New horse

[Gixxernic]

Hey peeps, got a new horse 6 weeks ago who has settled in nicely, he is an ex racehorse and the only problem till yesterday so far is he wont hack alone, im working on this though .. But yesterday i was hackin out with my friend, we turned a corner and two other horses appeared going in the same direction, my horse went totally nuts, rearing, spinning, trying to bronc , this is unlike him to behave like that as we ride really well in the school and we have hacked out with 3 other horses before, im wondering whether it was just because the other two who were mares turned up? Im hoping it is something he will grow out of because i nearly ended up on the bonnet of a car, i had to emergency dismount! I know I shouldn't have but we were spinning and bunny hopping for 10 minutes and he would not go forward.. Any ideas? 😁 thanks

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Far better to dismount, if you can control the horse from the ground, than to end up on the bonnet of a car, imo.
If he has raced perhaps he has never been taught to ignore horses in front of him, although actually I would have expected him to be used to working with just one or two horses while the others are around .

 

[Gixxernic]

I couldn't understand it, he was doing common rides with hundreds of horses before i got him! Seems strange, just hope it never happens again

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

It might be a blip, don't give him too much grub, cut out molasses, cereals, licks, treats , alfa. Use a neckstrap and a running martingale if you are worried. Link a finger in the strap.
My boy did this once when we met somone unexpectedly round a corner I don't recal, anything it happened so quickly, but I had to pick a lot of mud out of my rear hat vents.
Its not because they were mares, were they coloured with a lot of white?

 

[Gixxernic]

No one was a grey mare , the other a bay and i was already riding with a 16.2 liver chestnut, im hoping it was a blip. He only gets a non heating mix and a spillers cool fibre and i put a calmer in it .. ����

And he already has a martingale as well its just he kept going up then trying to get his head between his legs to bronc . ;(

 

[Exploding Chestnuts]

No one was a grey mare , the other a bay and i was already riding with a 16.2 liver chestnut, im hoping it was a blip. He only gets a non heating mix and a spillers cool fibre and i put a calmer in it .. ����

And he already has a martingale as well its just he kept going up then trying to get his head between his legs to bronc . ;(

Kick on, maybe slap him with a stick on the neck for even a minor misdemeanor, so he knows you have it. Watch his ears and don't fall asleep.
Check his tack

 

[Barnacle]

I couldn't understand it, he was doing common rides with hundreds of horses before i got him! Seems strange, just hope it never happens again

How frequently was he being worked before and at what pace? Perhaps you aren't matching up to his previous home and he is building up a lot of energy. I'd also check his tack, teeth, feet etc but given this was evidently triggered by something specific, it's unlikely to be a physical cause.

I would take him out with friends and get the friends to lead the way at varying speeds and distances, with him only occasionally overtaking in a relaxed walk or trot. See how he does...

 

[Gixxernic]

I tried the kicking on, it made him go up, and smacking him with a stick made hi go up higher!

 

[wkiwi]

Turn in tight circle if it happens again (kicking if need be) - you will find that one way will be easier to turn than the other. This will help prevent rearing and bucking (can avoid both if you anticipate it).

Agree with others though that I would treat it as a blip. Who knows what they think they see some times. I had an eventer who was many years beyond being a racehorse (and had had a showjumping career in between). He was bold as a lion and scared of nothing. We had hacked out with a miniature pony and cart numerous times and he had grazed with miniatures too then one day we came round a corner and there was a pony and cart (not even very close) that he must have seen go past his paddock umpteen times over the years - for some reason that day he thought it was the Devil himself risen up from the ground to get him. I swear that he just about turned him inside out trying to get away from it.

To this day I don't know what he thought he saw, but it wasn't the same thing I did!!

I had another horse that had three day evented at Novice level, and again was brave as a lion. He virtually never shied (would go past kites/wind yachts/ city traffic/ etc.) but one day we were out on a strange track and he refused to approach a log about a foot high (which i thought we would just amble over). Once I got off and led him (eventually) up to it he sort of did a big sigh and went back to normal. Again, no idea what he 'saw' but it never happened again.

 

[Gixxernic]

Im hoping so as ive ridden in the school since and he was fine ���� heres hoping, i know what you meant about thinking ut was the devil itself lol.. These two other horses are from my yard but are from the other side so whether he just felt insecure or what i dont know, everything is still quite new just now so will see how it goes