thistlethorn
New User
Hi everyone, I've long lurked on these boards and finally decided to sign up in order to solicit some advice. I wasn't sure if this fit better in the Training section so please move if so.
I bought a 4 year-old OTTB (track trained, not raced due to slowness) six months ago. She turned 5 last week. She is my first young horse, although not my first green horse -- 12 years ago I helped bring along an 8 year-old Arabian, untouched and intact (and quickly gelded). A few months prior to this OTTB I had adopted another mare who was PTS within 2 months of my ownership due to severe metastatic melanomas and was on the look out for another partner, hopefully with better luck this time. I've ridden and worked with horses on the ground for various trainers and am not new to the equine world, although yes, always learning
Anyway. Despite being just 4 and quite green, this OTTB was calm and sensible. Had several months let down before anything was done with her. Her previous owner, whom I know as a friend, regularly hauled her to new places to ride and she never put a foot out of line. Trusted her to carry her on hacks, by herself, while previous owner was pregnant! Stood calmly to mount, going pleasantly w/t/c, etc and so on. I have plenty of videos of her retraining process, and when I went out to ride her she was exactly as described. She passed the PPE. Young, yes -- but the disposition was there. With my trainer's help, I figured we'd be set...so I bought her.
After a settle/quarantine period of two weeks, trainer and I began teaching her how to long-line and briefly lunge (not to tire her out, but a good skill to have for various purposes). While she took great to long lining and ground driving, she tends to express some anxiety at lunging. Nothing terrible, but rears and then tearing around at first. Under saddle she was fine for a long while.
However, steadily and slowly, this mare has morphed into a different animal. As of last week, she no longer stands still at the mounting block, pawing with vigor and wiggling intensely. This is despite exercises to reinforce standing at the block. (Mounting and dismounting repeatedly, standing next to it and such). Brand new behavior. She screams and carries on whenever she is walked away from her neighbors in turn out, which indicates insecurity to me but is not something her previous owner ever noted; she is anxious and fidgety under saddle and chomping at the bit rather than carrying it calmly as she used to. She doesn't want to go forward. In any new arena/environment on our rather large facility she is almost unmanageable and prone to exploding on the end of the lead from even a dead stand still.
Her teeth were just done and even so, were fine. She is on the same feed she has always been on since retiring (alfalfa/grass mix in front of her 24/7, with a handful of low sugar senior feed for a magnesium and Vitamin E/selenium supplement); she has been scoped and treated for mild ulcers; she has had body work and Chiro out on regular 6 week intervals; her saddle has been custom fit to her; she is turned out full time, by herself but has horses in the field right next to her; her bit has not changed (regular snaffle). While she is prone to bucking and rearing for short periods on the lunge line, she hasn't offered to do this under saddle, but she is very obviously not focused on her rider and is a ball of nerves. She is such a different horse from the one I bought 6 months ago that I am completely perplexed, as is the friend I got her from (who flips OTTBs as a side job). The barn is large but pretty quiet, but perhaps something about it isn't sitting well with her?
Riding her (and only the professional trainer has been on her to date) has stopped at the moment since she never calms down enough for it to seem like a good idea, even after an attempt to "get some energy out" and her brain refocused on the lunge. Her last ride was very short, only walking around and asking her to stand still in one small part of a big outdoor arena she has been in many times. Being asked to stand still was barely possible for her, when previously she was picture perfect and would not move an inch until asked. Even more odd, she has SOME days where she acts as she did before, focused and calm. But you never know exactly what horse you are getting on any day to day basis. All consistency in behavior has disappeared and I admit that even I have begun to feel nerves around her as I never know what she is going to do. And I do realize that me feeling nervous is NOT helping her, but when your horse flips out on the end of the lead without any obvious trigger, I feel like I need to be hyper vigilant.
I am halting all lunging and riding until the vet comes out for an assessment. Maybe it's related to her heat cycle? Pain elsewhere? Otherwise, I admit that I am a bit depressed at my seeming luck with horses lately. I realize young horses are a challenge, and 5 especially seems to be a trying year, but she is with professionals I trust who are experienced in bringing horses along (hot breeds especially) and I would hope that we would at least be making forward progress, even if in small bits. What has been gradually happening instead is a slow regression in training and behavior for no overt reasons I can ascertain. I know that it is difficult to believe a stranger on the internet, but trust me when I say that absolutely no mishandling or mismanagement is occurring at this barn.
Has anyone ever experienced something like this? Is it not unusual for a calm 4 year-old to lose most of its sense in its 5 year-old year? I'm hoping to god it is related to pain and something we can help her with.
