Unusually highly strung horse

C

Cookie Monster

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Hi All,
I am new to this forum and am writing to get an opinion on my daughters new horse. A few weeks ago we took delivery of her beautiful 6 year old horse (by the way I don't know anything about horses, I have an allergy to them!!, this is my daughters horse). My daughter (13) had previously rode the horse in an arena and she seemed to be fine. The day after receiving her in the stables my daughter was in hospital for an emergency hip operation. While recovering we have asked the stable owner to exercise the horse.
We had a phone call telling us that she couldn't be ridden as she was acting wild an was quite uncontrollable!!! There was no way our daughter could go any where near her!! We spoke to the previous owner who was shocked as she was only ridden once a week and was very calm. Sorry for going on a bit!! Has anyone got any idea why this might have happened.??? It looks like we are going to have to sell the horse on. Oh and by the way she has started chewing fences as well!! HELP don't know what to do for the best!! Any thought would be gratefully received.
 
It sounds like the horse is very unsettled at the new yard. Is she on her own in a field? Ask the yard owner to lunge her rather than ride, it's the safest way to exercise her while your daughter is off games. Take her off all feed apart from grass and hay.
 
Having little experience yourself makes everything extremely hard and offering advice is not easy, do you know and trust the YO? are they genuinely experienced? would they be keeping the horse stabled when it was used to being out in a field?
I see it is chewing the fence so it must be getting out, have they tried riding since the first time?
was the horse vetted before purchase?
Has the tack been correctly fitted?
Has the previous owner offered advice or help?
Sorry more questions than answers but it is going to be a tough one to sort out.
 
OP...where in the country are you?

It could be a recipe of things to be honest.

If the horse lived out before but is stabled now.
If the horse was on low nutrition forage and is now on concentrate (grain) feeds
If the horse was in a herd, now alone.

Honestly, there are so many things that could be affecting the horse, but if you bought from a dealer, I would asked them to take it back and get a full refund and look for something else, taking an experienced instructor with you to all viewings. Join the BHS as a gold member and you get free legal advice...so I would advise doing this and giving them a call asap because you may have a course for return even from a private seller depending on the circumstances of the sale.

I very much hope your daughter has a good recovery and if you let us know what area of the UK you are in, maybe one of us can help a little more practically.

Finally, welcome to the forum and don't be afraid to ask anything. It's better to ask than risk anything. xx
 
Thank you so much for the prompt replies. The horse was put out in the field straight away with several other horses. When she is put in the field she immediately jumps the fence into another field with hunter horses!! Once over she is happy!!! She is only being fed the grass she is on. The YO has tried to lunge her but she is rearing and is difficult to control. We do trust the yard owner she is very experienced and we know her as she used to teach our daughter a few years back. The horse was originally stabled in a race horse yard and was owned by the YO. The horse was vetted prior to bringing her over to us. The previous owner cannot understand what has happened but cannot offer help. Someone at the yard has ridden her who is quite experienced and strong but she was not happy! If my daughter was to be thrown off she will end up in hospital again and that is a massive concern of ours!!
 
We live in North Wales. The stables and fields that she is at are absolutely ideal. The YO is very experienced and is helping as much as possible. If the horse is like this then it will be impossible to sell her on!!
 
Cookie Monster said:
Thanks for the link to BHS but my daughter is already a member
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If she is a gold member, she has access to free legal advice...so use it. If she isn't a gold member, I would highly advise upgrading and using the free legal advice helpline.

Regarding the horse, did she come from a racing yard straight to you? Do you know what her routine was before coming to you?

The reason I ask is that if she was in training or on a racing yard, she would have had a very strict routine and you can liken it to a institutionalised soldier suddenly being expected to cope with living a normal life. It doesn't work that way...they need to be "brought down" from that routine slowly or it can have serious effects on their mental wellbeing.

Feel free to private message me if you want to.
 
Also, buying her from the owner of a racing yard may make it much easier to return the horse for a full refund under the sale of goods act. Seriously, call the BHS helpline, they deal with this exact issue all the time and really can help you.
 
At least you have got a good YO to help, it is not always the case which is why I asked, it will prove pretty much impossible to sell her on so as you bought from a professional yard, even if they are not actually dealing they are selling from a business premises, I would be taking steps to return her as soon as possible, she sounds totally unsuitable for a 13 year old to cope with even without the added concern of her surgery.
 
