Noobie needs help

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Pandora198203

New User
Joined
6 November 2007
Messages
4
Location
Scotland
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Heyas, I'm new to the site and I'm having a few issues, last Christmas i purchased a horse ive known from afar for many years,as his owner had passed. He is an IDxTB and 15-16 years old, but i dont feel this is an issue, also i'm tall and have a whack of experience with larger lads, so i feel i'm not over horsed by him. Anyways, little did i know that his previous owner, not only beat him, but left him stabled for days on end alone, the longest period i believe was 7days. I didnt know any of this at the time of purchase and it has only recently come to light. Of course alarm bells went off after a matter of hours and realising how nervy and head shy he was, especially when stabled, some including my mother (muchos experience with horses herself) said i should sell him on and be done, but no, i persevered with him. Of course the first day i decided to ride him and as i was pullling the headband over his ears he threw his head up catching my jaw, fracturing it in 3 places, removing 2 teeth and sending one of said teeth out through my chin really should of opened my eyes. But again, i persevered, more than anything i feel sorry for him, and want what's best, i know in my heart he'll come right with a lot of TLC. I'm adding just a couple of issues now, in the hope someone out there has had a similar experience and can offer some advice.
Firstly, when schooled he goes great for the first 10 minutes or so then starts bucking, rearing and basically trying to get me in the dirt. (hasnt happened yet, i have a velcro bum) I have had every test known to man done on him, replaced his tack, with a specialised fitting, but again, no help, it continues. My vet, farrier, equine dentist are starting to get rather annoyed with me i think... i harrass them a heck of a lot...
next on the list, Stabling him, we live in scotland, and it's dayamed cold, he has lived out since i took him on, with the help of weatherbeeta et all. But as the winter comes in harshly i would much prefer he was stabled, but he's petrified of being cooped up. I have tried keeping him in with others, and on one occasion set up camp in the tack room, but he freaks, and what you have after an hour is a foamy grey shaking mass of horsey, and trust me, getting in the stable beside him to let him out is a military exercise. again i think ive exhausted all avenues, but i'm hoping to heck someone can help me. I have other less straining issues, like how he enjoys scaring joggers when hacking and attempting to sidestep into there paths. But that I can live with. we're at the point where the others on my yard are quite scared of him, and he really is a friendly big lump, and he does seem very attached to me, the food mobile.
I'll wind this up now, thank you for reading this and you really should have waited for the paper back
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Alrightey then.
1. Behaviour when handled...will improve with time. Wear a hat at all times and be firm.
2. Stable stress - he'd be happier out, if you can do it. Buy him a bigger rug or underrug and throw him out. (My old TB lives out all year, albeit in Glos.)
3. Ridden behaviour - I've had bad experiences with supposedly qualified SMS saddlefitters in the past - try getting a different one to check the fit, or look carefully at his back for any clues.
4. Scaring joggers - cool!
S
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My sisters TB always has awful behavior problems if he is brought in. We turned him out 24/7 with a thick rug on now he is fine
 
good for you for persevering. first, FAL Goliath with integral neck cover. i'd leave one out in the arctic in one of those, tbh. that and an open-sided field shelter = happier horse, i would think. as long as he doesn't get mud fever, i'd keep him like that tbh.
i knew a mare years ago who had been kept in a stable for 2 years, never taken out. not surprisingly, she was very claustrophobic.... to the point of coming out over you the moment you undid the door, whatever you did to try to stop her. if he doesn't do that, point in his favour.
umm, i think i'd bring him in for his feeds, then put him out again. try to get him to associate being in the stable with food and fuss, and put him out before he gets stressy.
re: the bucking etc, i'd try calling his bluff. work him for 7-8 mins, then give him lots of fuss and go for a hack. or put him away. or, do some in hand work instead. don't meet the battle head-on, try to circumvent it if possible. give him 5 mins grazing, then get back on and try another 5 mins. i'd play around and see if there's a way of avoiding the trigger, whatever it is.
just a thought... does he get idle just before starting the bucking etc? saw a video of a horse which worked beautifully for 10 mins and then got stickier and stickier... turned out it had a problem with the blood supply to its hind legs, which meant that when working medium-hard not enough blood was getting there, so it would literally run out of energy for a bit. luckily it had a very sympathetic rider who called the vet rather than beating the hell out of it for being idle... the veins in its hind legs were completely flat after 10 mins trotting or cantering... 5 mins recovery (at halt) and it was fine again. bizarre, one in a million chance, but just a wild thought... get someone to have a look! it could well still have a physical cause.
very very best of luck.
 
LOL, the hat thing is a given these days, I have the scars to prove it
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Back and saddle have been checked more than once, I even had a strange girl come out, chant some stuff and pull his tail once, my attempt at a hollistic approach. The stabling thing is a major issue, I know from past vetirinary records, he had surgery for a strangled gut, and this does worry me, if he does get ill, even foot abscess or similar, then he cannot be kept in. And so far it's a really cold winter, and it's only just begun, today he had on both a heavy duty NZ and a fairly heavy stable quilt, and his poor wee ears were still not that warm. I'm pretty sure it's going to go below zero tonight, and he just seems to run at a low temperature.
 
