to get energy out of a horse/stop them being a pain

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d_s

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would it be worth lunging in the morning, then turning out and then riding in the afternoon/evening??

or any other advice would be great and where can you get a pessoa reasonably cheap; their arent many on ebay...
 
Depends on the reason for the excess energy. In essence yes, your plan would work. But if the horse isnt 'being a pain' but actually trying to communicate something that he isnt happy about then your plan might not necessarily work!
 
the only problem with hacking is shes even worse hacking
but tomorrow im going to lunge in the morning, turnout and then hack later on...

a brisk walk and if i have control then a trot lol

no hills near me... its norfolk
 
no definitly not in pain or anything... just being a pain and refusing to work properly like she can

canter is appaling... we bounce and feel like were going to rear up or bomb off.. its just appauling at the moment.. she has too much built up energy... but i dont want to push her too hard when i school her because i dont have much control, especially when there are other people in the arena... then its all a vicious circle.
 
Do you not hack then? I know horses at my yard who are awful if they do not get there hacking at least once a week. As for a pessoa, Ekkia stock a Norton version for £32.50 which looks exactly the same.

ETA Also what do you feed her? how much turnout does she get?
 
recently i havent been able to hack because i wasnt allowed to until id seen how she was in the school...

and then she had alot of time off when it snowed lol

tracks and roads havent been great to hack on, and mum didnt trust me to go out :/

ah ok ill have a look...
 
feed she gets

1/4 scp honeychop
1/2 scp safe and sound
a small scp sugarbeet
1 mug local
2 mugs pony nuts
2 scp equiflex

morning and night
and 1 soaked haynet each night... she looses weight during the winter, but when its better weather shell only have 1 feed

she is turned out for about 8 hours.. but some days she stays in because its too wet...

x
 
Well the ultimate way of calming her down would be 24/7 turnout, however I do realise this isn't possible everywhere. When Henry was at his worst we made the decision to turn him out 24/7 and it did him the world of good, nowadays he has just generally calmed down and can now be brought in at night.
 
Tbh, I'd grit my teeth and hack. Just trot constantly- it can be scary if you're nervy but you need to work it out of here and it's not going to happen going round in circles. Right now, if all you do is school you're winding up an already wound up pony. I think you're mum needs to take a deep breath and let you go as well- you're 16/17, correct? We've had some really fizzy ponies (we never canter out hacking as it is too likely we'll go home at a flat out gallop, and a lot of the time trotting can feel the same) but we've always hacked out, either together (my sister and I) or alone, and we've fallen off and got lost or lost control but we're still here.

Wilma is fizzy and marey and a bit of a pain for you, but schooling her she knows more than you- everything you learn she will just pull a new trick up out the bag (oldies tend to do that, bloody creatures!). If you give her a break, she may well just give you one back...
 
all of her feed is specifically chosen not to be heating
she is too delicate to live out 24/7 this time of year; she struggles being out if its cold or wet and shivers alot... she likes being in haha

xx
 
no bucket food for at least a week, if on haylage swap to hay, as much turnout as possible and as much work as you have time for. kep it varied. lunging with side reins so it is constructive, loose school and loose jump (if good on voice commands and doesnt go ballistic) ridden schooling with loads of transitions and half halts (min 40 mins or til sweating horse not you) good stomping hack with a reliable companion (again lots of transitions) put on a wqlker for an hour before you do anything or you could leave in field for 48 to 72 hours with only hay. sounds like you need to drain the petrol tank!!!!
 
My mare is being rather naughty to ride in the school at the moment. I've had her teeth checked and everything. So she is turned out in the morning for 4 hrs (fields are v.wet) then I lunge for at least 10-15mins then I ride. But it depends if your horse is fit enough. I dont know where my mare gets the energy from as she is on 1/4 scoop pasture mis and scoop of chaff twice a day as I dont need her with anymore energy.
 
thanks N_S its soo hard to hack out when i dont get back from college until late....

i will hack out every weekend... and every day in half term when im not having a lesson lol

x
 
Telling me- not home til half 5 at the earliest!! Luckily my mum hacks out (although she is quite nervy when it comes to the crunch as 3 years ago Cheeky bolted and threw her and she broke her shoulder). Maybe someone at your yard could ride and lead with her- its pretty easy to do, even with naughty horses (even kicky ones as long as you're careful).
 
