@Alterration fabulous post. When I win the lottery I’ll have horses with Smith Lilly and Melissa Moore.
You and @findeight have given much wonderful advice.
@AdultEmmy she’s looking good and I’m glad to see you taking all this good advice to heart
Thanks for keeping us updated.
Thank you!
I’m for sure taking in everything everyone is saying here. Here’s the pic from today. What a sweaty Betty!
One of the lesson horses I rode years ago had about the same back\croup coupling, swooping up to the top of the pelvis.
Since I did not see any way he could scratch this area when he was rolling I started using my HandsOn grooming gloves in that area before and after each ride. He loved, Loved and LOVED me doing this, and he looked so satisfied after each time I did this.
IF she can stand the HandsOn Grooming gloves I bet Honey would like this too. Unfortunately not all horses like these grooming gloves, and those horses do not get this treatment.
I’ve been thinking about getting one of these!
Do any of you have links to great groundwork videos? There’s so much out there !
Bonus if it helps with helping her line up to me at the mounting block.
Just looking for some new ideas/tips etc to watch. I’ll be hopefully working with a friend who is a groundwork mastermind tomorrow, but I’d love to learn more 
Today we groomed for a nice long time. I love how much she enjoys being loved on.
Someone at the barn witnessed the training ride from Friday and told me Honey was rearing… I’m not shocked but I want this figured out. I’m hoping the saddle fit is the answer.
We worked on walk, halt and introduced back cues on the ground. Then I’d walk up the mounting block and praise her with scratches if she’d approach it. We did that a few times with her coming in head first for scratches, then giving me her shoulder. Then I called it a day.
Here’s better pics now that it’s been a month together!
Tighten that halter, punch holes if you need to! That thing is begging to get snagged on something. The rings on the sides closest to the nose need to go up at least 2-3". The throat snap should be as close to her throat as you can get it. Is this horse sized? Have you tried cob size on her?
She’s looking great. I don’t think I’d ride yet based on her condition, and I think you need to be present for any ride going forward and be willing to say “that’s enough, let’s try something else” to de escalate if needed. Even better if you can find a trainer/rider that’s got more of a mind and feel for this type of horse.
Hi!
I’ll punch holes. Cob didn’t fit her. Thanks!
Edit: actually, it’s a breakaway and I think I have replacement straps that are cob sized. Maybe I’ll try that!
Fortunately they don’t go out or anything with halters on.
You know horses - if it can happen, it will. 
I’ve seen a horse get stuck on a halter hook hung on the opposite side of an arena fence due to a loose halter, and that stuck in my mind. Additionally, the pressure is too low on the nasal bone and can do damage.
The color looks great on her, and extra holes in the strap or a shorter strap is a piece of cake.
Thank you! I’ll give that a try tomorrow. She’s been weird to fit with halters bc the cob was way too small but this appears to swallow her. So glad you said something and it made me remember those cob straps!
Thought you would all enjoy Honey having fun in the sun 
IMG_1905
IMG_1906
Honey had an awesome groundwork session tonight, so I’m excited!
Hahaha I love the brake sound effect.
Few problems with this
Like I said upthread, be very careful who works with your horse and don’t assume your fellow boarders know what they are looking at, talking about or have your best interests at heart. Be friendly but take them with a grain of salt.
This spoken as a veteran of 50 years in boarding barns.
This is excellent advice. I second it.
OP, what’s your experience level? You mention in your OP that you and your previous horse were too green for each other. There are some red flags reading this to me that you might not know the help you need right now.
I would under zero circumstances let anyone handle or work with your horse while you are not there to observe. Obviously, turning in/out,
daily routine stuff and the like is fine but anything specific to her training…nope. She’s needs time to bond with you. She needs time to decompress and settle into her new home. It looks like she needs a decent amount of groceries. Letting people you board with hop on and try and deal with her issues Willy Nilly is the last thing she needs.
I don’t know that much about those types of breeds, but when the COTH consensus is that they operate ever so differently from what a lot of us are used to, I’d seriously consider bringing in someone reputable with the breed before you get in over your head with things like rearing. That can turn very bad very quickly. For horses like that, understanding how the breed operates is hugely helpful, and having a bunch of tools in the toolbox is needed as well as a lot of training experience and patience.
Hi! Thanks for taking the time to respond. I can’t figure out how to quote, but hopefully you see this and it helps:
I’m definitely trying to take things with a grain of salt. I feel like I need to give some background on kindof why things are so strange training wise. The trainer I had when I had my last horse, Margo, was very old and she wasn’t able to ride anymore. So I never had training rides with her or any real help on groundwork or anything because she wasn’t physically able to ride or do much with horses. While I stand by that Margo and I were too green for eachother, I think it’s more accurate to say that she was scared of everything, and so was I. We were both looking for the cougar, as they say.
After selling Margo, I started lessons with a new trainer who said she’d come to my new barn when I got a horse again. I worked on foundational things, confidence, no stirrups, etc. It was awesome. This whole time she sent me horses, and we talked about how she would come to my barn when I got a horse. Skip to I have Honey, but now she says she can’t make it to my barn. So she sends her working student…that was this rider.
So, I’m trying to figure things out. My friend at my barn is truly awesome with groundwork and grew up with saddlebreds, so I think we are in good hands for now. I’m hiring her to work with me and Honey 2x a week on groundwork in lessons.
Hi! I can’t figure out how to quote but the response below hopefully answers some of these questions. Though, I do want to make it clear that nobody is hopping on her willy nilly, lol. This was one person that I considered to be an extension of my trainer, who I’ve already cancelled the “Training rides” for.
I definitely am floundering a bit here. If you read my other response from a moment ago, I thought I was going into this with a trainer and support, and I just kinda got dropped. Trying to figure things out, but right now we’re just going to start with groundwork lessons for the both of us. Because I agree-- I don’t want this rearing (if that’s what it even is) to become an even bigger issue. I’m looking into ASB folks in the area, but am mostly finding saddle seat people. If anyone knows someone in IL, I’m all ears!
Edited: I truly hope this doesn’t come off as defensive. I agree I’m green, I agree that I need help and may not even know where to start. But every day I’m doing the best I can with the information that I have, and trying to problem solve. I have no fear/anxiety with Honey like I did with Margo-- so that’s great, and I believe we’ll get over this hump soon. But I feel a little lost at the lack of support from my trainer who just kinda fell off the planet for me.
That doesn’t help anything! It sounds like you’re making good decisions moving forward.
As someone who had a consistent 30 years horse experience that bought a very green 3 YO, I wasn’t 100% sure what I was getting into 
. Thankfully he is pretty spot on for Fjord temperament and I ended up being pretty solid on my own with just lessons, but now that we’re 3 years into training, we’re both learning new things at the same time. When I find myself struggling, that’s when I switch to training rides for a few weeks so he doesn’t get crossed wires.
All that to say that training a horse from a blank slate was shockingly easier than I ever imagined vs having a trained horse with bad habits or holes in their training to work with.
Thank you. I just never want it to come off like I’m being defensive on here— everyone on this thread has been beyond kind and helpful. I feel like I finally have the makings of a plan, and hopefully we can start making some progress.
Saddleseat people would be fine to help you get her forward and comfortable going. Just tell them your goals. I promise they do groundwork and can show you how to read her.
Once you get her forward, I think 90% of your issues will be gone.
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