Really upset - don't know what to do!? Sorry Long and Ramblin'!

I went to ride mine on tuesday, it was windy and the hunt were just going by, I decided to wait for a while and 3 hrs after the hunt had moved on, madam was still on springs and jogging off looking for the hunt like she was a hound after a scent LOL. It could just be this, but I would echo what others have said, cut the hard feed and ask your instructor to show you how to lunge your horse. I feed a low sugar chaff and use a vitamin and mineral supplement, I use a molasses lick but would suggest you stick to a powder supplement due to the sugar content in a molasses lick. For the time being strip all the feed back to fibre vits and minerals and work the horse on the lunge. Hack and School, so that the horse gets variety. I hear that you say that the yard won't school your horse in the week since he/she is too strong and as such he/she doesn't get ridden during the week. Is there any reason why they can't hack or lunge him/her?
 
haven't read all the replies but just thought i'd say what i'm thinking (could be way off the mark though) before i forget!
with working liveries they need to be 100% safe and almost a kick along type horse (not always though), your horse doesn't sound like that at all.
could it be the YO/boss is saying he's worse than he is in the hope that you get rid of him and buy something totally quiet for them to use, in otherwords getting you to fund their business??

if they keep on at you about how excited he is and stuff then it will slowly chip away at your confidence and you will start to believe he's as bad as they say.

i know you said an experienced rider rode him and struggled but is she anything to do with the business? also how experienced is she really?

i agree with the others about the hard feed and lunging, but i'd also ask for an independant person/instructor to come in and ride him/give you a lesson on him. good luck.
 
If my confidence drops, I try to do things where I still feel comfortable. That may mean lunging or longreining first. Getting an instructor (like you have) is also a really good move in my opinion.

These are just ideas/suggestions. It's not wrong to admit that he's not the horse for you, but don't feel you have to give up yet either. Take your time and good luck.[/QUOTE]

This would be my first advice.

From what you say I gather he is new to you too? Maybe this is a contributing factor and he is having to settle in to a new place and new people.

Give him time and give both of you a chance. Good Luck :-)
 
riding_high said:
haven't read all the replies but just thought i'd say what i'm thinking (could be way off the mark though) before i forget!
with working liveries they need to be 100% safe and almost a kick along type horse (not always though), your horse doesn't sound like that at all.
could it be the YO/boss is saying he's worse than he is in the hope that you get rid of him and buy something totally quiet for them to use, in otherwords getting you to fund their business??

if they keep on at you about how excited he is and stuff then it will slowly chip away at your confidence and you will start to believe he's as bad as they say.

i know you said an experienced rider rode him and struggled but is she anything to do with the business? also how experienced is she really?

i agree with the others about the hard feed and lunging, but i'd also ask for an independant person/instructor to come in and ride him/give you a lesson on him. good luck.
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I think you might have a bit of a point about the YO! I love her to bits and she has been invaluable to me over the years, but I think Hugo may not be her ideal for the school. There are a number of experienced ladies that would ride him during the week if he was better (I think if you are a once a week-er, that's what you would expect?).

The girl that rode him is very good and experienced - they put her on any kind of problem, but she does work for the yard. Previously she had told me that Hugo was fine out on the hack with her. Maybe she just said what she thought I wanted to hear?

When we got him he had been on livery with a chap (also called Hugo :)) who had been schooling and hacking him. I had some lessons with him and no way was Hugo (the horse, not the bloke!;)) strong or sharp. He said that he had been living in with just hay! Would that make him quiet? I think it's the sugar beet in the feed that's the problem - when he first arrived he didn't eat it, but I noticed today it was eaten up! So that could explain the change in personality?

He's been with me since the beginning of December. He was here only a few days before the snow arrived, so he'd been ridden once before he was stranded in the field for 2 weeks! I think he went a bit feral - he hadn't lived out in a mixed herd before, but was going well and starting to get into a routine, I thought. Last Sunday's lesson was really good!?!
 
