Never thought I’d be writing this :(

[Keira 8888]

Hi guys,

Very hard day today.

Prince reared up almost vertically on our way to the sand school and I could feel him starting to lose balance so I threw myself off.

My YO has been doing some work with him over the last few weeks as he had become incredibly nappy in the field. I could only get him to leave if someone walked closer behind clapping their hands. I decided to pay my YO to ride him every day as he needed regular work and it was very difficult for me to do this myself as I have my 6 year old and 9 year old with me during lockdown. The YO (very experienced and well respected chap in the village) said that he was a real bugger to get out of the yard. Then a few days ago he reared on the road and refused to move - my YO eventually got him going and said that he relaxed after a while and the second half of the ride was very easy. He is a different horse coming back than he is leaving.

Since then my YO has been lunging him to try and build trust and communication on the ground. This morning we agreed that I would come and ride him in the school and my YO was going to be there to assist.

Everything went beautifully at first, he left the field without too much of a battle and happily picked his feet up for me to pick out. Stood calmly to be groomed and tacked up. It was all going so so well. Then I mounted in the yard and walked him down to the school - after a few steps he did two little bucks and then when I tried to gentle push him on he reared right up - all I could see was blue sky. My YO said I was a hairs breath from him coming over backwards.

I am too scared to try again as he has reared several times now. He has had his teeth checked, his back checked, a recent physical examination from the vet in which he Was given the all clear. ( this wasn’t a FULL vetting though, he just did some physical examinations eg legs, heart, ears, eyes.

My YO is now refusing to ride him again which I totally understand. He says he is a dangerous horse and something very bad will happen soon if we persist.

Prince is an affectionate, humble gentleman in the field. It’s immy when he is asked to do any kind of work that he digs his heels in.

I am inexperienced. I have a 9 year old horse mad daughter who is heartbroken. I have contacted the lady I bought him from and she said she was shocked and had never done this for her.

I specially said that I needed a sensible calm older horse who would happily hack alone and in the advert (and by what’s app) the seller confirmed that Prince was all of these things.

Several people I have shown videos of Prince to (before I bought him) now say that he wasn’t tracking up and seemed very sluggish in the hind quarters. I wonder whether he may have been sedated in some way.

Obviously I should have had a blood test done before I bought him to check for any doping. A big lesson learnt here. And I 100% blame no one but myself.

What I now need to decide is what is best for Prince. I can work through pretty much anything but I think near vertical rearing (more than once) is just a step too far.

I don’t have the experience to give him what he needs.

I was thinking of advertising him as free to a very knowledgable experienced and KIND home but obviously being completely honest about his napping and rearing. He also has unexplained hives at the moment which I’m trying to investigate with the vet.

I just completely lost. Completely heartbroken. Ashamed of how I can’t help him as I am just too scared.

His saddle fits perfectly. His teeth are fantastic. All I can think is could he have ulcers or some health problem that no one has picked up on?

Thanks so much for reading all this guys.

Kx

 

[Red-1]

I am so sorry you have this situation. If it helps, you are not alone, this has happened to many people.

Lots of horses can be settled in one home but be different in another.

For what it's worth I wouldn't get on again, he is not what you want.

You do need to do right, whatever that ends up looking like. He could go to a professional yard for assessment. This is what I would do in your situation. They can check and double check everything, advise about vet investigations, and give him his best chance of being 'good'. If they get him going well, then they could advise on sale options, or even that he did what he did because of XXX. Many horses have come round from new horse nappyness, some do not.

He could be put to sleep, which is awful but at least you know that he didn't hurt anyone. I would personally not do that without exploring option 1, and vet investigations, but I don't think it would be wrong either. What I would guard against is selling to all-comers cheaply, as then they tend to be on a downward spiral and treated harshly to make a quick buck.

 

[Frumpoon]

Where are you, what is he and what kind of home do you want for him. PM me if you prefer x

 

[Horses_Rule]

Do NOT feel ashamed of being scared!! I would be more concerned if you weren’t! Is he insured? Is it worth you having a full work up from your vet? Such an extreme reaction deserves some more investigation if you can. It sounds as though it is probably a pain reaction to something? Maybe back related? I really feel for you what an awful situation

 

[Goldenstar]

What checks has the vet done ?

 

[Bradsmum]

As the previous owner has stated this is unusual behaviour for him, has he had any change in tack, feed or management since his last home. How long have you had him, has he had time to settle to any changes made. I wouldn't get on him right now either but if as you say he is a gentleman in the field there must be something niggling him

 

[Jayzee]

Sorry to hear this, I would not be getting back on if he's likely to go up again! How long ago did you buy him?

