major help needed please

[fizz-tally]

i totally need help with jay, today out hacking with a friend we decided to trot,jay decided to canter & nothing i did stopped him.
in the end he stuck his head between his knees & pissed off,i couldnt get his head up & he ended up jumping a ditch,tripping & chucking me over his head resulting on me hitting my head/hip/back on rocks
i managed to keep hold of him & limped to the nearest log to get on him, he reared up & pushed me backwards & pissed off down the track to the main road
luckily a man walking his dogs shut the gates so he didnt get onto the road.

we moved to a new yard on saturday & he has been uptight since.

he has been back in work for 8 weeks now, turned out 24/7 at the moment with ad lib hay in the field,he gets hifi & pasture nuts, ridden in a french link snaffle,doesnt open his mouth etc so just in a cavesson.

what the heck do i do with him,at 17.1hh he is too bloody big & knows it

 

[watcherathome]

A blindfold..hobbles?

Sounds really scary. Maybe he just needs to settle in to his new environment and some schooling in a controlled environment could be the answer in the short term.

I have found Magic Calmer to be really effective for transitional times and other stresses, although this is obviously not the only answer

 

[Agent XXX999]

Whats he like in the school? I would ride him in the school where you are safe till he is slightly worn out then out fhacking for 5-10 minutes daily, so it becomes second nature and is not an exciteable thing..like oooh look mum are we going hacking oooh I think that means I can be a little turd!
Bolting is down right dangerous and I dont envy you at all especially on something that big (one of mine is 18hh would be petrified) I am not one for changing bits willy nilly but have you considered riding him in something stronger so you have some extra breaks?
If all else fails and he does it again I would push the bugger forward till he wants to stop and when he does make him go on till you want to stop (shouldnt take long if hes only been back in work eight weeks!) Sort of psycological mind games with your ned.

Good luck! x

 

[fizz-tally]

thanks guys.

he is hacking on vets suggestion rather than schooling but i think we can do schooling now.

i would of pushed him on apart from we reached a stream with a ditch & a sharp left or right turn, if he had not tripped it wouldnt of been so bad

he used to be hunted in a dutch gag,i had wondered if he thought he was back hunting as we hack via lots of wooded areas.

bit suggestions anyone???

 

[watcherathome]

Well if his evasion is stick his head between his knees I wouldn't go with a gag, the poll pressure could make this even worse.
It comes down to schooling and him respecting you but personally I think you have just moved and it is far to early to risk going out and having him bolt

 

[sorona]

Have you changed/increased his feed recently with the cold weather as that could be affecting his mood? Could he have put his back out in the field galloping around with new field mates as that would account for him running away if he was in any kind of pain!
Hope you find out what is casuing his behaviour and hope you are not too battered and bruised!

 

[Agent XXX999]

Have you tried a pelham?

 

[fizz-tally]

school is being built so had no choice but to hack.

have only had him in the french link

 

[Christmas_Kate]

I moved little man last wekend and he's been a hooligan ever since

.
I would say try a different bit temporarily, or see if you can lunge him before you ride. He'll soon settle and get used to the new sights and sounds of the new area. That's what probably upset him.

 

[Skhosu]

Are there any fields (pref. small!!) that you could ride him in? Or lunge in just to take the edge off? I would hack with a friend, and potentially temporarily put a diff. bit in to help!
Hope all goes well, keep us updated!

 

[jemima]

I'd go for are there any larger fields you could hack him round? Then if / when he takes off just get a good hold of one rein - either one and bring him round in a biggish circle, just sit there passively but with that rein held tightly so he's GOT to keep going round, slowly decrease the circle then as he begins to tire push him forward. When YOU choose to come back to a trot put him on a smallish circle on the other rein and give him a circle or so that way. You do need to remember to alternate reins each time he goes off.

We have found that this works well as long as you show no signs of panic or fear when it first happens as his naughtiness gets overtaken by him being panicked about what mum's frightened about.

Good luck with sorting it.