Loss of use?

[Rusty_GSY]

Can anyone tell me if I can claim loss of use on my horse?

I brought him a year ago as an alrounder, and am now ready to give up on him, purely because he is getting dangerous.

I have been told, I might be able to write him off as a loss of use claim on my insurance, seeing as he blatantly isnt an allrounder.

Anyone have any ideas on this?

 

[quirky]

No, you won't be able to by the sounds of it.

 

[Moomin1]

I would have thought the smallprint/T and C's would give some insight into whether behavioural issues are a viable reason for loss of use. In what way is he dangerous? Are there any possible ridden uses for him or is he generally unrideable?

 

[Rusty_GSY]

I havent looked at the small print, dont have the ins documents handy....

He has massive behaviourable issues. He has now learnt that he can get out of everything by rearing (his way of saying no) they arent little rears neither, he's now sussed he can be clever and go verticle. He jumps the stable door, so is behind bars to keep him in, stresses whenever left on his own, box walks, and has now started windsucking both in the stable and when being ridden.

His new trick today was to bolt in heavy traffic along the main road, whilst locking his neck, meaning i had no way of stopping him.

He also dragged my sister twice and reared verticle above her head which is in no way acceptable.

My extremely experienced instructor has no idea what to do with him now, we have tried absolutely everything with him..... bullied him, been nice to him, given him what he wants.

I'm his 5th owner in 6 years, he is 7 this year

 

[Abbeygale]

As said, you will need to check your T&Cs, but I'm pretty sure that behavioural issues aren't covered by *my* insurance. Have you had a vet check him for physical issues that may be underlying and causing the problem? Have teeth / back / saddle etc been checked?

 

[Moomin1]

Not nice! He certainly sounds unrideable. What a horrible situation for you to be in.

Just a thought - and it is a horrible one, but if he is that stressy in life then would it not be kinder to have him PTS? (I know that's not related to the insurance issue).

Hope you manage to get it sorted

 

[quirky]

I had my horse up to Liverpool where he demonstrated his full repertoire .
As they couldn't find anything physically wrong with him, we were sent away.

I took the difficult decision to have him pts. I couldn't sell him on and risk him harming somebody.

My insurance did not pay out.

 

[Rusty_GSY]

He has had his teeth etc checked. the stressy behavious in the stable wouldnt relate to saddle fittings. You can tell by his eyes its all mental stress (his eyes go bright red, and his bottom lips tucks in) he's done it for a long time but no one has bothered to deal with it so it has gotten progressivly worse.

Living on a small island i cant have him behaving like this, he poses a risk for me and other people around, bolting on the main road is out of order.

Actually I have considered having him PTS, purely to save him the mental stress of having a new owner, and to stop him doing any damage to anyone else. The stressy behaviour isnt his fault, its just how he has been trained and brought up for 6 years, so he knows nothing different

 

[Holly Hocks]

What has your vet said? I assume your vet has seen the horse?

 

[Rusty_GSY]

I have no problem with the insurance not paying out. It was just a suggestion which was put to me, and i was considering my options. Obviously i want the best for him, and having him PTS might be the kinder thing to save what mental state he has left.

its a shame, when he behaves, he behaves wonderfully, i just havent seen enough of it, and am blatantly a bit fed up of his behaviour.

 

[Rusty_GSY]

I havent had the vet out yet, thats my next port of call tomorrow, i ahev only started seriously considering it today.

 

[Holly Hocks]

Ok - I would definitely get the vet - rearing and bolting can be pain related - ligaments/back/neck etc. If the vet doesn't find anything - and they won't find anything on one visit - it could take some time, do you have anywhere you could just turn him out and leave him out for a few months? It sometimes does the world of good.

 

[Holly Hocks]

I've just noticed that you've put about him windsucking and box walking. Could it be gastric ulcers? They often affect stressy horses, and windsucking could be related to that.

