Never thought I’d be writing this :(

[Mikas-mom]

It’s all well and good people telling Keira that they wouldn’t send the horse back and would rather lose the money etc etc. But we all have to look at this realistically.
£2500 is a lot of money to just throw away, especially given the state of the country right now. And while I agree that most of us would just love to keep the horse and either get full vets Work ups or retire him to the field or whatever, that’s not being realistic.
shes had this horse for just 4 weeks, she admittedly made a mistake in buying him (havent we all done that at some point?) and now she’s left with a horse that’s not safe for her to ride.
if it was a car with faulty brakes for example we wouldn’t be telling her to park it in the garage and enjoy looking at it would we!
this horse needs to be returned to the dealer and she needs to get a refund. He’s not fit for purpose.
we can’t keep every horse we ever take on, and have to do things sometimes that we don’t like. That’s horse ownership for you.

 

[indie1282]

It’s all well and good people telling Keira that they wouldn’t send the horse back and would rather lose the money etc etc. But we all have to look at this realistically.
£2500 is a lot of money to just throw away, especially given the state of the country right now. And while I agree that most of us would just love to keep the horse and either get full vets Work ups or retire him to the field or whatever, that’s not being realistic.
shes had this horse for just 4 weeks, she admittedly made a mistake in buying him (havent we all done that at some point?) and now she’s left with a horse that’s not safe for her to ride.
if it was a car with faulty brakes for example we wouldn’t be telling her to park it in the garage and enjoy looking at it would we!
this horse needs to be returned to the dealer and she needs to get a refund. He’s not fit for purpose.
we can’t keep every horse we ever take on, and have to do things sometimes that we don’t like. That’s horse ownership for you.

I dont really think you can compare a horse to a car though....if a cars breaks are dodgy then its pretty easy to spot and fix the problem where as its not quite so easy with a living animal....

 

[Mikas-mom]

of Course not! I was just giving an example, maybe a bad one though.
what I was trying to get across is that this horse is not fit for the purpose it was bought for.

 

[TPO]

So from sympathising most of you are now trying to send the OP on a guilt trip, why are you trying to talk her into having expensive vet examinations for a horse she should NEVER get on again. The horse probably isn’t a rogue but she bought him in good faith albeit naively but he should be returned as he is not as described. Dodgy dealers rely on heartstrings.

Not trying to talk anyone into anything. It wouldn't be advised for anyone, let alone a complete novice first time buyer, to buy a horse unseen from Ireland. As an aside the fact that there are so many older exracers available over here I cant understand any temptation at all to buy one unseen from Ireland.

However what is done is done. In my eyes when you take ownership of any animal you become responsible for them.

As pointed out several times the absolute basics haven't been covered regarding horses welfare (farrier/dentist/physio/saddle fitter). Horse has (painful?) hives and is tacked up/girthed and ridden. The horse arrived in poor condition so even if the saddle did fit perfectly 4wks ago it is unlikely to now given the change in condition/shape.

I appreciate the value of money and that the seller was dishonest. I cant imagine returning a horse to the fate we all know will happen...being sold on again after yet more upheaval. So back to my original point, when you buy any animal you assume full responsibility. The seller might or might not be telling their version of the truth but its buyer beware.

Any buyer can view, try and vet a horse and therefore protect themself somewhat and make informed decisions regarding the purchase. When buying unseen you are taking a punt and have to deal with the consequences; these are the consequences. I've bought unseen (long story) and a malnourished skeleton arrived, not for one second would he have been going back.

On a further tangent I find the full refund hard to believe. They are going to fully refund and pay for the transportation back to Ireland? The police are stretched as it is, I cant see them pursuing possibly dodgy dealers in Ireland?

I feel heart sorry for Prince. Even if the implausible plan of him living in a field in ireland were to happen IF there is something underlying then turning him away to rot in a field isnt necessarily a kindness either for an older TB.

Ugg, whole thing is a mess bowing out because I've already said that I think the very basics should be covered and a proper professional trainer involved. I just hope its resolved in Prince's best interests.

 

[TPO]

of Course not! I was just giving an example, maybe a bad one though.
what I was trying to get across is that this horse is not fit for the purpose it was bought for.

Pays your money, takes you chance. The joys of buying unseen ?

 

[splashgirl45]

it does not help for people to say that they would keep the horse, the OP feels bad enough and none of us know her financial situation nd these posts are not helping her to make any sort of decision, just making her feel even worse than she does. from her posts she sounds like a very caring person who is going through hell trying to decide what to do. there are enough posts stating different options and she needs to think everything out for herself now..

