Time to Settle.

2 out of 3 of my horses do not travel well,
So if I do move they have the rest of the day to recover from that and 'settle' into their new home, new smells, new surroundings,

I dont do it at shows, but do get there early to allow the horse time to 'settle' before going in the ring or on the track
 
Spring Feather said:
Enfys if it's any consolation I am soooo glad we don't have any in to be worked at this moment in time. I'm sick of this belated winter we are getting atm and I really don't think I'd enjoy working with any right now as I've barely ridden my own horses this past month.

QUOTE]

Snowing here now, again. Hasn't stopped much over the past few days, big, fat lazy flakes :) Lots of migrants back though, my reed beds are full of bickering redwings ;)
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I have no issue giving a new horse a day or two to settle into new surroundings. I think it can be an incredibly valuable time to closely observe how a horse copes in completely new scenarios (not including competition horses). I think its great to do groundwork or gently longline the first day or so to get a feel for a new horse. It's been invaluable to see what their default evasion is on the long line before you get on.

If it's a horse I know well I'l just play it by ear. I have two horses and one is a sensitive soul so I'll spend a day or two walking him round, fussing and groundworking him to settle him in. The other is very calm and confident so I would just keep him in work as normal.
 
Don't think theres a right or wrong answer here, just all personal opinion and circumstances.

I would always just crack on with mine or any that we get in, not meaning drilling them, just continue with the work they are in.

Don't think its wrong that some choose to let them settle, just not something I do myself :)
 
Claribella I think a lot of what you say is quite unfair and, as I have nothing better to do whilst I am having coffee before I go out again I am going to say what I think (as you have) rather than sitting on my hands

claribella said:
I think it depends on what is expected of your horse. Precisely. Everyone has different requirements.

You guys are clearly people who have machines, and you know everyone personally to make that judgement do you?

I mean horses, with jobs to do and that is there role in your life. Yep

Im more in the mindset that this poor animal has been whisked away from everything person it has known, everything that it is familiar with and put somewhere else.and we, with our machines don't understand that either? Again, you are making unfounded, snap judgements

Theres prob a lot of stress going on in that head of theirs and its prob wondering what on earth is going on. Who knows? Each reacts differently and is treated accordingly by anyone with a modicum of commonsense

I like to give time for them to get to know me and its new surroundings before I start making demands on the poor thingwhy do you have the poor things then if you are causing them stress?

but then I am also of the mindset of why would you put a horse through the stress of showing it, feeding it up to the eyeballs etc etc. Like I said it depends on your mindset and what you have a horse for.It certainly does, what do you do with yours? I could take a guess, but then that would be making a judgement and I don't know you from Adam to do that
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Well my gelding still hasn't done any work as he's just not ready... he's had over a year to settle in though. I think that another year should do it. :D
 
Thank you. I must book the animal communicator so that I can understand his answers. I don't want to miss-understand him and upset him after all that waiting. :p
 
Faracat said:
Thank you. I must book the animal communicator so that I can understand his answers. I don't want to miss-understand him and upset him after all that waiting. :p
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You will have to get the planets aligned too don't forget that either, or to pat the third oak tree down from the gate on the way ;)
 
Well Im moving my boy back to old yard next week. I plan on leaving him for a day turned out then hacking out the next day with company. Then gradually start schooling. My boy is a stress head tho who doesn't cope well with change god nos how he did it when racing!
 
Faracat said:
Oh blimey, this is getting pretty complicated, can't I just attach a crystal to his headcollar instead?
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:D Well you can, but, what? Energy, healing, calming, concentration, ying, yang, okey kokey, "there there darling we won't do it (this year ;)) if you don't want to" variety. :confused: Questions, questions...
 
You cant always tie every horse with the same brush...after reading this thread I feel like the writer was wanting a good argument - with a comment of "its funny how the people who leave their horses havent replied!".

It depends on the horse and situation. I normally get the horse at lunchtime so it has the afternoon and evening to settle into its surroundings and then ride the following day. However a horse that came over from Holland on our yard, it had had a 2 day journey over (staying overnight in London) then up to yorkshire - only a 4 year old broken 6 weeks, was ridden within hours of landing at the yard. The poor horse did not know what to do with itself and exploded under saddle and nearly did serious damage to the rider...he gave it a few days off the settle and it has never put a foot wrong since!