MrsHutt said:
I want to ride weekends and holidays (I'm a teacher), evenings in the summer. That's when everyone would want to ride! I know from when I was looking to share - I could not find my 'opposite' person!
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I've just got to this bit and have to butt in - That's easy to solve. Your opposite person is a mother of a child at primary school. Speaking as one, I ride every week day term time, and have to pretty much grin and bear not to in the holidays.
 
JackyandRosie said:
I've just got to this bit and have to butt in - That's easy to solve. Your opposite person is a mother of a child at primary school. Speaking as one, I ride every week day term time, and have to pretty much grin and bear not to in the holidays.
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I tried to find such a lady! I did have the possibility of sharing with a friend from the yard, who is a mum, but we were looking for very different rides - she wanted a showjumper and I wanted a hack! In the end, the mare that I got on loan would have suited her - but she had loaned her own by then!

I will put some 'feelers' out, though and see if there is a mum around who could ride him regularly in the week.
 
to me (and i could be wrong) its the yard that is the problem- not you or Hugo. He is probably just a bit more lively than an average plod and so looks worse to you- wheras if you were on a more DIY type yard you'd probably see that he's quite normal!
it sounds like he's not getting/been getting enough work- really you want to aim for 5days a week i would say to keep his brain occupied. i would definitely try to find somebody more experienced to ride him regularly- be it the girl at the yard who you can pay or a sharer (its worth advertising him- there are lots of sharers out there)- even the quietest horses will take the mick if they think they can and sometimes just need someone else to put them back in line. goodluck - as others have said a lot of horses are being very silly at the minute :rolleyes:
 
hi, sorry i havent read the thread fully.

is he kept at a riding school and being used in the school for lessons? if thats correct then no wonder he is being a bit daft at the moment. if not then look at what he is being fed first and foremost.
 
If all he's doing is being ridden in the school, do you think he could be just bored out of his mind? He may end up feeling like a prisoner going round and round the exercise yard. At the weekends could you persuade someone on a well-behaved horse to come with you and take him for proper long hacks, 3-4 hours. You don't have to go fast or do anything scary, but I think you might find him a different horse. I feel sorry for you, because I've been there, but I think the answer lies in your hands. that, and little or no hard feed. Good luck
 
I know everyone's said it, but now is really not the best time to judge a horses behavior.

I lunged my sensible cob yesterday. He gets no hard feed, plenty of turnout, and I've owned him two years. He has had some time off with the snow etc, but boy was he full of himself! Anyone watching would have said he was downright dangerous, bucking, galloping round like a lunatic, occasionally stopping to dance about on his hind legs. I found it quite funny, but I wouldn't have done if I'd only owned him a couple of months. That was without any excitement, god knows what he would have done if the hunt had just come past! Fellow liveries report he and the other "sensible" coloured gelding spent all morning tearing about the field playing like yearling colts.

I agree with everyones comments about cutting out the feed etc, but it may simply be that you both need more time. If you can get up to the yard but can't ride, lunging isn't the only useful thing you can do. YO is bound to advise getting rid if she's having trouble with day-to-day stuff like people leading him to and from the field, maybe do some groundwork with him and work on leading and general control - that should help the two of you get to know each other (and remind him which of you controls which)?
 
The intention was for him to be used on the school, but because he's gone like this, she is reluctant to use him. I don't think he'd had many 'goes' yet; first the snow and then he seemed to get too nervous. I have had about 6-8 lessons on him in the school (all seemed to be going well, each one better than the last - he was listening to me and doing what I wanted). The girl at the yard (A) took him for a couple of hacks, first one was fine - she said he was 'looky' - to be expected his first time out. The second one two horses ran for home, but he just looked and said 'where are they going?' ;) She carried on fine.

I think he didn't go out (weather - foul!) or get used in the school this week, except for one lesson when he was too sharp for the rider. So no wonder he was lively for me! I will find out more details today. To be honest, I couldn't really think straight yesterday - I was too upset. My stomach is churning now just thinking about it! Feels like I made 10 steps forward, 100 back. :(
 
tbh honest I can't see what he has done wrong? Apart from yesterday, when he'd been in all week with no exercise or turnout and then the hunt went past..... I really think most horses would have been silly.

