New horse Problem

M

mollyanne91

Member
Joined
15 November 2013
Messages
24
Visit site
I recently purchased my new horse a month ago he is a 5 yo registered connemara. He was absolutely perfect when i went to view him. Since bringing him home I am find his temperament has completely changed (which i no is probably down to the move) Also when i ride in the school he really puts up a fight, twisting his body and head, bucking especially in one corner of the school and his ears are always completely back when hes doing this. I have had his back, teeth and feet checked. So now i guess its down to training. Didn't no if any one had any advice?
 
I have owned him for a month so i know its early days. He showed signs straight away threatening to bite me pulling horrible faces especially in the stable. I just ignored him at first but now give him a stern talking to. He hasnt actually bitten me the but threats are definately being made. He wasnt like this when I viewed him but his behavior isnt getting any better.
 
He is only fed on a hand full of fibre nuts and low cal chaff, hes a good doer so didnt want to heat him up with anything. When lunged he doesnt pull so many faces but he feels like he gives up after 5 minutes because he doesnt want to do any more. I have had a saddler out to fit a new saddle for him as well
 
I personally would get back in contact with seller, and ask their advise.............. As I brought connie x this year and his temp has not changed in moving homes................ so this makes me thinks that he was grumpy before (as connie are known for their lovely temp-mine are). So by checking that you have kept, food, tack and routine all the same this will help. Plus I personally would also get some help via your trainer about the naught behaviour in school. He may need different routine to help.................
 
Can you get someone experianced on the ground to help you .
Connies can be quite dominant horses and it could be the change of roultine and rider or many things .
The most important thing is to find someone to help you who can actually see you and the horse together .
 
Ye i have lessons once a week and my trainer is brilliant, but we haven't been able to push fully through the schooling problem as we were both worried it might be his back. I had had his back checked last week and they gave me the all clear to ride after 4 days box rest so my first lesson to start re training him will be tomorow. His behavior in the stable is strange. He puts his ears back when you do anything near him. He doesn't particularly like to be groomed, but when he has a headcolar or bridle on hes much more friendly. Like two different horses. ive heard connemaras are the most loving horses but unfortunately hes the opposite and i cant understand why. I have spoken to the old owner and she said he only ever put his ears back when he had hard feed, never threatened to bite....
 
Been there done that!
Its boring advice but the thing that worked for me was getting to know him and bonding with him through groundwork.
Mine would kick out when putting the saddle on , stick his head up in the air to avoid the bridle , then not stand for mounting. once I was on him he would more often than not deposit me on the ground just for fun.
Im not experienced and really not a good rider and I had no help around me at all. I decided to work on the issues as if he had never been broken in and began with the bridle..........leading him round the farm and getting him to listen to me. Then I sorted the saddle issue out by carefully placing the saddle on him and exaggerating the checking his girth to make sure he wasn t nipped. When he was placid to tack up and listening to me I started lunging him and eventually got back on.
I only went onto the next stage when I was confident to ....the horse really taught me how to work with him.
I have had him five years now and he is the sort of horse you can leave in the field for weeks then take out for a hack with no problems.
As for the biting it would be instant punishment from me...........a slap on the nose ..and no my horse is not head shy and does nt bite or nip anymore!
A month really is early days for a horse to feel confident in new surroundings..and some like mine and yours react worse to change than others.
Hope this is of some help to you!
 
mollyanne91 said:
I have owned him for a month so i know its early days. He showed signs straight away threatening to bite me pulling horrible faces especially in the stable. I just ignored him at first but now give him a stern talking to. He hasnt actually bitten me the but threats are definately being made. He wasnt like this when I viewed him but his behavior isnt getting any better.
Click to expand...

My irish bred filly pulls faces and threatens when in her stable. She is very food aggressive. I have improved the behaviour to a point, but my take on it is that some horses are narky in their stables, so I simply don't fuss over her in there - I leave her alone. As long as she is good outside the stable to handle and ride I will disregard the defensive behaviour in the stable.
 
Thank you, our horses sound very similar. When i first got him it took four of us to get the bridle on, he would just stick his head in the air, i have conquered that habit thank god and hes pretty chilled with the bridle. Also he wouldnt let me get on or my trainer, really bargy spinning around etc, but again i have now got him to stand and he lets me get on no problem. So he is doing well in that area. i think he needs to trust me on the ground and realise I am not going to steal his food. But i just cant understand why he behaves the way he does in the school. Out hacking he is perfect.
 
They said he had sacroil pain. They untwisted him and then said he needed a few days box rest to help the muscles heal. I was hoping that was the reason for him bucking and twisting in the school, but he isnt any better then before he got it done.
 
mollyanne91 said:
Ye i have lessons once a week and my trainer is brilliant, but we haven't been able to push fully through the schooling problem as we were both worried it might be his back. I had had his back checked last week and they gave me the all clear to ride after 4 days box rest so my first lesson to start re training him will be tomorow. His behavior in the stable is strange. He puts his ears back when you do anything near him. He doesn't particularly like to be groomed, but when he has a headcolar or bridle on hes much more friendly. Like two different horses. ive heard connemaras are the most loving horses but unfortunately hes the opposite and i cant understand why. I have spoken to the old owner and she said he only ever put his ears back when he had hard feed, never threatened to bite....
Click to expand...