 

[Mikas-mom]

Pays your money, takes you chance. The joys of buying unseen ?

completely agree, which is why I personally would NEVER buy a ridden horse unseen (have bought youngsters unseen but only from reputable breeder)
its my understanding (and I could be wrong here) that the OP HAS had vets/back/feet/saddle etc checked...
I obv put a very bad example out earlier, but my brain is a bit like mush right now.
i was trying to get the point across that Prince ISN’T the right horse for the OP. She could spend ££££ trying to find out the cause of his pain/issues with no joy at the end of it all. People telling her that they wouldn’t send him back is Not helpful IMO.
as I said this is a heart v head decision....

 

[indie1282]

completely agree, which is why I personally would NEVER buy a ridden horse unseen (have bought youngsters unseen but only from reputable breeder)
its my understanding (and I could be wrong here) that the OP HAS had vets/back/feet/saddle etc checked...
I obv put a very bad example out earlier, but my brain is a bit like mush right now.
i was trying to get the point across that Prince ISN’T the right horse for the OP. She could spend ££££ trying to find out the cause of his pain/issues with no joy at the end of it all. People telling her that they wouldn’t send him back is Not helpful IMO.
as I said this is a heart v head decision....

Or she could take the horse off all feeds, sort the hives out and then reassess? The horse has been fine for 3 weeks but now is rearing. He has hives which could be painful, they could be under his girth and sore. He is on Alfalfa which has been proven to send horses loopy. The pro that rode him might belong to the school of ' you WILL do what you are told' and the horse if sore or uncomfortable might rear in protest.

FWIW I would support the decision to send him back to the dealers. But like I said earlier, dont believe for one minute that this horse will live out in a field for the rest of his day's- he will be resold again.

 

[paddy555]

Well the thing is - it wasnt that he changed from being “a lovely old horse” to a monster. It was the fact that his reactions changed as we started to introduce new things. I didn’t ride him for quite a long time and took things very slowly. I often just sat with him in his field reading my book and watching him. People on the yard then worried that I wasn’t doing enough - especially based on him having the hard feed too which is why I started to introduce visits to the yard and riding. I did query whether he needed hard feed but more experienced people than me said he definitely needed building up.

I was prepared for the crab flies having researched them. He had a full fly mask from the beginning and I then introduced a fly rug and boots. I put sudocrem on his sheath and sensitive areas and this was very effective. He dealt with them very well after a while.
In terms of dealing with the hives - I got the vet straight out. He had a steroid shot, I researched feed and without the vet even picking up on it being a feed problem I identified that alfalfa could well be the culprit. I fenced off the oak tree in his field in case it was an oak allergy. The vet said that it didn’t look like a response to fly bites.

Now in terms of taking things slowly - if it were just me that I had to think of - I would have all the time and patience in the world.

But I have my daughter to think about and it ultimately comes down to a choice between her or Prince. I cannot take the chance that Prince will one day do this with her.
I have made many mistakes in this horse ownership journey. But I promise you, I have tried to do the right thing by Prince ever since he arrived in terms of his health and quickly reacting to changes in his behaviour.

You are right - a lot has changed in a very short space of time. But I don’t think I have exacerbated any of these changes with the decisions I have made. A more experienced person than myself suggested the HiFi and pasture cubes.
I am certainly guilty of buying unseen. But I do believe I have acted as diligently as possible since. X

I am not criticising your management of him nor am I suggesting whether you should send him back I am trying to point out different reasons for his behaviour.
As you say a lot has changed in a very short space of time. Give him a chance to adjust. Give any new horse a chance to adjust.
He is a little underweight. He probably needed building up but what is the logic in giving a horse who is new and you have not ridden (or hardly ridden) hard feed which will not only build him up but give him more energy when you want him as calm and quiet as possible so you can start to ride him and get him over the initial and inevitable napping phase?
Re the hives I am not saying you ignored them, you clearly didn't. However for some reason he got an allergic reaction to something. Until that is sorted he would have best been left unridden. Why ride him? If alfalfa caused it he needs longer than a couple of days off it to see if it is the cause and to get it out of his system. Hives needs time to get sorted, to find the reason and to eliminate it. You cannot rush things which in all honesty I think you have been doing. There is no timetable. He is a horse. Things move at the best pace for him.

People on your yard were worried you were not doing enough. So what. He is your horse and up to you and no one else as to how fast or slow you wanted to take things.