He's been very good for you to ride in all your lessons previously, was silly this week in a RS lesson (when he'd been in all week) and didn't take off when the rest of the horses did on a hack. And yet your YO is telling you to get rid of him?! I just don't understand it.

He needs to be somewhere where he is a good routine of turnout and exercise. I wouldn't have been happy if my horse was being cared for by a yard (which he is on working livery) and he was kept in all week and not exercised. Esp if they then moaned he was sharp!
 
The best thing I've found with mine when he feels strong and silly (they all do, sometimes - and usually it feels worse than it actually is) is to canter a lot. If they want to be stupid, let them and kick on until there exhausted and can't be silly any more.

Sounds like he's got lots of pent up energy, from being stabled daily, fed too much and not worked enough. Once these issues have been sorted I'm sure you'll get your horse back.

PS - assume you've had all the usual checked? Back, saddle, teeth?
 
galaxy23 said:
He needs to be somewhere where he is a good routine of turnout and exercise. I wouldn't have been happy if my horse was being cared for by a yard (which he is on working livery) and he was kept in all week and not exercised. Esp if they then moaned he was sharp!
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Ditto. Maybe a good chat with YO is needed.
 
Sounds as though you've got a plan:

Discuss with YO:
- cutting out hard feed (esp sugar beet);
- is he on hay or hage (the latter can fizz them up);
- sort out the exercise - he needs more. Some horses just aren't suited to RS life. Perhaps could they put him on some sort of full livery arrangement for a while until he's sorted and then try him again in the school?

Catch up with the seller, explain the problem and ask for help.

I wouldn't have wanted to ride half of ours after the hunt went past the other day - either ride before or not at all on hunt days.

Don't despair yet. I always have problems with my boy at this time of the year.
 
Sorry you are having a rough time! However, riding a horse that has had time off on the day the hunt has gone past is a really big ask and from what you say he didn't actually do anything wrong other than be nervy. Perhaps you and this horse are not a good match in which case you shouldn't feel bad finding a good home for him, but for both your sakes, whether you decide to keep him or sell him, find a decent rider who can ride him at least 4 times a week (with you riding an extra 1-2 times a week) and then decide.
 
IMHO you have more than one problem here

1st the sugar beet it even the unmolassed stuff sends my friends horse off his head (so could be same for yours)

2nd he is spending too much time in a mixed herd which he is not used to and as you say he is a bit feral. Its a similar problem when they are kept on their own and try to boss owner around

3rd not getting enough exercise

It could also be that the grazing is different and new grazing is low in magnesium which causes some horses to hot up. Personally I feed Mag ox fora a calmer
which is SO SO cheap and lasts me nearly 3 months for £13
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI....057890&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT#ht_2428wt_744

I think you also need to spend time with him on the ground, making sure you are the boss not him.


All these things will take time but they will help

I've been where you are and it is NOT EASY (hugs)

You could also put a flash strap between the D rings on your saddle and just tuck your thumb under it, its amazing how such a little thing can really help your confidence and help you stay on if something goes wrong (saved him falling off several times with my other horse)
 
my mare used to be like this going into the school so i just played her at her own game.


if she was being silly then i would canter her round and round till she'd decided that she'd had enough then i would make her do a few more laps and really push her to do it. she soon learnt that if she was silly in the school, yes she would get to canter round but would then have to do more canter work than she wanted but if she was calm in the school she'd get a pat and a polo!!
 
MrsHutt said:
Went up for a lesson this afternoon, gave Hugo a good brush, a carrot and a cuddle! The Hunt was going by, so all the horses, including Hugo were a bit 'hoppy', also very windy so didn't think anything.

IMO the instructor has let you down. Given that this is a new horse to you and that it was windy, the other horses were excited plus the Hunt going by, they should have had the sense to cancel the lesson.



