Safe horse turning in to a nightmare!

K

kellyannegooden

New Member
Aug 2, 2009
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Hi

I have not posted before and am not sure I am posting in the right area but here goes!

I have a horse that is between 3 and 4 and when I first purchased him a few weeks ago he was happy to hack out in the village, through woods and did some light schooling however after a few times he started to spook, or so I though and I therefore decided I would school him and hack out with others that are 100% before tackling alone again. In the mean time he had also become a nightmare to catch as he did not understand taking treats from your hand and pretty much legged in when you came in the field, after some quality time together he now comes over to me in the field and I can catch him fine.

2 days ago I got him tacked up to do some schooling and he was being a pain, refusing to go in the direction I wanted and tried to escape so I chose the jumping paddock which is enclosed all round and did some work with him, it wasn’t easy but I came away feeling I had won the battle as he approached corners he had refused to and he pretty much did what I asked; today however I take my daughter out on him and he was a star, being led of course and was a happy chappy, until I got on him and he played up again and then decided to have a buck, after some fighting I got of and led him round the paddock, popped some poles on the floor for him to walk over etc and he did this so I then got back on and again he tried to buck and rear and quite frankly, although I am what I would call a confident rider I am not too happy to be bucked of and as he is my first owned horse I am not sure what to do now :mad:.

He is turned out and only has some hay when being groomed and a few horsey treats when I catch him.

I would appreciate any advice, I do have a friend who is an instructor coming to see him but I think I could use all the help I can get :confused:.

Many thanks in advance.

Kelly
 
Sounds like typical baby horse in a new home behaviour, testing what is and isn't acceptable unfortunately. All you can do (if you're sure tack fits well and he's physically fine) is to persevere, be absolutely persistent and consistent, praise the good and always end on a good note, no matter how long it takes. Getting an instructor in is a great plan, as is hacking out with more experienced horses.

Do you know how long ago he was backed?

Good luck :)
 
Where did you get the horse from and do you know his history? when was horse broken and by whom etc etc? Your boy (IMO) is still a baby and is still learning.
 
If hes only between 3 and 4 i would expect his behaviour to change, hes only a baby, and will need time to adjust and accept his new surroundings and routine.
 
Thank you - I thought as much and I know he has time to change, I think he is being work shy which is why he will happily carry my daughter.

He was broken when he was 2 in Ireland (he is an Irish Cob) and was hacked out on a reg basis I believe, as I said, he happily hacked with me and I am not sure his tack is that great and I have to collect my new tack on Monday so I guess I can see how he behaves then too and see what my fried says and hope for the best.

I suppose its just dissapointing when you get a horse that seems to be fab and then changes - I guess I should not be too disheartened and keep going, I can also get lessons at my yard so think we will do that too ;)

Thanks :)
 
He is a baby horse just into being ridden.

You would not ask a 3 year old child to do much work when they started in a new setting but you are asking it of him. He has just changed his whole routine and will be feeling confused in a new environment with a new owner. Yes like any youngster he may well try it on but take a step back and get to know him.

Your daughter was probably a breath of fresh air as he was lead around. Probably something he understands as a young horse. Check your saddle fits- my 4 year old changed shape rapidly when broken and went mad when her saddle pinched.). He is probaly stiff going into corners too. All my green horses have hated schools and bending as they are stiff and unused to it.

Good luck- youngsters need time, patience and understanding!
I am sure everything will be be fine.
 
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As others have said be consistant with his continuing education and you'll be fine. You've got help in the form of your RI friend and am sure there are plenty of people on here who will answer any questions you may have on your youngster

Welcome to NR by the way.
 
how much work does he get and how long for? your horse is a baby at 3 and will still need to spend time chilling out and chewing over what he has learnt each day.If you need to ride every day then I suggest you keep to very short ridden spells.From your description it sounds like either your horse is feeling very hard done by at being asked too much of that he isnt ready for or alternatively that he is testing out the boundaries with you.
 
