New horse settling and tack issues?

[shellebage]

Good afternoon. Everyone!

Looking for some advice. I have a beautiful new horse, he is a chestnut 16.1hh French trotter. He is an ex Le Trot racer and I have adopted him through a rescue. He was in Malta. Came over to the UK in July where he was matched with his previous adopters, they had a change is circumstances and he has now come to me. Where he will be staying.
At the moment quite rightly he is a little reserved and stressy. After everything he has been through this year I know he will need time to adjust and feel safe and I intend to give him time to do that.
I have not ridden him yet, he came with a saddle and bridle and apparently he is amazing to hack and can be hacked on the buckle which is fab and having walked him in hand I know he is very confident and happy hacking.

He came with a bridle, I bought his new saddle from his adopters.
I tried his saddle on him yesterday as I needed to measure for a girth, I borrowed a correct length girth and tried it on him and he kept kicking out at the girth, going to try again next week, hopefully he was just having an unsettled day (he seemed to be).
He also has an anatomical type bridle with flash noseband but he seemed to hate me doing it up, again he might just be a bit stressy and not settled enough. I'd love to put him in a bit less bridle but I'm not sure whether I should just go for it straight away and start as we mean to go on or wait until he's settled in. The same with riding, I want to ride him but I feel like he needs a bit more time to settle and get to know me and his new life but equally I don't want to leave it so long that he's a nightmare to ride, tack up etc.
I think maybe I'm overthinking things and worrying too much?

Any advice welcome!

 

[SpeedyPony]

I would have the saddle fitted by a qualified fitter before you start any work-the saddle may well have fitted before, but they can change shape very quickly.
As for the bridle- I'd be inclined to try him with what he was used to first and see how he is, then you will have an idea of what might suit better (if anything needs changing). If he seems fussy about the flash strap you can always take it off- they aren't the best solution and are often overtightened, so it is possible he's got fed up with it.

 

[shellebage]

I would have the saddle fitted by a qualified fitter before you start any work-the saddle may well have fitted before, but they can change shape very quickly.
As for the bridle- I'd be inclined to try him with what he was used to first and see how he is, then you will have an idea of what might suit better (if anything needs changing). If he seems fussy about the flash strap you can always take it off- they aren't the best solution and are often overtightened, so it is possible he's got fed up with it.

Apparently the saddle was fitted to him just recently, was professionally fitted by a saddle fitter and fits him like a glove. Unfortunately the bridle is an anatomical type with a flash that can't be detached. I've walked him out in hand with his bridle on and he did settle into it perfectly fine but I just like the idea of ditching the bit especially when he is such a chilled hack.
Just unsure as to whether to let him settle for a few months first using his original bridle set up or switch straight away.

 

[SpeedyPony]

Apparently the saddle was fitted to him just recently, was professionally fitted by a saddle fitter and fits him like a glove. Unfortunately the bridle is an anatomical type with a flash that can't be detached. I've walked him out in hand with his bridle on and he did settle into it perfectly fine but I just like the idea of ditching the bit especially when he is such a chilled hack.
Just unsure as to whether to let him settle for a few months first using his original bridle set up or switch straight away.

I'd be inclined to let him settle, once you've been riding a little while you'll both have a better feel for each other and it's not too much change all at once. Good luck with him!

 

[poiuytrewq]

I was talking to someone only this week who recommended to me a charity that rehomed trotters from Malta.
Must be the same place surely? They are supposed to be very good and very helpful for back up so you could maybe run any issues past them?

 

[shellebage]

I'd be inclined to let him settle, once you've been riding a little while you'll both have a better feel for each other and it's not too much change all at once. Good luck with him!

I was talking to someone only this week who recommended to me a charity that rehomed trotters from Malta.
Must be the same place surely? They are supposed to be very good and very helpful for back up so you could maybe run any issues past them?

Yeah they are fab but I don't want to bombard them with questions that aren't overly important if that makes sense. It's not a huge issue just hoping to see what others might do is all. They are happy that I am just letting him settle in and taking things at our own pace. I will certainly contact them if I feel that it's something really important. I think I'll keep his tack as it is for now and then look at swapping him to bitless once I know him a little better maybe.

 

[misst]

Regarding the saddle - there are saddle fitters and saddle fitters if you get my drift. I'd always get it checked by someone I knew and trusted. If it was fitted to him in the other home and he has not been worked recently he may well have changed shape. The longer he is out of work the more muscle he will likely use so the saddle may need refitting before you start riding.

 

[tda]

I am rather cynical, sorry, but I would start from scratch, new saddle fitter, and possibly another bridle. Anything could have happened in those 5 months. You'd like to hope everything was ok, but you can't be sure.
Objection to girthing is a classic ulcer symptom isn't it?

 

[shellebage]

I am rather cynical, sorry, but I would start from scratch, new saddle fitter, and possibly another bridle. Anything could have happened in those 5 months. You'd like to hope everything was ok, but you can't be sure.
Objection to girthing is a classic ulcer symptom isn't it?

Yeah it can be, I did wonder if the stress of moving again may have caused an ulcer. Will try him again this week and if he's still girthy I'll suspect an ulcer.

 

[DSB]

Are you certain that he has been broken in"to saddle"?

 

[shellebage]

Yeah it can be, I did wonder if the stress of moving again may have caused an ulcer. Will try him again this week and if he's still girthy I'll suspect an ulcer.

Yes he is, was ridden and harness raced. Was being ridden regularly in his old home by a 14yr old and adult and was as good as gold apparently

 

[sbloom]

I saw a saddle recently that "fitted like a glove" - it fitted so closely that it didn't allow the horse to lift its back or flex its ribcage much at all. The horse is moving entirely differently in the saddle that looked a bit wide/low in front with correct shimming, ie not just lifting the front but equalising the pressure down the tree points and back beyond the stirrup bars.

I think we have all these ideas about cracking on, keeping a new horse in a routine, whereas so often they need time, a lot more than we think, and to develop a connection to place, the new people, and any other horses.