Restarting a 5 year old - what's the harm?

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Sandylou

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I bought a rising 6 cob gelding in January 2010 who turned out to be rising 5. He had been brought over from Ireland and taken hunting and to indoor showjumping clinics, doing 1M tracks. When I got him home I worked on chilling him down and giving him time to grow and relax a little - still riding him though.
In September he started to shoot forwards when ridden - some of you may have read my other threads - and so far I've had his back (by the vet and an ET practitioner), teeth and eyes checked and all is OK. I've got a McTimoney person coming on Sunday to give him another check over but hopefully that won't show anything up. It may be a saddle issue so that is the next thing on the list to check. (would be good if someone could reccommend a good saddle fitter in Leicestershire please?)
Anyways, I've been thinking that to build our trust and confidence in each other and to make sure the work is done properly I'll restart him. What do you think? Is this a good idea?

Red wine and cheesy Doritos for your replies! Thanks everyone x :)
 
Well it certainly won't harm him...I think it is a good idea with any age of horse that is having problems, sometimes coming right down to basic's ground work etc..... builds backk up the confidence in you and in themselves, sometimes they have been overfaced as yours may well have done at a young age.

You know him well enough by now.
Do some ground work, bomb proofing and general baby stuff and build it back up to what you'd expect to be doing with him. Nice long summer starts her for getting the perfect relationship with him.

I'm sure it'll pay off in the long run. :D
 
MrsMozart said:
Re-starting sounds like a good idea. Take it steady.

Saddler: try Bridlepath International. Good, knowledgeable, won't try and sell you something you don't need/want. They're near Cambridge, but travel :)
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^^^^^^ this!

Would also second the bombproofing suggestion. If the shooting forward is not pain related reaction, then it sound like a lack of confidence. Building a really good "field of horrors" and leading, then long reining and building up to riding through is a great way to build their (and your) confidence in small stages.

I have done this with my 22 year old spooker. He might be a veteran, but he is going through a bit of a regression at the moment (he's so fit and well!) and he is now much more responsive and brave.
 
I think its a good thing...it will help with your relationship and confidence....I'm currently doing a similar thing....I've found it really useful and as its a new horse we have really started to bond and he is more confident and trusting too.

Good luck!:)
 
just a quick one, Jo Crawford is a fab fitter in Leicester, shes now working for Barnsby Saddlery who are offering Free Saddle Health Checks at the mo!
 
we are doing the same thing with our 17hh WB in my siggy pic. He is rising 6 years old and a lot has been expected of him too young imo as with many dressage bred horses.
Our boy does not enjoy his ridden work so we stopped it and he has had 9 weeks off now to chill out and be a horse. WBs mature late anyway.
We will start with ground work; I have a friend who will work with him in our round pen, as he has trust issues with people. I think going back to the start and building up again can only ever be a positive move. Too many times people don't listen to their horse and it's obvious that you are and your horse will respect you for that.
 
Yep I tend to take on green horses and ponies give them a few months off and restart them my way. Currently got a rising 7yo mare who's been off since October and I'm restarting her even though she'd been out jumping etc with her last owner, completely messed up little horse, very sore in her shoulders etc, so I decided to just let her chill out and the improvement in her already is fantastic. I'm hoping she's going to be like a different horse when I get on.
 
Never any harm in going back a few steps. Horse won't think of it as 'restarting'. And if it is fun/easy for horse so much the better for building trust in you.

Would only say to get the saddle (and anything else remaining on your hit-list) sorted first so that all the new experiences with you are positive.

Good luck!
 
What does your friend thinks happens to the thousands of ex-racers that find new homes........?.........they are all re-started.

There is nothing wrong at all with it.
I suggest you don't listen to her.
Out of interest what are her reasons for thinking it is a bad idea??????
 
Bug2007 said:
What does your friend thinks happens to the thousands of ex-racers that find new homes........?.........they are all re-started.

There is nothing wrong at all with it.
I suggest you don't listen to her.
Out of interest what are her reasons for thinking it is a bad idea??????
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She just thinks that I'll be wasting all the work that's already been done and she thinks that he's only shooting forwards because I'm not riding enough. She soon backed down when I told her that the shooting forwards started when I was riding 5-6 times a week for at least 1 1/2 hours a time. Suppose it could have been him just getting fitter but he has also done it during winter when I've only been riding a couple of times a week??
I also think that she wants to ride him through the summer so she might be trying to put me off taking time with the ground work :D
 
As long as you have realistic expectations then no harm at all. He will be bringing baggage to the party and although you wont be able to erase this, you could certainly make things better.
 
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