New Horse BUT..

C

ChestnutHunter

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He's a nightmare.
Im riding him because his owner cant anymore,and he's immensley fat.
I'm retraining him because his manners are vile,and im not joking.
Today,I went for a ride but couldnt get on him because he kept rearing up.
He is not in pain,and his teeth and back are fine.
He is just so stubborn.

Here are his problems;;
He cant stand still when your holding him
When cantering,he puts his head down and races across the school
When your brushing him he doesnt pick his hooves up without force
When you try and get on him,he walks off,and sometimes rears.....

Has anybody got any tips for teaching him some manners?
At the moment,he just drags me and its annoying.

He's a 14.2hh Welsh,chestnut gelding.
Thanks.x
 
*...... woooo from the common room to here is along and dangerous way*lol!!!!

anywho about your neddie! all that i can say is that he is probably trying to see what he can get away with.

tif you have an instructor maybe have some ground work lessons with him! maybe ask your instructor to help you tack up and help with manners!

that is all i can sugestt, i am not very helpful but hope i have helped!
 
Thankyou
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As soon as he does something to test me,I go "SPICE!!" and give him a little tap.
He'll get fed up eventually.
SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!!
 
Well he ain't got alot going for him has he!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Would say that he will take alot of time to even get him 50% right, would suggest starting from the ground with his manners, before a saddle is put on, as rearing really is a very serious issue.........you only have one life.........a controller headcollar maybe, work with leading, grooming and feet, then move on when and only when the horse can do these correctly....Good Luck sounds like alot of hard work ahead!
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I agree with _OC_ start from the ground.

Teach him to respect you - maybe try join-up? I'm not usually into the more "natural" horsemanship methods but it might help and teach him to respect you.

Controller headcollars are good - but if he has a sensitive nose it won't work and will just try and run - a horse at our stables with VERY sensitive nose was TIED UP in 'be nice' headcollar, he got free and almost killed himself - and me (he's a muppet lol)

There is a very very bargy pony (tiny pony lol VERY strong) called Katy, but if she tries to push you out the way/over and you give her a smack she won't try it with you again.

Take it slow - don't pressure him. Be kind but firm.

When mounting, get someone to help you. keep him still, short reins and the person helping can help keep him still. (or try lol)

As for ridden work - be extra firm and use lots of different schooling exercises - there are some really good books.

I hope I have been helpful - just re-read it I sound so patronising sorry! lol
 
Horses generally dont muck about for no reason, are you sure there is nothing to cause him pain? He sounds a hand full and very dangerous to e, and you clearly have done all you can, I would have him professionally reschooled as you sound a little out of your depth.
 
Ive only ridden him twice
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But im taking him on,and this is how he is now.
He hasnt been ridden for ages.
His actuall owner rides him,but only for 10 minutes a week.
When he does something wrong,she gets off because it frightens her,so Im starting again with him,more or less.
Theres nothing wrong with him,he just needs to grow up and get some manners.
All these suggestions are fab!! Whats join up?
Ive heard of it,but dont really know much about it...
 
He just sounds bolshie and appears to have no respect. Has he been left to do his own thing for a long time?

AS with any animal, clear signals, consistency and rewards when he does the right thing are essential.

Although you will be taking on a long job if you have the patience and the time, he will probably some right, just sounds like he thinks hes in charge at the mo. Good luck
 
join up is something like you loose school a horse and sort of keep him away from you then his ears flick inwards and he is ready

It's a Monty Roberts Natural Horsemanship thing - get a book on it. If you do it wrong you might cause more harm than good so get someone v. experienced to do it first and help you.
 
Firstly why are you cantering a horse you say is "immensely fat"? I would hazard a guess that part of the reason for evading work is that he is being asked to do more than he is physically capable of at the moment. And if he is so unfit he is probably putting his head down in canter in the school to try to balance.

He needs oodles of groundwork to get him to respect your space. You walk, he walks, you halt, he halts, you decide how close to you he is allowed to be at any time and if he breaches that space then you back him out of your space. No violence, no shouting, no emotion, just put him back where you want him.

Are you sure his saddle fits the horse he is now, if he is so overweight? Could be pinching him which would also make him move away from the mounting block. Worth riding him with a bareback pad to see how he is with that maybe? At least then you could rule out pain.

I think he needs a lot of time and patience to re-educate him. It is very generous of you to be doing this for your friend, and I wish you well with him.
 
Not immensely fat,obvisouly.
Figure of speech
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He's just fatter than Id like him to be...
Thankyou for the help
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Im thinking it will take about 2-3 months just for him to respect me,and then about a year for him to get to his ideal weight.
I dont know..just a guess.
All this summer grass doesnt help!!
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I know, am really struggling with one of my horses to keep his weight down to be honest. And with the rain the grass just seems to have exploded doesn't it?

If you get the chance to read it, there is a book by Kelly Marks of Intelligent Horsemanship called "Perfect Manners" with lots of groundwork ideas. Might be worth seeing if your friend would pay for it? The other thing which may work well is clicker training, if he is food orientated. You have to be spot on with your timing, and really careful to only reward the right behaviour and ignore the wrong behaviour, but have seen this work really well for lots of horses. There is a great book by Alexandra Kurland, also someone called Karen Pryor (although haven't read KP's book, only AK's).

Will really look forward to hearing how you get on, he is lucky that you have been prepared to take him on and work with him as sounds like his owner is out of her depth to be honest.
 
Try joining the Intelligent Horsemanship website - run by Kelly Marks, Monty Roberts-type training methods. Lots of good advice on the Discussion Forum on there, plus contact details for 'Recommended Associates' of Kelly Marks - great trainers you can call out to help you with exactly these sort of problems.
 
Agree with a pressure halter of some kind. I got one for my Welshie and it's the ONLY thing we stopped him tanking off with me on the lead! Some Welshies can be little cocky b*stards! My Welsh can still be a total brat some days. Yesterday he decided he wanted to launch out of the stable pratically running me over so we spent a good 20 mins sorting THAT out! He now reverses calmly away from the door and doesn't push out. I think the key is to take one problem at a time and work on it. So with regard to the mounting problem, I would spend a session purely on that! Simply getting on, walking a bit then getting off and would keep doing it until he started to get bored of it and stop rearing/moving off before you ask etc.
 
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