Should I sell my horse?

Leandy said:
Please don't be convinced by those telling you that spooking and shooting off can be cured simply by getting a correctly fitted saddle. Of course you must have a correctly fitted saddle but every young horse spooks and shoots off at times,
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Youngsters definitely do spook and shoot off at times. A correct fitting saddle won't 'instantly' cure i.. BUT if he has a poorly fitting saddle it definitely wouldn't help the situation if its pain related, and could cause bucking especially if he didn't do it at first and has recently started makes me think something has changed. OP has said she isn't sure it fits, so is getting it checked.

Hope you get it sorted OP. Do let us know what you decide!
 
If you bought him in haste it might not be the ideal choice of partnership and you may not have bonded. That said I never bonded with my horse for a long time, sometimes it comes and sometimes it doesn't. It took a good 18 months or more with me. Now I wouldn't be without.

If you feel he is too much for you it might be better to sell him if you can get the saddle fixed and double check its okay. There is no point putting him up for sale and him bucking or bolting in pain with a potential new owner. Horses cost too much money to waste your time and money on something you don't get on with, whatever the reasons.

Hope you get it sorted.
 
I haven’t read all the replies, so I don’t know if this has been says, but in this instance I’m not sure loaning him out will benefit you. Your trust in him severed, therefore when he comes back, you may still have that worry in the back of your mind.
you have 2 options. Sell him, buy something that’s been there and done that & it’s suitable for you as a novice. Or invest in a good instructor and work through it with him. I think you should sell him. Be honest with your advert. He’s green, unbalanced and needs a competent rider.
 
Leandy said:
I think you know you have made a mistake. This is exactly why a young green pony was never going to be right for you, because you lack the experience and confidence to bring it on through the inevitable ups and downs that go with bringing on a young horse. You need to either (a) get a sympathetic experienced professional to sell him for you or (b) invest in such a professional (not a loaner/sharer FGS) to bring him on for you initially and get him back on the straight and narrow and then to work with you together to keep you there. The latter option is going to take at least a year (depending on your abilities and confidence) if you are to come out the other end with a reasonably established, reliably well behaved and educated all round pony and even then you will need to be careful to keep maintaining that with regular lessons. You will learn loads from that experience so I think it should be doable with the correct support but it will not be cheap and, with all due respect, is not for someone on the nervous side.

Please don't be convinced by those telling you that spooking and shooting off can be cured simply by getting a correctly fitted saddle. Of course you must have a correctly fitted saddle but every young horse spooks and shoots off at times, this is what they do (some more than others depending on their disposition) and is perfectly natural. Whether it becomes a problem habit or just a baby phase depends on how you deal with it and school them to overcome those natural reactions.
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I agree, even more established horses shoot off when spooked.
 
Ambers Echo said:
I think selling is a good option. He may be good natured but he's young and green and therefore not suitable for a novice. You could work through it but it would probably be better for both of you to accept this is not the right partnership. Spooking at a bird is not a bolt. Your reaction to the spook may well have exacerbated his reaction too if you lost balance, hung onto his mouth, gripped with your legs etc. I would not worry that the odd buck and spook on a young horse makes him hard to sell nor do I think you need to stat down the vet route at this point. It sounds like he is just reacting to a trigger the way any young pony would.

Did he pass a 5 stage vetting when you got him? If so just immediately move him to a good sales livery yard. If not, get him checked first by your own vet as there is nothing more frustrating than spending XXX on sales livery only to fail the vet later on!

A good natured, capable young Connie can be worth quite a lot. And you could also part Ex. I would not try and sell him yourself - he'll probably do well to have a few weeks working 6 times a week getting great pics and video and then sold to a trusted, respected sales livery person. Whereabouts are you? Word of mouth is best.
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Hi Ambers Echo thanks for your message. Yes he did pass a 5 stage vetting. I’m going to see whether the saddle is causing an issue and then decide. I’m based in Kent. If I did decide to sell I’m thinking maybe of taking him to NT Equine for sales livery as I know they tend to buy and sell a lot of connies. I’ll see how the next couple of weeks go first though.
 
Lilz29 said:
So a) he gets exercised 3-4 times a week
b) I believe he has the correct food
c) he gets turned out in the mornings but it’s different to what he was used to in Ireland where he lived out all the time
d) he’s in good health has been checked by the vet. The tack is something which I’m unsure about but he is going to be checked for this next week
e) he’s on full livery at the moment and is in a set routine, he may not be used to it yet though as he hasn’t been here for that long and it’s different to what he was used to in Ireland.

Another thing I should have mentioned, he has had schooling with an experienced rider a couple of times now, he bucked once with her but she told him off then it never happened again. Also he’s never bolted with her, which makes me think he gets scared more easily with me as I’m guessing he senses I’m less experienced, so he needs a confident rider.
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Sounds like not enough work and too long stabled. You say he goes out in the mornings - is he in for the rest of the time?

Also you believe he is being fed the right food - what is he eating?

Tbh the above routine doesn't sound great for a youngster.
 
indie1282 said:
Sounds like not enough work and too long stabled. You say he goes out in the mornings - is he in for the rest of the time?

Also you believe he is being fed the right food - what is he eating?

