Selling a nervous horse

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FinellaGlen

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I bought a horse a few months ago but he has turned out to be very nervous and easily spooked. I think that he must have been badly treated. I can't cope with his behaviour because I am not in the first flush of youth and he has put me on the ground twice so I have decided to sell him but I have no idea what to put in the ad. I suppose he is a "project" so I thought I would put him on Project Horses and be totally honest about him but I am still worried about selling him to someone who won't treat him properly and that he will end up being passed on again and again.

Any ideas on wording the ad and do you think anyone would actually want to take him on? He is a big horse, capable of carrying a lot of weight, forward going and very well schooled. He has good paces and is snaffle mouthed but he can get stressed when tied up if you go out of his line of vision for a minute or two or if something startles him. He has a lovely personality but he needs a lot of attention and time to build up his trust in his rider. His back, teeth and tack have all been checked - some more than once but no problems found.
 
I bought a horse like this- only because I had the support from my experienced mum. Really I would ask for an experienced rider with a sympathetic approach and state just how his problems lie. If I am correct his problems are only on the ground- he is fine to ride? If that is the case you should find plenty of people willing to take him on that ave time to mess about with him.
 
No, unfortunately, he is normally ok on the ground - v good manners etc although he can get stressy if left alone and tied up. His main problem is shortly after mounting. He seems to be cold backed but I think that he is just tense as though he is waiting for something bad to happen if that makes sense? Once he's worked in he is generally fine although he is still spooky sometimes. I really think that he has been ill treated at some point.
 
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No, unfortunately, he is normally ok on the ground - v good manners etc although he can get stressy if left alone and tied up. His main problem is shortly after mounting. He seems to be cold backed but I think that he is just tense as though he is waiting for something bad to happen if that makes sense? Once he's worked in he is generally fine although he is still spooky sometimes. I really think that he has been ill treated at some point.

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Sorry if I am asking the obvious, but have you had a chiropractor out and had his saddle checked? The reason for asking is that a friend had a horse just like this. Turned out that his back wasn't right. The chiro worked her magic and the horse was like a completely different animal.

The spookiness could also be at least in part attributed to pain too. We had one with a saddle problem, if he got tense looking at something his saddle pinched which made him feel worse and then he really did believe there was something scarey. Master saddlers - grrrrrr.
 
what about re-assessing his feed? i know it sounds silly but you will be suprised what difference it makes. also when i work with a 'spooky' or nervous horse. I work hard on de-proofing them if that makes sense. I shut them in a stable with a plastic bag or tie bags around their field fencing. With regards to tieing up, stand him where you want him to be tied up and use a lunge rein to put through the loop, you hold one end, when he spooks and pulls back, he wont be able to break free but you can let go in an emergency. I would go back to basics with education from the ground and try lunging him before he is ridden if he is cold backed.
 
Thanks all. I have had two vets and two physios look at his back and he has had 4 different saddles on trial so far so I have got to rule out both of those causes. His teeth were done by the vice president of the BAEDT so I am sure that they are ok too.

He isn't being fed any hard feed at all at the moment to see if we can eliminate this as a problem. Unfortunately, it hasn't made any difference so far.

I should work harder on the de-sensitising though. I have tried various things such as deliberately dropping brushes on the ground and flinging rugs on and he's fine with those now but I haven't done much with plastic bags and tarpaulins etc.
 
When I first got my mare 2 years ago she would not tie up, was a complete stress head. She had never really seen the outside world and was scared of everything, I have persevered with this one and she now ties up - although sometimes still jumps. She is almost horizontal to ride, in fact you may have seen my posts about a lazy horse. I have been known to quieten sharp horses up, but I just think it is because I have a laid back approach really and never real force or pressurise horses. With the help of a good instructor you may be able to crack this one. IF however you have lost your nerve then I would say that selling is a sensible option for the both of you
 
Am going to try that at start of next week so thanks. I am trying to change one thing at a time so that, if something does make a difference, I can tell what it is! Keep your fingers crossed for us please that we start getting somewhere.
 
samp, I have definitely lost my nerve with this horse and I do intend selling because I have decided that he is actually too big for me as well so, even if he does improve vastly he won't be the right horse for me. I have recently bought a much smaller horse. We are getting on really well and "gelled" instantly and I have realised that I will never have that bond with my big hunter. I do still care about him a lot though and I want to find him a good home where he will be treated with kindness.
 
