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I have spent the Christmas period pondering what to do with my little TB - I got him in May, he had been bred & brought up on a dressage yard (for 6 years) then spent 2 years as a racing pony. I knew perfectly well that he would be a bit of a project to develop him into a nice little all rounder (not to sell, he was always to keep!) and I aspired to do some low level eventing with him.
He started off looking very skinny (he came off a racing yard, so not neglect simply fit for racing) and I fed him up so (sorry to blow my own trumpet) he looks fabulous now. He was doing really well, then he moved yards at the beginning of November and it all seemed to go downhill. Whether it is that I am riding him less (3-4 times a week rather than 5-6 times at previous yard) or he is turned out less (he used to get 12 hours minimum, now he is on part livery so probably 9am to 3.30pm?) but he has changed!
His breeder described him as 'knowing his own mind' - she ain't joking! He seems to alternate between being barging, ignorant and rude and being the sweetest little soul you could imagine! He won't load, he is tricky to put the bridle on (he hates his head being touched, not sure whether he has been twitched too much in the past or whether it was the tooth he had removed just before Christmas which was infected and must have been horribly sore) and he is incredibly difficult to get on as he won't stand next to a mounting block.
Honestly, I know that some of these things are standard ex-racer traits, I am not saying he is awful - but I am struggling to get the balance right between giving him clear parameters of expected behaviour and not bullying him as that will just create a conflict situation which won't solve anything.
Just wondering if anyone had any good ideas other than time and patience? His feed has been cut down to adlib hay/grass, plus balancer (Top Spec cool), NAF Magic and biotin twice a day with a handful of chaff. I have just finished my December running challenge so will be aiming to ride/lunge 5 days a week from now on....
He started off looking very skinny (he came off a racing yard, so not neglect simply fit for racing) and I fed him up so (sorry to blow my own trumpet) he looks fabulous now. He was doing really well, then he moved yards at the beginning of November and it all seemed to go downhill. Whether it is that I am riding him less (3-4 times a week rather than 5-6 times at previous yard) or he is turned out less (he used to get 12 hours minimum, now he is on part livery so probably 9am to 3.30pm?) but he has changed!
His breeder described him as 'knowing his own mind' - she ain't joking! He seems to alternate between being barging, ignorant and rude and being the sweetest little soul you could imagine! He won't load, he is tricky to put the bridle on (he hates his head being touched, not sure whether he has been twitched too much in the past or whether it was the tooth he had removed just before Christmas which was infected and must have been horribly sore) and he is incredibly difficult to get on as he won't stand next to a mounting block.
Honestly, I know that some of these things are standard ex-racer traits, I am not saying he is awful - but I am struggling to get the balance right between giving him clear parameters of expected behaviour and not bullying him as that will just create a conflict situation which won't solve anything.
Just wondering if anyone had any good ideas other than time and patience? His feed has been cut down to adlib hay/grass, plus balancer (Top Spec cool), NAF Magic and biotin twice a day with a handful of chaff. I have just finished my December running challenge so will be aiming to ride/lunge 5 days a week from now on....