What to do?

Lynnskatz

Lynnskatz

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Well on 20th January I bought what I thought was my perfect horse.
Was sold through a livery yard for the owner.
She has not put a foot wrong since I got her and we have bonded very quickly.
Then I find her previous owner on here MurphyofHeron and read through her posts to find that in her words my horse is dangerous, rears, bolts, bad to catch, and very unpredictable, and that she would never get on her back again! I have pm'd her twice but she has not got back to me.
I only wanted her to talk to me and give me a bit more info on this bad behaviour i.e does she just rear at shows or does she do it while hacking out too, is it when she is in season or any time, etc.
Im 43 years old and not in the best of health, I bought Jessie because she was the total opposite to my last horse (an ex racehorse) who had destroyed my confidence. Jessie was restoring my confidence up till I read about her and now I dont know what to do. Do I give her the benefit of the dowt as she has been no bother so far, or do I give her up just incase? Im so chewed up about this as I love her dearly. Any advice appreciated.
 
wow that must have been a shock and not nice to read but i would try and give her a chance as she not done anything to alarm you as yet it might just have been the case that the old owner did not get along with her or she did not like old owner you don't no how they treated her or reacted to this behaviour or towards her. as she showed no sign so far that has to be a good sign and very much a green tick on her side have you done much with her to give her opportunities to show this bad side. as for old owner quite irresponsible to sell a horse that they deem dangerous and refuse to get on with no warning to new owner if you sell a horse that u don't get along with or has issues if you sell it with full info to new buyer then fine as some people like to bond and work on sed issues but to not tell or warn is shocking i would feel on edge as they would have no clue what sets them off. i would not panic the livery yard what sold her must have rode her and you must have to so for them to ride her happily must be good thing to .
 
Give the horse a chance. Be aware of what could go wrong, as we all should anyway, but try and relax with her.

Horses can behave different for different people and in different circumstances/envrionments. Your horse may have found her person, give her a chance to let you know for sure.
 
Some horses don't get on with certain people/homes. Doesn't mean it will be the same for you. Maybe your routine suits her better.
I would try and put it out of your mind and crack on with her and enjoy her.
 
If she's behaved well in her first month with you in a new home then that bodes well. Try not to think about what you've heard, as hard as that may be, because it'll only make you tense and your horse will pick up on that.

Enjoy your mare and don't dwell on what you read here. :)
 
TBH if you look back at her posts they dont really add up. Lots of different stories and several horses that rear.

I would take what she has said as a pinch of salt for now.

The mare hasnt misbehaved for you so maybe it was just an over exaggeration on MOHs part or you ride differently.

You really need lhotse to look into this! She is the HHO sleuth!:)
 
the horse might just have clicked with you better and be a better match. maybe you are just more in tune with it? maybe its more settled and happy at your yard? if the horse has given you no reason to doubt it then maybe give it the benefit of the doubt, although i can completely understand why you'd be wanting the background story! maybe the original owner was exagerating or being dramatic?
 
Thankyou for the quick replies, I only really want Jessie to hack out on, my friend does a little jumping with her as we have a xc course on our yard.
Maybe she didnt take to the pressures of lots of schooling and dressage which she wont have with me as its not my thing.
I was wondering if I should ride her in a standing martingale just incase or stick to the running im using now.
 
Lynnskatz said:
Thankyou for the quick replies, I only really want Jessie to hack out on, my friend does a little jumping with her as we have a xc course on our yard.
Maybe she didnt take to the pressures of lots of schooling and dressage which she wont have with me as its not my thing.
I was wondering if I should ride her in a standing martingale just incase or stick to the running im using now.
Click to expand...

Don't change anything, jsut stick to what you have been doing, that's obviously working for you and your mare, try your hardest to pretend you didn't read it and carry on that way, this mare could be a completely different horse with you, it sounds as though you have already got off to a really good start.

I say this with experience and passion! one of my mares will NOT go for some other riders, (2 different instructors) she's completely different with me, still sensitive but wants to please, with one of the instructors she was in a rage the minute she got on and wouldn't work for her (I don't use her anymore although she was a very good rider).

Best of luck.
 
They have put a sticker with a false name and address on over MurphyofHerons name :eek: that would be so i could not contact them.
:mad:

I bought from a private livery yard who told me they were selling her for someone else.
 