Cookie Monster said:
Thanks for that. I will check what membership she has. All she wants to do is become an instructor or do anything with horses!!
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There are plenty of places in North Wales for her to follow her dream. My advice would be to start researching work experience placements for her on a competition yard nearby or a good equestrian centre, preferably one that she doesn't currently know as she will get treated more professionally then. She can do her two weeks work experience next year with them and there are many ways to move forward in the horse world. To be honest, at 13, I would say the best place for you to find a horse for her would be through your local pony club and it's worth waiting for the right horse/pony to come along. Going through pony club, you have the assurance that the horse/pony has done it all already and you'll be able to know their past, which can be invaluable.

Good luck xx
 
Thank you so much _GG_ I have checked her BHS membership and she hasn't got gold so I will sort that out tomorrow. We will ring the previous owner tomorrow also and get a definite reply as to whether she is willing to help or not. If she is not willing to help then I am afraid we will have to go down the legal route!! Unfortunate I know. In a previous phone conversation with the previous owner she said she may be able to take her back but she couldn't allow us the full money. She cost us £2,800 so it is a lot of money. We are also paying to keep a horse that is no use to us at the moment along with my daughters old horse who has a back problem!!!! I am paying out all of the time and my daughter cannot use the horses even if she was out of her wheelchair !!!!!! Very difficult time at the moment, and we still have to tell her that she can't ride her new horse!!!!!! Not looking forward to that one!! Thanks again for your advice, it is very gratefully received. Cheers :-)
 
Some horse do just take time to settle, it sounds like you have done everything correctly, but without us seeing the horse/yard etc we won't be able to assess the horse. However if your yard owner is struggling it doesn't really bode well. I'm sorry but I am someone who thinks that people don't give a horse enough time when changing homes, people are always so quick in suggesting that the horse is immediately returned.
 
LJR said:
Some horse do just take time to settle, it sounds like you have done everything correctly, but without us seeing the horse/yard etc we won't be able to assess the horse. However if your yard owner is struggling it doesn't really bode well. I'm sorry but I am someone who thinks that people don't give a horse enough time when changing homes, people are always so quick in suggesting that the horse is immediately returned.
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I agree they need time to settle but this is supposed to be suitable for a young girl, is being kept in a professional yard with an experienced YO who says the horse is difficult or worse, I have horses come and go regularly and without fail they all settle within a few days if they are sensible in the first place, there are always a few teething problems to get through but I never expect them to take weeks and still be unrideable if they are genuinely suitable for the purpose they were sold for.

Sending them back becomes more difficult the longer you wait, you need to be rejecting them as soon as you know there is a real issue, it may take months to actually get them returned, if ever, but by waiting months to complain means your options become more limited.
 
The horse was advertised on a web site, which one we cannot remember. We met with the owner at a riding centre and took a qualified instructor with us. Even I went and took some video. Our instructor said she would be ideal for her as she could grow into her for the future. The horse was used for point to point, whatever that is!!! ;-) She was not sold to us as an ex racer. We were told that she had a slight wind sucking problem but was assured that it would be fine!
 
Is the passport that of a racehorse, a registered thoroughbred ie is it a Weatherby passport.
If you go to the racing post website and enter the name under search for horses, has it been racing?
What you need to determine is if you have been sold an ex racehorse.

Do you have a copy of the advert ......... how does it describe the horse.

A lot of failed racehorses are given away, so there is a possibility your horse has been given to this girl, who then tries to make a profit selling it it someone who is not suitable.
Welcome to the world of the horse.
Get the girl to come and ride the damn thing.
Windsucking is a stable vice, it is not OK, and many also are crib-biters, that is to say they grab wood and use it to windsuck, which is a habit which makes the horse unthrifty and difficult to sell as IT IS A VICE.

It has been used as a racehorse ..... this is what a point to point is .... racing over fences.
 
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Cookie Monster said:
The horse was advertised on a web site, which one we cannot remember. We met with the owner at a riding centre and took a qualified instructor with us. Even I went and took some video. Our instructor said she would be ideal for her as she could grow into her for the future. The horse was used for point to point, whatever that is!!! ;-) She was not sold to us as an ex racer. We were told that she had a slight wind sucking problem but was assured that it would be fine!
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I think the "qualified instructor" has made a few errors here, an ex race horse is not usually the ideal first horse for anyone to grow into let alone a 13 year old, wind sucking, crib biting is a vice that should have reduced the price significantly unless it was a seriously good experienced schoolmaster or competition horse.
She is an ex racehorse, pointing is racing, she probably was in training all her life before coming to you and her world has changed beyond anything she has ever known, the daughter selling is possibly a way of them moving her on without her going through the business.
 
