Spooky TB and advice please

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rebecca28

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Hi i need some help please - I bought a 14yr old TB Gelding 3 weeks ago (he has never been raced) He was a little unsettled for the first few days but then calmed down and i quickly fell in love with him as he was such a quiet affectionate horse - after 2 weeks i rode him and the first time he was an angel - he next day he seemed to have change and was spooking at absolutely nothing at all in the field, i decided to ride him again and he was a little jumpy at first but ok after about 5 mins he decided to have a bucking fit which took me by surprise i managed to get his head up and ride him on, ever since then he seems to have been a completely different Horse and seems to be spooked constantly, i rode out again 2 days ago with a friend after giving him some Naf Instant calmer - he was a little jumpy but seemed to enjoy himself. Today he is back to spooking in the field and bolting off again and I'm starting to get a little worried and am beginning to feel nervous being around him as he is so unpredictable - He's in good condition and is out at grass and not having any hard feed - the pasture was fresh when i first got him and now has been eaten down quite a lot - somebody said it could be the spring grass but I'm not sure as he was OK for the first 2 1/2 weeks, any advice would be grateful thanks I'm willing to try anything that may help..
 
He has been there a really short space of time, new people, new surroundings, routine. It can take months for them to get used to it all and to form a trust and a bond with you. Once you have some trust in each other things will change. If he is picking up that you are a bit nervy then it will be worrying him and making him jumpy. Have you changed his feed also? I would try to get the lowest starch feed possible. cut out anything molassed. It can make a big difference.
I agree with the others about getting lessons to boost your confidence.
 
You may find this is a new home thing. Horses can behave very differently when still settling into a home and do all sorts of things they haven't/would never normally do. Is he a sensitive TB? I have a very sensitive ex racer out on loan at the moment and had to make sure he went to a home were they bonded and worked with him on the ground first before getting on him. I think lots of ground work that's fun for you both should really help and takes the pressure off both until there's some more concrete trust.

Best of luck x
 
Also a real change in behaviour could also be pain driven. Did you have his back looked at when you got him? and your saddle fitted correctly? check his back for sore spots as well.

You don't say how often you are working him either. Some horses (haven't found one yet) are fine to pick up and others need constant work. His spookiness might also be due to that.
 
Spnd loads of time doing round work and building a good bond with him, also if you can get an instructor in once a week to do ground work with you and when you feel confident enough to get on and ride.
Hope it all works out for you.
maybe if you gave in indication of where you are based someone on her maybe able to help with name of a good instructor
 
Suggestions
- saddle, get it re-checked by an (other) qualified saddler

- back etc, again get it checked by your vet/other qualified person vet recommends. Unless you were asking for anything really confusing (which depending on horse and experience could be anything other than walk/trot in a line!) or really exciting (again depends on horse) this could well be discomfort. You want to get it sorted ASAP before horse begins to associate riding with pain.

- get used to riding spooky horses ;-) For me the stages to go through were
-- anticipate spooking and get nervous myself making it worse
-- get angry with self
-- realise that I don't come off during spooks anyway any more (touch wood!)
-- anticipate spooking without caring (and be pleasantly surprised when it doesn't happen!)

Good luck. Sounds like you're actually doing pretty well for a very, very new partnership in a new home.
 
Don't ride him in the field. He's had two weeks off and is feeling on top of the world, so a big open space is going to be thoroughly exciting.

Hack, hack and hack some more (with company). And make sure you ride him every single day.
 
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This is what I would do:

Ride in an arena/hack in company.
Cut out all heating hard feed.
Lunge before you ride if you need to.
Get lessons.
And have all the checks done.. i.e back, saddle, teeth etc.
Hopefully once you have done this you will both be a happy partnership :)
 
Thanks for every one's advice i will try everything that has been suggested, I'm felling rather more positive today and ready to crack on with it :)
 
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