Burnttoast
Well-Known Member
Hope you clever guys in CR don't mind a slightly non-CR post:
I hack a horse for a friend a couple of times a week. He's always been very spooky, very looky, and I don't have a problem with that - doesn't worry me, aside from its potential causes. He's a simple soul who was rejected from at least one pro yard (I can see why) prior to his current ownership. He is just starting on RiteTrak for possible hind gut issues, and recently I would have said that his reactiveness was in general less than before. However, the pressure on him has been upped substantially in his schooling in the last month or two (still very basic, but he is very behind the aids and rather crooked, and persuading him otherwise is a long-haul job) and he is now having regular, and increasing, tantrums - think sitting, piaffing, reversing, grunting and groaning, big bucks in canter when asked to continue. Trainer is keen that rider takes him on. I'm not keen on conflict (would rather hide tbh!) and my own reaction would be to drop the reins, walk away, pick up and start again as though nothing had happened.
This behaviour has now transferred to his hacking. That is, a spook or a scare is followed by a full on tantrum - spin, buck, levade, sit and reverse, head between knees - repeatedly. Again, I can cope (so far!), though my hacking buddy is worried and I don't really want to come off onto a hard grass track miles from home, but it makes me think that either he's simply learning this stuff through prolonged repetition in his lessons or is genuinely under too much pressure and is now overreacting to things that provoked a slightly, but not massively, OTT reaction before. It feels like anger (well, meltdown, actually, I'm not sure he really knows what he's doing. His hacking partner could gallop away and he wouldn't notice), but is provoked, at least hacking out, by his fears - he's fine until then and has never been nappy in any way.
He is consistently improving off the aids and in the rein, between tantrums. Do I have to wait this out? Not sure what to say to his owner apart from reporting what he does. Am I being a terrible hippy? There may be physical issues (e.g. hind gut, tho saddle and back pronounced good) but it's not my call to investigate them.
Any thoughts welcome! A pint of G&T is on offer - think anyone who's got this far deserves it!
I hack a horse for a friend a couple of times a week. He's always been very spooky, very looky, and I don't have a problem with that - doesn't worry me, aside from its potential causes. He's a simple soul who was rejected from at least one pro yard (I can see why) prior to his current ownership. He is just starting on RiteTrak for possible hind gut issues, and recently I would have said that his reactiveness was in general less than before. However, the pressure on him has been upped substantially in his schooling in the last month or two (still very basic, but he is very behind the aids and rather crooked, and persuading him otherwise is a long-haul job) and he is now having regular, and increasing, tantrums - think sitting, piaffing, reversing, grunting and groaning, big bucks in canter when asked to continue. Trainer is keen that rider takes him on. I'm not keen on conflict (would rather hide tbh!) and my own reaction would be to drop the reins, walk away, pick up and start again as though nothing had happened.
This behaviour has now transferred to his hacking. That is, a spook or a scare is followed by a full on tantrum - spin, buck, levade, sit and reverse, head between knees - repeatedly. Again, I can cope (so far!), though my hacking buddy is worried and I don't really want to come off onto a hard grass track miles from home, but it makes me think that either he's simply learning this stuff through prolonged repetition in his lessons or is genuinely under too much pressure and is now overreacting to things that provoked a slightly, but not massively, OTT reaction before. It feels like anger (well, meltdown, actually, I'm not sure he really knows what he's doing. His hacking partner could gallop away and he wouldn't notice), but is provoked, at least hacking out, by his fears - he's fine until then and has never been nappy in any way.
He is consistently improving off the aids and in the rein, between tantrums. Do I have to wait this out? Not sure what to say to his owner apart from reporting what he does. Am I being a terrible hippy? There may be physical issues (e.g. hind gut, tho saddle and back pronounced good) but it's not my call to investigate them.
Any thoughts welcome! A pint of G&T is on offer - think anyone who's got this far deserves it!