MrsD123 said:
Is the passport that of a racehorse, a registered thoroughbred ie is it a Weatherby passport.
If you go to the racing post website and enter the name under search for horses, has it been racing?
What you need to determine is if you have been sold an ex racehorse.

Do you have a copy of the advert ......... how does it describe the horse.

A lot of failed racehorses are given away, so there is a possibility your horse has been given to this girl, who then tries to make a profit selling it it someone who is not suitable.
Welcome to the world of the horse.
Get the girl to come and ride the damn thing.
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This^^ and an ex point to pointer that hasn't done much else being sold for £2,800 is shocking. These horses are being given away so I would expect for it to be worth that money, it had been out competing at low level dressage/showjumping/hunter trials etc. If this horse hasn't, it is never worth that money, let alone with the vices.
 
be positive said:
I think the "qualified instructor" has made a few errors here, an ex race horse is not usually the ideal first horse for anyone to grow into let alone a 13 year old, wind sucking, crib biting is a vice that should have reduced the price significantly unless it was a seriously good experienced schoolmaster or competition horse.
She is an ex racehorse, pointing is racing, she probably was in training all her life before coming to you and her world has changed beyond anything she has ever known, the daughter selling is possibly a way of them moving her on without her going through the business.
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Great post. An ex racer / point to pointer is not a horse for a 13yr old to grow into. They take a very serious amount of retraining. Also, being kept on a racing yard would have meant the very strict routine, so turning her out in fields at the new place would be highly likely to really upset her, the stress of the change in routine can cause ulcers and the pain from them can cause all sorts of issues ridden and on the ground.

I'd be very disappointed in your instructor sadly :(
 
Cookie Monster said:
LJR, the horse has been at the stables now for 5 weeks. Would that be considered enough time to settle or not?
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Not necessarily, also I think that the other posters are unfair in putting the onus squarely on the shoulders of the seller. The OP took their instructor to a venue I presume that was different to where the horse was stabled. The horse behaved impeccably, I wonder were bloods taken at the vetting. The only thing I would consider is getting them tested for substances.
 
LJR said:
Not necessarily, also I think that the other posters are unfair in putting the onus squarely on the shoulders of the seller. The OP took their instructor to a venue I presume that was different to where the horse was stabled. The horse behaved impeccably, I wonder were bloods taken at the vetting. The only thing I would consider is getting them tested for substances.
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Now having had more of the story I think the instructor involved was as equally wrong to recommend the horse was purchased as the seller was for selling to a young girl with parents that rely on professional advice, the horse would never have been viewed if they were my clients however quiet it appeared on paper, it sounds like a recipe for disaster, sadly the horse is the one that suffers the true consequences.
 
Now, a bit of background information: the UK racing industry is highly regulated, trainers have to be registered [licenced] and so do horses. Trainers are professional, they are bound by a number of laws of all businesses, and in addition by the rules of their profession.

The horses are registered at Weatherby's, who issue passports for these horses. Generally speaking only Thoroughbred horses can race in point to points, and point to points are generally for amateurs to race horses.

Horses [Registered Thoroughbreds or T.B.s ] will still be trained in a formal manner and ridden by professionals.

Trainers may not own every horse they train, however, they may often be asked to find a new home for failed racehorses, the horse can be sent to public auction, but this costs money, and sometimes owners just ask that a new home is found as quickly as possible, ............. thus it is easy for anyone in racing to aquire a horse for nothing!

Take a note of all the questions asked by the legal helpline, they will all be relevant.

I am sorry to say that it looks very much as though you have been duped. Your daughter is young and inexperienced and you are both naive.
At some stage you will probably have to get rid of this horse, and the best place is for it to go back to its former owner. I would take legal advice, but best case scenario is that former owner collects it and returns your cash. Worse case scenario is that you have to get rid of horse, and take owner to court for return of your money plus expenses, so the quicker this can be resolved the better.
 
LJR said:
Not necessarily, also I think that the other posters are unfair in putting the onus squarely on the shoulders of the seller. The OP took their instructor to a venue I presume that was different to where the horse was stabled. The horse behaved impeccably, I wonder were bloods taken at the vetting. The only thing I would consider is getting them tested for substances.
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Not sure if a 5 stage vetting was carried out ........ where would this have taken place , would the vet not mention that it has stable vices, OP was told that she should not worry about that!
for the benefit of the OP ......... blood samples are taken by a vet at a 5 stage vetting, in order that they can be tested for drugs. Horses can be drugged to disguise lameness or to calm them down.
 
Forgot to mention, OP should have arranged the vetting and paid for it, an assurance by an owner that it has passed a vetting/been checked over is not the same thing.
 
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