new horse :) advice please..

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SarahRicoh

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Well i have my new loan horse and i rode him for the first time yesterday. I know hes sensitive and he has been known to bolt. (just for info hes in a tomthumb,standing martingale and he has a crank noseband with a flash)
I hate all his tack and i was struggling with the tom thumb so iv changed him to a hanging cheek.

Anyway i walked him around and he was fine. Did lots of halts cz to start off with hed move around whilst asking him to halt. That was going well and my ym came in to have a look at him and give him a little lesson!
He was going okay so we put in a bit of trot. He started rushing and got faster and faster. I tried not to tense up and slow my rising but it didnt really work and i was struggling to come back to walk so i just circled him until he eventually had to stop.

I need to use my seat and not tense/pull as it winds him up and thats how he'll bolt but its very hard. Any ideas to slow him down,keep him and me calm etc. My ym wants me to not pull and push hands forward so im going to try that. Any ideas?
 
Have his back, teeth and saddle checked...

If all ok, try and encourage him deep and round to get him relaxed first of all in walk and then in trot, if he is calm and relaxed he won't whizz off. Also practice lots of half halts using your weight and "the pinch" (if you arn't familiar with this imagine you're walking into the sea and it's veeeery cold, so you suck everything up towards your tummy button - he should stop dead). Once he has this ingrained as a way to stop you'll be able to pause and halt him using only your weight, which should help.
 
Thing is he"ll be calm in walk as soon as i ask for trot his head goes up and he rushes and gets very fast. Its hard to ask him to work properly because i need to use my leg to get him working in an outline but if i put any leg on he goes..
 
don't be worrying about outline until you have got him in a rhythm ! once the rhythm is there then self carriage will come too. Keep a calm constant leg round him with your lower leg still and I agree about giving him the rein a little bit. Talk to him, hover out of the saddle in your rise and concentrate on your down ward transition. practice pushing into trot for a few strides working on a circle and slow your rise to the point that you are almost in walk and then speed up and slow down again. Push your weight down sit up shoulders back and head up


... and get some lessons nothing else will forge your relationship together as well as a good instructor.
 
Put trotting poles down and he'll have to slow up and concerntrate on them. Put 6poles out quite close together.

Its very hard not to 'hang on' but he's only new to you so it'll take time. Half halt and breathe deep to relax yourself. If you tense, he'll tense x Use vocal reassurance 'Steeeaady'.....use a tone as if you are lunging.

Work on lunging him, in hand walk....trot....walk.....stand......walk etc to get him listening and trusting you more x
 
My ym is a riding instructor and she is helping/will give me lessons when i can afford it. She told me to slow my rising so i hover for 2 then sit down. I just couls not do it. And i find it inpossible to ask him to slow if hes getting faster and faster if im pushing my hands forward.
I tried to do a half circle so i trot once i left the track and stopped when i got back to the track on the other side of a school but he just got too fast and then i tried to sit back and half halt but he tensed up and rushed more.

I think its just going to take a lot of practice as hes completely different to my previous horse.. Im willing to work on it just want lots of opinions so i can work through it
 
Hmmm....scrap the poles then!! lol x

Try get him listening to you more in walk with lots of transitions from walk to halt. He might just be wizzier than your last as a lot of BSJA ponies are whizzy! x Don't let it knock your confidence, sounds like you have help around you though which is always good :D x Ask your ym to sit on him and see if she can show you and maybe help him through it x

Good luck....keep us updated! x
 
Ref slowing your rise when they're getting quicker i find counting out loud like 1 potato, 2 potato (or whatever) and rising to my own count rather than their movement helps. It feels horrible for a few moments whilst they come back to your rythmn but it does work.

I'd also have his teeth, back and saddle checked just to make sure hes not rushing due to discomfort.
 
If you've only just got him, he will still be settling in and getting to know a new yard, routine, horses and people! So he will be a bit hyper until he settles.

