My horse has issues again!

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shadowboy

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Ok, back checked by a McTimony Lady on thursday, new saddle checked by saddler and teeth done yesterday so, any ideas why my boy is bucking, not going forward and rushing into his canter. We have had a few problems in the past but the last week has been the worst i have ever seen him. I was crying yesterday night. Its difficult to get him to trot, and when he does its really choppy, and if i push him through he will buck, then work nicely for 5 min then go back to being choppy. Oh and he was so hollow and girrafe like that he was nearly inside out. A girl at the yard lent me he lungie bungy (i think thats what its called) and he worked sooooo beautifully in it with no resistance at all. I hopped on and he was much better, not his usual self but better non-the -less. Arggg im stuck, its getting to the point where he is scary to ride as you feel like hes going to explode. (some of these bucks are 3 or 4 feet high, not little and although he has not got me off yet, hes lslowly ebbing abay my confidence) This has been going on for 2 weeks -before this we spent a lot of time improving him and he was getting immensly better- working to novice level. Not anymore. Any ideas or tips?
 
Has anything else changed in terms of diet and handling in the last 2-3 weeks, ie, more time in/less turnout. Have teeth been checked recently?

in your shoes I would probably lunge more, and just ride for 10 minutes at the end of the lunge session for the next few days..sometimes they get something into their heads for no good reason and have to be allowed to 'forget' it, if there is no physical reason for the behaviour.

Are you hacking or just schooling? Does he do it all the time whether out or in the school?
 
If there is nothing wrong with health, tack I would say simple old evaison how old is he and whats his diet. My old boy was a big lad and bucked round and also bolt that was a good day. We tried all sorts to try and calm him in the end it came down to if I wanted to say trot the long side of the arena he would buck and bolt for an hour or so then finally give in and trot so always finish on a good note, he was like this for over a year and he always needed his brain thinking so I would never trot round and round and between my instructor and me learning him new things He became a fantastic horse to my suprise the 1st Dressage test we done he came 2nd. Again iMO horses that are highly bred have a lot of brain I also rode a mare off mayhill lines complety scared her owner she tried all sorts and it was a case of keeping the mares brain active all the time, she settled and the owner could then take her mare back for herself to ride. Sometimes they just take the p*ss.
 
Hmm I'd be getting him checked over by a vet personally but I do admit to being paranoid. But leg problems can cause this kind of behaviour to.
 
Agree with AliBabe - we were told that 80% of back spasm comes from the legs (well, hock in particular).
If your vet doesn't find any physical issues then I would invest in a pessoa training aid - this will help his muscles develop properly and help him to balance himself correctly too - I've used one on my boy who is returning to work following back problems and it's been amazing.
Good luck
 
Well, i think he goes out from 8.30 till 2.30pm as he's on full livery, and when i see him ats usually after work at around 8pm. Hes on half hay, half haylage purely because im slowly changing the ratio onto fully hay. He gets 3/4 scoop of speedi-beet, hadfull of chaff and mini measure of top-spec feed balancer twice a day- thats it!
He looks great, has a bit of a grass belly, but thats because hes only worked 3 or 4 times a week. But when he works he does a full hour. I already have a pessoa, and tried it, and he behaves ok in it, but seems to know when a rider is on his back and thats when the resistance starts. My instructor recons hes going through a "taking the p**s" phase, but if it goes on much longer im going to have lost my confidence. I have to admit that when hes doing work properly he looks amazing and i have had many great comments from people on the yard, but ATM hes C**P! To answer the Watchers question, he usually does on session on lunging a week, we have two lessons a week and then if im not working on Sat he hack out for an hour very steadily. I have to admit he hasnt had a chance to gallop with me since i moved him here (10 weeks ago) because the fields are far too boggy.
 
He sounds bored, and is probably taking the p**s. I would want him out for longer as well. And to be honest if you came to see me at 8.00pm and expected me to work I'd tell you to bugger off too.

As full livery is offered do they also offer an excercise service where the horse can at least get hacked out during the week?
 
Yeah they do, but it is just road work at this time of year or more schooling work those are the only options. I do jump him occasionally but when hes behaving like this i dont want to do damage him if there is something wrong with him. He probably is bored but until summer kicks in im stuck. As far as riding at 8 goes, its tough luck for him, i have no choice, its ride him then or not ride him at all. Also, i used to be hacking out at that time of day in the summer sometimes, if we were on long hacks etc and that didnt bother him, and he has competed at winter evening comps before and those didnt bother him either. Its either boredom, taking the pi** or pain. I just want to know which!
 
What's wrong with road work - sounds as if that could be the perfect solution.

If you can't get to yard earlier because of work - why not ride in the morning if you start work at a later time??
 
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