Think I may have taken on too much too soon

[smellsofhorse]

why dont you send him away for schooling?
Put him on working livery so he gets more exercise.
Or part of full livery so a lot of the care is taken care of and there will be experienced people to help you.

Doing more work will probably help with his behavior as it could be boredom.

 

[Bustalot]

Sounds to me as though the OP just needs support from fellow experienced liveries. Which has already been mentioned that was received in the summer months. Unfortunately winter makes everyone disappear from the yard, especially when you work full time and others on the yard do not.

OP - can you arrange for a few days a week that someone is at the yard with you in the evenings. Are others about with you at the weekends? I second the option to get a good instructor as they 'should' be willing to help you out in all areas of horse care not just the riding side of things.

BUT If you feel really awful in this situation then sell as you have already mentioned. Maybe you are not just cut out for the horsey game, I do not mean for this to sound harsh but if you are not willing to work through the first hurdle thrown at you then is it really worth it? As hate to break it to you but horses are not all sunshine and light and they really do push you at times in every single way possible.

Hope you do decide not to sell and do find yourself seeking the help and advice you are looking for on this forum from others at your yard or an instructor.

Good luck xx

 

[Jesstickle]

Also OP, as Redmone has just reappeared on the forum, I would suggest you read her threads (you can search for threads started by her using the search function). I'll bet they cheer you up. When she first posted she was new to horse ownership too and had some problems quite similar to you. But eventually everything worked out and all is happy and well. I hope she doesn't mind me using her as an example but she is proof that time and good advice and perserverance can certainly solve a lot of problems

 

[Magicmillbrook]

Seconded. But why does the monkey have to live in a cage?

I third this post - very sensible. I realy feel for you it can be very c****y owning a horse in the winter and it seems you probably jumped in too soon. But hey ho. Good luck whetyher you decide to get help, a sharer or to sell.

My mare can pull some terrible faces if you dont do her rug in just the right way, but I forgive her grumpy old lady ways, she has earnt it.

 

[redmone]

Also OP, as Redmone has just reappeared on the forum, I would suggest you read her threads (you can search for threads started by her using the search function). I'll bet they cheer you up. When she first posted she was new to horse ownership too and had some problems quite similar to you. But eventually everything worked out and all is happy and well. I hope she doesn't mind me using her as an example but she is proof that time and good advice and perserverance can certainly solve a lot of problems

Just seen this post now! Occasionally I have chance for a good old trawl and lurk through threads!!

Of course, I have NO problem at all being mentioned as an example, in fact, I'm extremely flattered - thank you Jesstickle.

OP - how's things going? Hope they've improved.

Being relatively new to all things horsey, I can't claim to give any meaningful advice. But for what it's worth, what worked for us was taking a big step back and doing everything slowly. Expecting nothing and being grateful and happy with every success regardless of how small. Not comparing our pony with anything that daughter had ever ridden before, and learning as much as we could from as many places as possible (here included!)

My daughter really struggled at first, mainly due to our impatience and inexperience. Now her and Dolly are a fantastic partnership and I have absolutely no regrets (apart from being such a dunce for the first 6 months of ownership!).

Please feel free to PM me if you want a chat!!

Time is the key to everything!