Took him into the school (went in nicely after being reluctant last week) and was going to walk round waiting for instructor. There was one of the little girls in there poo picking and he jumped a bit when he saw her, then was very 'lively'. I walked round a bit, but he was getting more and more excited and wouldn't walk steadily (little girl left). I felt he would be 'off' given half a chance. Then instructor came in and he went really lively and I couldn't control him. Really scared me - so I got off.:eek:

We got one of the yard girls (probably the best rider there) to come in and ride him a bit, but even she struggled. She said he was very sharp when she took him on a hack (last week) and thought that if anything had popped out at him, he would have been off and she wouldn't have been able to stop him.

Given the situation (new home, wind and Hunt going by) I don't believe that the horse was really naughty. This will not be his 'normal' behaviour at all. Infact this was him at his very worst and you managed to walk him round and were able to 'read' his body language and decide to not carry on. You have done well and did the right thing by putting his and your safety first.


They can't really use him on the school as he is so sharp and strong now, so he's not being ridden between my visits - not that I would take him out now, I am just too scared.

You need to give the horse more time to settle in and you need to build your confidence too. Can you have a couple of lessons on a safe RDA style plod? Maybe share the lesson with an experianced rider riding your boy. Make sure that it is not blowing a gale and that the Hunt aren't out.


I don't know what to do. Last Sunday we had such a good lesson; he started off not listening and being very nosey! But by the end I really thought he was listening to me and did everything I told him.

Well done. You've done it before and you can do it again. I like to think of my mare and I as a team but it took us flipping ages (and a few scary moments) to get there, so don't give up yet. Remember the good lesson and work towards having that again.


It is almost like he has gone wild - he's living in a mixed herd, which he isn't used to. He can't cope with a group lesson and is too strong for the youngest girls to even take to the field.

He needs more time to settle in and to make friends with his new fieldmates, get used to group lessons etc... This is normal. If an adult needs to turn him out, then the yard should sort that out and not let the younger girls take him. There are plenty of horses like this and I don't see it as a problem.


This is not what I bought! What can I do? I have no come-back with the seller, I know. YO says sell him before I become too fond of him (I do love him already - but I know I can't keep a horse I can't ride!)

You have seen him at his worst, he will not be like that all the time. When I first got my mare one instructor told me after she slightly napped at the gate of the school that I should 'get rid, because she's only fit for dog food'. I never used that instructor again and I kept the horse which I've now had for many years and wouldn't part with. With an injury, the snow and ice, I hadn't ridden her (except for a couple of hacks) since the late summer. I got on her this week and took her out with no trouble, I wish that instructor could have seen.



I know to some of you expert riders this won't sound like any sort of a problem, but I have so lost my confidence, I am sitting here crying as I type this and am so disappointed. I thought we were going to have such fun together.

There is a problem but it can be sorted. The horse needs to settle in his new home. He needs a feed/turnout/exercise routine that suits him. You need to build your confidence up and the two of you need to become a team. If you give him a chance but still feel that you don't suit seach other then you could sell him. however the 'good lesson' that you had makes me think that there is a big, big chance that it wont come to that.[/QUOTE]

Good luck and please keep us updated. :)
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Agree with all the above!!!

Firstly - don't panic!! A new horse that is bright is always nerve wracking!!

If you are worried about riding him - do as I did all last winter and lunge everytime before I got on. It could be argued that this will make him fitter but it will also give him the opportunity to get any silliness out of his system before you get on! In fact yesterday as it was so windy I only lunged and not rode! I take this decision if I feel that the weather/hunt etc will make it a non-positive riding experience.

Secondly - you say that you got off. Would your instructor not have got on him and reminded him of his manners and put him in his place? If I don't feel happy riding for whatever reason my instructor will always get on him. If your instructor won't (or doesn't feel able to) then are they the right person to be teaching you anyway??
 
I'd say hang in there. I've had my cob 2 years and he is usually quite laid back, a combination of windy conditions, a change in diet and not much ridden work due to the weather resulted in a bolt, rear and several spins today - only bolted once before, never reared and only spins very occassionally....... they all have their moments and i am just putting his down to experience and planning to re-visit the bird scarer that prompted all the bad behaviour today on Wednesday for another crack at it - hopefully in a more sensible manner this time.
 
