New horse tanking off with me

1

[172742]

New User
Joined
2 November 2024
Messages
0
Visit site
Hi all, I have recently purchased a lovely 4yo horse, she is super sweet and calm on the ground, I’ve taken her out for in hand hacks and done loads of groundwork and she is so good until we get to riding. Whenever I ask for a trot with a lightest leg aid she just shoots off with me in an uncontrollable canter, I’ve had to do a one rein stop multiple times, the first time she done it I put it down to freshness and babiness and didn’t think too much of it (this was Monday) yesterday I thought I’d lunge her first before getting on, make sure she listens to my voice aids etc lunged her and was no issue with tack on, no craziness to come out, listening to my voice. I got on and walking is absolutely fine she stops and listens to me and then again I asked for trot on a circle so she couldn’t gain too much momentum and she shoots off, I had to turn her into the fence to get her to stop. She is otherwise such a sweet lovely horse and this just seems so out of character for her temperament! I spoke to the lady I got her from and apparently this is not behaviour she has shown before. I’m getting my saddle looked over tomorrow incase this is pinching anywhere and have booked a lesson with my instructor too, she is getting her back and teeth done over the next couple of weeks and if the behaviour still shows will go down a vet route, I’m also going to ask a more experienced friend to hop on if she feels comfortable too and see if it’s a rider issue. I’m just at a bit of a loss as to what could be causing this, any suggestions? She’s so placid and chill otherwise with the sweetest temperament but I don’t even want to ride her out the school currently incase she does it hacking! She is on minimal hard feed and out 24/7
 
seriously festive equine said:
Did you get her vetted? It sounds like potentially stomach ulcers, or saddle issues. Did she get a new saddle when you brought her?
Click to expand...
Yes nothing significant found on 5 stage vetting, I was concerned re ulcers but she shows no other symptoms. Yes I did, YO who done a saddle fitting course looked it over and said it fit well when it arrived Friday last week but I booked a saddle fitter too for tomorrow, couldn’t get any sooner due to availability!
 
or if shes only recently broken in she may not understand the trot aids properly and may just associate it with going faster.

Also look for:
Girth Galls and swollen areas where we squeeze. One of my mares got a insect bite in that area which made her ultra sensitive.
 
seriously festive equine said:
Utterly puzzling! No back problems then!!! KS? Probs a last resort.
I presume your not scared of her or anxious when asking for trot
Click to expand...
She showed no reaction on palpitation, I wasn’t on Monday, after she done it a couple of times we did then manage to get just some trot on both reins. Yesterday I was a little more nervous and held the martingale, she done it again and I decided to not try to trot anymore and wait until I have someone on the ground to assist me
seriously festive equine said:
or if shes only recently broken in she may not understand the trot aids properly and may just associate it with going faster.

Also look for:
Girth Galls and swollen areas where we squeeze. One of my mares got a insect bite in that area which made her ultra sensitive.
Click to expand...
I’m not sure when she was broken in, imported from IE end of March, she was then on schooling livery and then on sales, she wasn’t like this at the viewing
 
it sounds like she doesn't understand what the leg means. I'd go back a little bit for now and work on teaching her from your voice with long reining to help her feel confident in going forward at your pace and lungeing just for general voice commands and then transfer it back to under saddle. I'd also get someone in the assist to see if it's your actual aids are confusing or unbalancing her or a lack of understanding on her part. I'd recommend that asap so neither of you lose further confidence.
 
Maybe she genuinely just needs to get it out her system. If its hot where you are the added heat stress and new yard, importing, moving etc. could be overwhelming her and she just needs consistency. I would get a few lessons if you are happy that It isnt a health issue, and then get a great encouraging instructor!
 
[deleted user] said:
I did consider this but I will defo hit the deck if she does it bareback 🤣
Click to expand...
Id go in walk for a bit give her a chance to get used to the feeling the trot a few strides into the fence.

Also worth riding without a numnah and seeing what marks the saddle is leaving and where.

Or just borrow and try another saddle?
 
I was often run away with when learning to ride. It surely taught me to canter long distance. But I realised it was me, not the horse when I was run away with by a trail riding horse when I was visiting Scotland. A wise RI friend suggested that because I relaxed, (and I had been taught to relax in order not to fall off in canter) my legs were brushing the side of the horse every step and the horse was interpreting that as a leg aid to speed ahead.
She suggested I close my legs against the side of the horse. That stopped them rubbing on the horse and at the same time it restricted the swing of the barrel of the horse.

