lou1346
Member
Sorry for the long post, looking for a bit of advice and trying to include all relevant background information!
I’ve recently bought a 3 year old Connemara gelding, he’s kept at a very small and quiet DIY livery yard. At the moment he is on 24/7 individual turnout, as are all the other horses. He has one horse next to him who he can touch, but can’t get close enough to groom etc if wanted to. All other horses are opposite side of the alleyway to him, so not in touching distance.
The problem I am having is that he is becoming increasingly difficult to handle on the ground. I purchased him because he was incredibly quiet and well behaved on the ground, he was very friendly and loved interacting with humans. When I bought him he was used to being groomed, having his feet done, long reining in an arena and on quiet country lanes both on his own and with another horse, had worn tack and had a rider walk on him without batting an eyelid. I had a vetting done on him too which he passed, vet was very complimentary of his temperament.
Seller had him since he was a yearling and he’d always been out 24/7 in a herd, both with youngsters his own age and with older horses. He absolutely loved to play with other horses but if the older ones didn’t want to, they’d put him in his place and he’d respect that. He was never clingy with the other horses, would come in on his own when seller wanted to work with him on the ground without any issues.
When I enquired about him I did inform seller he would be on individual turnout and did they think he would be ok with that. They said yes because he’s not the clingy type.
Problematic behaviour started when he was becoming more reluctant to let me pick out his feet, initially snatching them away but has progressed to trying to kick me every time. When being led he started getting very up into my personal space, to which I have been calmly but firmly asking him to back off every time. Initially I was managing this behaviour ok, however he seems to be getting more and more disgruntled with me as time goes on. When leading now he’s trying to get me out of his space by either pulling ahead or swinging his head around and threatening to bite. I’m trying my hardest to not let him push me away but the times when he does manage it (because at the end of the day he’s always going to be stronger than me) he runs in front of me, rears and strikes out directly at me. So far he’s managed to actually kick me in the leg, chest, and head (I always wear my hat when handling him). I’ve shown seller videos of this behaviour and they’re absolutely stumped, have described it as a complete personality transplant as he’s always been so lovely towards people.
I’m fully aware how much horses can change during their younger years, and I’m fully aware that it can take some horses a long time to settle into a new home, however his behaviour is dangerous and it’s knocking my confidence around him. The only thing the seller and myself can think of is maybe this is a lot of pent up energy he is so used to exerting through playtime with other horses, and that this is coming out as frustration on his behalf. He’s also become very aloof with people, again, seller has described this as a complete change of personality.
I do have a trainer coming out to see him at the weekend to get their thoughts but in all honestly I’m just wandering if this is just not the right home for him. Unfortunately herd turnout is not an option here, and there are no other DIY yards in the area that offer it. Am I being unfair by not giving him more time to settle, or does it sound like this just isn’t the setup that suits him and I should find him a home with somebody who has the appropriate experience and environment for a youngster like this? I really don’t want this situation to get any worse than it already is..
I’ve recently bought a 3 year old Connemara gelding, he’s kept at a very small and quiet DIY livery yard. At the moment he is on 24/7 individual turnout, as are all the other horses. He has one horse next to him who he can touch, but can’t get close enough to groom etc if wanted to. All other horses are opposite side of the alleyway to him, so not in touching distance.
The problem I am having is that he is becoming increasingly difficult to handle on the ground. I purchased him because he was incredibly quiet and well behaved on the ground, he was very friendly and loved interacting with humans. When I bought him he was used to being groomed, having his feet done, long reining in an arena and on quiet country lanes both on his own and with another horse, had worn tack and had a rider walk on him without batting an eyelid. I had a vetting done on him too which he passed, vet was very complimentary of his temperament.
Seller had him since he was a yearling and he’d always been out 24/7 in a herd, both with youngsters his own age and with older horses. He absolutely loved to play with other horses but if the older ones didn’t want to, they’d put him in his place and he’d respect that. He was never clingy with the other horses, would come in on his own when seller wanted to work with him on the ground without any issues.
When I enquired about him I did inform seller he would be on individual turnout and did they think he would be ok with that. They said yes because he’s not the clingy type.
Problematic behaviour started when he was becoming more reluctant to let me pick out his feet, initially snatching them away but has progressed to trying to kick me every time. When being led he started getting very up into my personal space, to which I have been calmly but firmly asking him to back off every time. Initially I was managing this behaviour ok, however he seems to be getting more and more disgruntled with me as time goes on. When leading now he’s trying to get me out of his space by either pulling ahead or swinging his head around and threatening to bite. I’m trying my hardest to not let him push me away but the times when he does manage it (because at the end of the day he’s always going to be stronger than me) he runs in front of me, rears and strikes out directly at me. So far he’s managed to actually kick me in the leg, chest, and head (I always wear my hat when handling him). I’ve shown seller videos of this behaviour and they’re absolutely stumped, have described it as a complete personality transplant as he’s always been so lovely towards people.
I’m fully aware how much horses can change during their younger years, and I’m fully aware that it can take some horses a long time to settle into a new home, however his behaviour is dangerous and it’s knocking my confidence around him. The only thing the seller and myself can think of is maybe this is a lot of pent up energy he is so used to exerting through playtime with other horses, and that this is coming out as frustration on his behalf. He’s also become very aloof with people, again, seller has described this as a complete change of personality.
I do have a trainer coming out to see him at the weekend to get their thoughts but in all honestly I’m just wandering if this is just not the right home for him. Unfortunately herd turnout is not an option here, and there are no other DIY yards in the area that offer it. Am I being unfair by not giving him more time to settle, or does it sound like this just isn’t the setup that suits him and I should find him a home with somebody who has the appropriate experience and environment for a youngster like this? I really don’t want this situation to get any worse than it already is..
if only the bank account would stretch to allow for another horse 
