What am I doing wrong

[YoLaTango]

I have a young cob (4). I was a bit iffy about buying a young horse. I am not the best rider in the world, and the first to admit it. But I have fantastic support, he’s staying in the yard of the breeder (who backed him), I have loads of advanced riders who keep an eye out for me and a fantastic instructor.

So far, cob has been saintly. We ve taken it slow. I ve long reined, groundworked etc. about two months ago I started taking him on shortish hacks. Then a few weeks ago we had our first ever 15 mins in the arena. He was fine. I’m not cantering him. Just walking and trotting.

So today instructor said he was ready for a bit more. First we lunged him (not for long, he was fine). Then I hopped up, with instructor holding lunge. Fine in walk. But when I asked for trot, he did a few steps and slowed down… when I gave a bit of leg he went to trot and then ran away. It’s hard to explain, he didn’t exactly tank off. It was more a fear reaction. I don’t think he bucked. But I did lose a stirrup.

At first instructor didn’t know why this happened. But when I asked for trot two more times, it happened again. After, instructor said it must be that I am unbalanced and that gives him a fright and then I tense up, which makes it

He’s had dentist, farrier, vet and saddle check recently. And instructor rode him a few days ago and he was perfect. I think it is me!!! I don’t think my balance is AWFUL, but I did become unbalanced when he ran. Each time it was when I tried to stop him slowing that he reacted. It felt like fear reaction.

Could I be so unbalanced that my trot gives him a fright. I mean… I’m not going to win any prizes or anything but I have been told I fairly balanced and quiet handed…

Any advice?

 

[millitiger]

Did you try him before you bought him?
How much riding has he done in previous home?

I would suggest instructor rides first for now.
And when you ride, have a balance strap on saddle and pop a few fingers through it before you trot, it will help you keep more stable and secure and mean you don't jab him if he quickens up.

 

[Fieldlife]

Ask your instructor or the breeder to have a sit on him? See how he is with them?

 

[YoLaTango]

I did. In fact I loaned him for months. He is v green in arena.

Others ride him for me regularly (shirt hacks mainly). And I ve trotted him plenty of times out hacking. There were kids playing near the arena. Could that have been it?

my instructor is going to ride him a bit for a few weeks to see if it’s jst arena greenness.

 

[Sossigpoker]

This sounds like a fear reaction. He might have reacted to the kids.
My cob used to bomb off at the slightest of things. And if you tipped forward the tiniest bit when he was tense , he would run. The trick was to learn to recognise if he got tense and then make sure I sit back , don't grip or grab the rein.
He's 8 now and a total legend and virtually bombproof but it hasn't been the easiest journey getting here.
Don't forget that cobs are very clever and he will pick up and learn the slightest cue from you.

 

[YoLaTango]

Yup! He’s definitely a little cob genius.

That sounds right! I definitely think it was fear. It was just so odd! He is usually so brave. Honestly. Out hacking, he ll be the level headed one while the been there done it all horses spook. Each time, he was ok on the transition, went to slow down and when I gave leg bombed off. I wonder if I become unbalanced when I give leg?!

 

[Horseysheepy]

Young horses can get very unsettled by an unbalanced rider, you need to be able to kind of 'go' with their movement, sit deep and not make a big thing of it.
It could be sending mixed messages to him if you are saying "go" then pulling him back because you feel a bit unsure yourself.
I was trained by an old schooler back in the 90's that you should always give them a pathway, let them panic a bit give them space to do so, because if you don't, they sometimes will have no choice but to go up on their hindlegs. Sometimes you've just got to let your reins go quite a bit and just get the message across that it's ok to go forwards and you won't be punished for getting a bit panicky or onward bound. They soon learn, but it takes a bit of 'feel' and confidence to get it right.
You are doing a fab job having lots of support around you, so maybe there's an option to send horse away for schooling to get it up to scratch for you?

 

[Sossigpoker]

I suspect you might have maybe tipped forward and booted him which scared him. Even 12 months ago if I'd booted mine he would have been off!
I would get your instructor to school him so he has mainly nice experiences- at this stage he needs to be ridden the most by an experienced rider and the least by the learning rider as he doesn't yet know what his job is and what is expected.
To start with my instructor rode 4-5 times to my every ride. Once he's more established and knows his job ,.he'll be able to deal with your imbalance or booting him. But at the moment he doesn't know the difference

At this age it is very easy to ruin a young horse so I'd really urge you to leave the riding mostly to your instructor before this turns into a more permanent problem.

 

[YoLaTango]

Yes!!! I think he was freaked out by my lack of balance. I am lucky! The people around me are very willing to school him (I was a bit nervous ? about buying a young horse, so they agreed to this before sale). And they are lovely generous people too, which is nice.