Oh poor you - we have had a similar experience with my daughters 5yo TB, she seemd perfect however a saddle issue and insensitive riding seemed to have screwed her up a bit. My daughter is normaly a very confident rider, but with this mare she just didnt seem to gel. However since we have decided to sell her my daughter seems to have chilled out and is getting on much better with her. Perhaps she feels less presurised and responsible.

We have decided to take it slowly with selling her and have not pushed, we are only on project horse at the moment, we may even send her away for some schooling (If I can find someone localy that I trust) and perhaps sell in the spring, this time of year doesnt seem to be great for selling, lots of people sell now due to going back to school/college and to avoid keeping them overwinter.

There are mixed thoughts on project horse! There were a few lively threads on here a week or so ago - ahem. I think however that being honest is the best policy. You read too many heartbreaking threads on here about peole who have not got what they expected or have found horses to be missold. Perhaps you could advertise him as needing an experienced sensitive rider. If you aimed locally you may find that people would be more inclined to try several times so they would be sure about him. I know when you travel 100s of miles it makes you less inclined to go back a 2nd or 3rd time just to be sure.

Good luck on finding a lovely new home for him and the best of luck with you new horse.
 
You shouldn't have a problem selling him at all as long as you are honest. It probably is worth you trying a calmer as if it works you will be able to pass this information onto his next owners
 
My little mare Rosie sounds similar to your hunter.

I bought her at 2yrs old and she was spooky and nervous from the beginning. Every new step in the training was a trauma for her.

Now 12yrs later she's much better in most ways though still very spooky (which I hate), and easily startled.

Over the years I've tried different feeds, no feeds, change of yard, field kept, stable kept etc etc. (though not any calmers as I'd never heard of them until 2yrs ago!) Nothing has changed really except that I can usually feel a spook coming on as I start to feel her tense up and then try leg yielding or singing, anything to detract her from major spook!

She was very cold backed as a youngster, had back checked and tried various saddles. Eventually realised that I couldn't ride her if it was the least bit chilly unless she'd had a rug on for at least 12hrs, and to use a gel pad, even though the saddle fitted otherwise she'd bronc me off.

She's perfectly well behaved at a competition now, though can be a bit spooky in the dressage. Stick a jump in front of her in any situation and that gives her something to focus on other than being frightened.

Admit that she has scared the life out of me for many years, and I still don't ride her on windy days, so she gets lots of lungeing!!! If it's windy for more than a week I'll box her to a school, but there's only a couple in the vicinity I can take her to that she considers 'safe'.

If my new youngster turns out like this, don't think I'll keep her as it's the riding at home bit that should be as much a pleasure as the competing.

So, what I'm saying - if you haven't got bored and moved on! is that nothing awful may have happened to your horse in the past, he might just be that type. Not your cup of tea (or mine), but a lot of people don't mind this sort of behaviour and would buy your horse in a shot.
 
Thanks everyone. Madhossy that is food for thought. I just assumed that he had been ill treated but I suppose it could just be that he is naturally very cautious and nervous. I can't cope with this sort of behavioural problem myself because I just want to ride for fun but I hope that there is someone out there who doesn't mind more of a challenge because he really is well schooled and he moves beautifully for a large horse. He could do well at dressage in the right hands. He is currently being re-schooled and I am going to put him up for sale shortly so, hopefully, he will find an owner who is prepared to make allowances for him.
 
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