 

[Rusty_GSY]

doesnt explain the stress behaviour in the stabel, or the jumping the door, rearing at the door etc. he doesnt do it everytime i get on him, i can ride him and hes fine, then he will just turn.

he would trash a field in an instant, is a proper rotivator. plus he doesnt live out, and cant stay out on his own. he would probably get out... which wouldnt be ideal at all

 

[madsetter]

I know a lady that did have hers pts through dangerous behaviour, even though the vets could not find anything physically wrong with him, but he was involved in a traffic accident and his problems only arose after the accident.
Just a quick thought could he possibly have a stomach ulcer? If you are getting the vet it might be worth a mention.

 

[Rusty_GSY]

ive stuck him on gastriaid, thought there was no harm in trying. he is the type which would get them.

having spoken to my trainer, she thinks he was brought up like a "gypsy horse"... left with his mum and in a herd too long, then when they took him away he couldnt cope so went mental, so he was shoved in a dark stable and left iscolated to deal with life. explains a lot

 

[angelish]

am i the only one that feels really sorry for this horse

i'm sorry OP but it is not his fault ,he is not misbehaving on purpose to annoy & upset you

it sounds like he hasn't had much of a chance in life and is a complete nervous wreck poor boy ,how long have you had him ?
what was he like when you bought him ?
if he already had problems when you bought him & insured him then no the insurance co would not pay LOU even if he was fine when you bought him i don't think they pay out for behavioral problems

i would be inclined to find some grass livery with a couple of companions and chuck him out for at least 6 months to try and settle him ,he is obviously a very insecure horse
i wish you were closer as i'd have him off you ,my horse would turn out like that if he'd been pasted about as much as that

i hope i don't come across as too blunt as i am not meaning to have a go at you in any way ,i just feel terribly sorry for a horse who seems to be very insecure in himself and is not really being given a chance

 

[Rusty_GSY]

please, feel free to feel sorry for him. i certainly do.

if you read back, i have put that its not his fault, im not stupid, its pretty obvious he isnt meant to be like this.

ive had him for a year and hes gotten progressivly worse, again read back. ive tried a hell of a lot to help him out.

i hope you arent implying ive pasted him around, because this is far from the case. if anything the horse has pasted me around, on too many occasions ive had my head smashed in due to him throwing his weight around, plus been dragged left right an centre because of his inseucrities which come from wayyyy back in his training.

 

[FionaM12]

I'm his 5th owner in 6 years, he is 7 this year

am i the only one that feels really sorry for this horse

my horse would turn out like that if he'd been pasted about as much as that

i hope you arent implying ive pasted him around, because this is far from the case. if anything the horse has pasted me around, on too many occasions ive had my head smashed in due to him throwing his weight around, plus been dragged left right an centre because of his inseucrities which come from wayyyy back in his training.

I would guess Angelish is refering to your comment about the number of homes he's had, not anything you've done. Almost one for every year of his short life.

I feel sorry for the horse and terribly sorry for you. I don't think anyone here's judging you. I'm certainly not, it must be heartbreaking and terrifying for you, and I'm sure you're trying to do the best by your poor lad.

 

[Rusty_GSY]

yea sorry, just a little bit short on the subject. ive had a lot of people going on at me about it, and he doesnt help the situation. hes such a lovelyy lad, with a hell of a lot of character, i just dont want to end up getting hurt, or see him hurting someone else

 

[angelish]

not implying you past him around at all
you are obviously at the end of your tether with him and i do feel for you also as it is no fun having to deal with this sort of behavior

i suspect his behavior is the reason why he has been past about so much (before you bought him) i saw you said he can't be kept in a field alone as he will jump out ,is there any reason he needs to be kept alone
i understand you are on a small island and so i'd guess you are limited to what you can do but is there nowhere you could just chuck him out with company and leave him especially if its a last chance (before considering pts) it has to be worth a try

my horse has been like this when i have moved yards and i still have to be careful in some situations ,it takes him ages to settle and i have to be really careful to keep him in a very strict routine with the same company ,ill never cure him from being insecure but i do manage it
i ques i feel sorry for yours as i know if i sold mine (never ) he'd end up the same ,especially if he was then sold on

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Rusty, see what the Vet says but please be careful and don't risk your own safety.

