When your horse shows you up!

[tikkitti]

Don't you just love it when your horse shows you up! I finally felt I knew my 15.2hh project I bought about 3 years ago and his behaviour has improved so much. I think staying in a home longer than a year has helped No one apart from me ever rides him however I lent him to a very experienced rider yesterday for the morning. I did mention I would expect he might put it the odd buck and drop his shoulder in excitement but TBH she knew what he was like when I got him so I knew she wasn't in the dark. Anyway he spooked at nettles, fences, reared and span, bronced and also fitted in a few bucks. When he wasnt doing any of that he was bouncing like a coiled spring. The rider was capable of handling him but I was mortified when I was told last night, I've not seen all that for a while and he is in the bad books I'm presuming he was testing his new rider ( he's cheeky enough too) but lucky the rider was more than capable of riding him and last night laughing at his exploits. I was going to start letting my 13 year old do a few bits on him but it's not going to happen now I just hope we are not back in naughty horsey mode as TBH I'm getting too old for all that carry on. x

 

[Skib]

You didnt see what happened? Neither did I, but I would suggest the horse might have reacted badly to a certain style of competent riding?
I have seen some of our RS ponies really resent being ridden by a senior male instructor - Bucking, spinning, not transitioning when asked. Of course keep your chld safe. But until you ride again in your way, you havent necessarilly lost your training of your horse.
It can happen the other way too - I know an excellent and highly trained woman rider who had trouble with her young eventer - Came off out hacking. Sent him to a strong male trainer for whom he was absolutely fine. Horses react differently to different riders. I am constantly being told that when I am out hacking.

 

[KP nut]

I think horses can revert to previous behaviours when under stress. Xavier's new owners struggled with him a bit at first. Luckily they knew what to expect as I had given them the full history instead of presenting him as 'quiet kid's pony' - which of course he is most of the time!

I do wonder how fully rehabbed horses ever get? If you have sorted out a problem and it never shows itself with you anymore, is that behaviour gone? Or just gone with you??

 

[tikkitti]

I wonder this too? Thing is the rider was a very experienced and capable rider it wasn't like I'd chucked a total novice on him, is it because he trusts me and now knows where his boundaries are and was just seeing if he could unnerve or unseat his new rider? Neither of which he succeeded in, maybe he tests his riders to see where his boundaries lie? Either way I felt a bit disappointed at his behaviour. x

 

[KP nut]

You did nothing wrong and it all worked out fine, but yes I felt upset too when Xav's new owners said they were struggling. I wouldn't necessarily stop your daughter riding though. My girls both rode Xav and were fine. I think he saw them as trustworthy so never put a hoof wrong with them.

Max has a tendency to nap - he napped when we first got him and again after strangles. Does that mean he will always have that in him? Even if he does not show it with us anymore?

On the other hand, I read accounts of trainers 'sorting out' horses who go on to be lovely family horses with no issues. So I guess it just depends!

 

[orbvalley]

I think som horses will always test a different rider - success depends on who is the stronger more capable of the two. You put an experienced rider on so you did the right thing, the rider rode through it and came out on top. IMO a good experience for your horse. I wouldn't be labelling him nasty jut because he tried it on, it didn't work so a positive outcome for his future

 

[Bodshi]

Maybe (as Skib I think is suggesting) he was just worried by a different style of riding? He sounds like a reactive boy and you say he has had a lot of changes in the past. Maybe in the past he was just very confused as to what was expected of him and he's now got to the point where he's confident he knows what you want and that he can do it. Perhaps slightly different cues from another rider just worried him and he got stressed about it?

 

[tikkitti]

Maybe (as Skib I think is suggesting) he was just worried by a different style of riding? He sounds like a reactive boy and you say he has had a lot of changes in the past. Maybe in the past he was just very confused as to what was expected of him and he's now got to the point where he's confident he knows what you want and that he can do it. Perhaps slightly different cues from another rider just worried him and he got stressed about it?

Quite possibly and regardless of him letting his halo slip I wouldn't swap him for the world! I do know he had a awful lot of changes before arriving with me and so maybes a change stressed him out, bloody horses it's a good job we love them x

 

[newforest]

Maybe he thought it was a trial and he just wanted to make sure they didn't want him.

 

[Flipo's Mum]

Yep mine does the same. Took us a few years to overcome the spooking and stupidity, to the point where I can ride on the buckle and he hardly twitches an ear at anything. I chucked my sister in him for a ride and she went for a canter, my mate shouted hello from the other side of the hedge on her horse and flipo just went sideways and big sis hit the ejector button. He'd never have done that with me, it's part trust part chancing his arm with a new rider.
It's exactly why I think so many folk have trouble when they first get a horse yet there's never been bother before and the previous homes are always so shocked. New owner thinks old owner is lying, but horses are not robots, they respond to their current company. Makes my blood boil the folk get shot of horses so quickly and don't give them a chance when half the problem is generally them! Sorry, rant over!

 

[tikkitti]

Maybe he thought it was a trial and he just wanted to make sure they didn't want him.

I'd quite like to believe its cause he's totally happy in his home with me and is making sure he stays put I can't stress what a good boy he is now, yes he still has the odd buck in excitement but 95% of the time he's a forward safe but fun ride. x

 

[tikkitti]

Spooking at the field fence that he passes daily is just atrocious behaviour or clumps of nettles!( he used to when he first came but we had got over those things) Generally black bags, pheasants and big vehicles are fair game for him ( normal scary stuff) but a fence and a clump of nettles is a new low It amazes me how a 15.2hh chunk could be such a wussx