I bought a 4 year-old OTTB (track trained, not raced due to slowness) six months ago. She turned 5 last week. She is my first young horse, although not my first green horse -- 12 years ago I helped bring along an 8 year-old Arabian, untouched and intact (and quickly gelded). A few months prior to this OTTB I had adopted another mare who was PTS within 2 months of my ownership due to severe metastatic melanomas and was on the look out for another partner, hopefully with better luck this time. I've ridden and worked with horses on the ground for various trainers and am not new to the equine world, although yes, always learning
Anyway. Despite being just 4 and quite green, this OTTB was calm and sensible. Had several months let down before anything was done with her. Her previous owner, whom I know as a friend, regularly hauled her to new places to ride and she never put a foot out of line. Trusted her to carry her on hacks, by herself, while previous owner was pregnant! Stood calmly to mount, going pleasantly w/t/c, etc and so on. I have plenty of videos of her retraining process, and when I went out to ride her she was exactly as described. She passed the PPE. Young, yes -- but the disposition was there. With my trainer's help, I figured we'd be set...so I bought her.
After a settle/quarantine period of two weeks, trainer and I began teaching her how to long-line and briefly lunge (not to tire her out, but a good skill to have for various purposes). While she took great to long lining and ground driving, she tends to express some anxiety at lunging. Nothing terrible, but rears and then tearing around at first. Under saddle she was fine for a long while.
However, steadily and slowly, this mare has morphed into a different animal. As of last week, she no longer stands still at the mounting block, pawing with vigor and wiggling intensely. This is despite exercises to reinforce standing at the block. (Mounting and dismounting repeatedly, standing next to it and such). Brand new behavior. She screams and carries on whenever she is walked away from her neighbors in turn out, which indicates insecurity to me but is not something her previous owner ever noted; she is anxious and fidgety under saddle and chomping at the bit rather than carrying it calmly as she used to. She doesn't want to go forward. In any new arena/environment on our rather large facility she is almost unmanageable and prone to exploding on the end of the lead from even a dead stand still.
Her teeth were just done and even so, were fine. She is on the same feed she has always been on since retiring (alfalfa/grass mix in front of her 24/7, with a handful of low sugar senior feed for a magnesium and Vitamin E/selenium supplement); she has been scoped and treated for mild ulcers; she has had body work and Chiro out on regular 6 week intervals; her saddle has been custom fit to her; she is turned out full time, by herself but has horses in the field right next to her; her bit has not changed (regular snaffle). While she is prone to bucking and rearing for short periods on the lunge line, she hasn't offered to do this under saddle, but she is very obviously not focused on her rider and is a ball of nerves. She is such a different horse from the one I bought 6 months ago that I am completely perplexed, as is the friend I got her from (who flips OTTBs as a side job). The barn is large but pretty quiet, but perhaps something about it isn't sitting well with her?
Riding her (and only the professional trainer has been on her to date) has stopped at the moment since she never calms down enough for it to seem like a good idea, even after an attempt to "get some energy out" and her brain refocused on the lunge. Her last ride was very short, only walking around and asking her to stand still in one small part of a big outdoor arena she has been in many times. Being asked to stand still was barely possible for her, when previously she was picture perfect and would not move an inch until asked. Even more odd, she has SOME days where she acts as she did before, focused and calm. But you never know exactly what horse you are getting on any day to day basis. All consistency in behavior has disappeared and I admit that even I have begun to feel nerves around her as I never know what she is going to do. And I do realize that me feeling nervous is NOT helping her, but when your horse flips out on the end of the lead without any obvious trigger, I feel like I need to be hyper vigilant.
I am halting all lunging and riding until the vet comes out for an assessment. Maybe it's related to her heat cycle? Pain elsewhere? Otherwise, I admit that I am a bit depressed at my seeming luck with horses lately. I realize young horses are a challenge, and 5 especially seems to be a trying year, but she is with professionals I trust who are experienced in bringing horses along (hot breeds especially) and I would hope that we would at least be making forward progress, even if in small bits. What has been gradually happening instead is a slow regression in training and behavior for no overt reasons I can ascertain. I know that it is difficult to believe a stranger on the internet, but trust me when I say that absolutely no mishandling or mismanagement is occurring at this barn.
Has anyone ever experienced something like this? Is it not unusual for a calm 4 year-old to lose most of its sense in its 5 year-old year? I'm hoping to god it is related to pain and something we can help her with.