I am not suggesting you have failed to behave diligently but that you have gone far too fast for this horse especially when the hives problem is taken into account. I am also wondering if this horse actually had a problem or if he has been put into this position by the riding pushing him when perhaps a more sensitive rider would have worked out better.

If you get rid of him somehow and get another horse then, unless you slow down, give a new horse time and realise that there will be problems I cannot see that working out either. They are not machines. For many new horses it can take up to 6 months for them to settle. Some even longer. He has had around 3 weeks.

I am not clear if this horse is actually a rearer or one that has simply been put into this position.

 

[paddy555]

Or she could take the horse off all feeds, sort the hives out and then reassess? The horse has been fine for 3 weeks but now is rearing. He has hives which could be painful, they could be under his girth and sore. He is on Alfalfa which has been proven to send horses loopy. The pro that rode him might belong to the school of ' you WILL do what you are told' and the horse if sore or uncomfortable might rear in protest.

FWIW I would support the decision to send him back to the dealers. But like I said earlier, dont believe for one minute that this horse will live out in a field for the rest of his day's- he will be resold again.

totally agree. If the hives were painful and he is still ridden he has to protest somehow, you cannot expect him to just put up with it.

 

[ester]

I did wonder about the crabs, having seen a horse totally loose it's shit over them (we were on the edge of range for them) to the point that the only thing that could be done was to hose the whole horse down in the hope of dislodging them.

 

[splashgirl45]

I am not criticising your management of him nor am I suggesting whether you should send him back I am trying to point out different reasons for his behaviour.
As you say a lot has changed in a very short space of time. Give him a chance to adjust. Give any new horse a chance to adjust.
He is a little underweight. He probably needed building up but what is the logic in giving a horse who is new and you have not ridden (or hardly ridden) hard feed which will not only build him up but give him more energy when you want him as calm and quiet as possible so you can start to ride him and get him over the initial and inevitable napping phase?
Re the hives I am not saying you ignored them, you clearly didn't. However for some reason he got an allergic reaction to something. Until that is sorted he would have best been left unridden. Why ride him? If alfalfa caused it he needs longer than a couple of days off it to see if it is the cause and to get it out of his system. Hives needs time to get sorted, to find the reason and to eliminate it. You cannot rush things which in all honesty I think you have been doing. There is no timetable. He is a horse. Things move at the best pace for him.

People on your yard were worried you were not doing enough. So what. He is your horse and up to you and no one else as to how fast or slow you wanted to take things.

I am not suggesting you have failed to behave diligently but that you have gone far too fast for this horse especially when the hives problem is taken into account. I am also wondering if this horse actually had a problem or if he has been put into this position by the riding pushing him when perhaps a more sensitive rider would have worked out better.

If you get rid of him somehow and get another horse then, unless you slow down, give a new horse time and realise that there will be problems I cannot see that working out either. They are not machines. For many new horses it can take up to 6 months for them to settle. Some even longer. He has had around 3 weeks.

I am not clear if this horse is actually a rearer or one that has simply been put into this position.

what you are saying is of no help now, the horse is not suitable for a novice first time owner, yes those of us who have been around horses for many years would be able to read the horse and know what to do and when. the poster has been advised by more experienced people on her yard and has done what she had been told. in hindsight she should not have upped his feed, the people on her yard should have not given her that advice. she has had the vet out to the horse and has done the best she can ...she is now not confident with the horse, so no amount of changing management is going to make this a partnership...its sad for both the horse and the owner and if i had my own land and wads of money i would love to be able to help her with him by getting all the checks done and working with him to make him a happy horse, but this is the real world ..

 

[indie1282]

I did wonder about the crabs, having seen a horse totally loose it's shit over them (we were on the edge of range for them) to the point that the only thing that could be done was to hose the whole horse down in the hope of dislodging them.

I would lose my shit over crab flies too!! I have never heard of them until I read about them on here then I googled them. HOLY COW they sound horrendous!!! One of my horses would go absolutely loco if he had one of those on him, he goes batshit if he has a horse fly land on him.

 

[ycbm]

Give him a chance to adjust. Give any new horse a chance to adjust... inevitable napping phase... You cannot rush things which in all honesty I think you have been doing.. you have gone far too fast for this horse... For many new horses it can take up to 6 months for them to settle.

Most people who buy a new horse ride it the day it arrives or the following day and get it straight into the routine is going to be living in. Napping is not inevitable, it's common but not common enough to be classed as normal.

This is not a time, surely, to be making the OP feel any worse, particularly as she took advice from an experienced yard owner?

