Update on problems with new horse

A

anniedoherty

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www.boxtreegallery.co.uk
Well, the vet came at the start of the week and can't find anything wrong with his back and no lameness issues. He actually did another vetting for me just to make sure that everything was covered.

My trainer then got on after I'd lunged him for 15 mins and he started bucking. He seemed incredibly tense and very unhappy to be ridden yet he had been fine on the lunge.

He was then loose schooled and my trainer got on him again with exactly the same result. Horse was palpably tense and worried and started doing small bucks.

I just don't know what else to do. This horse was supposed to be for my husband but I can't ride it let alone him (he's a beginner). It just isn't what we thought we had bought. It is a lovely horse on the ground although quite nervy but it is very affectionate and loving and everyone at the yard thinks it is sweet.

Has anyone got any ideas at all regarding what I should do next? I could have him professionally re-schooled but I can't really afford schooling livery for however long it takes and in the meantime I can't ride the horse. I feel totally fed up now.
 
How was the horse described in the advert and did you buy the horse from a private home or a dealer?
Sorry if this has been asked before.
 
I bought it from a dealer and it was described as having "been there and done everything". It seems far too nervous to have been anywhere and done anything though. When I tried it it was ok though but I now suspect it had been ridden hard earlier in the morning before I went to try it because these issues which have since developed were not present on the trial day.

I think I have been naive really but buying horses is so hard that I don't even know what I would have done differently to be honest.
 
I assume you've had his saddle checked? Bucking-wise, are they proper nasty ones or just excited ones? What has your trainer said?

Personally if he were mine Id keep doing what you're doing. If you're not keen to ride then get someone who is (ie. your trainer?) to ride him daily and see if he starts to improve. Maybe he's simply settling in still or testing the waters?
 
How long have you had him? Any chance of a return to the dealer?
Anyone can get cheated, our first pony was lunged hard before i viewed him and was a saint, except in RL he was a bronco...
Have you had a chance to bond, just doing nothing but sitting, talking, grooming etc and forget the riding for now, until he trusts you? Not always easy if you don't get a lot of time though.
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I would see whether you can return the horse if its not as described. When I had a horse we were selling vetted a few weeks ago the vet asked how many horses we sell a yr and if it it was more than 7(I think) we were under the same rules as horse dealers. The vet said that if this is the case and we misdescribe the horse than the vendor has the right to return the horse.
 
Thanks everyone. If it had been a back problem I was willing to get it sorted out because the horse is a nice character on the ground.

We've had him 6 weeks and he seems to have settled in ok as far as I can tell. He is lovely to handle and lunge and for the farrier etc. The problems only start when you get on him. His back, saddle, teeth have all been checked and nothing has been found.

The bucks are definitely not high-spirited ones. He wants you off his back. Having said that I don't think they seem malicious either if that makes sense? He just seems very tense and nervous whenever a rider gets on.

We have bonded very well on the ground. He loves being groomed and will groom me back if I scratch him hard on the neck. I have spent hours in his stable and sitting in his field and he comes and says hello when I arrive now so the bond is definitely there.

The place I got him from is definitely a dealer's yard. They have always got several horses and ponies for sale on their web site. I can't say where it is but it is not known as a dodgy place. In fact my vet recommended it!
 
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it ss a problem then, if he is fit and healthy.
I suppose all you can do is persevere, sit on him, sit a buck, once he relaxed then get off, end it on a good note even if it was 5 minutes? Then try again, building up the time?
Perhaps he is thinking that a rider means hard work and he has had enough and needs bringing round a bit?

Have you tried a calmer or some of those drops that people take to relax them (name escapes me!)
Alternative therapy? we tried that with a pony we had who was a rdoeo type, it did work and she did settle. (think you need vets permission though?)
 
Sorry Clementine but I would be looking to see if I could return him, as he doesn't sound like he is ever going to be suitable for your husband. It costs the same to keep a good one as a bad one!
 
I would definately send it back.We purchased a horse for my daughter which within a week became very difficult. The dealer came out and said we were being too nice and feeding it too much.Then got on and beat it up, breaking her whip in the process. We felt sorry for the horse and stuck with it.My daughter was experienced and very capable.
When she mounted she started to trot it straight out the gate and ride very positively.The horse improved but was not to be trusted.A couple of months down the line I legged her up at a show and as soon as she touched the saddle it exploded, she had no stirrups and was thrown and broke her leg.
Still she never blamed the horse and sent it to a top vet who said it had pain in its back.We spent over £1,000 on its back and 3 months later slowly bought it back into work but it was still a problem.
Her trainer arranged for a part exchange with a dealer and it was turned away for a while.Two weeks later it died and when examined had a badly damaged liver. We saw it every day until it died as our homebred horse went to the same dealer to be backed. He lost loads of weight.
Poor horse was trying to tell us it was in pain but despite taking it to a really good vet no one realised what was wrong.
As I said send it back and take no excuses, I wish I had done that,it cost us a lot in money and emotions and the horse wasn't really to blame.
 