You sound as your going down right routine, i'd personally just keep going and defo going lunging and just keep going (lots of time it will get better) I would defo stand my ground with grumpiness.............. As for grooming mine was very sensitive so had to buy softer brushes!!! but he's now is fine.
 
mollyanne91 said:
They said he had sacroil pain. They untwisted him and then said he needed a few days box rest to help the muscles heal. I was hoping that was the reason for him bucking and twisting in the school, but he isnt any better then before he got it done.
Click to expand...

Was this your vet?

And how did he come through the pre-purchase vetting?
 
mollyanne91 said:
Thank you, our horses sound very similar. When i first got him it took four of us to get the bridle on, he would just stick his head in the air, i have conquered that habit thank god and hes pretty chilled with the bridle. Also he wouldnt let me get on or my trainer, really bargy spinning around etc, but again i have now got him to stand and he lets me get on no problem. So he is doing well in that area. i think he needs to trust me on the ground and realise I am not going to steal his food. But i just cant understand why he behaves the way he does in the school. Out hacking he is perfect.
Click to expand...

Some horses don't like schools they can associate them with hard work , unpleasant disipline or boredom .
Fatty my OHs horse does not do schools I don't think he ever will .
Try useing cones and poles in the school and do bending and steering 'games 'to get his attention its great that the hacking is perfect because that's the big thing you want them to be good at.
 
Could you try long reining in the school? I would try and get him used to your voice and praise him a lot for the things he does when asked. My filly is a fidget with the attention span of a flea and she would strike and stomp with her foreleg (I really hate this behaviour - my WB does it when he is anxious too). With lots of ground work she has improved and is less bargy and flighty, but still has her moments. I did use a controller headcollar with her and that made such a difference. Sometimes they fight just because they are green and don't really understand what is being asked of them. Out hacking there is much more to distract a young lively mind, so no time to think about evading etc.
 
He had passed a vetting only a month ago and nothing came up. Last night I got really frustrated in the school with him, but i thought no hes not going to win so i got him doing every type of circle,serpentine possible in a forward going trot, i didnt care where is head was as long as he was going forward and not twisting... and to my surprise it worked, i think i got his attention. Maybe i just need to do more exciting things in the school instead of the basics which is what i thought he needed, but maybe he just needs to have some fun for a while until he settles in properly. I really am trying to stand my ground with him i push him away when he starts nibbling or pulling faces at me. And when we are out hacking he never pulls faces or twists, he absolutely loves it. It seems like my horse my have a personality disorder lol
 
I suspect mine was doped when I tried him. I was particularly gullible because if I had googled the dealers name I would have swerved big time.
As I say im not the most experienced with horses.... if I bought again I would do a lot of things differently. the early days were traumatic for both myself and the horse... I can remember crying my eyes out with despair on many occasions, yet now im glad in a way we went through what we did.......he is a gem and I like to think we do have a brilliant bond because of the work we put in in the beginning.
I think there are very experienced people who can pretty much ride anything with tack on it, but Im not like that and I needed a bond with the horse before I could ride him ...... we ride out now in a snaffle with no martingale and no fancy stop gear. If someone had said I would be able to do that five years ago I would never have believed them!
 
mollyanne91 said:
when we are out hacking he never pulls faces or twists, he absolutely loves it
Click to expand...

I think you have hit it on nail................. he finds school boring....................... If me I would do as much hacking as possible as you can still school :). If you have to us arena do poles, cones and defo lunge and you will get better connection with you need horse.
 
luckyoldme said:
I suspect mine was doped when I tried him. I was particularly gullible because if I had googled the dealers name I would have swerved big time.
As I say im not the most experienced with horses.... if I bought again I would do a lot of things differently. the early days were traumatic for both myself and the horse... I can remember crying my eyes out with despair on many occasions, yet now im glad in a way we went through what we did.......he is a gem and I like to think we do have a brilliant bond because of the work we put in in the beginning.
I think there are very experienced people who can pretty much ride anything with tack on it, but Im not like that and I needed a bond with the horse before I could ride him ...... we ride out now in a snaffle with no martingale and no fancy stop gear. If someone had said I would be able to do that five years ago I would never have believed them!
Click to expand...

Somebody on here commented the other day that we only learn from the difficult ones and that is so true.
 
Thank you all so much.. its so nice to know there are people out there who want to help each other out. I know he will be a fab horse one day just going to be a lot of hard work and im sure a few tears. He is an amazing jumper and would suit doing cross country, maybe dressage isnt for him will just have to wait and see. Also with his age im pretty sure the bucking stems down to not wanting to work but also his balance?!?
 
mollyanne91 said:
I had had his back checked last week and they gave me the all clear to ride after 4 days box rest.
Click to expand...

If there is nothing wrong with his back why did he need 4 days box rest? Seems very odd to me, my old horse often had back issues and not once did the physio recommend box rest.

Also, my mare was perfect to hack out but a little madam in the school, turned out her saddle that had been fitted a few months before needed refitting as she had lost weight. Had the saddler out, saddle was tweaked and pony has been good as gold since.
 
I have never box rested following physio, the opposite is usually recommended, plenty of turnout so the muscles can relax and loosen up not be kept in so they stiffen up after treatment.
I suspect there is more going on to cause his behaviour, hacking in straight lines is likely to be comfortable and allow his muscles to relax and stretch, if he was so bad he required 4 days rest, box or otherwise, I would expect at least one follow up treatment if not more and referral to vet to make sure nothing else is going on, he sounds as if he is in a degree of pain and still unsettled following the move.
 
I would be very concerned about anyone but a vet or a fully qualified physio with veterinary imput doing anything to a horse that required four days box rest.
OP if a vet has not looked at this back pain a vet really ought .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top