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no definitly not in pain or anything... just being a pain and refusing to work properly like she can

canter is appaling... we bounce and feel like were going to rear up or bomb off.. its just appauling at the moment.. she has too much built up energy... but i dont want to push her too hard when i school her because i dont have much control, especially when there are other people in the arena... then its all a vicious circle.

[/ QUOTE ]

In your other post you say you are going to have intensive lessons soon. I think this is vital. An out of control horse, threatening to rear or run off, constantly shaking its head and sticking its head in the air is NOT normal. You need help from someone on the ground to work out what is the problem. You say back, saddle, teeth, etc are all fine but something obviously isnt.

In the meantime, if you cant control her in a confined space with a fence you reallly shouldnt go out hacking and do anything more than a walk. Thats asking for an accident!
 
i dont lunge in sidereins; it doesnt work... lol

i cant really loose school there isnt a good enough surface
she is 18... and i have to be careful about her legs

again walkers suface is all boggy because of the rain

ive spoken to mum about the no feed; and she said no

id prefer to hack on my own because i dont want to wind anyone elses horse up until i know what shes going to do...
 
i do have control; i feel i have control, just not as much as i can have... but i guess to others it doesnt seem like that...
 
i had a smilar situation recently, and in the end i switched to soaked hay instead of haylage, got an inst out then we did a very hard and fast jumping lesson, i then hacked him out afterwards. he's been good since
 
walker surface being boggy is not a problem will just make her work harder! why dont side reins work? a good calm hacking companion shouldnt take any notice! they dont shrink in the rain or disappear in a bog (unless a proper bottomless bog) and ad lib hay and no bucket food for a week or two wont make her shrink but she might remember her manners! and is she picking up on your nerves/anticipation?
 
I honestly think you need a confidence giving schoolmater. These are the same issues as you have had all along and you still havent progressed. If you were happy with where you were at so be it, but you're obviously not. And your mother does not seem to undertsand. You need lessons and guidance if you are to enjoy your pony and progress, but this hasnt been happening. Changing bits and tack is not the answer - and i seem to remember you doing it before. Every couple of months you are on here asking for the same advice (albeit in a different way perhaps). Time for a change i think - and NOT an ex-racehorse !

PS. Feel free to ignore, Im sure you are going to anyway.
 
in my honest opinion, id cut her feed even more. so long as she has a constant suply of bulk (hay for example).

ie. my horse who used to get very hot, (17.2 ISH whos poor at keeping weight on)
Missy is in medium/hard work and she gets
handful of speedibeat
1/2 D+H build up mix
1/2 pasture mix
1 scoop alfa A
2x daily

and she has hay in her field in the day and obviously at night. and she has never looked better. spend less on food, she has the energy needed for her work, and everything needed to keep her weight on and she has never looked better.

someone at my yard feeds her semi retired hunter and her show welsh D 4 feeds a day, two of which are oats, and she wonders why her welshie (who is tough enough for 1 feed a day in the winter!?) wont hack out or school at the moment without a mad half hour. even after a good buck on the lunge.

if she has enough energy and is up to weight, id cut her food down, and continue the work load. if she shows any signs of losing condition, increase the food slightly and add more bulk. i think we all forget, without us, horses would survive on whatever they could survive!
 
Cut down/out the hard feed. The mare obviously has enough energy to pratt about, therfore does not need all the extra energy she is getting from the feed. Why does your mum refuse to cut down the hard feed?
 
she doesnt refuse to cut down the feed; me and her have discussed this... what she refuses to do is not feed her at all
 
It doesnt sound totally feed related to me, its mostly on low energy food, fibre based and small quantities of each. I think theres another issue(s) going on. Although theres no need to have 2 different chaffs, safe and sound on its own would be better. (Honeychop is just giving uneccesary sugar.)
 
the only reason shes on two chaffs is because safe and sound is really expensive; so she has two so s+s lasts longer.
 
i think shes just a stubborn mare thats been treated badly in the past and is a highly spireted horse that wants her way and puts up a battle when it doesnt go her way...

she is an BRP... mainly arab and tb
 
Why do you ask for advice? This issue has been posted about before and the advice was given, are you posting until people give you the advice you want to hear? If so it would be nice to know so that I would save my time.
 
Youre making it more expensive by feeding an uneccesary chaff though, she probably doesnt need the honeychop at all.

I going to shut up now, i disagree with the stubborness/fighting if not getting her own way view. Your horse is trying to tell you something and you need to listen to her and help her so she doesnt feel the need to behave how she is. Hopefully your lessons will help.
 
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