MizElz
Well-Known Member
What is a 'problem horse'?
- Thread starter MizElz
- Start date
TarrSteps
Well-Known Member
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He is 9 Tia and I have no concrete information on him. I bought him from a dealer and managed to trace his previous owner who had had him all of a fortnight, was chucked off 3 times shortly after mounting and decided to sell him on! I also traced the dealer in Wales (where he came from before he reached the dealer in the West Midlands from whom I bought him) but he claimed not to even remember the horse. I get the impression that he has been passed from pillar to post.
To be honest I am running out of money to keep him myself. He would probably like being a field ornament and I would be happy to give him a way as a companion but you relinquish control if you do that and who knows what could happen? I am thinking of having him PTS because he appears to be unrideable. I expect I will get a lot of flack for saying this but I think it is kinder than sending him to an uncertain future when he may have been through a lot before I bought him.
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I just heard the tail end of a similar experience.
I had a horse to ride a few years back that was initially presented as merely "spoiled". As he was a highly bred, extremely athletic (and beautiful) 4 year old ENTIRE that had been sold to a nervous, novice adult owner. . . well, it wasn't hard to see how that might come about. Interestingly I had ridden both his sire and dam and neither one of them was particularly "amateur friendly" so the whole thing sounded pretty straight forward.
But it was obvious to me fairly early on something else was going on. The horse didn't move as he looked like he should, he had some very strange reactions, and he just felt wrong. With much digging on my part I discovered the horse has been involved in two significant wrecks in quick succession. In the first he had been "desensitised" against the llamas that upset him by being put in a small round pen in their field. (At this point he had not had regular turnout for almost a year as his owner could not lead him safely.) He ran until he tore his skin and then went through the gate with his neck through one of the gaps, taking the gate off the hinges and flipping himself over. Then, on convalesence, he had been allowed to stick his head through a feed door, hooking his halter and struggling until he pulled the tongue and groove wall down on himself. Hmm. On top of spending a great deal of his early education with a trainer whose favourite pass time was longing in VERY short side reins.
Neck injury anyone?
I convinced the owners to turn the horse away for a bit and he got better but was still not right. I took him off to a very astute vet and we agreed (I might have whined
) to block his neck with lidocaine. Even sedated the horse showed instantaneous improvement in his posture and tension levels, much to the vet's surprise as he had pronounced the horse "sound" initially. With the block I started riding the horse again and he was greatly improved. However the owners refused to accept the horse was probably premanently compromised (he still didn't move as he should have) and we eventually parted ways. Another trainer was more accomodating although I heard through the grapevine he was unable to get the horse showing nor to get it sold for what the people wanted.
So, I heard recently, they gave him away. He was then passed to someone else - an older recreational rider probably thrilled to get such a gorgeous horse - with NONE of his history in tow. First ride he bucked her off and hurt her seriously. She then made arrangements to send him to a "cowboy" but luckily a friend of mine put two and two together and remembered me having the horse. I don't know what the decision will be but honestly, I hope they make sure nothing like this can ever happen to the horse again.
I could tell you more similar stories.
I think if a horse is a real danger to himself and others and all treatment and training options have been exhausted the owner has to take a good hard look at the situation. I don't think that's weak, I think it's brave. If you can provide for the horse forever, making sure it's NEVER in a situation where it or anyone else is at risk, then that's fantastic. If you can't, well . . . it's very tough. It's also quite likely by that point a few people have shirked their responsibilities.
Don't get me wrong, I'll try to fix anything, but I realise in the real world there are limits.
I always say good manners are health insurance for horses. A horse that's easy to look after and handle, even if it's not so sound, will usually find a good home, if only because it's no bother. A horse that's a pain will have a much harder time and often will end up either being punished for something it should never have learned in the first place or worse. To the people who say "I will never not own this horse and the problem doesn't bother me", how can you be sure? Things change. I think it's a duty to send every horse out in the world with the best bag of skills possible.