Tbh the above routine doesn't sound great for a youngster.
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indie1282 said:
Sounds like not enough work and too long stabled. You say he goes out in the mornings - is he in for the rest of the time?

Also you believe he is being fed the right food - what is he eating?

Tbh the above routine doesn't sound great for a youngster.
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Yes he is in for the rest of the day. It’s something I wouldn’t be able to change unless I changed yards. He is on hay and usually gets a handful of pony nuts per day. What type of routine do you think would suit him better? Am open to suggestions.
 
Lilz29 said:
Yes he is in for the rest of the day. It’s something I wouldn’t be able to change unless I changed yards. He is on hay and usually gets a handful of pony nuts per day. What type of routine do you think would suit him better? Am open to suggestions.
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He either needs to be out all day, or worked every afternoon to keep his mind active.
A young pony in so much and doing so little work is a recipe for disaster.
What type of feed is he on? There are many different types of pony nuts. Does he really need feed? Most horses do very well on just ad lib forage.
 
Lilz29 said:
Yes he is in for the rest of the day. It’s something I wouldn’t be able to change unless I changed yards. He is on hay and usually gets a handful of pony nuts per day. What type of routine do you think would suit him better? Am open to suggestions.
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Preferably out 24/7 but I understand not all yards offer this so at least out for the day. If he has to come in then he needs exercise in the PM everyday.

I also would give him any hard feed.
 
So no he isnt appropriately exercised, fed or turned out so there is the problem in a nutshell he is climbing the walls with boredom and lack of stimulation you need to move to 24/7 turnout as that what he is used to or if thats not possible he needs to be out or in exercised from 8am to 6pm minimum
 
Honestly I think that if you are asking the question then the answer is probably yes, sell him. I was in a similar position with a wonderful horse, had him in training for 6 years (at a huge cost) before finally accepting that he would never be the right horse for me and selling him to a wonderful home where his talents are appreciated. Basically I had a ferrari when I needed a nice safe little volkswagen. I then bought a wonderful 14 year old bombproof mare and wish that I had done so years ago rather than struggling on. I used to drive to the yard looking at the weather, wondering whether the wind / rain / shadows from the sun would cause him to spook. My new horse has given me back the love of riding - she is a 'go anywhere / do anything' horse, and I have had so much fun with her that I have since bought a second one (we play very very low level amateur polo, so it is handy to have a second to be able to play a low level tournament). For me the cost of keeping 2 is about the same as keeping 1 who needed constant training. Riding should be a joy and not a chore, and I really hope that you will find one such as mine who can give you the relaxed days out that you will love. Whatever you decide good luck, and don't be afraid to ask for help.
 
He sounds like a typical green 5 year old and if his only getting limited turnout his going to be fresh, it sounds like your not really experienced to deal with this kind of horse so I think it would be wise to sell him, it doesn't sound like he bolted so don't tell people that, might be worth sending him away for some schooling and selling him so you can buy something more suitable.
 
It does sound like he isn’t for you, but I think it might be hard for you to find him a perfect home if you try to sell him yourself now. You will have to show him off for people and they will then want to ride him. You will get all sorts coming, poor little chap.

If you really want to do the right thing by him, I would seriously consider a really good sales livery. They will have to prepare him for sale and this could (and should) take quite some time and will cost you.

However, you should ultimately be able to get more for him than if you were selling him in his current state, and your (Good, reputable, experienced) sales livery will be able to market him to the right people.
And tbh, you should just suck it up as it’s not his fault, he’s only 5, bless him.
 
Jellymoon said:
It does sound like he isn’t for you, but I think it might be hard for you to find him a perfect home if you try to sell him yourself now. You will have to show him off for people and they will then want to ride him. You will get all sorts coming, poor little chap.

If you really want to do the right thing by him, I would seriously consider a really good sales livery. They will have to prepare him for sale and this could (and should) take quite some time and will cost you.

However, you should ultimately be able to get more for him than if you were selling him in his current state, and your (Good, reputable, experienced) sales livery will be able to market him to the right people.
And tbh, you should just suck it up as it’s not his fault, he’s only 5, bless him.
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I would second the sales livery.It worked very well for me and the horse I had then when I was in the same situation as the OP.
 
Take him off all feed, just feed hay and grass.

One of the things people do with new horses is feed them. They don't need it unless the work load calls for it. He is young, in a new place. It will take time to settle. Just hay and grass is fine.

Also look at the TRT Method (I'm not getting commission honest) it's a really nice method to get them more confident in themselves and to not react when something scary happens.

You might have made a mistake you might not.

Only you know how much effort you want to put into him.
 
I bought what I thought was a rising 7 year old gelding but in fact was rising 5. So I had someone else come and ride him for me (professional), working on his hacking out and confidence. I kept riding him as well and gradually I did more riding and she less and then we were away. She gave him confidence, which gave me confidence that he was a good lad, if that makes sense? We initially just concentrated on hacking out and seeing the world. Good luck!
 
Another vote for cutting out all hard feed and feeding only hay (and definitely no haylage) - my fell pony was rather spirited at the mere sniff of any hard feed.

And I'd also get a physio out to check hi over to make sure the saddle isn't causing any problems.

If you want to keep him, I'd move to a different yard with more turnout.
 
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