[ QUOTE ]
good for you for persevering. first, FAL Goliath with integral neck cover. i'd leave one out in the arctic in one of those, tbh. that and an open-sided field shelter = happier horse, i would think. as long as he doesn't get mud fever, i'd keep him like that tbh.
i knew a mare years ago who had been kept in a stable for 2 years, never taken out. not surprisingly, she was very claustrophobic.... to the point of coming out over you the moment you undid the door, whatever you did to try to stop her. if he doesn't do that, point in his favour.
umm, i think i'd bring him in for his feeds, then put him out again. try to get him to associate being in the stable with food and fuss, and put him out before he gets stressy.
re: the bucking etc, i'd try calling his bluff. work him for 7-8 mins, then give him lots of fuss and go for a hack. or put him away. or, do some in hand work instead. don't meet the battle head-on, try to circumvent it if possible. give him 5 mins grazing, then get back on and try another 5 mins. i'd play around and see if there's a way of avoiding the trigger, whatever it is.
just a thought... does he get idle just before starting the bucking etc? saw a video of a horse which worked beautifully for 10 mins and then got stickier and stickier... turned out it had a problem with the blood supply to its hind legs, which meant that when working medium-hard not enough blood was getting there, so it would literally run out of energy for a bit. luckily it had a very sympathetic rider who called the vet rather than beating the hell out of it for being idle... the veins in its hind legs were completely flat after 10 mins trotting or cantering... 5 mins recovery (at halt) and it was fine again. bizarre, one in a million chance, but just a wild thought... get someone to have a look! it could well still have a physical cause.
very very best of luck.

[/ QUOTE ]


Thanks for the input, to everyone of course, and I will look into this, he doesnt get idle at all, in fact i'd most likely say he was like a coiled spring, i can feel his tension, i talk away to him constanty through schooling, and tend to get shouted at for being overly calm, one of my instructors ( i like to get a lesson weekly, every little helps heh) has done so on more than one occasion as i tend to relax my contact a lil too much, well, we have some nice little chats, oddly he never answers back ;p wouldnt want things like me actualy managing to get around the menage withought a bucking session to get in the way.
 
i think you're definitely going along the right lines, sounds like a horse who won't be able to cope with pressure for a long time.
if anyone shouted at me for being overly calm with such a difficult horse, i think i'd find a new instructor!
as pat parelli says, "all horses are natural cowards and natural pessimists"... i'm sorry to say that this horse of yours has every reason in the world to be an even bigger pessimist than most, and it will take oodles of time and patience to convince him otherwise, but it is possible.
have you thought about clicker training? it is fun, undemanding, makes them think proactively (not "i must obey" but "what do i have to do to get the click and the treat?") i've done a little bit of it and it's fun and positive for you both, even if all you teach is "touch the cone to get a treat" and then keep moving the cone around the stable for 5 mins. just an idea.
 
Good grief you are very brave! I think the tooth coming out of my chin bit would have been the decider for me.

I would definitely recommend trying to keep him out though. My tb lived out 24/7 (Northumberland and pretty chilly), she wore a good thick turnout and neck cover and I added under rugs as necessary. You could even try those funny looking lycra things for an extra layer. So long as he has shelter and you keep him well fed and rugged he won't come to any harm, it's a lot better than having a seriously stressed out horse and may help with his work. I know what you mean about emergency stabling though - is there a barn or covered yard or anything which you could use at a push?

Good luck and keep us posted!
 
Hi,

Not sure I can be much help, but I would agree with if possible keep him living out and just bring him in to stable for a few minutes each day, with other horses around and feed him, and give him loads of fuss then turn him out again!

As for the ridden stuff I have a nightmare horse, he was gonna be pts 'cos he is a nightmare, but I am a sucker for a sob story and a pretty face, with him he works nicely then after about 10 mins he gets like a coiled spring and explodes in to bucking, bronking rearing anything!!! I have found the best way to deal with this is at first warning sign laugh, and put him in to canter and charge him round for about 5 mins, will then work lovely again!! He is a funny b*gger!!! I have been down, vet, farrier, chiro, dentist, physio, everything, but laughing at him and giving him a good charge about are the only things that work....hitting him is deffo not an option!!!!! Just try not to worry or get tense yourself, I know easier said than done! Also avoid doing repetitive things, harvey worries cos he is clever, but that is also why he gets bored! Make it fun, pony games are also great they keep them thinking, doing something different and teach responsiveness, bend etc etc (I am just a big kid really!!)

Good luck, I hope things work out and he does not end up injuring you again! I have had Harvey for 4 1/2 years now, he use to make me cry on a daily basis, I could not do anything with him, then after about 1 1/2 years something clicked and I love him to pieces and will stay with me til the end!!!
 
My rescue pony had some really bad ridden/handling problems when I first got her and used to make me cry as I didn't know how to help her get better, there were many times when I started to listen to other people and thought about returning to the sanctury but eventually after speaking to many different saddlers, vets, RI's etc and putting in a lot of time and effort things got better. There will always be things she cannot do because of her quirks but 10 years on I don't regret perserving with her at all. Keep him out 24/7 if you can and get him used to a stable gradually and do a variety of different things with him to keep his mind occupied.
 
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