Play it by ear and make a decision - some horses do not like being pushed and need time to adjust!
 
topstripelucy said:
You cant always tie every horse with the same brush...after reading this thread I feel like the writer was wanting a good argument - with a comment of "its funny how the people who leave their horses havent replied!".

It depends on the horse and situation. I normally get the horse at lunchtime so it has the afternoon and evening to settle into its surroundings and then ride the following day. However a horse that came over from Holland on our yard, it had had a 2 day journey over (staying overnight in London) then up to yorkshire - only a 4 year old broken 6 weeks, was ridden within hours of landing at the yard. The poor horse did not know what to do with itself and exploded under saddle and nearly did serious damage to the rider...he gave it a few days off the settle and it has never put a foot wrong since!

Play it by ear and make a decision - some horses do not like being pushed and need time to adjust!
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Just using this as an example.
I have had many horses that have had stressful journeys and they are given as long as it takes to regain their sleep and non travelling legs. That is common sense.

I am not saying that if you have bought a show jumper you should instantly get on him and put him around a course of fences.

If a horse is use to a routine of being ridden then it is better to keep to that routine rather than let them get over fresh if stabled or, even if turned out, a chance for them to marry up with a new friend and think they can forever stay with that friend.
 
Ok, a serious answer.

I have thought about this and I think that with the horses that I have known, the competition types (often go to shows, especially if they sometimes stay at the shows for a few days) are fine to ride straight away. They are used to working in a new environment and they tend to be ridden by people who read horses well and can nip problems in the bud (probably ride many different horses).

If you take a family horse that has been in the same home for years and a hobby rider (perhaps they only have one horse at a time and they keep that same horse for a long time) then the horse will possibly be upset having moved from it's long term home. Plus the rider might need a few days to learn how to read their new horse.

^ These are only musings that I had while mucking out. TBH - I don't think that it matters as long as safety is taken into consideration. I wouldn't get on a stressed horse, I would wait for it to be calmer. Discretion is the better part of valour and all that.

Oh, and I bought my gelding as a yearling, so it will be two years of waiting before i ride him (alright, it was not what the OP was on about really). Now I must go and research crystals as I need to set it all up for success. ;) :)
 
horserider said:
I think the word anthromorphism is much misused. I do not think giving a tired, stressed, dehydrated horse time to get its bearings is treating it like a human being. Its treating it like a sentient being.

If the horse has travelled some distance, let the horse stretch its legs, smell the environment, eat and drink, and assess its surroundings.

Different circumstances need different approaches. For a competition horse, an hour or two in the box is a normal day. Fine, get on and ride. My last mare was such a horse, on arrival she was a nightmare in the stable, but as soon as the tack came out, she settled into work mode and was happier.
For other horses, it may not be so. Reading the horse is more important than a gung ho approach that sees a horse as a machine to be ridden without consideration.
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Agree with this
 
Would have thought the main concern was that whatever was being done with horse, it was kept in mind that it could be "unsettled".

Fair enough, get on and ride, jump, hack within hours. But should there be trouble, don't get into a fight with the horse over something which maybe down to the current circumstance.

The other thing that should be kept in mind is who is doing the riding, handling.
No point getting a pony for a youngster, throwing both of them in at the deep end, unsettled pony/excited child, first session goes tits up and you end up with a pony being labeled.
 
I rode my horse the day after he arrived starting as we meant to go on. I did get comments from a few people on the yard about how most people let the horse settle in for a few days before riding. Not only did I want to get him into a routine as early as possible but I had very shaky confidence at the time (and still occasionally now) and I knew the longer I left it the harder it would be. Suffice to say Max was a star that day and apart from a couple of slight blips has stayed a star :)
 
I wouldn't class giving a horse time to settle as meaning you shouldn't ride until its settled. To me it means be prepared for the horse to be stressed and not himself for a while until he feels safe and gets to know the other horses and people.
 
weebarney said:
I wouldn't class giving a horse time to settle as meaning you shouldn't ride until its settled. To me it means be prepared for the horse to be stressed and not himself for a while until he feels safe and gets to know the other horses and people.
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This is what I meant to say but you have done it much better.:)
 
It does depend on the situation though, quite often ours will get the weekend to settle as after a long ferry ride they need it. Sadly they have to be quarantined so straight to the stables but get turn out in the school.

Occasionally we'll get a ridiculously lethargic horse from the journey so they'll get enough time off until they perk up a bit. We also get the odd ridiculously nervous horse and as I value my life id rather not get on theses horses straightaway, they'll get a lot of groundwork and time to chill before being ridden.
 
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