It has been known that some horses with extreme behaviour problems can be suffering from a brain tumour. This is often only discovered during a post mortum.

 

[Rusty_GSY]

i know angelish, i apologise for jumping the gun (or down your throat!)

we are unfortunately very limited over here, people have suggested a hunting home for him, which would be an ideal solution to keep him thinking forwards. my only worry with him being kept for so long with another/ others is that he gets attached to them, which he would. his previous owner kept him away so he wouldnt get attached.

ill phone the vet tomorrow and see whats what, there must be something!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

his previous owner kept him away so he wouldnt get attached.

Oh dear. I think that that explains alot. I would mention this to the Vet.

 

[Rusty_GSY]

he was kept at the other end of a 5/6 stable block

he wasnt like this when i tried him, he was actually normal! but then it was the environment he was used to for a year.

when the transporter picked him up, he was brought out in a chiffney and the stable had bars up. none of this was mentioned nor did i see any of this when i tried him

 

[Keimanp]

Hi

It doesn't sound as though either of you are happy at the moment! Theres nothing much that I can add to the other comments. I would get the vet out and ask them to give him a thorough going over including asking him about the possibility of him having ulcers.

As has also been suggested are you able to turn him away with a companion so he is not left on his own? Just 6 months or a year to just be a horse (Whilst being checked by the Vet). Not only to give him chance to be a horse but for you to have a break from the stress and anxiety of dealing with him in a work situation. It does come accross as though he is not resting or relaxing in a stable and it may not be for him, Mine doesn't like being in a stable and will continually box walk whilst there is activity on the yard, but as soon as it goes quiet he will then settle.

Hope things get resolved

Robert

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Many years ago, I had a mare, bought as a 4 yr old, whose behaviour got progressively worse. I was in a position where, when she became unrideable, I was able to keep her as a field ornament. Then she became progressively more difficult to handle until she was frankly dangerous. It took 2 of us to lead her in and even then she would be up on her back legs, or sometimes standing on her front ones. She was VERY close to being pts, except that it was very close to Christmas. Even at this stage she had times when her behaviour was good.
She also had a cough and sis read an article about a horse whose cough improved when cereals were taken out of its diet. To try to make the poor mare feel a bit better (we and vet thought she probably had a brain tumour) we took all refined sugar and cereal out of her diet. Her behaviour improved from then on and we kept her another 12 yrs until she was 24.
This may ring some bells with you or you may have already tried adjusting your horse's diet.
You have my sympathy, it is very frustrating when you just cannot workout why a horse is doing whatever it is doing.

 

[angelish]

well good luck

mine does get attached to the others but it keeps him sane ,i can't understand the thinking behind keeping them alone (not saying its wrong just not something i'd do)

i have to make sure the others are never all taken out of the field as mine will jump out (on to a main rd once) i find mine gets very stressed when others leave him but i can take him away even hacking i can turn him and leave the others although this obviously does upset him a little

it is a pain at times as he has to be first out in the morning or he starts ,he has to be first in or he starts etc but it can be managed but he does rule my life a bit
ive had him since a youngster though and love him to bits and would never sell him despite the rearing ,napping ,spinning ,dumping me etc
i have just learnt to not put him in situations he finds hard to cope with

hope you get something sorted for him good luck

 

[Rusty_GSY]

hmmm. he settles for a little while in the field, but once something starts him off he goes.

in all honesty i just dont trust him in a field 24/7. sounds really bad i know, but ive seen how he reacts to everything, thats all

 

[Rusty_GSY]

i would love to not put him in a situation he cant cope with, he is like a stroppy child and has a no answer for a hell of a lot!

i adjusted his diet a few months after i got him, as he was being fed as a good doer, but stressed all the weight off! he is fed on hifi light, pony nuts, outshine (keeps the weight on) speedi beet and gastri aid. his pregressive bad behaviour started before the outshine was added, so i know its not that.