khalswitz
Well-Known Member
So my last update on Geoff, the ex-P2P I got in November who had done nothing but sit in a field since P2P, was our unaff SJ disaster where he dumped me in fence 1 and sprained my ankle, two days before I was planning to take him to a local show to do the hunter classes.
Well, things are a bit tricky. Geoff has about doubled in size - below are pics of him in April and then last week, he has muscled up and has actually put the weight on that he's never had, thanks to the suggestions of this forum to try him on the PSSM diet to help with his shivers. Different horse. However, also a lot MORE horse. He always used to be a bit of a plod, bit lazy and certainly took a while to engage his brain. Now he's sharp, and schooling he has been working great, if a few debates over how we do things.
However, he's also been gradually getting more and more attitude. We made it to that hunter show, where he was tense, but then settled down in the ring, only naughtiness was leg changes in the canter trying to bounce me out of the saddle. Judge rode him too, and he didn't get strong or take off, and he even stood to let her on which he doesn't do when he's excited. Came 4th and was really pleased with him. However, two weeks later, at another hunter show, we got asked to leave the ring because he wouldn;t stop bucking. I think the tannoy set him off, but everytime another horse came anywhere near him, he would just buck. He wasn't trying to get me off, just objecting every time I put the leg on, and once he starts it's like his brain melts and I can do nothing to get his brain back.
He's also been bucking out hacking, admittedly when I made him canter behind a friend, but whilst it's been a few months since we've hacked out in company he used to do this all the time no problem, now I'm getting serious airtime!!
Then, on Monday, we had a jumping lesson with a friend. Instructor got on my friend's horse while we were still warming up, and Geoff was pretty tense. Next thing, instuctor gives friend's horse a smack with the whip to get him listening, and Geoff takes of broncing down the school. HUGE. Sat the first two, then foot caught the fence pulling lower leg back and he felt me get off balance, then threw another two huge ones to get me off. Landed pretty hard and skidded (left an epic print in the sand), hit the back of my head pretty hard and really hurt my hip. He took off back to the field.
My friend caught him, and, feeling pretty scared tbh, as he's always been a very honest horse and I felt he had no excuse for what he did (and also having shown me what all 17hh of muscly TB feels like turned against you!) I got back on, and he kept trying to take off. Lesson went from a jumping lesson to 'Be brave and canter him!! Ride him FORWARD!' Settled okay in the trot and over poles, the minute we started cantering he was trying to take of bucking again, pre-empted it and PULLED his head up, then of course he decided to go vertical in protest... Did get him cantering nicely in the end, but I'll admit I had tears streaming and pretty much begged my instructor to just let me give up for the day.
Her opinion is that, since he's muscled up and is feeling good now, probably for the first time ever if his PSSM has never been picked up on, he's just full of beans and is trying me out. Plus, with setting up my new business as a veterinary thermographer, I've been riding him less - he was being ridden 5-6 days a week and fairly hard, whereas he's been ridden much less recently. His saddle was last checked a few weeks ago, admittedly his new dressage one doesn;t quite fit but saddler was happy with the way it's been padded up, and the throwing off was in his jumping saddle which fits like a glove.
It's silly, I used to break and produce youngsters and re-school problem horses for a living, so I don't know why he's scared me so much with just one incident. But I put off riding him all week because my YO is away, and there's never anyone else up at our v quiet yard in the evenings, and I didn;t want to get on him and come off on my own, with no phone signal and no one else there - and tbh now I'm self-employed I can\t afford to break bones. Lunged him all week, started out being very naughty but has slowly improved and is listening much better on the ground. Got back on him yesterday when my Mum was free to come up with me - not horsy at all but could at least phone an ambulance if required!! He was forward going but well behaved, even made myself canter him with no problems at all. He is very easy to distract though - he's looking at my mum, looking at the other horses in the field... on Monday there was kids running about, another horse in the school, dogs running about... but it's just that before, he would look and get distracted, but wouldn;t react!!
My old boss was chatting to me about it - she said that he's a lot of horse, and being a TB he has a brain to go with all the brawn. She suggested cutting back his feed, and getting back into exercising him every day, even if it's just 15 minutes lunging if I'm short on time. I'm also going to stop competing him this year, as he finds it way too stressful, and just try to get our schooling back. It's just so disappointing, and it has unnerved me a bit, I'll admit, as he's always been so honest.
So that's where I am with the boy-o, bit stuck, but can't really afford loads of lessons, and whilst a part of me is tempted to turn him away for 6 weeks while I get my business going, I don't want to chicken out - I want to beat this, just because I'm afraid, if that makes sense? My very first horse used to throw me off all the time, and I would just get back on again, I often had to talk myself into it but I would just carry on. And here he's done it once and I'm scared.
So yeah, thanks for reading, Coco Pops to all who get this far.