This is somethng newish riders dont do because we are taught to touch the horse with our legs to keep the horse moving forward. On the other hand pressing your legs on the horse and holding them there, may slow the horse down
 
From what you’ve described, it sounds like that first time she shot off might have just been a miscommunication, especially with her being green and maybe a bit fresh. But if she scared herself in that moment (and possibly picked up on the rider’s panic), it could’ve really stuck with her, especially if you had to bring her back to you quite abruptly. So now when you ask for trot, she’s anticipating something stressful and reacting. I had one that was a similar, was going very sweetly in walk/trot - first time I asked for canter he shot off like he was out of the start gates, I panicked a bit and probably made the situation a lot worse. He then used to panic every time I asked for canter, and I panicked, and it was a vicious circle! What worked for me was taking it right back to basics and using my voice a lot. We did lots of walk/halt transitions, giving lots of praise and even a treat from my pocket when he responded, until I could get a reaction just from using my seat and voice. Then I moved on to trot/walk using the same process, until he was relaxed and coming down a transition on a loose rein just using my voice and weight aids. When I then reintroduced the canter, I totally ignored him rushing off and just let him move forward for a few laps in a forward seat, scratching his withers and talking to him until he stopped panicking about being unbalanced and started to steady himself, then used my voice and seat again to 'woah' him back to trot, and then walk and reward again. It was only when he was completely relaxed about coming back to me and the anxiety had gone that I started to go back to some 'formal' training and re-introduced the contact and asking for downward transitions properly.
 
It sounds like you're doing all the right things.

It's interesting that she's doing this with a different saddle. Although it fits, she just might not like it and perhaps when you shift your weight to prepare for a trot, she feels something she doesn't like. Have you trotted her on the lunge under saddle without a rider? Is there another saddle you can try? Maybe if you can find one that's a little wider just to pad it out loads and see if it's the same reaction. Obviously not a permanent fix but it might give you an idea if it's that.

I and I'm sure many others have had saddles that fit but our horses just haven't liked how they feel! Is there any way you could borrow her previous saddle to trial how she goes? Would just be a good thing to rule out as even if your saddle fitter approves it, it doesn't mean your horse does.

I'm not so sure it's miscommunication or balance because otherwise, why wouldn't she stop without you having to one rein it or turn into a fence but I don't know.
 
Did you ride her before you bought her?
Have you ridden many youngsters before?

I'd be getting a saddle check and then paying a young horse specialist to come and ride her a few times and then transition you back on board afterwards with their help.
 
GrassChop said:
It sounds like you're doing all the right things.

It's interesting that she's doing this with a different saddle. Although it fits, she just might not like it and perhaps when you shift your weight to prepare for a trot, she feels something she doesn't like. Have you trotted her on the lunge under saddle without a rider? Is there another saddle you can try? Maybe if you can find one that's a little wider just to pad it out loads and see if it's the same reaction. Obviously not a permanent fix but it might give you an idea if it's that.

I and I'm sure many others have had saddles that fit but our horses just haven't liked how they feel! Is there any way you could borrow her previous saddle to trial how she goes? Would just be a good thing to rule out as even if your saddle fitter approves it, it doesn't mean your horse does.

I'm not so sure it's miscommunication or balance because otherwise, why wouldn't she stop without you having to one rein it or turn into a fence but I don't know.
Click to expand...
Yep under lunge without a rider but saddle on is no issue, trot and canter is fine on the lunge, she did the tiniest bunny hop into canter yesterday the first time on lunge and then nothing! The trigger seems to be weight under saddle asked to trot, walking is no issue! There may be another one of my YO I could borrow, I’ll speak to her. I wouldn’t be able to borrow the saddle from where I got her from sadly as I purchased her from a dealer, she’s probably been used to being ridden in jump saddles but I have a GP
 
GrassChop said:
I'm not so sure it's miscommunication or balance because otherwise, why wouldn't she stop without you having to one rein it or turn into a fence but I don't know.
Click to expand...

Because when they're unbalanced, that feeling can really quickly turn into panic. With mine, he was really unbalanced in the canter and this panicked him as he'd found himself cantering around, then realise he couldn’t balance himself and would start to panic because he didn’t know how to fix it. His reaction was to rush and run away, to try and get out of the situation. The more I tried to bring him back to me, the more pressure I was adding to the situation, which just gave him more to run away from. He was already stressed, and suddenly I was giving him more signals he didn’t understand. Staying balanced in a steady trot or canter is actually one of the hardest things for any horse to do physically, it’s much easier for them to just rush forward. And when they’re being told “go” but then feel the rider trying to stop them, the more 'trapped' and confused they can feel.
 
millitiger said:
Did you ride her before you bought her?
Have you ridden many youngsters before?

