs to be busy.
If you just don't click with him under saddle, he might be happier with a rider that is in tune with him and has the time, energy and mindset that compilments his character.
If, its just a rocky patch you're going through, then don't be demoralised, grit your teeth, look at the whole picture and keep at it. (Easier said than done -been there. Arrggghhhhh !)
 
OK nurse your bruises, then take a step back and think how far you have come in the last 3 years.

Horses who have been hand reared can very very often have issues around people so you give yourself a pat on the back for coming this far.

Does he long rein? Would that help his confidence about going out alone?

You mention dressage in a pelham - no you couldn't do that at shows but you could do interdressage in a pelham, or you could put him into a double and aim for the higher levels where doubles are allowed.

What about getting a pro dressage rider on board to asses his ability/potential?

Could it be that he needs to do more different things such as the more advanced school moves to keep his brain engaged?
 
Hey madlady, those are really good ideas - I have a lesson booked with a local dressage trainer next wednesday so I am hoping she will watch him being tacked up, see what he is like to mount and warmup and be able to give me a complete rounded piece of advice...hopefully she might even get on him at some point?

What is interdressage? I do have a double bridle for him, maybe I should just stop messing about and put him in it....
 
if you want to have a crack at dressage some places will let you wear any tack (the horse obviously i don't think they'd be quite so forgiving if YOU wore the pelham!!) for walk and trot tests and some will even let you take part non competatively in non dressage legal tack. I've done it with Hovis whilst i work on his schooling in a snaffle.
Any pictures of him?
 
Interdressage is dressage by video - I'm thinking of doing it with my girlie because she goes beautifully in a kimblewick or waterford but will not entertain a snaffle at all. She either does a wonderful giraffe impression or she sits down!

I found long reining a good confidence giver for getting mine to go out on her own - she had the reassurance of me behind and slightly to one side where she could see me and hear me but she had to be brave and go past things on her own.

Your suggestion with your instructor sounds good as well - ask her to get on and give you an opinion on how he rides and his ability - you could then work out a plan between you. Also it could well be worth trying him in the double and going for it at dressage, you never know schooling him to the more advanced moves may be something that he responds to really well - again your instructor should be able to give you a reasonable assesment of whether this is possible.
 
If hacking out on your own is your real goal then if you find the right person to help you and you really want to get there you WILL be able to achieve that. I personally don't believe there are horses that "won't" hack on their own but are perfectly happy to hack in company, I think that with those horses it comes down to a communication/trust issue between horse and rider when they find themselves without another horse/person to accompany them.

I hope you don't give up a horse you'd really like to keep, I'm sure you can do it with some support - you say you've got excellent help on hand so hopefully they can work through this with you. Otherwise one of the IH specialists or other recommended people who work with difficult horses, e.g Richard Maxwell, Michael Peace etc may be worth having a consultation with.
 
I bought my boy 7 months ago fully knowing he was spooky etc, but that wasn't really the only issue. He's quirky and strange, but deep down he's good and very sweet. I came home many times, at the start, threating to sell him. My non horsey OH talked me off the ledge, thank goodness.

I now have someone riding/schooling him once or twice a week, not because I can't, honestly because it gives me a break fom him sometimes. He loves it. He is more responsive to learning new things now and because he gets a variety of rider, I think it keeps him on his toes. It also means I am less frustrated when he's being a pain.

I guess he's lucky because we seem to pick the oddball animals that other people pass over and we're quite used to quirks.

Take a day or two and have, another, fresh start.

Ps there is another thing I do but it prob means I'm mad, but sometimes after a bad day i have a chat with his horsey stable mate, imploring him to have a wise up word. The next day generally things seem better. It may be just me saying it out loud and getting it off my chest and coming back the next day with a clean slate but who knows......
 
If he had a jump I'd have him... He sounds very like my current eventer. I don't have a great deal of money to buy so look for difficult but talented/ free to good home etc. To give you hope my psycho turned out brilliant but it took a great deal of perseverance.

With a horse like this they often need to be stretched mentally... I always say the devil finds work for idol hooves. If you were aiming him at a higher level of dressage etc he might just rise to the challenge and settle.
 
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