It seems to me there are 2 main problems here.1 Is the horse suitable for you. 2 Is he suitable for the riding school.This is an important one actually as if your YO decides he is not suitable she will have to ask you to pay full livery as she won't be able to afford to keep him on working livery rates if she can't use him.Will this be a problem for you? How important is it to you to stay at your current yard or would you not mind a move.It may be that this yard really suits you and you have friends there and want to stay.
I am also suprised that your instructor did not offer to ride the horse for you.Mine would have done and did it a lot when I bought the last horse.Lost my nerve with previous one and she wanted to make sure that this one was properly settled for me and for me to see that he was.It helped a lot.
Other people have offered advice about feed turnout etc. which sound very sensible.Don't take too much notice of the EXPERT riders.I have met a few in my time and mostly they were only expert in their own eyes and possibly in the very small and novice circle in which they mixed.
Give yourself say 3 months.Modify diet, turnout and exercise.Get some help with his manners on the ground.The NH people are marvellous at this and this will make both you and him more confident too.Don't hack out, certainly not on your own until you feel confident.This is a recipe for disaster.Possibly change instructor.Now the weather seems to be improving he should be having a more settled routine anyway.If, at the end of this time he is still not settling think about selling him and getting something else.If he does need lunging everytime before being ridden I would sugest he is not suitable as a first horse.If it does come to this, don't feel a failure.You have to kiss alot of frogs etc.
 
MrsHutt said:
Yes, he's supposed to be working livery - but he's too much for anyone there, apparently. I look after him when I can (not weekdays, term time) I think you could have a good idea there - there might be someone willing to share - trouble is, I want to ride weekends and holidays (I'm a teacher), evenings in the summer. That's when everyone would want to ride! I know from when I was looking to share - I could not find my 'opposite' person! My friend will be able to ride for me in the summer (she has a terrible broken leg at the moment - horse fell on her), but she will want something VERY safe and ploddy (as we thought Hugo was!)
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Mrs H are there any kids at your school that ride and have horsey mums? You might find by spreading the word there's a competent rider who would love to ride while the kids are at school, but can't do so after school/holidays weekends due to the kids.
 
You mention that the youngest girls have trouble turning him out. How old are the youngest girls, and regardless of that, maybe they don't have the right experience to handle him. It's not unreasonable for you to expect that your horse will be handled by people who are experienced enough to deal with him. In fact, if he's learning to muck about with little girls who don't know how to handle him and maybe who are scared of him, then that could cause him to get harder to handle.
I also think that, considering the hunt had been by and the instructor would have been well aware of this, she should have been there right at the start of your lesson to assess Hugo's state of mind. You shouldn't have been left alone to try to ride him in and settle him.
Mustn't judge too much via the internet, but my reaction is to start to be a bit unimpressed by your yard and instructor to be honest.
I suspect that Hugo is the horse you brought, but this all needs to be looked at fairly quickly or he could be changed into the horse you shouldn't keep.
 
I think the fact that he has gone from being fed just hay to being fed haylage AND a hard feed (probably a cheap mix - full of sugar, a cheap chaff - full of sugar, and a mollassed sugar beet - ALSO full of sugar), and he's been kept in, AND the hunt went past, it's no wonder the poor lad went off his rocker!!!

Cut out the hard feed and ideally look at changing from haylage (which can send some loopy) to hay and I'm sure you'll have a completely different beast on your hands... Whilst lunging is great for getting all their beans out, I personally would try to avoid doing it too frequently in case you make him too fit for your everyday requirements. Maybe just lunge him when he's had a day or two off, just to make sure he's not too fresh before you get on.
 
CBFan said:
I think the fact that he has gone from being fed just hay to being fed haylage AND a hard feed (probably a cheap mix - full of sugar, a cheap chaff - full of sugar, and a mollassed sugar beet - ALSO full of sugar), and he's been kept in, AND the hunt went past, it's no wonder the poor lad went off his rocker!!!

