Tense youngster - Any ideas?!

C

crazyhorsegirl

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I have bought a five year old about three months ago now and he is super. He will hopefully make a nice alrounder/low level eventing in time. However there seems to be a major stumbling block with him so far! To ride he is VERY jumpy of me. He isnt spooky with other things around him but if i so much as move my legs or hands or anything he will jump forward three foot in the air! At the moment i simply cant put my leg on him at all as he just gets faster and faster! he is not dangerous or nasty in anyway just really nervous for some reason!
He was supposed to have been hunted a lot in Ireland before coming here so not freshly backed if that makes sense!
I am an experienced rider and feel i can manage him fine but just wanted some extra ideas to try!

I have had the usuals check, back, teeth and saddle and he is fine and appears really well. He is just very nervous and tense under saddle. He is getting quite strong with it though as he just wont steady up in the school. He is the same hacking, always jumpy about me!

So far i have tried to be really quiet and just keep half halting etc but that made no difference as he didnt listen to my half halts enough. I then the past few nights let him go around the school and he simply put himself in canter and went round and round the school until he was out of puff?! I then carried on working him and he was better because he was knackered but that is not a long term option as he will just get fitter and fitter!

Also he is out 24/7 on rationed grass and on no hard feed!

So any ideas???
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Have you tried getting anyone else to ride him so you can see if it's a rider fault or definatly just the way he reacts to any rider?

He sounds like he needs desensitising. I'm not experienced with this, so can't advise. But i'd be interested to hear how you go about sorting this out... so keep us all posted
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Yes it is not rider specific, he is actually very good with me but a friend got on and he was a lot more jumpy with her. I think he has been mis treated at some point and is genuinely nervous of the riding front because on the ground he is fine!
it is spot on that he need desensitising but i am not sure how to go ahead with that really.
He is making progress but it is slow!
 
Could you get in a trainer that specialises in horses that need to be given help to get used to things and build up a relationship where he trusts his rider.

I have spent ages with my youngster doing this and so far it has paid off. It does take a lot of time and doing little and often and building up slowly. You could also try a calmer to help him whilst you are starting this process.
 
If he is running away from the leg, then everytime you take your leg off because he is rushing you have taught him this is how he gets you to release the pressure. You will just have to continue being consistent with him. He could have had a previous injury & this is him anticipating feeling the pain/discomfort. So long as there is no discomfort there now, he should come round with patience.
 
One of my mares (first pics in my sig) was like this when she first came to me, although she would throw herself on the floor too because she'd panic so badly
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She'd had a tough time prior to me buying her, having been thoroughly beaten on a daily basis
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We just hacked out quietly in company for the first few days (couldn't really use the arena as she saw it as a place of torture and would flip), with me making sure I sat very still and quiet on top until she'd relaxed a bit. I was also doing alot of trust/confidence building groundwork with her too, to establish a relationship.
If you keep taking your hands, one at a time obviously(!), off the reins to stroke his neck he will get used to the movement there, and with your legs I found it was good tohold one leg slightly away from his side and turn a small circle around it - that way he'll be able to see it, but because he's on a circle he'll only jump around, and not bolt forward which could unbalance you and make matters worse!
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Eventually you WILL get there, but it could take some time. My mare was much more chilled in a couple of weeks, but it took almost a year before it 'clicked' that my legs could mean impulsion and not just speed.

Just to add - she's 'broken' now and will probably never be ridden again, but prior to this she was a polocrosse pony, which involves having me hanging out the side of the saddle picking balls up with a big stick amongst other things
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and she took it all in her stride.
 
I was involved with a young horse a bit like this a while ago. He was fine as long as the rider rode in perfect balance with very light aids, but any leg movements or loss of balance caused him to leap forwards and charge off, often losing his rider in the process, which terrified him even more.

We just went right back to basics. We spent a lot of time working him in long reins to get used to the feel of the things moving round his sides and also lunged him with rolled up lunge lines, towels, lead ropes, etc dangling from the roller, safely secured so they wouldn't come off but purposefully left to flap about on his sides.

To start with he was very tense about it but he gradually realised that things moving around on his side/back weren't a monster. Once he had accepted that, we used to lunge him in his tack with the stirrups dangling for a few mins before getting on. This gave him a chance to have his "worry" moment without the rider being on board/falling off and causing an additional problem.

Ultimately he accepted that having things moving on his side, whether they were legs or lunge lines was not a big issue and he became a very enjoyable ride who did a bit of everything. Good luck with yours!

A x
 
Think some horses will never completely get used to things moving around on their back / sides. My older horse is nervous of anything "out of the ordinary" happening when you are on board. You definitely can't take your coat off, or lean over & pick something up. Rosettes etc had to be handed over very sneakily (not that we got many!).
After 10 years I can just about open a pocket without him spooking, but you have to do it very slowly. It is just part of his personality now!
 
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