I understand how you feel I got a 4 year old advertised as a 5yr old. He was great when tried out at his place but put me off last week (I had a post on here but its gone now). He turned from a dozy boy when i was tacking him up to a bucking bronco before i got properly sat on him. Have had loads of things checked and his teeth done. He doesnt misbehave with my friend, a man who knows how to deal with young horses. He reckons he was trying me out and full of naughtiness (not badness).
Anyway its not what i wanted I'm a nervous novice and going from jumping him and cantering him at the sellers, I'm now being lunged, it's like 20steps back and my confidence is shattered. my fauly for not buying something alot older and instead getting talked into taking him at 'face value' because he behaved like a horse much older.
I'm glad you're a competant rider that will help, take it that he is more or less just broken and take it from there and dont expect too much too quickly is my advice then you wont get disheartened taken for granted that you are going to keep him???Did you want a 'project' or just a straight forward ride?
 
Thanks for all your replies, you make total sense.

I did buy him knowing he was 4 but he was just the most laid back horse I have ever met, allowed the vet to do everything, even put a coat over his head to check his eyes, he didnt flinch so I thought he was exactly what I wanted, to be honest I dont think I have asked too much from him, well certainly not when I first rode him, I just hackd out and did a tiny bit of trotting, as I said I thought he spooked which he may well have done and that has shattered his confidence, I am going to try hack out with others too to see how he behaves - I can just about get on him and then he starts turning, reversing, trying to get away etc so maybe it's because he is alone so I will deffo make an effort to hack out with others and am also going to lunge him - start from scratch.

Oh I should mention that I just wanted a companion horse that I can hack out and my daughter can learn on, I dont necc even want to jump him or school hi, just want a friend to enjoy a walk with lol!

I will keep you posted.

Many thanks :)
 
Showjumper said:
Sounds like typical baby horse in a new home behaviour, testing what is and isn't acceptable unfortunately.
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Thats exactly what I was going to say. Hes testing you as you're new to him and he is in a new place, hes testing to see whether you're a good leader or not. I would do some ground work with him so he knows you are the leader. He was prob fine with the vet checking him over as he was (I am guessing ;)) in his old home which he knew etc. good luck and keep with it
 
kellyannegooden said:
Oh I should mention that I just wanted a companion horse that I can hack out and my daughter can learn on, I dont necc even want to jump him or school hi, just want a friend to enjoy a walk with lol!
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TBH I think that buying a normal healthy youngster for the sort of job you describe - however chilled out the youngster is - is a bit unfair to both of you, as neither of you will be what the other one really requires.

I wouldn't go so far as to say it will not work out - it may well do - but only with rather more effort and understanding than you had originally hoped for.

Your statement that you think he might be a bit workshy is worrying too - a horse doesn't give the appearance of being workshy for no reason, especially a young horse, so you need to ask yourself what is making your horse so uncomfortable, unhappy or lacking in confidence and understanding that he gives you reason to describe him as workshy. Horses WILL work until they drop as long as they understand what they are meant to do - that is how they have been bred for thousands of generations. Those who didn't work hard and willingly were placed on the dinner table instead of allowed to breed.
 
old_woman - do you suggest that I look to sell him then if it is unlikely to work out? I am not sure why it would be unfair to ask a youngster to be a companion and general worker (i.e. schooling); if I intend on keeping him forever where is the problem, surely not all horses are not competed, well I know for a fact they are not as there are plenty at my yard, they are also what I would call young horses (up to 8 years old) - equally there are people who have horses there that are not hacked out and only got out once a week to enter some sort of competition, in my opinion this is not an ideal situation either.

The people who run my yard have commented on him being work shy, he has come to good grazing, had lots of love and attention, hay and some treats so is feeling lazy I guess, work shy were not necc my words ;)

I will stick at it and make it work, I purchased the horse as I fell in love with him; regardless of his problems I am sure we will be the perfect match in time.
 
kellyannegooden said:
old_woman - do you suggest that I look to sell him then if it is unlikely to work out? I am not sure why it would be unfair to ask a youngster to be a companion and general worker (i.e. schooling); if I intend on keeping him forever where is the problem, surely not all horses are not competed, well I know for a fact they are not as there are plenty at my yard, they are also what I would call young horses (up to 8 years old) - equally there are people who have horses there that are not hacked out and only got out once a week to enter some sort of competition, in my opinion this is not an ideal situation either.

