anyone have any idea what Ishould do about my 12 year old gelding , he wont let my 22 year old in the lean to
I just got the 12 year old two months go? He also is very competitive he wont slow down on trail rides wants to be the leader and is not listening to me when I ask him to slow down.
You need a second lean to/shelter.
How is the 12 year old when you ride in an arena? I think the issue on trails with him not slowing, is something you need to work on in the arena, getting him to listen to your cues when he is alone, and then with another horse in the arena, before going back on trails. You haven’t had him long, so he may just not know you well enough to feel confident on trails with you yet. Take time to get to know him (and him, you) in the safety of the arena.
A second lean to/shelter would be ideal, but perhaps a really good quality winter blanket would be possible on the old guy?
Another vote for another shelter option for the old guy.
I have a mare that will not let my other mare into the shelter, period.
It is just how life in a herd works, sometimes one horse has a very large personal space bubble.
Thank you all for your advice on lean -to and working in arena with him , him he is very fast as well in the arena… I do pull then release on his bit . voice commands whoa. wont listen . He is very smart has been taught to side pass., I will take your advice and put a second lean-to up as well. I will keep everyone posted on my progress with King the 12 year old. .
If you are having problems riding King in the ring too it might be worth talking to a trainer and getting some lessons on King.
If you can’t build another shelter maybe you could put a half partition in your shelter.
My run in shelters all have a half partition that starts at the front of the shelter and is open by the back wall, that way if the old horse is in one side and the other horse comes in there is always an escape route.
Hope that makes sense!
The lessons have crossed my mind , and also the half partition make sense as well, thank you.
Is it possible you have just been in a hurry to have King do all the things with you that he was doing with his previous owner? He is 12, so has had a lot of years being ridden by other people that may be a bit different than you, and he may be a little insecure/nervous.
Going back to very basics: lots of transitions walk/halt, walk/trot and lots of simple steering exercises may seem boring, but you will get further ahead sooner by starting off slow and patient.
Make sure too, that your bit is something he is comfortable with, and not overly painful or confusing. Stronger bits can also cause a horse to be rushing as they are bracing against the pain. I bet if you go back to basics for a bit, all will be good in no time.
I am using snaffle curb bit, with curb chain. It makes sense to go back to basics. Thank you for your advice.
Was that the bit he was ridden in by his previous owner? Because there really is no such thing as a snaffle curb; there are snaffles, and there are curbs, and then there are curbs (shanked bits) with jointed mouthpieces. I don’t know how a curb chain interacts with the action of a jointed mouthpiece but between the action of the chain and the nutcracker action of the jointed mouthpiece (assuming it’s a single-jointed mouthpiece), he could be getting some confusing signals or just plain pain.
I don’t think of any curb bit as a “pull and release” bit unless the horse is bolting. . Many western horses in curb bits are ridden with very little contact give-and-take constant conversation.
Are you doing lessons with a trainer?
I am sending a photo to a tack shop to see if this bridle that was sold to me with him is funky. as you can tell I still have a lot of learning to do. lol I also plan on taking lessons, I will let you know what they tell me about this bit,
If you post a picture of it here you will get all sorts of feedback as to its funkiness (or lack thereof)! COTH is very opinionated. But also very knowledgeable and helpful.
I am picturing it something like a Tom Thumb (horrid harsh bit BTW):