.

 

[[131452]]

I could not send him back.
The dealer will do any of the following things :
Shoot him
Send him to a death from hell in a slaughterhouse
Beat him into submission
Medicate and sell him.


I could not knowingly put an animal into that situation, it doesn't matter how much money I would lose.
If your cousin can have him in the field, why not just let them have him?
You will save the money in not paying livery and training etc so will have saved up the purchase price soon enough.

That is what i would do.

 

[Mikas-mom]

I really feel for Keira and Prince with all this mess. At the end of the day she (mistakenly) bought a horse who she was led to believe was suitable. As most have said, a more knowledgeable person wouldn’t have done things the way she did, but hey ho, what’s done is done, she can’t change the past.
as far as I know from reading her other threads, Keira has done her best to do right by Prince, including having the vets out, feet done, saddle checked, feed changes etc etc.
she is a novice first time owner and has been going on advice (whether right advice or wrong advice we don’t know as we don’t know all the ins and outs) that should be applauded as not many people would be so conscientious, Instead thinking they know best.
Yes, Prince has had A LOT of change in a short amount of time, and as most of us know it can take months, if not years for a horse to settle into a new home, some never do.
keira could now do things In so many different ways. She could go down the vets work out route, she could retire Prince as a field pet, she could go back to basics, stop all hard feed, try to get to the root cause of the hives...etc etc.

but what a lot of you seem to be forgetting is that she bought Prince so she and her daughter could ride him and enjoy him. Right now she’s clearly not able to do that, and probably won’t be able to until the cause of his hives/rearing/napping are found and sorted. If at all
she didn’t sign up for that.

as she bought from a dealer she has a limited amount of time to return the horse, so those telling her to give him time need to really think about that. its all well and good giving him time (as most of us more experienced owners would do) but then she may be stuck with a horse who she cannot ride and cannot return.
of course I think none of us are under any illusions of what will happen to Prince. I don’t think any of us think he will be retired to live out his days, but that’s not something that should be out on Keira’s head.
its a sad fact that dealers like this exist, but they do, and while ever they do, horses like this are going to be passed around

Keira needs to do whats right for her and her daughter, and if that means sending Prince back to the dealer, sadly I have to say so be it. As I said before, we can’t save every horse, and in all reality not all of us can afford more than one horse Or lose the initial outlay.

she needs to take her heart out of the equation and use her head as hard as it will Be

 

[ycbm]

Not to hijack, but this could help the OP anyway, but what are legitimate reasons for a horse having 2 microchips? My not so creative brain can't think of any.

Not all chips can be read by all readers, especially continental ones, but some will.

Not all readers will have the power to pick up a fading chip, but some will.

Some chips can only be read intermittently/ some readers only read intermittently.

All those could cause a situation where a horse with no passport can't be traced to get a new passport issued and will end up with two chips and two passports one lost.

I had forgotten about the ex racer scam. It used to be rife in the UK but passports and chipping pretty much stopped it. Given the reaction of the seller, I'm thinking you may have stumbled into a production line of buying ex racers and repassporting them as sports horses. It would be well worth contacting the Irish equivalent of Wetherbys with the chip number, because all racehorses have only one passport issuing authority, and that one trace would be easy.

.

 

[Wishfilly]

Not to hijack, but this could help the OP anyway, but what are legitimate reasons for a horse having 2 microchips? My not so creative brain can't think of any.

Sometimes a microchip will stop working, and therefore the horse is re-chipped.

Some vets are not always very thorough when scanning for the microchip (they can sometimes move, or may have been put in in the wrong place), and they re-chip the horse when the original microchip still works. This also used to happen with horses born before 2009, as people would sometimes assume they hadn't been microchipped. In these cases you can end up with a horse with two working microchips. It's not ideal, but there's no malice intended in it. In theory, due to the 2018 changes to the law this should be rarer now, but it's still not impossible.

In these cases, both chips should be listed in the passport. If a horse has two chips and one isn't listed in the passport, that would be a red flag to me (I'm not saying it would always be dodgy, but I'd want to check out both chips and the histories of them if I could).

 

[splashgirl45]

Not all chips can be read by all readers, especially continental ones, but some will.

Not all readers will have the power to pick up a fading chip, but some will.

Some chips can only be read intermittently/ some readers only read intermittently.

All those could cause a situation where a horse with no passport can't be traced to get a new passport issued and will end up with two chips and two passports one lost.