I find that the more you tie a horse down i.e. crank with flash, standing martingale etc. the more he tries to "escape" from the restrictions. Is there a chance you could start cutting them out? If he has to have his mouth strapped shut because he is opening it, it could be discomfort from his teeth or even the bit. Again if he has to have his head tied down with a martingale it could be he is throwing it up to evade pain. It would be worth getting his teeth, back, saddle checked.

If he is getting a hard feed I would cut this out for now, just give something like Happy Hoof if you want him to have a bucket feed - he sounds as though he has more than enough energy!

As I am sure you realise it will take time to create a bond, but with kindness, patience and time you will have a lovely friend.

Good luck.
 
He had his teeth checked april... Back same time but im getting it done again. Saddle was a wow saddle and was fitted to him... Hes just very stressy and worried and extremely sensitive.

I rode again today and i lunged before to work on trot to walk to halt etc. Then rode and he was slightly better.
I did a lot of transitions nd trotted for the long side of arena then stopped etc.
He is on no food atm.
I want to get all his tack off cz i agree but i think its safer atm
Amymay- not very constructive, he hasnt full on.bolted with me and he does it for a reason. I intend to work on it
 
Trot_on_dressage- what a stupid question. Hes not on any food atm cz a)hes fat. B) iv not even had him a week c) he has grass and adlib hay. He will have a balancer asap or something like happyhoof... Ridiculous comment. If you dont have anything constructive to say....
 
Tammytoo- very helpful comment...

He obviously has trust issues and hes very shutdown to people. If i stroke him or something he accepts it but isnt reactive and same when hes working.
I know trust takes time and im trying to show him he can trust me and he does respect me but i wonder if theres anything i can work on for trust?
 
I know you have said his saddle was fitted to him but it will still need checking every so often as he will still change shape with the seasons, I'd be inclined to get a wow fitter out to check everything is ok :)
 
SarahRicoh said:
Trot_on_dressage- what a stupid question. Hes not on any food atm cz a)hes fat. B) iv not even had him a week c) he has grass and adlib hay. He will have a balancer asap or something like happyhoof... Ridiculous comment. If you dont have anything constructive to say....
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That isnt a ridiculous comment actually a ridiculous comment is to say he isnt getting any food.

You didnt mention he was fat and agree he needs a balancer not happy hoof as that wont help his waistline. He still needs to get his vits and mins so i would stick him on a balancer asap (like tomorrow) Even if you have only had him a week i would have made sure he had food for the day he arrived, but thats just me.
 
Bet your heads spinning now ;)

Back, tack, teeth as mentioned numerous times.

If all ok there, work on his balance. If he's rushing head in the air in trot, it's likely he's unbalanced especially if your balance isn't spot on.

Lunging is great so long as it's done correctly.

Lots of transitions, take your time and the trust will come.

If he still bolts after that, as amy may suggested.... send him back!
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
That isnt a ridiculous comment actually a ridiculous comment is to say he isnt getting any food.

You didnt mention he was fat and agree he needs a balancer not happy hoof as that wont help his waistline. He still needs to get his vits and mins so i would stick him on a balancer asap (like tomorrow) Even if you have only had him a week i would have made sure he had food for the day he arrived, but thats just me.
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It's quite an acceptable thing for a horse not to get any hard feed if they don't need it.

Must admit, I've never seen a poster accused of starving a horse into submission because they're not giving their horse hard feed.
 
Syrah said:
It's quite an acceptable thing for a horse not to get any hard feed if they don't need it.

Must admit, I've never seen a poster accused of starving a horse into submission because they're not giving their horse hard feed.
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I wasnt accusing her of starving it. It sounded like she was suggesting he didnt need any as he was fizzy/excitable. She didnt actually say he was getting hay just that he wasnt on any feed.

A horse needs hardfeed to make sure they are getting their daily vits and mins. Hay/grass cannot be guaranteed on vit, min and protein levels. Even if a horse doesnt need hardfeed to maintain its weight it still needs a balancer to ensure its getting its daily levels.
 
