New boy on the block

When you realise how far they've come

With the suddenly nice weather yesterday I decided to go on a longer hack that we haven't done since early autumn. The ground was a bit horrid in places where it's been churned up by off roaders, but it's rideable if you stay steady and look ahead and he's quite capable of coping with rough...
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Went out again with a friend yesterday on her 21yo that was only gelded in the autumn. It's quite interesting to see his reactions to this horse.

They;re stabled in the same barn and he has to lead past Luka in a very narrow walkway to get to his box which never causes an issue. Ridden together they're very good and he can tuck right in close to Luka if he needs a lead past something, plus Luka will automatically steady his pace to wait for him. There can be some dirty looks mounting up though, I definiitely want to be on Luka first. On the ground it changes though. The first time we rode out they went straight up to the school so we didn't notice. The second time they stopped near us and we both dismounted together - not a problem until I went to move between the twio horses to run up my stirrup and Luka suddenly flew at the other horse! Luckily a sharp NO! had him back on the ground just glaring and snaking and the other horse had got out the way fast but my friend and I were both shocked since there'd been no sign of a problem until then. Also Luka is normally a wuss with others while hers isn't, yet hers never attempted to stand his ground. Yesterday I did my normal dismount just before the yard tolead the last bit and whhile there were no issues it was clear to both of us that once I was on the ground Luka was clearly very aware of the other horse and in guard mode, the other knew it too and went from being happy close by to dropping back to make a respectful gap.

I find the fact he's so good with him under saddle or when he passes in the barn but so different when I'm on the ground quite interesting, plus it's only this horse he's done it with. Maybe he still sees stallion body language and so guards what he sees as his? Luka wasn't gelded until he was 5 and to be honest looking at them he looks more stallion like than the other horse.
 
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No you're right @Jane&Ziggy , but normally only in response to another horse threatening or crowding. There was nothing to trigger this and we'd been closer together when they were being ridden. Also the first time there was no warning from Luka, he went from chilled to launch, again unusual for him.
 
Just linking this into my diary, I'm slightly shocked I haven't updated it for so long! Probably because things have generally been going smoothly and so there's been nothing much to say

C

Post in thread 'Wake up call!'

Finally got to take him that way this morning, though I did it from the other direction. He was still tense and giving it some major side eye along with his "the road is lava" walk (love that description by a friend!) but he went past it without any major upset or need to leg it afterwards. So he got a lot of praise and treats, and hopefully he'll be back to normal about it next time.
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Sometimes I forget that he will never quite forget.

He's very whip shy due to how he was treated in his last home - not the owner but the person paid to ride him - and while he's now normally fine if I ride with a person carrying a whip I do ride him on the side away from it and people do carry them correctly. So over time I've forgotten they can be a problem.

Last week I went out with a friend who for some reason carries her dressage stickk stuck out at right angles. Well it took me a while to work out why he was so tight and jumping at shadows, rushing high and hollow and never really focusing on me but then it clicked. She won't carry her whip in the normal way and in the end I had to leave her because he was getting so wound up something was going to give.

Rode out with his usual friend at the weekend https://www.newrider.com/threads/so-pleased.264219/#post-3205677 and I think the reason wasn't coping as well then was because he was still stressing, he certainly still felt tense and uneasy about anything behind him both days. Took him out on his own today and he was back to what nowadays is his normall sellf, though interestingly not prepared to stop and graze so maybe not as relaxed as he felt.

It's a bit depressing how one thing can undo 4 years of work on trust and confidence.
 
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carthorse said:
Last week I went out with a friend who for some reason carries her dressage stick stuck out at right angles.
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I cant know why in this case but the usual reason (riding on the left side of the road with whip in your right hand) is to force passing cars in both directions from coming too close to the side of one's horse.
I didnt do it as I needed to use the whip to keep the hind quarters of my share mare from swinging out into the traffic and then to signal that I was turning right.
 
Well since Monday had gone ok-ish I gave him yesterday off to work it out in his head, I do find that helps him sometimes. Today he went out with his normal mare and knowing there was a potential issue the rider kept her back a bit to begin with so he didn't feel crowded or pressured. Whatever the reason they both settled really well, Luka soon put his neck down and was swinging along (thank goodness, another thing this has reminded me of is how tiring and jarring his paces are when he's tense!) while her horse had more spring and activity than she's had since the fall last year. They even rode nearly alongside at times (her nose to my stirrup) so we could talk rather than have to shout and that's very unusual.

So hopefully no harm done, maybe even a little bit of good since he now has more of a hacking companion rather than someone he's nannying.
 
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C

Thread 'Sense vs intuition'

After the time our river ride went very wrong Luka hasn't wanted to know about the rivers, in fact he hasn't really wanted to even know about the tracks to them. I've got him paddling his front feet in the edge but he's not happy about it, and we've been through once but that was largely because having gone down the track to them something then was going on behind us that worried him more than the river did, it wasn't a relaxed ride through. I'd sensibly decided we weren't going through in the future unless people were around, realistically that time I came off I could have drowned...
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Again the link is to keep the thread where I can find it.

We went through the rivers again today with my friend and her horse and he was very chilled about it. My friend's mare wasn't so sure and hesitated, but after a good look and some reassurance and positive riding did cross and at the second crossing the bigger concern was that she might roll!

