terrible 5 yrs olds??????

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i have a wabxtb mare and she is so opinonated, difficult etc this year. she was brokedn as 3 yr old ridden for 2 weeks then turned away for winter, came back into work as 4 yr old in the spring and was good, did intor dressage, hacks, x-countyr schools, was good at shows etc but this year she has come out and we are fine for 2 weeks or so then she decides we dont want to do what we have been doing well and she objects, rears, anything new she can think of, so intelligent. tell me they get better when they get to 6. her teeth have been checked and she has wolf teeth coming thorugh in the last 2 weeks so we are making allowances for that but back fine, saddle fine, etc etc.
 
Stick with it......

I have a HOL x ISH 7yo whom I have had since a 3yo..... I backed her as a 3yo, turned her away.... bought her back into work as a 4yo.... Brilliant! As a 5yo I considered selling her, I thought I had bitten off more than I could chew :(

As a 6/7 yo..... you really couldn't ask for a more settled, willing and geniune mare.
 
Not called the effin fives for nothing :D !

A well known phenomenon. They get better when they get to 6. Seriously, they do.
 
oh good i hope so, some days she is wonderful, othe days like this morning i brought her in to school and she got to the gate and didnt want to walk, asked her nicely to walk on and up she went, went hacking yeterday and she wanted to go one route i wanted her to go the other so up she went. she gets a smack and taken back and she doesnt bother then but oh so trying, lazy, but talented if she even used half her talent. i have wondered if i have taken on more than i can cope with but then she can be so pleasing and powerful.
 
I've broken a number of horses and even the quietest have been throwing tantrums at 5. My trainer used the term "effin fives", only she used the right word :) It seriously is very well known, and they do come through it. Some of them also go on to silly sixes, but most of them are a lot better at 6 and almost all of them are fine by 7. You would kick yourself if you gave up now, struggle through to next year somehow and it will probably all come right.
 
I feel for you....really!

I currently feel like we are stuck in a living nightmare when our perfect 4 year old turned 5 and had a personality transplant :-(
 
You are not alone, please don't give up or I might too! My two yr old WB grew to 17hh with attitude, but the sweetest horse I have ever met. He is a bit of a git, i thought had finally got him on side, albeit a bit lazy/spooky/unpredictable. I had to start taking him to a different school for a few weeks and he was AWFUL he literally would not trot, just run backwards etc etc. I am on my third lesson in 2 weeks with the trainer still occasionally chasing me along with the lunging whip!! Today he was a star, spooky but controllable, even hacked sensibly in the aftermath of awful storm. Making progress! Don't give up. Very best of luck.
 
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yep i have one of them too......even resorted to oh chasing with a lunge whip last week and new instructor.classed him as a wee sh**e after lesson one oops :-)
 
Me too - I posted in the week about my 4 year old angel who had turned into a 5 year old thug. As he was 5 on 27/7, I've got a way to go until he's 6.

Let's all hang in there :D
 
All i have to say in hang in there! Im sure they will "come good" in the end. :D
Just had a thought imagine having a five year old nutty horse and a two year old toddler.....
 
Ime at 4 its all new & they aren't overly confident about it all. At 5 they're more sure of it all but lacking the sense & experience of an older horse. Plus its usually at that age they start trying their luck with older/ higher ranking horses. Assuming there's not a cause, eg pain, or too much too soon then I wouldn't worry. Mine had her moments up till 7 & until 8 still had the odd moment. But I can hand on heart say she's been an angel for the last 15 yrs.
 
Alfie was a horror bag at 5!! Really thought we had made a terrible mistake. Jumped out of anywhere. Even forced his way through jockey door in trailer! He is 16.2!
But he started to sort himself out with lots of work, by 6 he was calmer, now he is 7 he is cheeky but not naughty or wilful anymore. Just sold him to a teenager who loves him and is doing well in PC. Stick with it. Good luck .
 
Rowan hasn't changed much from 4 to 5 though he has started having the occasional tantrum and has gone really lazy. I hOpe that means we won't have crazy pony at 6!!
 
pretty common, just grin and bear it, I wanted to shoot mine as a 5 yr old, most vile horse ever! Every day was a grim battle of what else he could test the boundries on!
 
oh i am so pleased it is not me. I was beginning to think that after 20 years of horses (i am 35) and BHS tests etc i could not longer ride, must be doing somehting so wrong and i owned the horse from hell. however i rode out at 7 this morning and despite a smack and a rear as we walked to the yard was good on the hack encountering tractors, marquees, dogs, cyclists and planes.
 
asommerville said:
this threads making me feel better :-)
Click to expand...

Me too!!!......my 5 year old has started getting me down. She was fine last year and in the last couple of months she will find a issue on every hack out, just to spoil the day. She will either jump in a hedge at a car from behind (she is excellent in traffic), bounce and snort like a dragon at nothing, or go as slow as possible and then flick a switch had march like a loony. I am trying to ignore it and look forward to the time she is normal again.
My friend who hacks out with me sometimes says its just like shes having a toddler tantrum.

Some of it is down to her breeding, she has a known 'quirky' granddad (Pouchka)

OH well, by the time shes 10 she will behave herself!!!...........
 
Mines just turned six and has chosen to have s0dding sixes instead however she was broken late so its technically the effing fives Lol this thread is also making me feel better hehe
 
cptrayes said:
Not called the effin fives for nothing :D !

A well known phenomenon. They get better when they get to 6. Seriously, they do.
Click to expand...

lol i hope so, daughters pony who we have had since he was 5 months has turned into a complete and utter twit this year, yes he is 5, was backed last year and was fine, this year the bridle and saddle are the scariest things he has ever seen in his life! Have just turned him out and told him to grow up lol;)
 
Ohhh god I bought a stroppy, pushy four and a half year old with the assumption that with 6 months good schooling and firm boundaries I'd get a nice 5 year old - what have I done? :eek:

Paula
 
Ooooooh, maybe I'll skip riding my mare as a 5 year old and just bring her back into work next year once she's officially a 6 yer old - sounds like it will be the safest option! :D
 
Good plan, but not sure that will work Spyda :D My 6 year old wasn't broken til 4 and a half and he is being very argumentative at the moment.

I think littlelegs is right. When they start they are weak and everything is new so they behave. Then they realise how strong they are and are used to things and test the boundaries. So if they start work later, they just get the soddin sixes instead.
 
My welsh D was a ****** as a 5 year old - I nearly rang the first dealer that would take him!! He is now 10 and a saint - so stick with it!!
 
Shall we call it the "Unfortunate Fives?' They often develop "attitude" at this age. Stick with it, they get better (usually)
 
My 5 year old was an absolute NIGHTMARE. By nightmare I mean, near death experiences on a daily basis. Stick it out, he's just turned 6 and is still a handful, but no where near as bad (praise the lord)
 
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