I think my issue is - I m fine and balanced when all is going well. But I tense up when problems happen. Need to balance myself in the moment and go with it! Very good advice!

 

[Sossigpoker]

Young horses can get very unsettled by an unbalanced rider, you need to be able to kind of 'go' with their movement, sit deep and not make a big thing of it.
It could be sending mixed messages to him if you are saying "go" then pulling him back because you feel a bit unsure yourself.
I was trained by an old schooler back in the 90's that you should always give them a pathway, let them panic a bit give them space to do so, because if you don't, they sometimes will have no choice but to go up on their hindlegs. Sometimes you've just got to let your reins go quite a bit and just get the message across that it's ok to go forwards and you won't be punished for getting a bit panicky or onward bound. They soon learn, but it takes a bit of 'feel' and confidence to get it right.
You are doing a fab job having lots of support around you, so maybe there's an option to send horse away for schooling to get it up to scratch for you?

I definitely agree about letting them go forward. But I wouldn't recommend this is something OP tries as catching the horse at the right time takes a lot of feel. When mine took off, my instructor would just sit there on him very quietly until my horse realised that no one was panicking and pulling on the reins , then she'd pull him up and make him stand.
There's no way I had the nerve and the skill to do that !

 

[YoLaTango]

I suspect you might have maybe tipped forward and booted him which scared him. Even 12 months ago if I'd booted mine he would have been off!
I would get your instructor to school him so he has mainly nice experiences- at this stage he needs to be ridden the most by an experienced rider and the least by the learning rider as he doesn't yet know what his job is and what is expected.
To start with my instructor rode 4-5 times to my every ride. Once he's more established and knows his job ,.he'll be able to deal with your imbalance or booting him. But at the moment he doesn't know the difference

At this age it is very easy to ruin a young horse so I'd really urge you to leave the riding mostly to your instructor before this turns into a more permanent problem.

Agreed! I think I tipped forward. Don’t think I booted though. I have consciously been trying to mind his mouth and not boot. But it was defo me…

 

[YoLaTango]

I definitely agree about letting them go forward. But I wouldn't recommend this is something OP tries as catching the horse at the right time takes a lot of feel. When mine took off, my instructor would just sit there on him very quietly until my horse realised that no one was panicking and pulling on the reins , then she'd pull him up and make him stand.
There's no way I had the nerve and the skill to do that !

Yes to all that. I certainly pulled!!!!

 

[Arzada]

Each time, he was ok on the transition, went to slow down and when I gave leg bombed off.

Perhaps using your leg when slowing is confusing him and he thinks it means go. I'd stop using legs when slowing and see if that works for him.

 

[stangs]

Might also be that he was unbalanced in the arena. Regardless, I suspect that not only were you a tad unbalanced but also you ended up gripping as a defence mechanism - because this is human nature - meaning you were asking for both stop and go, with no release, and he therefore panicked further.

 

[YoLaTango]

Might also be that he was unbalanced in the arena. Regardless, I suspect that not only were you a tad unbalanced but also you ended up gripping as a defence mechanism - because this is human nature - meaning you were asking for both stop and go, with no release, and he therefore panicked further.

Absolutely. I have just acquired a neck strap… so I don’t sock him in the mouth in future. Poor boy!

 

[Horseysheepy]

I definitely agree about letting them go forward. But I wouldn't recommend this is something OP tries as catching the horse at the right time takes a lot of feel. When mine took off, my instructor would just sit there on him very quietly until my horse realised that no one was panicking and pulling on the reins , then she'd pull him up and make him stand.
There's no way I had the nerve and the skill to do that !

I totally agree, an experienced rider needs to get on him to get through this stage.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Yes!!! I think he was freaked out by my lack of balance. I am lucky! The people around me are very willing to school him (I was a bit nervous ? about buying a young horse, so they agreed to this before sale). And they are lovely generous people too, which is nice.

I think my issue is - I m fine and balanced when all is going well. But I tense up when problems happen. Need to balance myself in the moment and go with it! Very good advice!

It is the tensing that is scaring your horse. You really must let him be educated by more established riders so that he only has positive experiences. For the first 6 months I barely rode my horse !
If you carry on confusing and scaring him , you will end up with a problem horse. If you let others educate him , you'll end up with a total legend like my boy. Trust me , I've gone through the same thing.
Mine used to run and bronc when he panicked but now he's the most steady ., bombproof horse I've ever had!!

My current yard owner takes on a lot of horses ruined like this for training. One horse was a 5 year old ,.sold to a novice rider and within a few months they were having exactly the same problems. The owner decided to sell rather than train - after a few months at my yard ,.the horse is absolutely fantastic, and in fact is so steady that he's in training to go to the RDA! Goes to show how important good education is.