And to people who feel battling with a horse or putting up with unpleasant, even dangerous behaviour is "fun" . . . well, how much fun is it for the horse? Or the other people/animals around? Not to mention that a misbehaving horse is at far more risk of getting hurt, even if one doesn't care about one's own safety. There are good reasons we have the standards of behaviour we do for horses.
He is 9 Tia and I have no concrete information on him. I bought him from a dealer and managed to trace his previous owner who had had him all of a fortnight, was chucked off 3 times shortly after mounting and decided to sell him on! I also traced the dealer in Wales (where he came from before he reached the dealer in the West Midlands from whom I bought him) but he claimed not to even remember the horse. I get the impression that he has been passed from pillar to post.
To be honest I am running out of money to keep him myself. He would probably like being a field ornament and I would be happy to give him a way as a companion but you relinquish control if you do that and who knows what could happen? I am thinking of having him PTS because he appears to be unrideable. I expect I will get a lot of flack for saying this but I think it is kinder than sending him to an uncertain future when he may have been through a lot before I bought him.
[/ QUOTE ]
I just heard the tail end of a similar experience.
I had a horse to ride a few years back that was initially presented as merely "spoiled". As he was a highly bred, extremely athletic (and beautiful) 4 year old ENTIRE that had been sold to a nervous, novice adult owner. . . well, it wasn't hard to see how that might come about. Interestingly I had ridden both his sire and dam and neither one of them was particularly "amateur friendly" so the whole thing sounded pretty straight forward.
But it was obvious to me fairly early on something else was going on. The horse didn't move as he looked like he should, he had some very strange reactions, and he just felt wrong. With much digging on my part I discovered the horse has been involved in two significant wrecks in quick succession. In the first he had been "desensitised" against the llamas that upset him by being put in a small round pen in their field. (At this point he had not had regular turnout for almost a year as his owner could not lead him safely.) He ran until he tore his skin and then went through the gate with his neck through one of the gaps, taking the gate off the hinges and flipping himself over. Then, on convalesence, he had been allowed to stick his head through a feed door, hooking his halter and struggling until he pulled the tongue and groove wall down on himself. Hmm. On top of spending a great deal of his early education with a trainer whose favourite pass time was longing in VERY short side reins.
Neck injury anyone?
I convinced the owners to turn the horse away for a bit and he got better but was still not right. I took him off to a very astute vet and we agreed (I might have whined
So, I heard recently, they gave him away. He was then passed to someone else - an older recreational rider probably thrilled to get such a gorgeous horse - with NONE of his history in tow. First ride he bucked her off and hurt her seriously. She then made arrangements to send him to a "cowboy" but luckily a friend of mine put two and two together and remembered me having the horse. I don't know what the decision will be but honestly, I hope they make sure nothing like this can ever happen to the horse again.
I could tell you more similar stories.
I think if a horse is a real danger to himself and others and all treatment and training options have been exhausted the owner has to take a good hard look at the situation. I don't think that's weak, I think it's brave. If you can provide for the horse forever, making sure it's NEVER in a situation where it or anyone else is at risk, then that's fantastic. If you can't, well . . . it's very tough. It's also quite likely by that point a few people have shirked their responsibilities.
Don't get me wrong, I'll try to fix anything, but I realise in the real world there are limits.
I always say good manners are health insurance for horses. A horse that's easy to look after and handle, even if it's not so sound, will usually find a good home, if only because it's no bother. A horse that's a pain will have a much harder time and often will end up either being punished for something it should never have learned in the first place or worse. To the people who say "I will never not own this horse and the problem doesn't bother me", how can you be sure? Things change. I think it's a duty to send every horse out in the world with the best bag of skills possible.