Trot_On_Dressage said:
I wasnt accusing her of starving it. It sounded like she was suggesting he didnt need any as he was fizzy/excitable. She didnt actually say he was getting hay just that he wasnt on any feed.

A horse needs hardfeed to make sure they are getting their daily vits and mins. Hay/grass cannot be guaranteed on vit, min and protein levels. Even if a horse doesnt need hardfeed to maintain its weight it still needs a balancer to ensure its getting its daily levels.
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We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Not all horses need hard feed. If they're on good quality hay during the winter and if stabled at night, that should deliver all of the vitamins and minerals.
 
Syrah said:
We'll have to agree to disagree on that one. Not all horses need hard feed. If they're on good quality hay during the winter and if stabled at night, that should deliver all of the vitamins and minerals.
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You would be surprised at how hay/haylage can vary in nutrients from bale to bale. Grazing paddocks/hay paddocks are not made up of the same grasses that horses were first designed to eat. Different counties have different qualities of grass and many are deficient in some/ a lot of nutrients. You cannot guarantee that it will meet their requirements without having a hay/grass analysis. I would rather not take the risk and use a balancer for those who are good doers which is much cheaper than paying to have hay analysis all the time.
 
Trotondressage- Your comment simply said about starving him into submission. I didnt mention anything about food until another person asked and i said currently he has nothing.
In the summer my horses get nothing but grass and hay. I dont think every horse needs it.
If you believe they do thats fine. You simply had to state thats what you thought not accuse me of 'starving him into submission'.

He hasnt bolted with me or his owner its just he has been known to- like 4 times in a year and a half-.

Its hard to explain but hes so sensitive and he seems worried. If i ask him to trot all i need to do is click and he goes into a rushed trot head up. Some people will say to keep riding him through it unti hes calm but he seems to get worse.
He gets quicker and quicker and is very tense. Today i stayed in sitting trot and just did little bits and he was ok but still very tense and rushed and he felt like he just wanted to go. The more trot you do the more wound up he gets.

Just wondering if anyone has encountered a horse like him and what you would do to help him stay calm and not feel the need to rush/run away and also to keep me calm.
 
Amymay- not very constructive, he hasnt full on bolted with me and he does it for a reason. I intend to work on it
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Ah, sorry when you said he was a bolter - that's what I thought you meant. My comment was actually helpful, because bolters kill people, and heavens forbid that should happen to you.

However, if he doesn't bolt then all good. Enjoy.
 
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We tried out a bsja pony for my son and it was exactly as you describe your new beastie. It had the air of a horse that was desperately unhappy almost as though it hadnt been broken in properly, not accepting and happy to have a rider is what I think Im trying to say. Rushing because it was unsure
Sounds like your horse needs to learn to accept the leg and chill a bit. You sound like the kind of person to put the work in so Im sure will come good soon.
I think I would go right back to basics, even not trotting in school till you can have an hour lesson in walk with a happy horse. loads of stuff you can do in walk alone.
Can you hack him and is he happier with that?
 
Sorry amymay i shouldve explained his 'bolting' better....

Smiggy- he does seem very unhappy and its sad :( hes gone out today and looked very happy trotting around. But i completely agree with you about not being broken properly.
Im lunging him and getting him to trot on then walk then halt then trot etc which i think will do himd as he'l learn voice commands and it helps to relax him a bit. I plan to take him back to basics but i have him in a month trial so atm the plan was to try him doing everything and see how he gets on.

I hacked him out when i tried him but as i work til 5 its too dark and my ym a bit wary of me hacking him atm until he settles a bit but he will definitely be hacked though
 
Does he rush in trot on the lunge without a saddle? You say he happily trotted around his field..

To me, this all sounds saddle related, rushing into trot, worried, apprehensive of it hurting...i would have to have the saddle checked.

I presume the owner told you the saddle was 'made' for him, this might not be the case!

I've seen many horses with badly fitting saddles react this way - please get it checked out.
 
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