Well, things are a bit tricky. Geoff has about doubled in size - below are pics of him in April and then last week, he has muscled up and has actually put the weight on that he's never had, thanks to the suggestions of this forum to try him on the PSSM diet to help with his shivers. Different horse. However, also a lot MORE horse. He always used to be a bit of a plod, bit lazy and certainly took a while to engage his brain. Now he's sharp, and schooling he has been working great, if a few debates over how we do things.
However, he's also been gradually getting more and more attitude. We made it to that hunter show, where he was tense, but then settled down in the ring, only naughtiness was leg changes in the canter trying to bounce me out of the saddle. Judge rode him too, and he didn't get strong or take off, and he even stood to let her on which he doesn't do when he's excited. Came 4th and was really pleased with him. However, two weeks later, at another hunter show, we got asked to leave the ring because he wouldn;t stop bucking. I think the tannoy set him off, but everytime another horse came anywhere near him, he would just buck. He wasn't trying to get me off, just objecting every time I put the leg on, and once he starts it's like his brain melts and I can do nothing to get his brain back.
He's also been bucking out hacking, admittedly when I made him canter behind a friend, but whilst it's been a few months since we've hacked out in company he used to do this all the time no problem, now I'm getting serious airtime!!
Then, on Monday, we had a jumping lesson with a friend. Instructor got on my friend's horse while we were still warming up, and Geoff was pretty tense. Next thing, instuctor gives friend's horse a smack with the whip to get him listening, and Geoff takes of broncing down the school. HUGE. Sat the first two, then foot caught the fence pulling lower leg back and he felt me get off balance, then threw another two huge ones to get me off. Landed pretty hard and skidded (left an epic print in the sand), hit the back of my head pretty hard and really hurt my hip. He took off back to the field.
My friend caught him, and, feeling pretty scared tbh, as he's always been a very honest horse and I felt he had no excuse for what he did (and also having shown me what all 17hh of muscly TB feels like turned against you!) I got back on, and he kept trying to take off. Lesson went from a jumping lesson to 'Be brave and canter him!! Ride him FORWARD!' Settled okay in the trot and over poles, the minute we started cantering he was trying to take of bucking again, pre-empted it and PULLED his head up, then of course he decided to go vertical in protest... Did get him cantering nicely in the end, but I'll admit I had tears streaming and pretty much begged my instructor to just let me give up for the day.
Her opinion is that, since he's muscled up and is feeling good now, probably for the first time ever if his PSSM has never been picked up on, he's just full of beans and is trying me out. Plus, with setting up my new business as a veterinary thermographer, I've been riding him less - he was being ridden 5-6 days a week and fairly hard, whereas he's been ridden much less recently. His saddle was last checked a few weeks ago, admittedly his new dressage one doesn;t quite fit but saddler was happy with the way it's been padded up, and the throwing off was in his jumping saddle which fits like a glove.
It's silly, I used to break and produce youngsters and re-school problem horses for a living, so I don't know why he's scared me so much with just one incident. But I put off riding him all week because my YO is away, and there's never anyone else up at our v quiet yard in the evenings, and I didn;t want to get on him and come off on my own, with no phone signal and no one else there - and tbh now I'm self-employed I can\t afford to break bones. Lunged him all week, started out being very naughty but has slowly improved and is listening much better on the ground. Got back on him yesterday when my Mum was free to come up with me - not horsy at all but could at least phone an ambulance if required!! He was forward going but well behaved, even made myself canter him with no problems at all. He is very easy to distract though - he's looking at my mum, looking at the other horses in the field... on Monday there was kids running about, another horse in the school, dogs running about... but it's just that before, he would look and get distracted, but wouldn;t react!!
My old boss was chatting to me about it - she said that he's a lot of horse, and being a TB he has a brain to go with all the brawn. She suggested cutting back his feed, and getting back into exercising him every day, even if it's just 15 minutes lunging if I'm short on time. I'm also going to stop competing him this year, as he finds it way too stressful, and just try to get our schooling back. It's just so disappointing, and it has unnerved me a bit, I'll admit, as he's always been so honest.
So that's where I am with the boy-o, bit stuck, but can't really afford loads of lessons, and whilst a part of me is tempted to turn him away for 6 weeks while I get my business going, I don't want to chicken out - I want to beat this, just because I'm afraid, if that makes sense? My very first horse used to throw me off all the time, and I would just get back on again, I often had to talk myself into it but I would just carry on. And here he's done it once and I'm scared.
So yeah, thanks for reading, Coco Pops to all who get this far.
There is a lot if adversarial language in your post, about how the horse is 'doing x to you' and how you feel you need to 'win' in this situation. He is a big, healthy horse, bred to work hard and be extravagant with his energy, and used to a very different kind of life. He is just being himself. (And yes, I know many horses adapt well to life after racing but not usually as easily and seamlessly as people on internet forums would have you believe.
. Also the grass is quite potent at the moment with the sun we have had and now the rain.