We noticed another thing this weekend. All the time he's needed to be a nanny and the brave one he's been very good about going past things and not taking long to look even if unsure. Now the other partnership is far more confident he seems to have decided this is no longer his job! If he's not sure he'll now stop, look at the mare and if she isn't bothered expect her to go first, though if she's also anxious about the "monster" he'll still take the lead. And today they even rode side by side for a while, again not something he's normally happy with.
 
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This, if you zoom in, is the innocent look of a cob who thought he should be in the SRS when out hacking yesterday! Yes it was a new drain, no it really didn't justify that reaction.

He's naturally very good at dropping his hindquarters to engage them (is it bred into driving lines to give them the power to get a load moving?) but when upset and with nowhere acceptable to go yesterday he was using that drop when rearing slightly, and each time he came down he'd sit a bit more before going back up. I was seriously wondering if he was planning to launch forward in a wannabe capriole to try and clear the car blocking the escape route, and ended up yelling at the driver to move her car so we had somewhere to go or we were going to hit her. I've never sat on a horse that felt so solid and balanced in a move like that though, and my friend confirmed just how deep he was on his hinds so it wasn't my imagination.

As an aside why oh why are some drivers incapable of following hand signals? This was a narrow byway, not road hence why there was so little room to manoeuvre a spooked horse safely. I'd squeezed him into a passing spot and waved her on, even shouted since her windows were open, but no she just sat there pretty much blocking the track. My friend had managed to get her smaller horse past - just - by going right next to the "monster" but he was too spooked and to be honest probably too wide anyway. Idiot.
 
Just read up on SRS moves and I suspect we'd have got a ballotade if the time he felt like launching forward hadn't been stopped by an incredibly firm "NO!" (thank God he's so voice focused) and hopefully he wouldn't have landed on all four because I think that might have finished me off 😂 . That said if he'd decided the car was in cahoots with the monster he may well have lashed out as he tried leaping for the almost non-existent gap out of the passing place.
 
Today I'm wondering if that unknown 25% of his breeding was a horse imported directly from Hell. Probably because the Devil himself didn't want it around!

He'd been so good for months, clearly he'd beenn saving it up to use in one go.
 
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carthorse said:
Today I'm wondering if that unknown 25% of his breeding was a horse imported directly from Hell. Probably because the Devil himself didn't want it around!

He'd been so good for months, clearly he'd beenn saving it up to use in one go.
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Oh no, what has he done to blot his copy book so badly?
 
@Bodshi he lost his temper, followed by all sanity, when he was told he wasn't allowed to gallop home on a byway. First ever proper bucking fit I've had from him (I see now why his previous owner couldn't pay people to ride him, those were some dirty bucks) and I had to get off and lead home because I knew the first time I got to a low branch it would be game over. Nearly two miles of leading home a bucking plunging monster that is trying to shove you off the muddy track into the hedge so he can sod off is enough to try the patience of a saint! Thank goodness the horse we were with stayed calm and blocked the path in front of us, there were a few times when I think without him I'd have lost him. I now have an ankle I'm struggling to stand on, open blisters on my toes, and I think my thighs will be hating me come morning!

Love and like aren't always the same!
 
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Having said all that I'm hoping he's ok tomorrow. He got himself into such a state that he had foam dripping off him and I dread to think of the pounding he was giving his legs. I had to hose him off all over and then turn out without a rug because I couldn't dry him off enough to put one on. Yes it was mild, but there was a sharp wind across his field. Minnd you this evening he looked in better nick than I did!
 
And today he looks in a much better state than me! I didn't ride, I'm hurting so much it would have been asking for trouble (assuming I could get on, and that felt like a big assumption considering I'm struggling to walk up the stairs even after Voltarol gel) but he did look in a much better state of mind than last night. I'm not holding out much hope for tomorrow, but maybe Monday 🤞
 
carthorse said:
@Bodshi he lost his temper, followed by all sanity, when he was told he wasn't allowed to gallop home on a byway. First ever proper bucking fit I've had from him (I see now why his previous owner couldn't pay people to ride him, those were some dirty bucks) and I had to get off and lead home because I knew the first time I got to a low branch it would be game over. Nearly two miles of leading home a bucking plunging monster that is trying to shove you off the muddy track into the hedge so he can sod off is enough to try the patience of a saint! Thank goodness the horse we were with stayed calm and blocked the path in front of us, there were a few times when I think without him I'd have lost him. I now have an ankle I'm struggling to stand on, open blisters on my toes, and I think my thighs will be hating me come morning!

Love and like aren't always the same!
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Oh my goodness, you are braver than me. I think I would have been crying all the walk home. Hope you feel better tomorrow.
 
Bodshi said:
Oh my goodness, you are braver than me. I think I would have been crying all the walk home. Hope you feel better tomorrow.
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I was annoyed because there was no need for it. Realistically if he'd really wanted to get away I wouldn't have held him, if the threats had been more than threats he would have had me but that doesn't alter the fact he was a rude brat! Maybe I spooked him by getting off and he thought he was in for a beating - I'm pretty sure he's had them before for getting riders off - but with how he was acting I really had no choice. Horses!
 
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