New horse - keep or return to dealer?

I’ve been trying to recall if I’ve ever see anyone get a new pony/horse without any blips in the first few weeks as genuinely can’t and that’s without them being in. Even moving yards with my solid boy I had to tell my new YO his behaviour wasn’t normal for him, and within a month he was back to normal - I also think I fell off him in that time for the first time in years 😅.
 
ester said:
I’ve been trying to recall if I’ve ever see anyone get a new pony/horse without any blips in the first few weeks as genuinely can’t and that’s without them being in. Even moving yards with my solid boy I had to tell my new YO his behaviour wasn’t normal for him, and within a month he was back to normal - I also think I fell off him in that time for the first time in years 😅.
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We’ve just had ride no.1 with my son’s new pony. Totally, totally wired, bless him! New place, new people, new friends. We picked a steady ride with an unexciting canter and let him run the adrenaline out. He was much more settled on the way home and on the yard afterwards. Tried his absolute hardest all the way round to be good though, bless him. Perfect in traffic, always listening just worried. My son spent a lot of time soothing him and praising him for good choices. Little NF at the back helped too. Ours is green, but 7yo and out 24/7.

So yes, totally! Even living out they can be a whole different ‘person’ on arrival until they settle!
 
Ours went from 27 acres to run around on in the summer to 2 at home in the winter with 24 hour access to a stable, Then they went to Spain and about half an acre with no grass. The 4-5 year old needed lunging before being mounted. We counted the circles completed: 11.5 km covered at a time and even then she was spooky. We then moved to France and 24 hour turnout, horses reverted to their easygoing selves.
 
I think a lot of people here are living in the perfect world where turnout happens all year round.
The reality is, that in certain areas of the country more than others, this is a very real scenario.
Not saying I agree with it, and personally I wouldn't keep horses if I couldn't offer daily turnout, but it is a thing.

Therefore some horses will, rightly or wrongly, be ok with this.
Others won't (it would be a disaster for my mare if she didn't get turnout for example) and then you'll have the ones in between who get a bit spicy for being in, but it's still manageable.

But there's a lot of variables to consider.
Is there any turnout at all - in a pen/field/school, if so for how long, half an hour whilst mucking out or 2 or 3 hours a day? With or without equine company?
How experienced are the owners and how much time do they have - can they cope with a bit more spicy, either by doing groundwork, lunging first, using a walker, and make time to get the horse out of the stable twice a day?

I also think here we don't know how the falls came about (was it a normal spook at a carrier bag or did horse freak, rear and spin etc) and how experienced or otherwise the owners are, so it's hard to give specific advice.

In this case, horse was well tried, vetted and the buyer was able to speak to 2 previous owners (which is rare but a good thing I'd say as they have nothing to lose by lying) so I'd guess it's settling in issues combined with lack of turnout, rather than anything fundamentally wrong with the horse.

By the time next winter rolls around, horse might be more tolerant of less turnout as they're used to the routine/owners and have settled.

There may also be the issue that the next horse is exactly the same, unless it can be validated they've been kept in over winter before.

If confidence is completely lost then yes I'd send back if you can, as it's hard to come back from that. But if it might be salvageable I might be inclined to try and work through given how thoroughly the horse was vetted/validated prior to purchase.
Either by moving yards (ideally), getting the horse out of the stable as much as possible and working with a really good instructor - as it was a mother/daughter share, an instructor used to working with children (assuming daughter is still quite young) would probably be a really good shout.
 
chaps89 said:
I think a lot of people here are living in the perfect world where turnout happens all year round.
The reality is, that in certain areas of the country more than others, this is a very real scenario.
Not saying I agree with it, and personally I wouldn't keep horses if I couldn't offer daily turnout, but it is a thing.

Therefore some horses will, rightly or wrongly, be ok with this.
Others won't (it would be a disaster for my mare if she didn't get turnout for example) and then you'll have the ones in between who get a bit spicy for being in, but it's still manageable.

But there's a lot of variables to consider.
Is there any turnout at all - in a pen/field/school, if so for how long, half an hour whilst mucking out or 2 or 3 hours a day? With or without equine company?
How experienced are the owners and how much time do they have - can they cope with a bit more spicy, either by doing groundwork, lunging first, using a walker, and make time to get the horse out of the stable twice a day?

