Outgrowing (not physically) your horse...

POLLDARK said:
Don't throw out the baby with the bath water, he is a gem. At his age the fitter he gets the more ooomph he will develope which you can increase with a feed designed to give more get up & go. Because he has given you confidence doesn't mean that your next (lively) horse might not badly dent it. Be careful what you wish for , you may get it.
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This is very true be careful what you wish for.....I had a lovely TB/Arab, honest as you like, hacking alone, in company, first or last, snaffle mouthed working elementary & some medium, jumped for fun, xcountry - always safe, load him and take him to the beach sort, not strong to handle from the floor, forward and responsive. Had him since he was 3 and out grew him with my ambition, sold him as a true school master at 12 (he is still in the same home now and I get regular updates) as wanted something that could take me high level dressage....

Got my stunning KWPN imported from Holland, unbroken, paces to die for, floaty suspended medium trot, stunning to look at (you know the sort). Broke him in (that was the easy bit) he was nappy, nasty, bronked without warning for no reason, a bully in the field, really lazy and behind the leg most of the time when I tried to school him, was stupid to hack in company athough quite bold on his own, generally didn't like other horses or people.
Took him to a few shows and came off him, one really bad fall where I sommersaulted 4 times before hitting the deck as he bronked me that high in the air, a month off work and confidence majorly knocked!

To cut a long story, not one to give up I perserved for 4 years!! A lot more then my friends/instructors told me to just incase he had a turning point. At 7 I admitted defeat, realised that I actually hated him and regrudged spending the money each month on livery for him considering he was so much hard work. So I sold him to a dealer for next to nothing as couldn't risk the comeback of a private sale.....I knew it wasn't just me as noone else not even my instructors would get on him, even the dealer came off 4 times when he tried him out.

So the though of riding any horse turned me into a wreck, I had a few years off and then bought myself a nice sensible sturdy type that I regulary show and dressage - I watch the other with their flashing horses napping in the ring and i'm glad I have got him.....the moral is I wish I had kept the honest, tring to please Arab that I grew bored off.......When you are a confident teenager - no one tells you as you get older your confidence naturally dips:D
 
I would give him some tiger oats. Then change the way you do things

He has learn't from you 'nice and steady' Change gear, get on him with a fire in YOUR BELLY talk to him but in an excited kind of way.

As soon as you on him ask for sharp transitions a good walk not a lazy one, a good crisp trot from the off

Do lots of walk to canter really whizzing him up with your voice

It will take a while as he has been used to slow and steady, a gradual build up.

Then in a couple of months if you can't whiz him up, then try a few horses BEFORE you put him up for sale. Bear in mind what you have is rare, so you still want to look for adverts that say confidence giver!!! They will I assure you be a step up from your lad (been there tried them!)
 
My friend had a cob who had built up her confidence on and was starting to feel that the horse was a bit slow for her. She took her hunting a few times and that really livened her up, then about a year later moved to a yard with much more turn out and the horse has become much more upbeat and forward going. I wouldnt give up yet if you have a lovely horse stick with him :) Just think about changing his feed, routine, getting more fit, more turn out, more exciting things.
 
There will definitely be a market for a horse like yours! They're the sort that tend to sell the easiest as most people tend to want something which is steady and safe.

The thing is, as others have said it might be worth sticking with him and getting him fitter, etc as you say he will be capable of doing what you want to do with him. It is so easy to over-horse yourself that it would be a shame if you bought another horse and ended up loosing your confidence again. Have you thought about taking him hunting? My boy has more 'go' in him now then he did when he was 5!! Last winter, he was fully clipped, was extremely fit (possibly one of the fittest on the hunting field!!) and completely full of himself! He is a cob x so not the sort of horse which hots up easily but by changing his routine, getting him fit, etc he is now a much more responsive, forward going ride. :)
 
If P is as great as you say, he'll be sold very quickly. I'd like to find this type of horse for my novice OH.

As others have said, be careful not to overhorse yourself. It's so easily done. There are numerous people just at my yard who have done this and are doing less now with their new horses, than they were on their previous ponies and horses!

I think most horses (as long as it's sound, nor too old) are capable of doing much more than people assume. If you want a hotter horse, get it fitter and feed it accordingly. A fitter horse will then be able to carry itself correctly when asked, and you'll find the schooling will improve and everything else will fall into place.
It's easier to sharpen a plodder up, than it is to calm a naturaly hot horse down. :)
 
Please do not sell your saintly horse yet.... Long story short, I was a bag of nerves after several accidents/falls...to the point of feeling sick even at the thought of riding. I finally found my perfect soul mate, a 17.2 older horse who taught me so much about everything and resored a huge amount of my confidence. Example - went from being terrified at thought of cantering out on hack whilst alone, to doing xc and competing at low level sj - remarkable for me at the time.

My old boy was getting on and with arthritis kicking in I decided to get a second horse that would be a step up. Tried many, eventually purchased a so called saint - before the end of the first week he was napping so badly, rearing in the road, bolting for home etc - all due to insecurity and nothing that a confident rider couldn't have sorted out. BUT within days he had completely undone almost all the confidence that my old boy had given me back over 2 years.

so I guess the lesson is - we may think we are ready to move on but once tested it may feel very different. If you do think you may want to sell, please go and try other horses first before advertising yours. May sound mad and at risk of being a timewaster for people, but you may just end up wanting to keep him forever.
 
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