New horse - saddling / kicking / bucking

Magicmillbrook

Magicmillbrook

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Hi - posted yesterday with my horsey problems - to recap new horse, 5yo TB, Passed vetting, week trial was fine was sold a 2nd hand saddle to bring home with her, rode her twice after getting her home, showing extreme reaction to saddles and being askeed to trot. Suspended riding for nearly two weeks. Had V good saddle fitter out Tues, now has well fitting saddle.

Last night tacked her up very patiently - not too bad. Walking fine, a little initial resistance to trotting then fine. Tried canter - not happy at all, bucking, fly kicking,squeaking and at one point went up, did break into canter at one point and looked fine, however when asked again on the other leg she was not having any of it.

Question - do we carry on with walk and trot for a while to try and build up her confidence that this saddle will not hurt or do we stop riding again until we have had her checked out. My usual back person cant come out for 2 weeks!

I am concerned that the longer this gets left the less comeback we will have on vendor should something be amiss (we did have bloods taken during the vetting BTW). She looks total sound, is lunging sound and is sound in hand. The saddler noticed her right hip is slightly higher than her left in trot, however was not ovely concerned. he has no obvious sorness or injury.

Helllllllllllp
 
We bought a horse last July and experienced the same sort of problem. We had the physio out and she reckoned he had been ridden in a badly fitting saddle for some considerable time and so he was really sore, we didnt ride for 6 weeks, he had a week off after treatment and then was lunged every day for 6 weeks and he developed beautifully and now has no saddle issues as the saddle we have fits perfectly
 
sorry to hear things not much better. I would contact the vendor to at least highlight the fact that you are having problems as you may then be in a stronger position if this doesn't resolve itself.
does she have any tender points on her back from the other saddle? it may take some time for things to settle if the old saddle has bruised the muscles.
have you tried bareback, my friend is riding my horse bareback at the moment until the saddle fitter and back person can come out and he is going fine like this
 
[ QUOTE ]
We bought a horse last July and experienced the same sort of problem. We had the physio out and she reckoned he had been ridden in a badly fitting saddle for some considerable time and so he was really sore, we didnt ride for 6 weeks, he had a week off after treatment and then was lunged every day for 6 weeks and he developed beautifully and now has no saddle issues as the saddle we have fits perfectly

[/ QUOTE ]

I hope this is the case here - the whole idea of getting a youngster was so we could have a blank canvass with no issues. My daughter is so upset and disapointed.
 
had a pony with a similar problem...turned out that due to an ill-fitting saddle, he was badly bruised over his back and kidney area.

had 2 months off, just long-lineing until the bruising went, then bought a saddle that has serge panels, as a leather saddle was far too stiff over his back...he's fine now....11 months after!!!
 
A friend had the same prob, had been on a yard where pads had been used to pad out his saddle, so having a normal one put one made him buckaroo!!!! Saddler said it was him getting used to the new feeling, and being young they still have the flight instinct. I have every faith she will be fine, just keep to walk and trot building up the work until she is used to the fact it wont hurt, and it will soon fall into place.
smile.gif
 
Hi there

it does sound like pain/soreness reaction but now you have a nice fitting saddle its worth giving it a bit of time and lungeing him without rider to see if same reaction.

Please also bear in mind (as you undoubtely know already!) These TB's are clever souls! - we have a chap who should know better but spent the first 2 months with us bucking and flying broncing! - I had his back checked numerous times, checked saddle, had teeth done, checked the boy from head to toe! He was NOT in pain and simply tried to avoid work!

I still worry now when he does it from a "is he in pain" point of view, then realise as I see him hooning and leaping round the field or on the lunge with saddle on, that he is quite simply an arguementative thoroughbred. However his history is different from yours in that he learnt to get rid of his p2p jockeys early in life!

Give this horse some time to heal any soreness in its back, work it long and loose on the lunge, no gadgets, so it can build up some muscle freely...

Then check again with saddler after this time, if still an issue I would consider possibly a light calmer and some massage and physio for the hip. Our boy has damaged hip from the past and to his shoulder, if something is a little difficult for them, tb's tend to argue and go "OW that hurts"!!! Your average horse would go "ow that hurts but ok then...."!