 

[Mule]

I'd be leaning toward a medical problem as it's out of character. Sounds very scary

 

[HBB]

I just completely lost. Completely heartbroken. Ashamed of how I can’t help him as I am just too scared.

Please don't feel ashamed, it's called self preservation, I wouldn't be getting on either.

 

[ester]

full veterinary work up required.

Please don’t offer the horse as free to good home, people can be very believable and sell them on so at best they do the rounds of the bin end dealers.

 

[doodle]

Don’t get on. But get the vet to do a full work up as its sounds like there is something wrong. After that then decisions can be made.

 

[Archangel]

My own feeling is that the ones that go straight up so high they teeter or go over are at the end of their tether - pain/fear/pressure.

A full vet work up would be my first port of call (the one that went over with me was pain related).

 

[Bellaboo18]

As I understand it you've had this horse a month?

That's really no time for a horse to settle so could be potential ulcers from the move or change in management.

I'd get a vet workup and if nothing comes from that send on sales livery stating all the facts.

I understand you not wanting to get back on and agree that you shouldn't.

I definitely wouldn't give away for free, that's how horses spend their lives being passed around from person to person with noone ever finding out what the issue is.

I also wouldn't PTS after such a short time with doing no investigations.

It's hard to find a horse suitable as a first horse.

Have you spoken to the previous owner, would they have him back?

 

[misst]

Please don't give him free to anyone unless you investigate them very very thoroughly. There are people out there who will ride a horse - even one this extreme - through the pain (which is probably what is causing this). If you cannot afford to investigate fully - and be prepared for no definitive answer - then PTS is safest for everyone and kindest for him. I am so sorry you are in this situation it's awful.

 

[Wishfilly]

So sorry to hear this- it's really unfair when it's clear from your posts how much you love him.

I can understand the impulse to give him away free to a good home, but as others have said, this is unlikely to lead to a good outcome for the horse and there is also the chance he may seriously injure someone.

What do you know about the people you bought him from? If they are dealers then you have a lot of legal rights around this. If they are private sellers, things get more tricky, but it may be worth trying to get them to take the horse back anyway, especially if they claim he never did anything like this with them. This is a big reaction for a horse to be having so quickly, so I would be a bit sceptical about what they are saying and honestly a decent owner would probably offer to have the horse back.

The other option is to start doing veterinary investigations- but expect this to be a long and expensive road. Is he insured? I would start looking at kissing spines and ulcers but there are all sorts of things that can cause a horse pain and therefore this sort of reaction.

Your YO sounds pretty sensible, and if he is saying he is unwilling to get on, I strongly suggest you don't either! I'd also be really wary of having any other professionals get on- if you do go down this route, I'd get them to talk to your YO first.

 

[ycbm]

Sympathies, this is a nightmare scenario with a new horse

Personally, I would want to get to the bottom of the hives because they are a new thing and with the timing it's entirely possible that whatever has caused the hives is causing the behaviour.

.

 

[fredflop]

As far as I see... two options, full vet work up or PTS.

If you have a limited budget for a work up I’d get him checked for kissing spines or ulcers.

 

[Wishfilly]

Do you still have a copy of the advert? And how soon did he display difficult behaviour out hacking after you bought him?

 

[Sugarplum Furry]

It does sound like a pain related issue and full vet work up sounds like it will give you a clearer picture.

However, here's my story for what it's worth. I bought a 4 year old arab x welsh mare, 14.2, as a share between my daughter and myself. I tried her out at the sellers' place, she was strong but good as gold. Did the deal, brought her home. The first week she was an angel. The second week she started napping, and then rearing, like seriously rearing, as you describe, vertical, terrifying. I had all the checks done, saddle, teeth, vet check, back person, nothing seemed amiss, they said ride her through it. Argh. But I did and she kept doing it. 6 weeks later I tacked her up for an afternoon hack, asked her to walk on and up she went, up and up and up OMG she's going over backwards. I managed to throw myself off sideways as we fell and we both came down hard on a gravel track. I remember we both lay there looking at each other for a minute, sore and stunned until we staggered to our feet, we both had painful gravel injuries. I untacked her, treated sher wounds and limped home to treat mine. And she NEVER did it again in all the years we had her, she turned out to be the most gorgeously fun pony ever, fast, opnionated, an absolute character but very sweet, she passed away aged 23 and she was the pony of a lifetime. Don't give up hope!