Do you want to PM me the website you bought your boy from, Im from the north east too and might have heard of them, if I can be of any help I will try!
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I'm in exactley the same situationas you, but my horse is unrideable due to being lame. I started legal proceedings against the dealer today as it proved impossible to deal with it any other way, he promised to swap it and then everytime I phone up he either doesn't know what horses he has on his yard or cuts me off.
 
Clementine, having been in a VERY similar situation and having spent £1000s on professional schooling and every physical check under the sun x 10 AND having been put oin hospital on more than one occassion I would encourage you to save yourself the heartbreak and try and return the horse, and if you can't return it cut you losses and sell it to someone with the confidence and experience to turn it round.

I wish I had.

ETS I am also in the NE and very nosey so feel free to pm me where you got it from too
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Just a thought, but it might help. When I first got my horse on loan he bucked me off having gone over a jump and a month later bronc'd really really badly. It wasn't just to get me off as he carried on crashing through the bracken for ages with his head between his legs. I nearly gave up and thought that it would be too dangerous, but as a last chance we (me and his owner) got his back done by a physiotherapist. I am not lying when I say it has done wonders for him! He is now a different horse and so much happier! We now get it done every 3 months to 'top him up'. It turns out that his hind quarter (where he has a bit of big scar) wasn't working properly and his back overcompensated for it and after a while it just hurt too much.

Hope this helps!
 
Thanks everyone. I am in the process of trying to send him back at the moment but the dealer is being very awkward and saying that they don't have room for him! I also got the excuse that he was "fine" when he left them so it must be something which I have done but that is just not the case. I am not a brilliant rider but I am a competent one and my trainer with whom I have weekly lessons will back that up. The horse behaves just the same for my very experienced trainer too so my riding skills aren't the problem. He is also kept at full livery at a busy and so my horse management skills aren't at fault either.
 
Have you ever thought that hes bucking from nerves? To me it sounds like he is lacking in confidence with a rider on him. yes he might have been fine at the place you tried him because he was used to it and all his surroundings.

Im not sure if i said before to you, but Archie was a complete saint when i tried him out. After the vetting the vet said he was the nicest horse he had vetted in years. I got him home, tried to get on and he bronked across the arena with me. I spent around 3-4wks just handling him and lunging him. Then i lunged him for about 30mins one night and got on - but i was ready for him, he bronked across the arena for about 5mins, then stopped but was so uptight and tense that he was sweating a ridculous amount. There was nothing wrong with him physically, it was just he was so scared for whatever reason.

Now he is fine at home, but he does have a phobia of other horses in the arena with him and will suddenly bronc for no reason. In warmups out competing nerves will suddenly get the better of him and he'l just start broncing and rearing.

Im lucky i guess in that im experienced and i brought him for me to compete. Whereas you brought yours for your husband and its obviously not going to be suitable........
 
Thanks again everybody. The dealer is actually in the West Midlands and I will PM anyone who is interested if you want to PM me first just so that I am not bothering anyone who is no longer interested now you know the dealer's location!

Minkymoo - I have had a physio out to see him but she didn't know what could be wrong so she told me to get the vet which I did.
 
I hope you manage to return the horse - from all accounts he is not at all as described to you and certainly not suitable for your novice OH. Please PM me with the dealers name
 
Thanks for your response P_G. I do remember your problems with Archie because I think he is a stunning looking horse and I like reading about him and Bloss. The thing is, you are obviously an experienced rider and well able to cope with this sort of behaviour but I'm not and my husband definitely isn't. I have several years of experience with horses but I was lucky enough to have the same horse for 6 years and she was fine - had her moments occasionally,but basically fine - so I don't have the breadth of experience needed to improve a very nervous horse. We explained very clearly to the dealer when we bought the horse what we wanted him for so to end up with what, to us at least, is a "problem" horse doesn't seem fair.
 
P_G, not not had his back x-rayed. I did wonder about that but vet feels confident that it is a behavioral problem. Obviously, I don't know if it is or not but horse definitely seems fine on ground (still nervy but very biddable) but turns in to a quivering jelly when you get on.
 
What a shame things aren't working out. I agree with the others - it might be best to try and get the dealer to take him back. You've done all you can to help him. It may be a psychological thing if he's had a pasting while being ridden. But, my friend had a horse who bucked and reared the whole time and was found dead in the field. A post mortem showed she had internal problems, which must have caused her great pain. Another friend had a lovely gelding, who bucked for Britain. She had extensive investigations done, x-rays, scans etc. All of these drew a blank and the conclusion was it was all in his head. Whatever, persevere with the dealer and good luck!
 
DEFINATELY get his back xrayed - it could be kissing spine - my friends horse will lunge fine, but as soon as you got on it it would bronc continuosly until you got off. She eventually had its back xrayed and it had kissing spine.

Whether your vet likes it or not i would have it done just for peace of mind x
 
St_Bernard, he's 8 but he is acting as though he's been recently backed.

To everyone who has sent PMs - thank you so much - I will reply later in more detail because I have to go and get my car back from the garage. I managed to pull the exhaust off yesterday when I drove over a branch at the side of the lane!!
 
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