And to people who feel battling with a horse or putting up with unpleasant, even dangerous behaviour is "fun" . . . well, how much fun is it for the horse? Or the other people/animals around? Not to mention that a misbehaving horse is at far more risk of getting hurt, even if one doesn't care about one's own safety. There are good reasons we have the standards of behaviour we do for horses.
bensababy
Well-Known Member
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Id say shes naughty -
the fact she wont lunge - is this naughtyness? or have you had her checked for back/muscle probs?
digging toes in - sheer stubboness IMO
Nipping - naughty - no excuse.
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LOL looks like i have been deluding myself then - i am the owner of a naughty horse! ah well, iv coped this far! (and so has she!)
Im a owner of a naughty pony too.. you just have to persevere with it. Im not saying its a bad thing... IMO i like my pony having a bit of naughtiness.. adds to his character and as long as hes not nasty i couldnt care less.
i have spoken about the lunging issue before - she was badly frightened, having been badly lunged, just before we got her. the person lunging her thought that all you had to do was let the rein go, crack the whip, get horse galloping and keep it going in circles until it got tired
it makes me mad to think of it; poor elz is simply terrified now - the first couple of times i lunged her, she went so frantic trying to get away from the lunge whip that she slipped and fell, which pretty much put me off as well as her
now iv got a v good instructor who is helping me to get ellie to understand that lunging is good, and will not hurt her if done properly, but its a v long process!
Thats good..atleast your working with her and not giving up.
the digging-toes in doesnt happen often - normally only if there are tractors around(!) and when she is in use...LOL
and as for her nipping....i fear i havent helped matters here, i will admit
as she is a lone horse, i have taken over as back scratcher, and she scratches me in return....consequently, her 'rubbing' can occasionally lead to teeth being involved; its not that she means to bite, but at the same time, i wouldnt trust her with, say, a young un-horsey child; i'd need to be on hand to keep her actions appropriate!
bless her, i cant help but feel i have done her an injustice; again, maybe i am TOO honest (my mum has read what i wrote about Ellie yesterday and had forty fits - "thats not Ellie! she only weaved at old yard, only bucks when fresh, only nips by accident...." and so on, if you get my drift
she is, in fact, a lovely girl, as anyone who has ever had the pleasure of knowing her would tell you!
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please dont feel that i was knocking you because shes naughty because i wasnt - as i have said above i too have a naughty pony.. as long as hes not nasty i couldnt care..hes just cheeky and its all part of his character.
Just work through her issues and if she has been badly treated before you got her - all the more reason to give her a bit of time and understanding.
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Id say shes naughty -
the fact she wont lunge - is this naughtyness? or have you had her checked for back/muscle probs?
digging toes in - sheer stubboness IMO
Nipping - naughty - no excuse.
[/ QUOTE ]
LOL looks like i have been deluding myself then - i am the owner of a naughty horse! ah well, iv coped this far! (and so has she!)
Im a owner of a naughty pony too.. you just have to persevere with it. Im not saying its a bad thing... IMO i like my pony having a bit of naughtiness.. adds to his character and as long as hes not nasty i couldnt care less.
i have spoken about the lunging issue before - she was badly frightened, having been badly lunged, just before we got her. the person lunging her thought that all you had to do was let the rein go, crack the whip, get horse galloping and keep it going in circles until it got tired
Thats good..atleast your working with her and not giving up.
the digging-toes in doesnt happen often - normally only if there are tractors around(!) and when she is in use...LOL
and as for her nipping....i fear i havent helped matters here, i will admit
bless her, i cant help but feel i have done her an injustice; again, maybe i am TOO honest (my mum has read what i wrote about Ellie yesterday and had forty fits - "thats not Ellie! she only weaved at old yard, only bucks when fresh, only nips by accident...." and so on, if you get my drift
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please dont feel that i was knocking you because shes naughty because i wasnt - as i have said above i too have a naughty pony.. as long as hes not nasty i couldnt care..hes just cheeky and its all part of his character.
Just work through her issues and if she has been badly treated before you got her - all the more reason to give her a bit of time and understanding.