 

[mossycup]

Yes, what does the advert say? If it's been less than 30 days, do you want to send him back and pursue a refund? A new horse should be fun, not the cause of heartache in the space of 4 weeks

 

[splashgirl45]

please dont offer him for free, someone could dope him up and sell him on and someone (and him) could be seriously hurt. i understand how you feel and i would see if the previous owner will take him back or you will need to have a complete work up with a good horse vet or at a vet hospital because he could be in pain and until you have ruled pain out nothing can be done..

 

[LadyGascoyne]

I am so sorry to hear about the rearing- it really is a very scary thing so please don’t feel bad for deciding not to get on again.

It would be good to have some more details about him. There is a real wealth of experience on the forum and a cue in the wider context might flag something to someone that you may not have thought of immediately.

What breed, height and age is he?

What kind of work did he do in his previous home?

Have you changed what he is fed or how much turnout he gets?

Have you changed his tack at all? And when you tried him, was he in this tack?

When he was vetted, did you use your own vet or the sellers vet?

Are you significantly different as a rider to his previous rider? Are you much lighter or heavier, was he previously ridden by a child or an adult etc?

Do you know how long he was in his previous home?

 

[SO1]

Anyway you could take the horse back to the person you bought it from and see how it reacts in that environment with the old owner riding.

 

[Bellaboo18]

Anyway you could take the horse back to the person you bought it from and see how it reacts in that environment with the old owner riding.

I *think* OP purchased the horse unseen from ireland(?)

 

[AmyMay]

If old owner won’t take him back, please, please, please do not pass him on. I would agree with a full veterinary work up. But if if it turns out he’s un-rideable your only option is to have him destroyed.

 

[Trouper]

Firstly - please don't get back on him or let anyone else do so. I am sure you won't
Secondly - get a full vet assessment on him. My preference is always someone like Tom Beech (The Osteopathic Vet) or someone similar who takes a holistic view of the whole horse.
Whatever you find - decide (with advice) if it is treatable. On a simple level some horses react to a change of bacteria in the soil when they move homes so that could account for the hives.
If his problems are not treatable -- please don't pass him on. It is kinder and safer to everyone - and him - to pts.
Lastly - don't blame yourself for any of this. All any of us can do is to do the best for the horse we have in front of us.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Is this the horse that has just changed feed from alfalfa to grassnuts?

Let me tell you about my horse - the one who was fed alfalfa as she couldn't eat anything else. She was bought as a 4 yr old and over the years her behaviour got worse and worse until she became almost unhandle-able, it took 2 people wearing hats to bring her in, just across a field. At first she was an easy, if green ride but got to be so unpredictable that I stopped riding her on the road, then eventually stopped riding her altogether but not until she had bucked me off in a side-saddle lesson, going up so high that those on the ground could see the streetlights under her girth. She was very reactive to noise, got hives/heatlumps and seemed to physically see things differently from other horses. She was 12 and had been retired for a few years when we changed her diet, for other reasons and realised that her food and been causing her problems all along - she must have had a dreadful headache. We never fed her cereals again and her behaviour went back to being her old sweet self.

If you hadn't just got him, I would give your horse a least a couple of weeks off work and then very carefully try going back to basics, leaning over, sitting on and so on but because you do have rights if you bought him from a dealer, I think you need to speak to the dealer about your options.

 

[SO1]

Oh dear that was a big risk.

I suppose the horse could have got injured in transit.

I *think* OP purchased the horse unseen from ireland(?)

 

[ycbm]

Keira you posted this exactly a week ago, it really seems precipitous to give up on this horse. I really think you need to get to the bottom of the hives and then review where you are at.

I have a horse who rears in hand if gets any alfalfa. He put a hole right through my skull cap before I realised what was causing it.

I just wanted to have a little ramble - I had SUCH a successful day today with Prince. Took him out for a hack on our very own for the first time ever (really narrow country lanes so I was a little nervous) and it went so well. I was honestly quite terrified as I put my foot in the stirrup but I pushed through it and tried to relax and keep calm and it really worked! We bumped into everything that I really didn’t want to see!!! Random new forest ponies roaming the lanes, cars that drive too fast and a bloody enormous predatory hornet that seemed intent on trying to hitch a ride in my thigh! But we stayed calm and I am SO SO happy!

sorry for rambling post, you guys are the only ones who will understand how happy
I am!!!

My 9 year old horse mad daughter also had a ride and it was such a special day! Am finally beginning to find my feet

.

 

[SO1]

Sounds like the OP might be based in the New Forest? Could it be crab flies are bothering him as he would not be exposed to them in Ireland and I understand they can be really irritating to horses that are not used to them.