Young horses going through phases

W

Walrus

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 January 2007
Messages
2,433
Visit site
Hello,

Just wondered if you found your baby horses going through phases. My boy has been the ultimate angel to long rein, back and start hacking. However in the last couple of weeks he has got more spooky, bolshy and generally a bit of an a*se! I fell off him in the school yesterday due to a violent swerve left spooking at a bird in the woods (I went less left - woops!) Silly thing is that this week he has hacked passed huge fields of pigs no problem but has totally spat his dummy out at straw bales and squirrels moving in trees! He feels like he has suddenly got a lot stronger and fitter (and I've cut his grass down as he is too fat).

I'm hoping it's just a phase and I'm starting fortnightly lessons next week now I feel he's strong enough to last in the school.

What phases have your newly broken babies gone through?
 
Ha, yes, Bobby is 5 on July 1st, he was broken quite late. 3 and a half months ago I bought a cute fluffy roly poly pony who was knackered after one circuit in trot in the school and was very very slow. Now I have a sleek, bulked up bullock of a pony who I think has now realised he has quite a bit of strength behind him. We measured him the other day and he has even grown in height since I got him! He may only be 13.2 and a half (!) but he's also about 13.2hh wide (and that's not all fat!)!!
 
lol mines 7 now but still like a different horse to ride from one day to the next
he used to spook then *** sideways and start to bronc or walk around stumbling and groaning as if i was far to heavy for him to walk about with for half an hour(he is 16'3 middleweight i was 9stone then lol)

his other trick was drop right shoulder and whip round to left if he still had me on bored he would then rear then launch forward and refuse to turn round ,every time i got hold of reins he'd rear i'd let go (scared incase he came over backwards) then he'd launch forward again ,it was great fun.
i just kept hanging on and persevering but i didnt like him very much some days

you'd also just be walking along and he would just buck just the once then carry on as if it never happened

he is now lovely most of the time and when he is naughty he gives in as soon as i shout NO cos he knows im going to make him work hard if he carries on

he was fine to break and good as gold till he was 4 ,he was a horrible 5yr old think its when they get stronger theytry every trick in the book lol
 
boogles said:
I was "warned" when I got lord about the 5yo mile lmao :D

To be fair he isn't too bad, just the last week he has become a very opinionated and stroppy so and so :p
Click to expand...

Stroppy is the word! If Bobby was a person he would have been laying on the supermarket floor kicking his legs and stamping his fists this week!!
 
I long reined and backed my baby when she was 3 then turned her away until she was 4. She was brilliant and very eager to learn BUT I have found as a 5yr old throws more tantrums and throws her toys out of the pram far more! lol Just a phase eh? Think they are all different really. Good luck
x
 
Spanner (about 4 and a half) is going through a broncking, rodeo phase at the moment.

Gave the display of her life last week at a PC Rally! So embarressing! Not sure if we'll be welcome again!
 
It's good to hear this! I'm so please I have a week off work in a fortnight, we can kick start lessons and do some in-hand work every day. I keep telling him it doesn't suit him being a idiot, hopefully he'll be back on this planet soon!

Maybe I should start a "My pony is going through a Kevin the teenager phase and I have the bruises to prove it" clique!!
 
Im having exactly the same problems, my chap was backed in November (he was 4 in March) was a perfect gent over the terrible winter we have had, has competed in his first dressage test and behaved impeccably, has lessons every two weeks, hacks out, doesnt spook, but OMG the last couple of days hes been a right t**t, everybody tells me he cant be perfect all the time but its not nice being so high up when they start is it!!!!! must be the change in temperature and the spring grass, thats the excuse im giving him :D
 
Mine is a good girl most of the time, with the occasional broncing session... but this last week all the toys have been thrown out of the pram! We have been unable to do a circle of trot without bunny hop bucks or the full blown bronco session. Swishing tail, leaping about, pulling faces, generally being a right ****. But I'm not convinced there is nothing going on, so teeth, back and saddle check it is, before I get stroppy back... :p
 
Mine has been off most of this week as I have had an op on my knee but the lesson I had just before going into hospital he wasn't being exactly compliant! Refusing to bend sensibly to the right (left is fine appraently, as are 5m circles to right, however 15 - 20m circles aren't possible). He also threw in a few huge spook/buck/run off moments when he is usually very chilled, instructor hasn't seen him do that before and was quite surprised! Think the lunge line might come out before I get back on next week....think the grass and the sunny weather is major contributing factor!
 
