Not clicking with new horse

molly7886

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It'll happen. I was quite indifferent to my current horse when I first got him. He did the job but I didn't feel he had a personality like my previous one. Now I wouldn't part with him for all the tea in China.
 

Pinkvboots

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A month is no time at all my new horse has been with me a year in November, I had some days I though my god what have a done I just had no real desire to ride much and did not enjoy his company, I have another gelding I have had for years and I lost my mare this summer both horses I could do just about anything with and was very attached, so getting another has been hard but I am really starting to enjoy him now and starting to love him like the others even though he is a tit to hack out I am getting used to him.
 

SatansLittleHelper

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I really feel for you, it's hard work to get used to a new horse.
I've had the 18 months from hell...I lost two dogs last year...one of which was a once in a lifetime dog, lost a pet parrot and 2 house rabbits. Then this year my little daughter died in April and I had to sell the horse that owned my heart.
I've just brought home a new horse which is nothing like anything I've had before, he is only 15.2 and a really gypsy cob type. I am definitely in "like" with him already...love will take longer. And I'm trying not to force a bond just because I'm desperate for there to be one.
Your horse sounds lovely and I think 6 months down the line you will be posting telling us how fab he is. Let it come to you xx
 

applecart14

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I had this with my present horse and I can honestly say it took me a good four years to gell with him.

It wasn't his fault, just that I thought the world of my previous horse Rommy who I lost to wobblers and didn't feel like Bailey lived up to Rommys repuatation. I sort of resented him in a way, which looking back strikes me as crazy but I'd had a very traumatic time with Rommy's diagnosis and eventual death (pts with Grade 3/4 Wobblers). I'd been with him when he was diagnosed and pts and it was the first horse I'd lost that I'd actually been around minutes before death and it affected me a lot.

The other three I'd lost within a period of five years, and although I loved them all dearly Rommy was special to me, I did my first big comp on him, my first riding holiday, my first Wales & West, my first elementary dressage test and loved the very bones of him.

It transpired that the reason I didn't gell with Bailey was that I didn't trust myself not to lose him too, and I didn't want to get too 'involved' with him as I was scared of losing him, like I had the three before him. I eventually had the Reiki/horsewhisperer out who told me he would live until 21 years of age (which is freaking me out now as he is now 18!).

I think it was this reassurance when he was ten years of age that finally sent me on my way, and I was happy that I could love him without fear of losing him.
 

catembi

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Not sure if this is relevant to you - my ex-racer was very withdrawn when I got him, so it was hard to get to know him as he appeared to have no interest in getting to know me. It's been 4 to 5 years now, & he has slowly but surely come out of his shell. He is never going to be the sort to be all over you, but I now recognise the more subtle clues, & he will now neigh for me if he wants me.

T x
 

Annagain

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I spent the first 2 1/2 years with my boy wondering if I'd done the right thing. Before him I'd had my old boy for 14 years since we were both 13. I was constantly comparing my new one unfavourably to my new one and to be honest, I resented him for not being my old boy and probably wasn't very fair to him. It wasn't his fault my old boy had died, or that he had found his way to me after that, but I blamed him for it anyway. Overnight my old boy had become a saint (he really wasn't!) and no horse was going to live up to him in my eyes.

I've now had him 10 years and I wouldn't change him for the world. I know I'll probably feel the same with a new one again when the time comes. As it turns out my current boy isn't really what I wanted or thought he would be because foot problems have meant he's not jumped for 7 years but in other ways he is more than I could ever have hoped for.

Give it time and you'll get there. Good luck.
 
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Holzdweaver

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When i lost my old mare i got an ex racer on loan as he needed some work doing with him and i needed something to occupy my mind as i was drowning in grief. He reared, napped badly, bucked, bit, kicked and was a total pig on the ground. He didnt seem to have a personality, he was like a machine but a manic one. He didnt want to know me, that was fine. Iv never known a horse who seemed to hate the world as much as him. He suited me down to the ground and was just what i needed as i hated the world as much as he did.

I didnt really like him to be honest, i didnt have the capacity to, i missed my old girl too much but after a while we had a sort of truce. He started to enjoy his work. Ears pricked at the sight of his saddle. His willingness to come into the yard away from his mates. The odd lip twitch while being groomed. I found his love, which was jumping and so we started to work as a team. I started to enjoy riding again. Slowly he became a different horse and i became a different person. It took me a long time to love him but love him i do, i couldnt imagine not having him now.

Hes now full of personality and sparkle, hes a stressy idiot at times but thats ok, so am i. I know how his mind works, i know him inside out and he knows me. He greets me every morning with a whinny and willingly canters up the field to my call. He snuffles my hair and we explore the world as one, not as two. Hes happy and relaxed, i listen to him and he talks to me. Hes also now mine officially, i bought him for £1 as his old owner couldnt imagine him being with anyone else. He makes me smile everyday and im proud that hes my boy.

Dont get me wrong, sometimes a person and a horse just arent compatible, it might never work, but id give it a bit more time before parting ways, you may never realize just what a partnership you could be missing out on.
 
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