Letting more experienced people educate yourself young horse doesn't make you a crap rider or owner - your horse just needs more skills than you currently have. In 6 months time you will have a different horse who is able to deal with your mistakes and no longer panics.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Might also be that he was unbalanced in the arena. Regardless, I suspect that not only were you a tad unbalanced but also you ended up gripping as a defence mechanism - because this is human nature - meaning you were asking for both stop and go, with no release, and he therefore panicked further.

Couldn't agree more! This is exactly what i used to do and caused my horse to run.

 

[fetlock]

What prompted you to get him checked by vet etc recently?

 

[Rowreach]

Just to clarify, the instructor had you on the lunge? A lunge lesson on a young unbalanced horse with a (sorry!) unbalanced rider is a recipe for problems.

 

[southerncomfort]

Just to clarify, the instructor had you on the lunge? A lunge lesson on a young unbalanced horse with a (sorry!) unbalanced rider is a recipe for problems.

Yes I also read it as instructor had OP riding on the lunge.

As RR says above, a young horse is still finding his balance. Even trotting on the outside track will be hard for him for a while. On the lunge it'll be almost impossible.

You sound like you've done really well with him so far, it might be worth having a couple of lessons with an instructor who has more experience with training young horses.

For what it's worth I never lunged my youngster with or without a rider and my instructor never suggested it either.

 

[SEL]

When my Appy was the same age I over checked her when she spooked at a deer in the hedge. The buck was vertical and put me in hospital. One of the other liveries was on a Jason Webb course not long after and mentioned what had happened. He said it was the restriction of the flight instinct that led to such a dramatic response and she needed to be able to run a few steps

I've got a neck strap on current 4yo so if he spooks I'm not tempted to jab him in the mouth.

Saying that I'm not a fan of lunging with a rider on board when they're young - signals from the rider plus the person holding the lunge just equals confusion

 

[YoLaTango]

I am listening and devising plan. My instructor will ride once a wk and others (way way more experienced) also. I think the lunge was frustrating him too!
Do you think it would be ok to continue hacking? I Hacking him. We have a great bond I think.

 

[FieldOrnaments]

If you want to work the horse on the lunge with a rider, can you get a dummy to get him used to someone (or rather something!) unbalanced, potentially flapping out etc., on his back?

The only way a young horse should ever be worked on the lunge with a rider in my opinion is either with a dummy, or without reins. The mixture of signals for a baby brain just leads to overload and ultimately a fear response. Sitting up and deep and letting them scat forwards a bit, then, 'woa, woa, woa, silly' and a scratch when they've got the urge to flee out of their system enough to be able to listen - remembering that their fight or flight response and their thinking bit are separate areas of the brain - is always a good plan.

 

[Rowreach]

I am listening and devising plan. My instructor will ride once a wk and others (way way more experienced) also. I think the lunge was frustrating him too!
Do you think it would be ok to continue hacking? I Hacking him. We have a great bond I think.

Yes, hacking hacking and more hacking, it will be the making of you both. Personally I wouldn't bother going in a school for at least a year after backing, I like them to get stronger and wiser out in the open. And you'll get stronger and wiser too

And no more lunge lessons until he's about 10.

 

[YoLaTango]

Yes, hacking hacking and more hacking, it will be the making of you both. Personally I wouldn't bother going in a school for at least a year after backing, I like them to get stronger and wiser out in the open. And you'll get stronger and wiser too

And no more lunge lessons until he's about 10.

ok! I will take this sage advice! In any case… I love hacking. And he is such a sweetie. So excited to be out with his friends seeing the world. I am head over heels for him - so must do right by him.

 

[YoLaTango]

Couldn't agree more! This is exactly what i used to do and caused my horse to run.

yes I totally grip. How did you stop?!

 

[YoLaTango]

What prompted you to get him checked by vet etc recently?

vet check before buying. All fine. All the rest was jst young horse stuff, making sure all in working order I guess.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Sounds like inexperience to me, maybe a bit of stubbornness too, little cob I broke last year was the same. Would ride fine with me and my friend got on and he would be a wee poop, soon got into the habit and stopped it

 

[fetlock]

If I'm reading your post right, you've had him quite a while, he was backed before you took him on loan and subsequently bought him. He's then had a few months of hacking, then has been going sweetly in walk and trot in the arena without issue in recent weeks?

So I'm curious to know what the instructor, after saying he was ready to do a bit more, hoped to achieve from lungeing him with you onboard. I think I'd be asking that question next time you speak with them. Depending on their answer, I'd be considering looking for another instructor.