Hopefully someone can help.

H

Horsewomen

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Jan 21, 2009
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Hi there,

I am new to here and new to owning a horse so really hope someone can help.
I have brought a new horse back in october last year. He was advertised as a horse with no vices and a bomb proof horse for a novice like myself. Hes a 14 hand coloured cob. I have only been riding for around 4 years and have had him on full livery on a yard were there some great people and i knew i would get a lot of help and advice from them (him being a new horse etc) Anyway i ride him most of the time but some times hes been used in the school there for more expirenced riders and hes to date been 100% great. I have hacked him out on my own and with people hes gone past all the normal scary things and never had an issue with anything. !!!
2 weeks ago hes suddenly started bolting. And refusing to have his bridle on we do get there in the end but its a fight. hes also been difficult to catch. and nopw has to have the head collor on when hes in the field. He had done this once before in november but only to me and i put this down to him being a bit naughty and taking the ****. Anyway way he has now bolted on every person that has got on him to the point were one girl has had to jump off the horse as he was out of control. We have stopped every one riding him (safety etc) but i have carried on getting on him and launging him etc. Which hes been fine with. Apprantly when i mount him he tenses up accroding to the yard owner i dont know the exact term but he does this then after a few mintues he settles.
To date hes had a back check twice once when i got him and the other day to rule all that out. I have had an alternative horsewomen whos been out who said he was low on magnesium, and to give him epsom salts for 8 weeks. (i have now been told this is just a calmer??) She also said his atlas bone was out and this can cause serve headaches apprantly she sorted this. But we havn't noticed a great difference. He was still difficult to tack up at the weekend and was very unsettled when i mounted him in the yard .
He then seemed really freaked out by everything when we went out in the woods (we have been through there loads of times).
I have also had a new saddle for him and apprantly this fits very well. And we have made no changes to this.
I have also had the vet out to check eye and ears and all those types of things. he couldnt see what was wrong. !!
I have also had his teeth checked they were sharp but she said not enough to really effect what he was showing.
I have had a few emails back and fourth with the dealer where i got him and she has been helpful. But she said the other day in an email that her advice would be to give him a magnesuim supplement and to take him out of work for 4 weeks. and that when she got him he was cold backed due to a ill fitted saddle. I dont know what this term means but have been told that its not good and that i shouldnt of been sold a horse that was cold backed, with out being told. I dont know what come back i have with the dealer if any maybe someone can advise. I have come to the conclusion i will possible have to sell him as i no longer feel safe on him and i certainly cannot ride him with my daughter out on hacks or anything. But I have now been told that as a cold back horse (this always remains is this true) i will certainly not get back even 50% of what i paid for him and will be a major loss. ) its not the money that its important i have become very attached to him but no longer feel safe around him and dont have the skills and know how to work through these problems that seem to have always been there.

When i first got the horse he was great very easy to catch in the field very calm around myself and the kids but was very unfit, he couldnt be ridden for more than 20mins with out becoming very sweaty and out of breath. Hes now been clipped which he clearly felt much better afterwards. And hes been ridden almost very day for the last few months, and now fit. Its now we seeing these problems could they have always been there but he was so unfit we never noticed. My 9yr daughter rode him and tacked him up now she cant get near him. !!!


I have spent alot of money making sure there is nothing medically wrong and doing everything i can to rule out it being an issue with something im doing. But its becoming more apprant to us all that maybe i have been sold a horse thats not exactly the way she said he was. ..

Any advice on these issues would be great . sorry to have gone on and on but i do really love this horse and feel extremely guilty that we have ended up here.

Thanks lizz
 
If his atlas bone was slightly out of place then this is generally a sign that there is pain or discomfort elsewhere. According to my physio alot of the time it is dental discomfort that causes problems with the poll or a back problem which is causing them to tense up. From the dislike of having the bridle on I would think it is your horses way of saying he is uncomfortable in his mouth.I know you had his teeth checked,but who did they get checked by? was it your vet or a fully trained equine dentist. If your vet did it then I would try to get a properly trained edt out to take a proper look.I don't know how old your horse is but he could be teething or there could be a rotten tooth somewhere in his mouth which the vet may well have missed.There are also alot of dentists out there who are not properly trained.
I doubt you would have any recourse against the dealer because you have had the horse for a few months now and the horse was fine when you first brought him as this problem has only began showing in the last 2 weeks.
One other thing worth trying is to get a physiotherapist or chiropractor out to have a proper look at your horse.He may well have muscle soreness somewhere and they are generally very good at picking this up and will also tell you if your horse needs a vet to investigate something further.
 
did you take a garantee when you bought him?:eek:

i know how feel, similar situation onl with a pony:(

whereabouts are you?

have you tried NH? an just in general lots of things.

Im hoping with my pony to send him off to be re broken proffesionaly but go with him and learn what they do with him so i continue the same 'care' with him as i just cant face selling him but accept i have no idea what to do with a pony that is this bad! maybe you could do the same?
 