I dislikes my horse whilst he was 5!

he was lovely at 4, then turned horrible - napping, bucking, rearing, random leaping through the air, grumpy....

He turned 6 last week and so far so good....im keeping my fingers crossed :)
 
Lol my Bigbird was late backed at 5 and then had a foal, so, although she has the body of a 7yo, she has the mind of a 5yo, yesterday at her second competition she had an 'Elizabeth Bott' moment in the canter and we had a Shant, Shall, Shant, Shall incident which lasted the whole way round a 20m circle :eek: :rolleyes:

Luckily I am just as obstinate as she is and actually found it funny :D
 
We are going through a fear of puddles phase. Yesterday we spent about 10 minutes standing on a bank cause of a large puddle monster. If you can picture a 16 hand streak of feebleness quivering on a bank but refusing to move incase his hooves were bitten off by the creature in the water - that was us.

I then spent another 10 minutes leading him backwards & forwards through the puddle (yes I had gotten off) with an audience of small children from the village.

This week I am praying for dry weather.
 
Hi, been reading this thread with interest, we have a 16 2 mare, that wasn't broken in till she was 7, so mentally she is very young, since easter her behaviour has gotten progressively worse, resulting in her terrifying my daughter by rearing and spinning, diving into thorny verges all to avoid doing what she is asked, by the way the mare is 10 next month, in the year we have had her I have spent literally hours doing groundwork with her, teaching her it is safe to leave the yard and basic manners, I am not confident enough to ride her as I am just back into riding although my OH has years of experience, nothing is working, while long reining her she literally tied herself up so she couldn't move and the following day while longreining she reversed into a thorny verge and cut her leg.
How do you cure it, (the behaviour not the leg) we are at our wits end trying to figure out what to try next, yet she is not nasty just wilful
 
Oh yeh!! napping, bronking, bucking, rearing, you name it he thought of it first but now at just turned 6 he seems to have fairly well grown out of it.
 
my boy was the worlds easiest 4yo-did two BD shows then went to the area festivals and just absorbed the atmosphere etc, then this year as a 5yo he did two super shows then spat the dummy big time and tried to show me who was boss. he got firmly put back in his box and has now reverted to my lovely angel horse, so just keep plugging away and you WILL get your nice boy back :)
 
I'm loving this thread!

Ruby, my 16.1 Sportshorse is 4 next week. I lightly broke her last year, then have re-backed her and have been mainly hacking this year (alone), going in the school once a fortnight. Today we went on our hack and omg she was such a madam. I think I ended up referring to her as a moose! She's tried to learn how to spook and spin!

There was a very spooky branch attached to a tree overhanging where the bridle path, then towards the end of the path there was a naughty gremlin in the bush, the man hole covers in the road were all going to eat her, and then to top it all off the horse that she'd been watching as we walked round the corner put its head up making her leap!

Well needless to say Mummy's not impressed, and was telling her the whole way round that she won't get her carrot!!! (Super nanny would ave had me over the coals for my empty threats!!)

I love her to bits really, but do I want this for another year???!!!

Lis
 
My boy is just turning five and most of this thread seems to describe his recent behaviour! He has been lovely until now and I was starting to rebuild my shattered confidence, so this is not good news...
 
i'm not enjoying the 5 year old phase i have to say...:rolleyes: V alternates between being totally awesome where i could ride about all day and being a complete devil child...he's so much bigger and stronger than he was last year and when he decides to co-operate he feels great...when he doesn't want to be compliant i have zero control or say in anything and i just sit there feeling very small and ineffective :o:eek:
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top