Cut out the hard feed and ideally look at changing from haylage (which can send some loopy) to hay and I'm sure you'll have a completely different beast on your hands... Whilst lunging is great for getting all their beans out, I personally would try to avoid doing it too frequently in case you make him too fit for your everyday requirements. Maybe just lunge him when he's had a day or two off, just to make sure he's not too fresh before you get on.
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YO said that too about lunging! I have now asked that he just has the same diet he had in his previous home (hi fi lite - just 2 handfulls, and only hay). I have spoken to his old owner and she reckons it is certainly the feed. So we'll see what happens. He wasn't brought in at all today (so no feed at all, presumably - just hay in the field). I'll talk to the yard girls daily. It is still upsetting me (tears bubbling up again - whimp!:() - but I feel like there might be light at the end of the tunnel, and everyone (except YO! :p) is being really positive and helpful. I can't believe it's irreversible!

A 'horsey' neighbour called round yesterday and we watched the videos of when I went to look at him - he went PERFECT for me! (even in an outliine - not that I understand what I did to get him in it! ;))
 
Oh hun. Don't worry, if I had just bought Len and he was behaving like he is (super spooky, sharp, not listening you know) I'd be worried too. I expect it's a mixture of you not knowing/trusting each other well yet, the wind, the hunt and the fact that they are all very fresh at the moment.
I would question your instructor though, if you trust him/her then fine, but somebody who encouraged me to sell after one bad lesson wouldn't give me much confidence. Why not try replacing his hard feed with some low calorie balancer, so he has everything he needs, but then you can rule out the feed thing. If possible, I'd turn him out 24/7 so he's out and about in the wind spook-busting him self and exercising himself a tad to keep the edge off. It's not too cold at the moment (or at least it isn't where we are) so if he's rugged well he should be okay. Agree lunging every other day would be good too, but be careful not to let him get overly fit :)

Chin up, give it a little while, don't worry yet and don't push yourself. You have all the time in the world, so don't rush into anything, selling him or riding him. Once the weather's better things will be easier, but it is supposed to be fun so if you decide you need something slightly quieter to get your confidence back, don't feel too bad. :)
 
Haven't read all the replies, but having the Hunt go by winds a lot of horses up - my rising 19 cob will scour the horizon for the hunt for up to a fortnight after they've been just within earshot, he is a complete idiot.

If you think he's too full of beans to ride sometimes, then lunge. Put him on the lunge, set him going in trot and keep him going - with his current workload, he should be tired and sweaty within ten minutes - then get on and ride, keep him trotting, doesn't matter if you're only up there for ten minutes, so long as you feel good afterwards.

Good luck and don't give up yet.
 
I'm sorry to hear you have had a rough week, i haven't read all the replies so i apologize if this has been mentioned before, I noticed in your first post you mention carrots and a cuddle, if Hugo does have a sugar intolerance i would also stop feeding him carrots as they are full of sugar
 
Do NOT panic - as has already been said, some have really had the wind up their backsides the past week or so!.

My big mare who is a patent safe hack, so much so that I can put the MOST nervous of people on her to potter about on - even non-riders - was a complete nut to ride over the past week, only settling back into plod mode on Saturday.

She usually goes in a french link & ridden on a loose rein. Last Thurs I whipped back into the yard & put on a running martingale & had ride the ride of this winter so far - she felt like she was an over fit novice eventer & also felt like she was going to explode for the next 45mins - and was the same on Friday! Strong wasn't the word. There is NO way that I would have let anyone else ride her then - she was almost a danger to anything we passed.
She also tried to cart me off when turning her out - it was just like dealing with a very bolshy 2 yr old colt - and NOT funny at all, at least she didn't get away with anything in the end, but I had to draw on a lot of past experience to keep her under control.

Keep at it - it could well be a temp thing. Can you get him lunged for a short while before you get on each time?

Hope its only temp for you - all the best with it all
xx
 
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