I also think here we don't know how the falls came about (was it a normal spook at a carrier bag or did horse freak, rear and spin etc) and how experienced or otherwise the owners are, so it's hard to give specific advice.

In this case, horse was well tried, vetted and the buyer was able to speak to 2 previous owners (which is rare but a good thing I'd say as they have nothing to lose by lying) so I'd guess it's settling in issues combined with lack of turnout, rather than anything fundamentally wrong with the horse.

By the time next winter rolls around, horse might be more tolerant of less turnout as they're used to the routine/owners and have settled.

There may also be the issue that the next horse is exactly the same, unless it can be validated they've been kept in over winter before.

If confidence is completely lost then yes I'd send back if you can, as it's hard to come back from that. But if it might be salvageable I might be inclined to try and work through given how thoroughly the horse was vetted/validated prior to purchase.
Either by moving yards (ideally), getting the horse out of the stable as much as possible and working with a really good instructor - as it was a mother/daughter share, an instructor used to working with children (assuming daughter is still quite young) would probably be a really good shout.
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Agreed! It’s unfortunately called reality. I don’t think people truly appreciate what position others are in.

When Rooni was on livery we had no grass turnout, no pens, no hard standing turnout, no walker and nowhere to even hand graze.

It was in the school or in the stable. Luckily he remained sensible to ride (and hates turnout in bad weather anyway). Winter daylight + full time job = no hacking during the week. (That’s before considering he’s awful in traffic and our farm ride was closed in wet months). There were no other yards to move to either!

One of my best mates is on a livery yard and her horse has been in the field twice in nearly 3 weeks and that’s just how it is… They are lucky enough to have a walker and now turnout pens but every yard in the same area is in the same position. So what are we all meant to do!

Horses are hard work and winter is a slog through and through.
 
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gunnergundog said:
I don’t know your level of competency, the age of the horse etc etc.

So, based on the info given, what I would suggest is to cut out all hard feed , lunge/long rein twice a day and work it hard. Lead out in hand to graze (on grass verges with bridle if necessary) at every opportunity. Spend time grooming, trying to build a relationship but be very black and white re acceptable and unacceptable behaviours. Reassess the situation in ten days.

In the meantime invest in a magnesium calmer, run any bloods that may have been taken at the vetting and open communication channels with the dealer, expressing concerns. Also, get a fbhs to come and do an assessment of you, your daughter and the horse. Take it from there.

Longer term, if you decide to stay the course, find a more suitable yard!
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I hate to be a naysayer here but i disagree with some of this.
Magnesium calmers only work if the horse is deficient and can make some horses worse.
Running bloods is expensive- last time I asked for some bloods to be run the vet quoted £600.00. Admittedly this was Berkshire so could be cheaper elsewhere.
Why an FBHS? Not all FBHS’s are created equally. Get help yes, but don’t limit to an FBHS who might be no help and depending on where you are - expensive and difficult to get to visit. Pammy Hutton is £90 for a lesson. Adam Kemp is great but probably very busy.
Working the pony hard is just going to get it fitter.

I do agree with bonding with the pony - spending time is invaluable, grazing in hand providing it’s safe to do so is a very good idea.

Moving a horse is stressful at the best of times. The only time I’ve ever had problems was with a horse that I purchased and was then subject to a mandatory 2 week quarantine on the new yard. I didn’t know the horse and the poor boy was in a new place totally alone. He was explosive to handle and I moved him as soon as I could to a yard that turned him out with company . He was a lamb after.
 
Many of us would sell the horse if we weren't able to find a livery yard with decent turnout. I have actually done that, though it was for a horse (my absolute heart horse) that jumped out and ended up confined to barracks. We do the right thing for the horse.

Hard work does make a fitter horse. Doing emotional regulation/connection work has to be part of the workload, and that can be grazing in hand right through to more intense postural or R+ work and this is much more likely to help a horse settle than lunging it for long periods which in itself is harmful to the body. Compromised bodies are more reactive....

And calmers can be helpful short term but agree that magnesium only works if deficient and the rest are really all just masking, not really helping.

Horses need WAY more time to settle than we think, and we need to actively settle them, and that doesn't mean simply following their own routine. It means trying to read why they're stressed, what they genuinely need to help them which is usually do less in terms of intensity/hard ridden work, and give them time and space. We have very high expectations of horses these days and fewer and fewer of us have the skills to help the horse in a fundamental way.
 
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