I had forgotten about the ex racer scam. It used to be rife in the UK but passports and chipping pretty much stopped it. Given the reaction of the seller, I'm thinking you may have stumbled into a production line of buying ex racers and repassporting them as sports horses. It would be well worth contacting the Irish equivalent of Wetherbys with the chip number, because all racehorses have only one passport issuing authority, and that one trace would be easy.

.

thats what i was thinking about ex racers, also if he was maybe someone attached to the owner or trainer would be prepared to buy him and give him a nice retirement..

 

[Old school]

Kiera, you have my complete sympathy and are in an exhausting situation. I feel for you as you have the opinions of the horsey villagers, YO, this forum and now mine rattling around in your head. On top of that an unhappy spouse. I really feel you are drowning in this situtation. Many of us have bought horses - trialled and vetted, to find that they actually are not the one. So don't worry about throwing in bought unseen. For your sanity a suggestion is to say you will accept the refund. In the meantime get your vet to investigate. If there is anything obvious you can make an informed decision about what you are going to do. But the plan to try to re-purchase without knowing what is wrong is extremely risky. My final outside tge box thought is what sales the vendor bought the horse at given Covid19 shutdown since mid March. You have my very best wishes to getting through this.

 

[Xtra]

sorry i may have missed something but did this only happen when hacked alone?

 

[Winters100]

but what a lot of you seem to be forgetting is that she bought Prince so she and her daughter could ride him and enjoy him. Right now she’s clearly not able to do that, and probably won’t be able to until the cause of his hives/rearing/napping are found and sorted. If at all
she didn’t sign up for that.

I totally agree with this. It is a horrid thing to have happened, but I don't think that it helps to suggest that the horse should have been managed differently. Taking pain out of the equation if it was really a suitable first horse for a Mum / Daughter share then she should have been able to hop on the day after buying with no problems. I did this with both of mine when I bought them, and although at my age they are more likely 'last horses' than 'first horses' they are both sane and well schooled, so had no problems being ridden by a different rider in a new place. I would expect the same of any horse sold as a novice ride. Kiera has had the horse on full livery and has had the advice of an experienced YO, so clearly the management of the horse can not have been terrible, even if some would have done things differently. In my opinion Kiera deserves our sympathy as she is doing her best in very difficult circumstances, and whether the reasons for the rearing are pain related, behavioural or anything else the fact remains that this horse is not suitable.

 

[paddy555]

I would lose my shit over crab flies too!! I have never heard of them until I read about them on here then I googled them. HOLY COW they sound horrendous!!! One of my horses would go absolutely loco if he had one of those on him, he goes batshit if he has a horse fly land on him.

yes they are good fun. It is amazing how some are badly affected and some couldn't care less. We used to ride a dun and a palomino. Dun went apeshit. On the common when he picked up a crab we used to stand the palomino next to him and then poke his nether regions around until the crab flew onto the palomino who couldn't care less and could be led away whilst we located the crab and killed it at our leisure.
Locating them is a nightmare especially when you have black horses. Killing they need to be crushed between your fingers.

 

[MagicMelon]

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.

OP, please dont assume the owner may have doped him or lied. I sold one particular horse in the past who was horrific with the new owner for the first 3 weeks - she didn't tell me until 3 weeks in, and what she told me sounded like a totally different horse, certainly one I had never experienced in all the years I had him. I took him back straight away and refunded her immediately as I care too much about my horses to be left in homes where they clearly arent happy. Have you asked the owner if they would consider taking it back? Or at least coming over to ride it for you?

The hives may well be an issue, Id get a full vet report done and get to the bottom of the hives thing. Then take it from there. If you do find nothing at all wrong, I'd probably try not riding him for a while and either turning him away for a month or two (hoping he'll reset) or lunging etc. instead. Maybe just try to get more of a bond with him for a while. You sounded like you got on with him so well before so I can only think something has gone wrong and can be fixed. Is he in the same tack as with his previous owner? If not, maybe worth asking if you can borrow it to see if that makes a difference?

 

[Ownedby4horses]

OP, I’m trying to digest all the info and you have my every sympathy. The seller is acting very suspicious about when the two chips were mentioned so it’s pretty clear something untoward has gone on.

I really understand about you not wanting to send Prince back, he’s in your heart and you’re extremely caring.

It really does interest me that the rearing started when the pro rode him (I think I got that right?), my mare is the sweetest but can nap, if we deal calmly with it (we sit it out, I sing, I chatter) and she then decides it’s ok or worst case I hop off to take the pressure off and get back on her a bit further down the road to tell her “it’s ok, I’ve got this”.

