Plunging horse......can you stop it?????

[skychick]

A quick introduction.....
Bought horse in march.....he is a bit of a "difficult" horse in the sense, he can napp for england. He has bad mood swings, as in one day he is good in the stable, another he just barges about and mini rears etc. That isnt a problem, the hacking alone has got tonnes better in 3 months and i have got him to calm right down in the stable and be on much more of an even keel.
He will always be a bit spooky....and sharp. Thats not too much of a problem, i have ridden for a long time and am a confident rider, so it doesnt worry me.

However.....we went on a fun ride (or should i say, not so fun ride) on sunday.
He was quiet as a mouse hacking there.
But once we got going he literally leapt and plunged for the whole 12 miles.
I had probably sat to about 50 + of these (not exaggerating either) before finally coming off when he started to do 2 in succession, then he kept doing that.

He is 12 years old. Has had his teeth, back and saddle all checked in the last 3 weeks.

When he does it they are very quick and without alot of warning.
He literally launches himself into the air and lands and sticks his head straight down yanking the reins through your hands. you just about have time to gather reins before he does it again.

I know fun rides are notorious for sending them loopy. So will avoid them in future.

But if he does it in other scenarios......how on earth can i stop it???

 

[AmyMay]

Did he have a good old gallop at the fun ride???

 

[MontyandZoom]

Zoom is a jogger and she does the 'leap and plunge' when we are on sponsored rides. I'm afraid I have no good advice because generally when she starts there is nothing you can do to calm her down.

The only thing I can suggest is taking him out to alot of different places to try and acclimatise him to exciting situations. Zoom has got ALOT better and now only does it for the last half an hour or so of rides when we are nearing the lorry park.

Good luck, I sympathise!

 

[ThePony]

if others were passing (particularly if he wasn't allowed a few blow outs), or if he has done something with others (hunting, another fun ride etc) around before then for some it can totally blow their minds. Has he been calm on fun rides before?

 

[skychick]

On the ride we had to go up one field (tiny one) and then we were into some orchards where we could canter/jump etc. As we turned into there thats when he really started. When i was cantering/jumping he was fine. Really good. Not strong. Stopped when asked, and didnt get silly over the jumps. We couldnt canter all the way because of the ground/other people etc. So unless we were cantering.....that was it....loonatic leaping, plunging bronco horse.
We had tonnes of canters/gallops and nothing settled him.

Even hacking home he was unrideable untill we were about a mile away from the yard and even on the road up to the yard he was doing it.

I tried more contact on one rein we just did the leap and plunge sideways or did it acompanied with a 90 degree turn in the leap and plunge sequence!!

 

[skychick]

if others were passing (particularly if he wasn't allowed a few blow outs), or if he has done something with others (hunting, another fun ride etc) around before then for some it can totally blow their minds. Has he been calm on fun rides before?

Apparently.....although i take a lot of what he has supposidly been good doing with a pinch of salt as only one of his 5 owners has had a well behaved paddy.....the rest of us have had deamon paddy!!

 

[galaxy]

Have you ever heard of the Monty Roberts Buck Stop?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o5O4JHJhiUE

Someone put one on my old horse years ago. He used to buck and bronk like billyo! He stopped after being ridden in that for a short time.

May not be everyone's cup of tea, but if you have completely rules out pain related issues it may be worth considering if you can't ride it out (he clearly didn't give up on your ride!)

 

[skychick]

Lol he certainly didnt give up!! Im not the worlds best rider by any means ....but i can ride well enough and have ridden plenty of naughy/lively/strong/psychotic horses in the past but paddy really did put me through my paces. I tried to ride it out and everyone was shocked at a) how naughty he was and b) how long/well i managed to stick on him. I really did give that my best shot. But by the time i was 2 thirds of the way round i was completely exhausted and couldnt stay on any longer! But after each time he had me off i got back on and made him go forwards.
We have totally exhausted pain now....
I have tried a firm (but not giving him a leathering)aproach.
I have tried a soft approach.
I have tried sitting it out.

So i will definately look into that link as tbh ANYTHING is worth a try.

Thanks alot for sending the link.

 

[jessie7]

I had a clients horse that did exactly the same thing, although it did it when asked to wait or stand and didn't want to. I have just been schooling her loads and asking her to stand for short periods. I think they learn it as an evasion to get away from the contact when they want to go!? She hasn't done it for a couple of months now.

 

[ThePony]

as you are sure it isn't pain, then it does sound like he is having a total paddy (he he, terrible pun I'm sorry!). Since he gave it up when you cantered him it sounds like he just wanted to be able to kick on and had a right tantrum when that wasn't what was happening. Just wondering what bit you use? Usually a softer contact so the horse feels he can go forwards tends to calm them down, along with reasnoble amounts of faster work - even just longer ground covering trots. But if you have a stronger bit in then perhaps he feels held back more so has more of a strop?

 

[skychick]

I had a clients horse that did exactly the same thing, although it did it when asked to wait or stand and didn't want to. I have just been schooling her loads and asking her to stand for short periods. I think they learn it as an evasion to get away from the contact when they want to go!? She hasn't done it for a couple of months now.

He didnt do it whilst waiting at the start of the fun ride, he mini reared and farted about....but nothing out of the ordinary.
When i first got him he was an impatient so and so. When you asked for halt he would turn around and on a hack he would fidget, fidget fidget and turn around back up etc.
Now in the arena i can get him to halt and stand there for ages without moving. On a hack i can get him to stand for quite a while without fidgeting. So i have been working loads on that.
So he has never done it any other time apart from the fun ride.

He is one of those horses that is very very switched on and changes tactics often.
When i first had him he would napp like the best of them. He would stop, spin, mini rear and buck, not a small buck, but a massive powerfull buck that got me off the first time i hacked him out alone as i didnt expect anything like that.
After a while he got bored of the bucks as i could sit to them. So then he decided mini rearing was the thing accompanied with running backwards. He literally runs backwards. But then he realised that that was boring as i could easily stop that.
Then he decided that if you want to napp you stop and turn around, when i try and turn him back.....you stick your head down with such force that it rips the reins right out of my hands whether i knot them or wear the most grippy gloves. This one i havent solved yet.

So then we move onto the leaping and plunging technique, which as i said....he did about 50+ of those before i came off, and i only came off because he learnt that if he did 2 of those back to back i was a gonner.

So i need to find a way of stopping the plunging and had throwing down....

........before i get shown the next tactic of his i need to over come!!

 

[skychick]

as you are sure it isn't pain, then it does sound like he is having a total paddy (he he, terrible pun I'm sorry!). Since he gave it up when you cantered him it sounds like he just wanted to be able to kick on and had a right tantrum when that wasn't what was happening. Just wondering what bit you use? Usually a softer contact so the horse feels he can go forwards tends to calm them down, along with reasnoble amounts of faster work - even just longer ground covering trots. But if you have a stronger bit in then perhaps he feels held back more so has more of a strop?

I ride him in a hanging cheek french link snaffle. And a cavasson noseband.
Although in future he will be going in a flash noseband. He kept opening his mouth alot which meant his bit kept being pulled through his mouth when he was plunging.
I wasnt holding him back, i had a contact but not a tight one, just a normal hacking contact really, so he shouldnt have had anything to fight against.

He wears a running martingale.....he came in one....but tbh doesnt need it, although i left it on for the fun ride. So he isnt really "kitted up" with gadgets etc.