To be honest it sounds like possibly you have just got him fit and he is feeling a bit more silly - a few of the horses I know have gone a bit loopy at the moment and my sensible native is spooking at everything this last couple of weeks. If you have also clipped him he may just be feeling a bit full of himself.
Magnesium deficient horses are often a bit silly so putting him on magnesium (NAF Magic, for instance) would work as a calmer - but only if magnesium deficiency was the cause. I tried it on my horse and it had no effect whatsoever. What fixed him was moving him to a larger herd on a quieter yard where he lived out 24/7 in a structured environment - had a huge difference on his behaviour.
However, whatever the reason, bolting is not on. What is triggering the bolt? A spook? Nothing? Or is he jolly anyway and eventually takes off?
The other possibility is that you are 3 months in and he's just finding his feet and testing you a bit. As Wally said - how old is he? If he's a young cob they are notorious for getting the Kevins at about age 5 and throwing all their toys out of the pram...
The dislike of having the bridle on does sound like poorly mouth - my old horse was checked by a dentist who said he was fine, then checked by another dentist who said his teeth were a mess. Sadly you cannot always trust professionals so if in doubt, satisfy yourself with someone else!
Lots of groundwork helped me with my brat of a pony, would also probably improve your confidence handling him a lot. Well done for getting everything checked, btw :).

Wont speculate any more until you reply ;)

xxx
 
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Summercandy, my thoughts are he may have a tooth growing the wrong way up high under his lugs.
 
I just wanted to say hi - I'm dealing with a bolting five year old myself that we bought last August - and has had his back............oh, I'm repeating your post!

So hallo from another sufferer - my daughter will no longer ride hers, and we love him, and we don't have any solutions right now - I shall be watching your thread with interest, but know you aren't alone.
 
As well as all the advice above, I would consider asking someone to watch the way you pop the bridle on - simply we have a horsey at our yard who puts his head up and mouth wide in a panic with the bridle on (mainly due to the way the owner puts it on - she rushes him and thus he panics).

I think it sounds like you now have a fit horse who is testing you and perhaps showing his true fit self. It maybe he needs to bond more with one person rather than being ridden by a number of people - some horses just do not work well in that enviornment.

The calmer may well work (it did with my boy) but I also wouldn't expect a horse sold as a novice/schoolmaster etc to need to be on a calmer all the time.

What have they been doing with him when he has been ridden by more experienced riders - perhaps it is above his own education and is 'blowing his mind' a little (if you know what I mean)?

Could you find someone to come and give you fresh eyes and advice and honesty? You really need someone to come and assess everything for you, stable enviornment/field/riding plus your own experience and how best to move forwards.
 
Totally agree that teeth would seem to be a real issue here and a second opinion is the way to go.

One other consideration is when did you last have his saddle checked ? Reason being that if it was checked and fitted when he was unfit he willl have changed shape as he has fittened up and this may be exacerbating his 'cold backedness'. :)
 
ditto every thing that has been said about the teeth.
Also about fitness, an unfit horse will not show its true colours.
When you say bolting, do you been true blind panic bolting, or just buggering off with you ??
does he always head for home, or just run blindly ?
Also the term cold backed is a term that is used to describe a host of different problems.
if he is truely cold backed this can be taken into account, by walking and streching him out before you get into the saddle.
 
my thoughts were teeth, some kind of pain. he is a bit young to have learnt to do that deliberate to get you off.

good luck
 
Hi we too have a bolter he normally does it when you first take him out to get back home to the other two. But he has been known to do it in open spaces. She has learnt to read when he is about to do it and keeps him walking forward. If he does manage to go she normally circles him (if it's safe)and then keeps him going in the direction she wants to go untill she say's it's time to stop.
Agree with other's about getting dentist out my vet missed my horses teeth growing out the wrong way
Good luck
 
I once had a cob type who was cold backed and he sounds very much similar to your horse in his behaviour. The only way i could get on him was to tack him up 20 minutes prior to me mounting. If i tacked him up and mounted straight away, he would tense his back and bolt, where as if i tacked him up 20 minutes before, he got used to the saddle and a bit of weight on his back. Maybe an idea to try?

Sorry if its not much help to you!
 
If you've not had him long - it might simply be that he's getting a bit bigger for his boots as he's settled into you being his owner - this happened with Storm - she was always quite sharp but after a short while she kept on and on trying to canter off with me (I had all the necessary checks done). Eventually (4 years on) we've worked through it - I had a good teacher and a lot of help, and yes, she's still sharp at times - and the winter is driving her nuts (she's full of energy and needs a good blast me thinks). Good luck anyway - hope it works out for you whatever you decide. I don't have any experience of dealers as such, so I don't know if you'd have any come back with the other issues you mentioned. Does he get plenty of turnout time? (sorry if you've already said) as that does make a difference (well, it did withours).
 
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