The people who run my yard have commented on him being work shy, he has come to good grazing, had lots of love and attention, hay and some treats so is feeling lazy I guess, work shy were not necc my words ;)

I will stick at it and make it work, I purchased the horse as I fell in love with him; regardless of his problems I am sure we will be the perfect match in time.
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No, of course horses do not need to compete - have I ever given even the hint of a suggestion that is so? Far from it!

I said that I think it is, in general, unfair to expect a young horse to BE a steady hack and companion.

It is not unfair to expect a youngster of the right sort to BECOME, eventually, a steady hack and a companion, but steady hacks and good companions do not come 'ready made' as it were, and are rare finds as youngsters, and even rarer finds as youngsters owned by a first-time owner.

That was why I mentioned it being also unfair to you - you want a steady hack and companion, but with the great majority of youngsters, you WILL go through a period when the youngster is ignorant, puzzled, scared, wary, tired or simply rebellious. ALL young animals go through stages like this. Horses are simply rather bigger and stronger and physically more of a challenge than most other young animals with which we associate.

I'm glad you intend to keep him as a 'forever' horse, but you must accept that he is a youngster and expect him to act in a way which is perfectly normal for a youngster, whether or not you like it. This sort of behaviour can - and probably will - go on for a considerable time, and may flare up occasionally for a couple (or more) of years to come.

Workshy is a foolish description of a horse which doesn't 'want' to work. Horses do not have 'the Protestant Work Ethic' - or whatever the politically correct name for it is nowadays - they have no interest in 'work' as we know it, nor any conception of it, only of co-operation, or opposition to co-operation, with their keeper, rider, driver or trainer. A well-trained horse will generally only refuse to co-operate when fear overwhelms it, when it is in a great deal of pain or when it is physically unable to perform the work asked of it. A horse will also appear unable to co-operate when it does not understand what is being asked of it. A horse may appear - to us - to refuse to co-operate if it has come to learn that performing a certain action on its part leads to pleasant, or unpleasant, consequences. If being in pain, in fear, in ignorance or following equine logic is equated as being workshy or lazy, then I feel very sorry for the horses owned by the person using the word.

A young horse like yours is NOT being workshy or lazy. Horses broken at 2 in Ireland are often - not always, of course - broken rather hurriedly when they are not very strong physically, and the rushed process does not aid their mental or physical balance. Given his history and his age, he is simply unschooled and ignorant of what is expected of him, as well as changing shape quickly, so as to make his tack at the very least feel 'different' if not be actually ill-fitting, and possibly having the horsey equivalent of 'growing pains' which seem to make some young horses unexpectedly and occasionally VERY easily tired. Psychologically he will be feeling his way in a new herd situation at an age when his hormones are beginning to have an effect on his temperament - even geldings - I assume he is a gelding - DO have hormones.

Make sure his tack fits, that his feet, mouth and back are comfortable and that he has been properly gelded. Give him time, patience, schooling and firm, confident leadership. If he seems a bit 'backward' mentally or physically, give him six months off at grass in a mixed herd. He'll come right when he is six or seven, I expect.
 
for his sanity, turn him away for a few months. If he was backed at 2 then that is horrendously young. Also, being an irish cob, he will mature later and expect him to hit his teenage tantrum years quite soon. The quietest baby cob can turn into a challenge when they hit the kevins. i also echo a lot of what old_woman says. His stamina will not be great and it is unfair to brand him as workshy, i think your fellow liveries should be ignored on that point. I've brought on a few horses, and just backed my welsh cob. 10 minutes is more than enough for him, and he's 5. it's a case of little and often and not frying their brains. Also, he is not a problem horse, he is a YOUNG horse and i do not think anything of what you have posted indicates a problem horse. He's just a baby who needs time and patience and the chance to be a horse for a wee while before demanding more of him :) a good RI with an understanding of young horses would be worth seeking out.
 
He is just finding out his own strength and what he thinks he can get away with. At 4 he is very young and probably full of himself [Just like any human youngster]. You just have to firm and keep after him in the school and out of it.
 
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