I wouldn't think too much about what may have happened with a previous owner. My last horse was a total g!t for me to ride, he would nap, spook, spin, evade. Now he is working with disabled kids, teaching them to ride, and he is a dream! I asked more of him than he was willing to do, so he went mental. Your horse probably loves doing some hacking and a wee bit of jumping, especially if she was expected to work very hard at previous homes.

If you both get on well, you'll be fine I'm sure. My current horse and I get on really well, and he will behave better for me than for other riders.
 
Lynnskatz said:
They have put a sticker with a false name and address on over MurphyofHerons name :eek: that would be so i could not contact them.
:mad:

I bought from a private livery yard who told me they were selling her for someone else.
Click to expand...

I dont know which County you are in but suggest you contact your local Animal Health Officer part of Trading Stds. Passports should not be tampered with and should you wish at some point to sell the horse on this could cause you problems:

''Prohibitions
20. It is an offence to—
(a) destroy or deface a passport;
(b) alter any entry made in Section I of the passport;
(c) alter any of the details in Section II or III of the passport unless authorised in writing to do so by a passport issuing body;
(d) make an entry in Section IV of the passport except in accordance with the rules and regulations of a passport issuing organisation''

The Horse Passport Regulations 2009
 
Agree with those who say that you should stick with it as the horse is (so far) everything you wanted , but bear in mind that there may be some situations that you need to take extra care with. I had a TB mare who I could ride reasonably well , YM , who was a much better rider than me got on and she nearly killed him , reared and went right over and bucked him off , never seen him come off anything before or since. Dont know why
 
Give her a chance, and continue working her as you are. It may have been that previous problems before said user owned her weren't remedied/remedied correctly? (No slant to her!)
 
My advice is to try to forget that you read anything about the mare - you still have no idea how much that has been said/written about the mare has been exaggerated. I bought a mare about a month ago - it was very obvious that she and the previous owner's wife didn't get on and although I went to see the mare twice, I only saw the owner once, when he virtually ignored the mare and didn't ask me anything about where she would be going/what we would do with her.
The mare seemed very 'switched off' when we saw and tried her but since we got her home, she has become very affectionate both with us and with her field companions, I doubt if her previous owners would recognise her behaviour- we were warned that she tries to bite when being tacked/rugged up. Not here she doesn't.
Enjoy your mare! As others have said, she might well appreciate the lack of pressure in a hacking home.
 
I had a look at the piccies on fb - you two look great together, and both of you look relaxed and happy out on the road! Horses are sensitive, emotional creatures and can reflect their surroundings, so it can depend on their owner, their carer, their neighbouring stable mates, their herd... I'd take the mare as I found her to be, not as someone else has (much as I do with people). Obviously it's wise to keep your wits about you on any horse - even the 'bombproof' horse (hate that word btw) can be frightened and take flight, or be sore or moody and nap. Fingers crossed she truly is a diffent creature because she's at the right home 80) That, and/or the previous owners stories aren't all about Jessie or entirely factual!
 
i agree with everyone.. take her at face value i.e. how she is with you.. When i was 12 i used to ride out a big 16.3 draught mare i did everything on her pc eventing, camp, sj, dressage the lot and we really clicked she never put a hoof wrong.. when she was sold on to a woman i thought was lovely i was delighted. Soon however she started telling everyone how she'd be sold a "mad" horse who never stopped rearing or bucking.. im not saying it did or didnt happen or that anyones bending the truth but sometimes you just really click with a horse regardless of their past and they know instinctively to look after you :) i really hope everything works out for you 2, sounds like shes really found a great home ;)
 
I would say if she's being good with you she may well continue to do so. As I too think some horses are better behaved with different people. Not necessarily referring to MoH here but I think some people may describe things in a different way to what they actually are too - if you heard some of the people talk up the "incidents" they've had on their horses at the yard where I am you'd start to think they were absolute horrors but it's overexaggeration and their lack of confidence or ability a lot of the time. Common term is "freaked out" for when a horse spooks at something in the corner of the school and bounds away for a couple of strides. Until or when something may happen, try not to start feeling anxious about your new horse as it sounds like you are a good partnership. Sometimes as well it can be down to how the horse is kept and its routine as if a horse feels settled and in a good routine they relax too. Hope it all continues to go well with yours.
 
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