Anxious Baby Horse - Help Please!!

[bkap]

Hi, all! I’m new to this forum, this is my first post.

So, a little backstory - I have a 5 year old Arabian gelding (who absolutely lives up to the stereotypical Arab stereotype, so smart but so fast and can be a nut) that I broke a couple of months ago. I’ve been riding more than half my life, but this is the first horse I’ve trained entirely from the ground up.

He is technically w/t/c broke under saddle, but he gets so anxious and quick at the trot that I’ve taken a break from working at the canter. I put him in training for about a month and he seemingly came out of it more anxious than before, because it was mostly western training and working on his head carriage while I had only been working on keeping his pace steady and him relaxed. I do believe he was rushed into the canter when his trot is not yet perfected.

I’ve gotten him back to where we were slowly and he is usually great with only a few minor, very easily fixed flaws, for the first 15-20 minutes of the ride. Easy things to work with, he gets heavy on the forehand and needs to be turned, hollows his back out and lifts his head, but it doesn’t take long until he is going perfectly again.

The issue that I am now having is that he is great exclusively for 15-20 mins, until he becomes so off balanced, quick and anxious that it is almost impossible to ride him. It’s like the quarter ran out in his brain, something switches off and he becomes a nightmare. I know that when he was in training he was being worked for well over that timeframe. Today, I only rode him for around 15 minutes and we ended on a good note, it generally goes that way when we keep the rides short. Trainer at my barn who worked with him (and hates him, lol) said that “of course he was good, you didn’t ride him long enough for him to get worked up.”

So my question is: should I only be riding him for 15 minutes? Or should I be doing something differently? I don’t know if it’s just him and if he’s always going to be like that, or if it’s because he’s young. Any help would be so appreciated, I really am at a loss right now. Thank you!

[Dutchmare433]

With young horses, it’s all about thinking of the bigger picture…try to steer clear of thinking about the little nit-picky things.
I usually start them at 3 or maybe 4, but if he’s just been sitting around until 5, this still applies. Young horses have a very short attention span. So yes, most of your rides should be 15-20 mins long for now. And I would just be riding 3-4 days a week. Rides can be longer if you can go hacking out or on a trail ride.

Things to prioritize, especially with your first horse: woah, go, steering, acceptance of a light contact, and getting out and about out of the ring. (Last depends on your confidence level, and the horse.) Do lots of transitions, make lots of circles. Your horse has had maybe 60 or so rides? He’s just not used to or strong enough to carry someone around and balance himself for long periods of time.

Because your horse is slightly older than average, you can go a little faster than someone starting a 3 year old…so as your horse gets fitter and stronger, you can start lengthening the amount of time you ride.

[bkap]

Thank you! That’s really helpful. I think I’m just going to take it really slow with him. We’re not working on a time frame or anything right now.

[SuzieQNutter]

Yes 15 to 20 minutes. If you want to give him more work as he gets fitter and stronger then don’t increase the session. Give another 15 - 20 minute session in the afternoon.

[thecolorcoal]

I am in complete sympathy to this. This happens to me and my mare a lot. If it helps, I find that when I start to get bored of the ride, she does too, and lets me know she’s had enough by spooking or throwing a few front-leg baby rears/head shakes. I have to be very conscious to work work work when we are working and only give her downtime when I feel she is with me 100%. Before someone explained this to me, I thought I was doing a service to her by letting us tool around the arena for fun.

If your horse is smart like you say he is, he’s bored. I believe horses have the capacity to be bored, and the einsteins of the equine world especially so. leg yelds, turn on the forehand, rein back, figure 8’s, shoulder in, anything you can do to get him huffing and puffing, and then he can have his 5 minute long rein break.

I think you will see a difference. I certainly did, but it made me feel guilty working her so hard in the beginning.

[pluvinel]

@bkap

…

The issue that I am now having is that he is great exclusively for 15-20 mins, until he becomes so off balanced, quick and anxious that it is almost impossible to ride him. It’s like the quarter ran out in his brain, something switches off and he becomes a nightmare. I know that when he was in training he was being worked for well over that timeframe. Today, I only rode him for around 15 minutes and we ended on a good note…

…!

You have your answer. You say things go well until 15-20 minutes. The horse is telling you it is tired. Quit while you are ahead.

[ShandyB]

I have a very similar experience. I started an Arab from nothing when he was 4. For the first several months under saddle he would just hit a wall. Once, he got down to the end of the arena and just stopped and refused to move. My trainer had to literally come fetch us back. At that point, we’d wrap things up, ending on a good note. It just took time for him to develop a good work ethic. If anything, take him on a nice hack. Go exploring. Relax.

I love that analogy of the quarter running out in his brain. Describes it perfectly :lol:

To above–I have a mare who used to get like that sometimes. But she’s an experienced, adult horse who already knows how to do the exercises mentioned. So switching things up and getting her thinking was helpful. I wouldn’t work on those things with a young horse who is already flustered/frustrated/stubborn/tired etc.

[NancyM]

Good advice here already re amount of time to ride, and when to quit the lesson.

Since he has had “training” focused on “head position”, this, by definition, is counter productive “training”. In a classical training program, “head position” or “head set” is not a goal that is even considered, and it is NEVER something that is “worked on”. The first step of classical training involves Free Forward Relaxed Motion, and ONLY that, nothing MORE. Get that first, then go on to the second step. Do not skip steps, do not vary from the Classical Training Pyramid (or Scale). If you do, your horse will retaliate (as you are seeing). Investigate the classical training pyramid for more input. Unless you are involved in producing high level Dressage horses, you will not need much of the higher level stuff. But that first step is the necessary training for all horses, and is the one so often screwed up, or incorrectly “installed”. If you do not have Free Forward Relaxed Motion at all gaits, in each direction, you’ve got nothing yet. Do not pay “trainers” who do not follow the Classical Training Scale, if you do, your money is wasted and your horse needs to be fixed later. It sounds like you do have a basic understanding of these goals, but your “trainer” did not. I think you need a different “trainer” to coach you through this stage of your horse’s schooling.