Dont give up, they come good and are worth their weight in gold but they are not as instant as some breeds.

If horsey is fine walking and trotting then keep it up for a while and build both horse and riders confidence. Also with TB's well worth doing some relationship building on the ground, fred has come on heaps since doing some simple join up, took a while for his trust!!
 
alsoooo forgot to ask, how much has this 5 year old done before? Has he actually been schooled to canter etc, sometimes if they have not done as much as you are told, what you are describing is a typical reaction to either:-

1) pain
2) not done it before and not liking it
3) unable to balance itself and panicing

IE have you got proof that its been cantered with a rider on previously...??
 
Also, as you say, she's young and inexperienced. Don't underestimate how much being in a strange place with strange people being handled in ways she's not used to - however competant and kind - might be stressing her out. Even if she isn't showing it in other ways it means she is a little less able to deal with other stresses in her life. It's no different than taking a horse to a show - we all know how much that can change things!

I think of "outlet" behaviours (which can be any reaction to stress) as being the result of pounds of pressure being put on the horse. Every horse comes with an amount of pressure it can withstand without reacting, every experience - change in feed, ill fitting saddle, increased demands, trailering stress, you name it - rates a particular amount of pressure (different for different horses). When the pressure gets to the point where the horse reacts it reacts. HOW it reacts is determined by the horse and it's inclinations not by the pressure necessarily. For instance and ill fitting saddle might make one horse buck, one rear, and one just shut down and creep along.

All that said, you should contact the seller. Perhaps he/she might have some useful information. I'd try to do it by email, if you can, as it's easier to pick your words and avoid confusion. At the least, as mentioned, if something more does crop up then you have a record of your correspondance.

I had someone call about a young horse I sold who was almost freakishly calm to start, saying that the horse had bucked the first day they rode her at home. Upon investigation they rode her the same day as she arrived from her 15 hour trip to her new home, without turnout, in the ring with strange horses, in strange tack (she was very round and hard to fit, which they knew going in), after changing her food even though we sent a week's worth with her. No wonder she was a bit stressed! In a couple of days it all worked out just fine and they absolutely love her.

I'm always surprised when people expect horses they've bought to be the same when they get them home. Horses are such creatures of habit and being sold effectively changes everything in their environment at once.
 
It sounds like her back is still sore from the other saddle, and also may be out too.
You can either wait for the back person or try lungeing with a thick sheepskin pad under the saddle you now have.
I would probably wait if it were me, as without actually getting the go ahead you could do more harm.
Then again we had a mare so sensitive once I stitched sheepskin round the stirrup irons until she settled!
Once your back person has agreed she is ok I would lunge in canter for long enough before riding to ensure she is warmed up, and don't attempt canter for at least a week under saddle.
Hacking is the best way to settle a new horse, there's nothing like plodding round the roads (or bouncing) to make them relax.
I think she is associating the saddle with pain, hence the bucking..
 
Thanks everyone - you have given me lots of reasurance, perhaps I will actualy get to sleep tonight. The mare has been out of racing for about a year and a half. The past year she has been schooled in a dressage yard and was doing fairly intensive work - shoulder in flying change etc so we know she can do it.

She was also kept in a lot and had quite an intensive routine, we tend to go down the more natural route. I changed her food slowly from stud mix to simple systems and hay and have graduly introduced her to her companions. She has been very calm and well behaved in all other aspects. Although it is still a change and although to my mind it must be better for her it is very different to what she is used to.

I agree with spending time doing ground work, we had two weeks of no riding before we could get the saddler out anbd from my enquiries it is going to be another fortnight until I can get the physio! If the physio doesnt find anything I may try an experienced trainer/natural horsemanship person to help. I so don't want to muck this lovely young horse up any more.
 
Routine is the biggest giveaway here, especially TB's!! If she has come from busy yard and been in, despite it being better that she is out, it will have completely rocked her world!

Give it some time I am sure she will settle for you. Also a year and half off the track isnt long and she will still remember parts of racing, including the excitement.
 
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