Urgent advice please for very fed up owner

[Amyree]

I have a 14.3hh 5 yr old quarter horse who is beautiful and I adore him, but I can't ride him and devastated as I am I have decided to sell him. In a nutshell, I have had him since Nov and have ridden out successfully with him and done some lovely hacking, but mounting has always been an issue and he had some back pain from a badly-fitting saddle. He has now exploded twice when trying to mount. He is not in pain now as far as I / vet / physio can establish but clearly remembers the pain. He needs completely restarting by an experienced, competent rider. Unfortunately, this is not me. I am terrified he will end up somewhere horrible because he is a 'problem' horse, I dont care what I get for him as long as the home is right. PLEASE if you have any suggestions about the best places to advertise let me know. This is hard enough without having a load of time-wasters get in touch (already thought had found the perfect home and have been badly let down). Thanks for any help x

 

[LittleOwl]

It might be worth trying horses4homes

 

[*hic*]

Had you throught of getting him completely restarted by a trusted professional then working with that professional until your remembered mounting problems were overcome? That way you don't have the worry of his possible future.

 

[Ladyinred]

Project horses website?

 

[Yuki1290]

I would suggest either sending him to a reputable professional (such as Jason Webb) or chucking him in a field for winter and re-starting him next spring.

 

[Yuki1290]

Forgot to ask, what do you mean by "exploded"? Did he run forward or start bucking? Did you manage to get on him first or was it before you were even in the saddle? Also, you say that mounting was always an issue... has he been nervous to mount ever since you bought him?

 

[Amyree]

I have thought about that yes but my worry is that I am not a good enough rider and as he has already dented my confidence, I am concerned that I will always be nervous of him, which isnt good for him or me.

 

[Amyree]

Forgot to ask, what do you mean by "exploded"? Did he run forward or start bucking? Did you manage to get on him first or was it before you were even in the saddle? Also, you say that mounting was always an issue... has he been nervous to mount ever since you bought him?

Its the minute he feels your weight on the stirrup, the first time I managed to get on but then he bucked and bucked and flipped me onto concrete, next time there wasnt even chance to mount, as soon as felt the stirrup pull down he reared then bucked and bucked round the field for a good few minutes. I knew the first time I rode him he was nervous about being mounted, but then rode successfully although he would never be completely relaxed while mounted, then he got worse and worse until we reached this point :-(

 

[Yuki1290]

Don't beat yourself up about it. Actually, mounting problems are very common! You could always get help at the time (after turning him out) and you don't have to do it yourself. I often find that, with horses that have issues like that, turning them out does wonders! They (usually!) tend to be much more chilled when brought back to work after a few months off. However, if you feel that your confidence is so knocked that you can never trust him again, I would suggest moving on. Good luck whatever you decide!

 

[eahotson]

A good selling livery may have a really good rider capable of sorting all this out.At least get a professional opinion and then when (hopefully) he is sorted you can sell him with a clear conscience.

 

[Tash88]

Had you thought of getting him completely restarted by a trusted professional then working with that professional until your remembered mounting problems were overcome? That way you don't have the worry of his possible future.

Agreed, it would be a shame for you to sell him when you adore him and mounting is the only issue. Mounting problems are rather common and reputable trainers should be fairly experienced in dealing with them. If you let us know where you are we might be able to help you find a suitable trainer in your area.

 

[Amyree]

Agreed, it would be a shame for you to sell him when you adore him and mounting is the only issue. Mounting problems are rather common and reputable trainers should be fairly experienced in dealing with them. If you let us know where you are we might be able to help you find a suitable trainer in your area.

I'm in Wales just outside Chepstow x

 

[Penny Less]

Have you tried mounting from a high block so you can sort of get straight on without pulling on the stirrup. I have a wall I can get on so I just throw my leg over and put feet in stirrups once mounted.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

A good selling livery may have a really good rider capable of sorting all this out.At least get a professional opinion and then when (hopefully) he is sorted you can sell him with a clear conscience.

That would be my advice, if you sell him now, no matter where you advertise, he stands a very good chance of being passed from pillar to post.

 

[FestiveFuzz]

Had you throught of getting him completely restarted by a trusted professional then working with that professional until your remembered mounting problems were overcome? That way you don't have the worry of his possible future.

This would be what I would do. If you really don't think you'll ever have the confidence to ride him then at least he'll be more sellable.

