Nappy horse

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campervan

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Hi,

Just wanting a bit of advice or experience from people who have had nappy horses. I've been lucky enough to have never had a major problem with any of my others.

I have a 6 yr old ex racer. Who is a darling most of the time. Steady and sensible. I got him off some people who had rebroken him and plodded him about with another horse.

If i ride in the school he is fine, but will have a tantrum if another horse walks past. Is a horse is in the school with us this is fine, but if the horse leaves we have a tantrum.

When riding him down the lane he is fine but if the horses in the fields come over he has a bit of a tantrum, if they are ruinning up and down the fence side he kicks off too.

My confidence is low due to an injury (not from this horse) and other liverys opinions of me and my horse do not help. He hasn't thrown me, reared or bolted. He bucks and dances around.

I have been long reining him around the lanes which was helping but the last couple of times we have had a problem with the other horses setting off. And another time some people trotted past us.

I have taken him to some walk/trot tests and done clear round at the local riding club. He is lovely at the show ground, as he can see the horses around the gate etc.

We are working on schooling, balance etc, but he is very green.

Has anyone else had a horse like this and how did you over come it? Do they ever grow out of it?
We have had lessons but school is wet at mo so need to wait till it dries up a bit.

Thanks
 
There are literally THOUSANDS of horses like that, don't despair. :)

I'm loathe to give you glib advice on the internet because the right advice for one situation/horse could be completely the wrong advice in another but I'm sure there will be many people along to tell you heartening stories. In the mean time, do you have access to an instructor or someone who can come out with you and see the situation, possibly even sit on the horse and find out exactly what might work best? If I've been working on a hacking problem with a horse I like to go out on foot (going on another horse defeats the purpose) with the owner the first couple of times and make sure we are all on the same page.
 
I'd work him on long lines in the school. Once you have this established I would set up situations where horses go past while you are working him. Obviously, hat, gloves and a good standard on the long lines before you attempt this would be important!
 
I hate to say it, but this is standard young/green horse behaviour. They pretty much all have this phase where they aren't terribly keen on being on their own/seeing other horses somewhere else etc. The trick is in the way you deal with it. All I'd say is that if you're not terribly confident (which is no criticism BTW), then it'd be well worth your while paying someone who is used to starting young horses to give you a hand. To me, this is one of the things where it is critical to get it right because if you do, you end up with a nice easy well-rounded member of equine society, and if you don't, then the issue could escalate to a point where it is incredibly difficult to deal with. I don't think it's something they grow out of, so waiting and hoping might not be the best solution. I think it's something that the right person can train them out of relatively easily though.
 
I think also it can be bit of an ex racehorse thing, without wanting to generalise. They are fairly much used to doing things in the pack so confident following or even leading other horses but being asked to leave them or do things on their own then that can be a bit more difficult. If yours is good when you have been to dressage tests etc then that is very positive. One of the horses at the yard where I am apparently (before my time there) took a year or so to get happy to hack out on its own, and people used to either walk or cycle with her as a way of weaning it off other horses.

Would also echo the advice of possibly getting someone more confident to ride him from time to time.

Good luck and don't stress it too much.
 
humblepie said:
I think also it can be bit of an ex racehorse thing, without wanting to generalise. They are fairly much used to doing things in the pack so confident following or even leading other horses but being asked to leave them or do things on their own then that can be a bit more difficult. If yours is good when you have been to dressage tests etc then that is very positive. One of the horses at the yard where I am apparently (before my time there) took a year or so to get happy to hack out on its own, and people used to either walk or cycle with her as a way of weaning it off other horses.
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This is very true. I've seen the same thing in horses that have be made up specifically for hunting, especially from dealers' yards. In some cases they literally never go out alone and can be surprisingly lacking in confidence out in the world by themselves. I think it takes people by surprise because they figure if the horse is okay in traffic, groups etc - which these horses usually are - then they should be the same on their own but to the horse it is a totally different situation and requires a separate training effort.
 
Thanks for the replies.

I do agree my confidence needs to improve, I have never got off him or let him get away with the behaviour, I'm just not enjoying it,

He will go on his own and is fine till he see's the other horses.

I've broken/brought on non-tb's and owned tb's before so thought this would be a challenge and understand the patience and understanding I need.

He did get better about being in the school when others are in there/ when they leave last year when the weather allowed more work.

There is an instuctor i can get out who has delt with problem horses before.
I had lessons off her last year and she helped with the basics.

Or I could save up and get the local natural horsemanship person out for a session or two. They offer groundwork sessions. Has anyone found anything like this helpful or should I stick with being firm and getting on with it?

I really just wanted reassurance that we can get through it, and he isn't going to be stressed about it forever. So thanks :-)
 
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