When I first got her, she’s tested me big time (and I’ve had horses over 40 years), I really had to up my game to handle her firmly and put boundaries in place, as she was clearly struggling adapting to a new home.

My hubby can ride her (he’s a novice) and he rides her just in walk hacking out and she’s perfect as he is calm and gentle.

I only tried once to push her on really firmly during a napping episode and I flicked her lightly with the end of her rope reins to back up my aids and she launched into a broncing session and lashed out with a back hoof right in my husband’s direction.

She had just become overloaded and I didn’t know her well enough to know her limit at that time and when I pushed her, I saw behaviour that’s I’ve never seen since.

I get the impression that you are determined to keep him and whilst that is against most advice on here (I’m not going to say what I would do as you have to make your own mind up), I just wanted to say that it is possible that with the right sympathetic rider, they could work with him without getting him to that point of overload that he obviously reached when he rested.

If you are determined to keep him then you should get a full vet check, get his saddle checked, get his back checked, teeth, bit, bridle, etc. Strip him of ALL feed. You will then be aware of anything “basic” that could be the cause of his reaction.

The issue may be that you throw money at everything but if you do find things and resolve them, would you feel you could trust him again? A lack of trust in a horse can cause more behavioural issues as the horse will be picking up on your worries.

I just wanted to offer you a little bit of support as if you are absolutely dead set on keeping him then obviously that’s your decision (and there’s a lot of very good advice on here that will allow you to make an informed decision) but there will be plenty of people that understand the emotional situation you are faced with, I think I can honestly say that a lot of people on here will support your decision either way and will always help as much as they can whatever decision you do finally reach.

 

[MagicMelon]

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

Two options, surely the only option is the vet work up and then take it from there. I dont see how its at all kind to the horse to have an option at this stage of just killing it from a bit of napping and one big rear. Poor thing could easily have pain etc. which would be sorted!

 

[DiNozzo]

I used to have a little chestnut cob who was a bit nappy and backwards thinking but generally safe unless his saddle became tight across his shoulders. He'd fling himself vertically if you applied any pressure.

Didn't have to be a bad fit either, just not quite right, so if you want a quick and fairly easy thing to check, I'd get a different saddle fitter in to have a look.

 

[paddy555]

This is not a time, surely, to be making the OP feel any worse, particularly as she took advice from an experienced yard owner?

.

I am not trying to make OP feel any worse. I sympathise with her situation. However her options ATM are send it back which I didn't think she wanted to do or PTS. If I was in that position I would have liked to know why I was going to PTS a horse. I think there is more that could be done and as you yourself said yesterday there is a need to get to the bottom of the hives situation and then reviewing again.

 

[Michen]

I bought a known rearer from a dodgy dealer. Sued the woman and she eventually took the horse back. I tried to ask her to give back less money so I could shoot the horse and her not have it back but she wouldn’t.

horse had two foals and died giving birth to the third thank god. She was unhinged.

I’ve always felt a little guilty I sent her back but frankly I could afford to loose my entire 4K and she was I had hoped distinctive enough to not be able to resell. Any google of her passport name would bring up my threads on her.

 

[Auslander]

OP, please dont assume the owner may have doped him or lied. I sold one particular horse in the past who was horrific with the new owner for the first 3 weeks - she didn't tell me until 3 weeks in, and what she told me sounded like a totally different horse, certainly one I had never experienced in all the years I had him. I took him back straight away and refunded her immediately as I care too much about my horses to be left in homes where they clearly arent happy. Have you asked the owner if they would consider taking it back? Or at least coming over to ride it for you?

The hives may well be an issue, Id get a full vet report done and get to the bottom of the hives thing. Then take it from there. If you do find nothing at all wrong, I'd probably try not riding him for a while and either turning him away for a month or two (hoping he'll reset) or lunging etc. instead. Maybe just try to get more of a bond with him for a while. You sounded like you got on with him so well before so I can only think something has gone wrong and can be fixed. Is he in the same tack as with his previous owner? If not, maybe worth asking if you can borrow it to see if that makes a difference?

If you read the OP's other posts - the horse came from what sounds like a bin end dealer in Ireland, who didnt give a toss until she mentioned that she knew the horse had two microchips. I don't fancy her chances of getting any help whatsoever from them. They'll take the horse back, but then it is back in the downward spiral of problematic horses that fall into the hands of people who can't be arsed to investigate/sort them out. OP is determined that this doesn't happen to that horse, and should be commended for caring