 

[Tern]

HorseQuest for me - You don't get too many numpties! But I agree with above.

 

[eggs]

I would get the mounting issue sorted out before trying to sell.

If it makes you feel any better, many years ago I bought a horse who was described as 'a little tricycle to mount'. Well when I tried him he shuffled around a bit when I got on but nothing too bad. Well, once I got him home I found out the true extent of the problem having been flung into a wall and then onto the concrete when I tried to ride him the first time. It used to take three people to help me get on! With time and patience I overcame the problem and we never looked back.

 

[merlin12]

Get the vet to have a look . I had a young ISH who had a similar problem .Turned out he had arthritis which was causing him pain.

 

[wench]

Firstly has the vet looked at him at all? Personally I'd be inclined to get a thermal imaging scan done on him, to give you an idea if they may be something veterinary going on.

I believe there is also a video on YouTube somewhere that gives you an idea of where to "press" on your horse, and if it caused a reaction he may have ulcers.

If all clear on the above, I would then do one of two things, either put him on a good sales livery, or sell him a dealer/riding school type. You wouldn't be able to sell him for much to the latter, but I have been at livery on two very similar places that take such horses in, and then they come out the end a totaly different horse.

 

[wench]

And as an afterthought, you will probably get some do gooders on here telling you if you do the last option your an evil person, but ignore them, they are loonies.

 

[Sukistokes2]

It is of course up to you....but if mounting is your only issue I would be inclined to follow the advice given here. If he is lovely he is worth working on but not by you, by a competent professional, once he is going nicely and standing for mounting then you could get involved and build up your confidence. Lets face it most horses have some sort of issue will you next horse help you confidence any more. I am just asking questions,......the answers are yours.

 

[shergar]

The video on youtube is ULCER DIAGNOSIS BY MARK DE PAOLO .

 

[Tinypony]

You could speak to these people. http://whisperingback.co.uk/

 

[Amyree]

Thank you everyone for your responses. Its good to hear honest opinions, I think I am so worried about the whole thing that I can't see the woods from the trees sometimes! This has been really helpful x

 

[Slightlyconfused]

Agree with the advice give and would also check what the vet has done to him? Lameness work up? Back X-ray? Scoping?

 

[Wagtail]

I would be suspecting kissing spines, if I'm honest. It is a common problem in quarter horses. They are often built down hill and this can lead to problems in the saddle area. I think you are going to struggle to sell him until you get him properly looked at, starting with back xrays. Kissing spines is very often missed by vets and physios as it doesn't always present as a palpably sore back. My gelding had a really bad case of it and it was missed by two vets, a physio and a chiropractor.

 

[Annagain]

I'm a bit further west than you but close enough to know a couple of people who may be able to help you if you want it (assuming all is well physically). PM me if you do. If you do sell, especially cheaply (or give him away) please do a search on here for Jessie Young first. It's not pretty reading.

 

[Iownayetti]

No advice I'm afraid but I just wanted to say well done OP for admitting you have a problem.
It took a lot of courage to come on here ask for help.
I do hope you get things sorted and the very best of luck.

 

[serenityjane]

I too had a Quarter Horse who was very 'cold backed', we thought it was a saddle issue, so rode her lightly bareback (she was mildly explosive under saddle), we had vets (x3), back people (x2), physios, horse trainers (vet recommended as it was believed by most professionals to be a behavioural problem) and thermal imageing done over a period of 3 years (we bought her as a professionally backed 4 year old), we had a western saddle fitted and she still deteriorated- Eventually Kissing spines were diagnosed by the 4th vet, she did not respond to steroids and we think she had probably several other issues as well (ulcers, SI and hormonal problems were all suspected). We had her PTS last year as I would not sell her as she was unrideable and found being with other horses stressful, so was not even companion material. As previous poster said, as a quarter horse she was short backed and downhill and always had tight hamstrings and was reluctant to lift the back legs. I would be interested to know your boys breeding- PM me if you wish.

 

[Renvers]

As one whose confidence has been dented in the past I sympathise with your position

I found working with a good and competent instructor we worked through the issues and I learned a lot to be a better rider and owner. The issues that seemed terrible to me where put in perspective by a sympathetic and knowledgeable outsider and i am glad I gave us both a chance. I am not in your area but maybe someone on here knows of a good local person who can help. Maybe post in the regional forum pages that cover Chepstow.