I'd be getting a saddle check and then paying a young horse specialist to come and ride her a few times and then transition you back on board afterwards with their help.
Click to expand...
Yes I did and she was absolutely fine in viewing! I’ve ridden 5yo not many 4yo, my instructor has dealt with a lot of youngsters so will see what she thinks Friday, unfortunately she doesn’t really get on other people’s horses! My YO has backed and produced many youngsters so I’ll ask her for some support too
 
frankieduck said:
Because when they're unbalanced, that feeling can really quickly turn into panic. With mine, he was really unbalanced in the canter and this panicked him as he'd found himself cantering around, then realise he couldn’t balance himself and would start to panic because he didn’t know how to fix it. His reaction was to rush and run away, to try and get out of the situation. The more I tried to bring him back to me, the more pressure I was adding to the situation, which just gave him more to run away from. He was already stressed, and suddenly I was giving him more signals he didn’t understand. Staying balanced in a steady trot or canter is actually one of the hardest things for any horse to do physically, it’s much easier for them to just rush forward. And when they’re being told “go” but then feel the rider trying to stop them, the more 'trapped' and confused they can feel.
Click to expand...
Maybe I just need to let her canter it out and see if she settles herself
 
jhoward said:
Id go in walk for a bit give her a chance to get used to the feeling the trot a few strides into the fence.

Also worth riding without a numnah and seeing what marks the saddle is leaving and where.

Or just borrow and try another saddle?
Click to expand...

A small % of horses will turn themselves inside out with no numnah under the saddle, not worth the risk, and the marks are not absolutely not definitive, whether dirt or sweat.
 
[deleted user] said:
Maybe I just need to let her canter it out and see if she settles herself
Click to expand...
Hard to say. This one had been completely ruined by being razzed around on the forehand in stronger and stronger bits to no real effect. I had a lot of work to undo all the anxiety he had about cantering as anticipating being hauled on the mouth and asked to do something he wasn't physically or mentally able to comprehend. If I was dealing with a green 4yo I'd be more tempted to take it right back to basics and stop those bad habits ever forming.
 
sbloom said:
A small % of horses will turn themselves inside out with no numnah under the saddle, not worth the risk, and the marks are not absolutely not definitive, whether dirt or sweat.
Click to expand...
Agreed but when working on eliminating things these are the easiest most cost effective ways

To me it sounds like the saddle is giving her a ouch at the start of trot which would likely be the saddle pinching. Girth also a possibility.

Op is also have a good feeling around her withers and along her spine see if she has any tender spots she reacts too
 
frankieduck said:
Hard to say. This one had been completely ruined by being razzed around on the forehand in stronger and stronger bits to no real effect. I had a lot of work to undo all the anxiety he had about cantering as anticipating being hauled on the mouth and asked to do something he wasn't physically or mentally able to comprehend. If I was dealing with a green 4yo I'd be more tempted to take it right back to basics and stop those bad habits ever forming.
Click to expand...
I have a lesson with my instructor tomorrow and spoke to her today, going to do some groundwork and get her to understand leg pressure doesn’t mean just go quicker, I’m hoping it’s more a saddle issue and needs adjusting and will be okay 🙏🏻
 
jhoward said:
Agreed but when working on eliminating things these are the easiest most cost effective ways

To me it sounds like the saddle is giving her a ouch at the start of trot which would likely be the saddle pinching. Girth also a possibility.

Op is also have a good feeling around her withers and along her spine see if she has any tender spots she reacts too
Click to expand...
Will do this later, I have an anti chafe girth. I’m really hoping the saddle fitting tomorrow will fix our issue but trying not to put all my eggs in one basket!
 
[deleted user] said:
Will do this later, I have an anti chafe girth. I’m really hoping the saddle fitting tomorrow will fix our issue but trying not to put all my eggs in one basket!
Click to expand...
It could be as simple as a girth pinching no offence to you but so many people put saddles to far forward. Girth sits right behind front legs, horse moves it gives a tiny pinch and horse goes ouch.
But as it's only happening with you on I'd still think saddle.

Will your instructor ride her first? Try not to let your confidence take a knocking.
 
jhoward said:
Agreed but when working on eliminating things these are the easiest most cost effective ways
Click to expand...

Not if the horse turns itself out and injures either itself or the rider (or even damages the saddle!)...or the misleading results of sweat or dirt mean you keep using a saddle that doesn't fit or discard one that does.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top