Throwing head up, tail swishing

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Sporthorse123

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Just been to try a horse. He is lovely natured and is a willing jumper but he throws his head around and swishes his tail a lot. Having read lots of stuff on the internet, he could just be trying to evade the bit, not trained properly in flatwork...or he could have back problems such as kissing spines, which is a worry when buying a new horse!
The facts...

He is a 5 yr old

He is ridden in a dutch gag, middle hole setting and a running martingale

He worked better with the present owner on board although he was still throwing his head up at times and swishing his tail

When I got on and took what I thought was a fair contact, he was really unsettled in his head and swished his tail an awful lot. During transitions to canter, he sometimes did mini bucks, occasionally kicking out to the side with one leg....perhaps he was confused about what I was asking of him? When I relaxed the contact he was smoother but still unsettled

When he jumps he arches his back a little....because his head is up...or is his head up because he is arching his back?!

He doesn't track up well in canter...could be lack of contact stopping him from working properly from behind?

His ears are back much of the time...is he listening or just annoyed?

He does flick his tail up on landing after the jump....is he using his back or just relieved that the jump is over?

He didn't object to being tacked up, girthed, or being mounted

He is not shy of fences, he speeds up a little coming into it and doesn't back off at all

He has white marks either side of his wither...probably an ill fitting saddle at some point....could this have damaged his back?

He had a patch of little bumps to one side of his bum...could be nothing and I think a little late in the year for sweet itch?

Owner says he just needs more schooling on the flat as he has mostly just been jumping, which is what he loves

He got better having sat on him for half an hour (I was ready to get off after his first shennanigans as I thought he wanted me off! And I am not a confident rider) and relaxed more into the contact certainly in walk and a bit in trot

He was a bit more settled when my other half rode him for a few minutes but still tossing his head and swishing his tail

Now, this horse has gone out and jumped courses of 1.10, 1.20 although mostly knocked the odd pole down. I am hoping that this is because he is not ridden with enough contact to make the right shape over the fence or get the striding right and that acceptance of contact will come in time as I don't want to be hoolying around a course of showjumps with loose reins!

I am prepared to put in all the work and I could end up with a great show jumper as he is brave and very powerful....or I could be making one of the most expensive mistakes of my life!

Your thoughts or experience is much appreciated.
 
It sounds like a back problem but not KP.

As he settled after a while then it could also be that fact that at the age of 5 he has been asked to do too much too soon without the proper ground work. The owner admits that she has not done a lot of schooling with him so again I would say if you do decide to have him you work on that and not his jumping.

It could also be a saddle problem as the white marks on his back. But throwing his head and the tail swishing is signs of discomfort somewhere.

Depending on what the owner wants for him, if it is resonable and a 5stage vetting then I would go for it. He is still very young and maybe just needs to mature with less strain on him.
 
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Personally, wouldn't touch him. My horse with severe kissing spine tossed his head a lot and swished his tail, but then would go fine once he warmed up. That behaviour would worry me a lot. It could be anything from a back problem to a suspensory problem. It is not normal for a comfortable horse to do this.
 
Sorry, I'd walk away, he sounds like an expensive mistake.
A 5 yr old that already has white hairs from a badly fitting saddle, has his ears back, kicks out, mini bucks, it screams discomfort.
Now, a 5 stage vetting might pick up on a problem, but it might not, then you're left going through all the checks trying to find whats wrong.
Even if its nothing physical, but the horse has "just" been badly schooled, are you confident enough to deal with the problem and re school the horse ?
(no offence meant, you mentioned youre not the most confident rider, as I am also a bit nervy sometimes, I know I wouldn't want to ride a horse that I felt wanted me off )
will you end up having to pay a trainer to ride the horse?
Kx
 
Sporthorse123 said:
his tail




Now, this horse has gone out and jumped courses of 1.10, 1.20 although mostly knocked the odd pole down. I am hoping that this is because he is not ridden with enough contact to make the right shape over the fence or get the striding right and that acceptance of contact will come in time as I don't want to be hoolying around a course of showjumps with loose reins!


Your thoughts or experience is much appreciated.
Click to expand...

If he's been jumping 1.10 and 1.20m courses then these will be BSJA courses at affiliated competitions. The average riding club does not cater for this height for unaffiliated competitions as anyone prepared to jump at this height will be doing so as a member of the BSJA. This would give me reason to doubt how honest the owner is. And if he has been jumping this height, then I would be asking for photo/video proof. Most people are of the opinion that there horse is amazing for jumping a single fence at 1.30m or 1.40m. Most horses are capable of jumping that height! But that's a single fence. Put them in a ring, with 12-14 fences with related distances and its a totally different kettle of fish!!!

In the event you wish to proceed with getting this horse vetted then its very important you do the following before going ahead and arranging a vetting:

You need to get the registered BSJA name of this horse and put it into the search engine at the following link. If it is true what the owner says then you need to see if the horse has winnnings. If he has it will seriously hamper you if you want to jump unaffiliated competitions due to the horses winnings/ability and you may find you are only eligible for open competitions or comps where first prize doesn't exceed £10 in any class, in any ring on any day of a show.


http://www.britishshowjumping.co.uk/horse-search.cfm
 
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Thank you very much everyone for your comments.

With reference to the show jumping that it has done, there are loads of videos of it on youtube which I have studied over the last couple of days. It is registered BSJA but only has a few winnings because the horse doesn't often go clear. Unfortunately the rider has cut some of the bits out where it gets faults, which isn't honest of them....anyone can count up to 12 jumps and they are often not all there so it has been edited!!

The horse can jump and is very willing but the tail swishing seems to have got a bit worse as time goes on through watching all the videos from when they got him up until now. This could be the rider but he is a young, quiet rider and a very capable young man.

The other thing is, having had my instructor look at a video of me trying the horse, I am looking like a pile of spuds on the poor horse! My hands aren't quiet and I probably upset him a bit...probably not a bad thing when trying a horse as the worst he did was the mini buck thing. Instructor says he has a good jump on him but needs loads of schooling....I am still afraid that perhaps he has a back problem...argh! What a dilemma!
 
All signs are saying back problems, but when I first got my mare she was like this and it gradually got worse, turns out she had a loose wolf tooth now she's had it removed she's a different horse so try getting her teeth checked too
 
I would put money (if I had any!) on it being pain-related! It's a shame for the horse if the owners don't see he has a problem, but I would avoid it. Confidence is easily lost and very hard to regain, so don't put yourself in a position where you could easily lose your confidence completely. I'm not the bravest rider in the world, although fairly confident and I would pass this one by.
 
i would be suspicious that a horse with 'a good jump in him' cant go clear!-maybe this is an idicator of pain?

maybe you would be better off looking at a horse that has a history of going clear, even if it was at a lower height?
 
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