Struggling with new horse… am I in over my head?

[funky_bunny]

I had a saint pony for years, but never really stuck with lessons or did any shows. I stopped riding in college, then recently got back into it, leased a school master horse for a while, and started showing in hunter classes. After a year of that I began shopping for my own horse.

I was not a very picky buyer and basically wanted every horse I tried. Idk why. I just thought they all had potential and figured I would work through whatever challenges they had. My trainer finally steered me toward a 7y/o WB that wasn’t being advertised. She was being consigned by a trainer friend at a big show barn, and was apparently hard to sell because she’s just a little too small to comfortably make the lines at 3’. I tried the horse twice, caught her from the pasture, tacked her up, etc. We got on well and she seemed like more of a push ride, maybe a little lazy, but comfortable and with an amazing hunter canter. I thought we’d be awesome in the long stirrup division together.

My first 2 days with her at home, she was great. We rode around the property, I tacked her up at liberty in the round pen, free lunged and jumped her, rode her over a few lines of 2ft verticals. I started looking forward to our first show and decided on day 3 to practice sharpening up her simple changes, just one trot step and onto the other lead.

Day 3, I noticed she was a little more distracted by the other horses turned out by the arena. Trotting the long side, she spooked, dropped her inside shoulder, and spun halfway around. I fell, but it wasn’t bad. I hopped back on and kept going. Then I tried the simple change exercise. When I asked for trot, she attempted a flying, started cross cantering, bolted to the nearest jump, and then bucked me off on landing. I was winded but ok, and got back on. I trotted her over the same jump, cantered to the rail and had her halt. She did that really well and we ended with that. I wanted to think it was an outlier day and blame the temperature drop. But the next day, she did the same duck and spook again and I fell off again.

In all my time riding, I have only fallen twice. My pony would have gone to hell and back to keep me on board. Then in this first week with this horse, I have fallen off three times. I showed video to my trainer and told her what happened, and she told me this isn’t unusual for young, green horses, and I just need to lunge her first and also have a better seat.

But is this stupid? Am I being foolish to continue riding the horse, or is this just a learning curve as she adjusts to the new lifestyle and property? She’s on 24hr turnout and was previously 12-and-12 in a stall. Her food is the same. Is it just that she needs more time to settle and relax? I feel fortunate that all my falls have been easy to pop up from, but I really don’t want to make a habit of getting dumped every ride.

[Renn_aissance]

From what you describe I would cut the mare some slack for day 3 in a new environment, but it would be a good idea for you to learn about her life with her old environment so you can work with your trainer to find a game plan that will help her learn to be a good horse for you. For instance, since she came from a show barn, seems likely that she had been ridden by an experienced rider every day of the week, or her rider was taking frequent lessons. If that’s so, she’s used to a different life structure than she has right now and you might want to take more lessons than you normally would as the two of you get acquainted with each other so you can figure out how to be successful together.

I rode a horse for a month before buying him. We got along great. The week after the check cleared I fell off three times. Sometimes you have bad luck.

All that said I have to say I’m a little disconcerted that your trainer described the horse as “green” and thought she was suitable for a rider who says she wants to do the long stirrup. Was the horse’s experience level a conversation you had before you bought the horse?

[enjoytheride]

I would speak to your trainer, while I’d cut a horse some slack for moving I would expect a horse who’s been to shows and lessons to not dump it’s rider a bunch of times just because it moved barns. Did you draw blood or do a PPE before your purchase?

I would suggest that your trainer put several rides on this horse to get her back in line with how she looked when she was sold. I’d hate to suggest there was anything shady going on with the sale, but your trainer is there to figure out why she’s dumping you and get it sorted.

[funky_bunny]

@enjoytheride

Did you draw blood or do a PPE before your purchase?

No, but I aced her before the trailer ride and noticed a big difference in her behavior and entire affect. If she’d been sedated for my trial rides I feel like the effect of the ace wouldn’t be so obvious. Also I was there for the PPE when the vet asked her point blank about it. I felt like she was being honest.

She isn’t that different, she just has these reactive moments I didn’t see in my first four rides on her (two at her home barn, two since moving in—all went great).

I’ve asked my trainer to do a ride on her as soon as she can. So I’ll see how it goes this 2nd week. I just feel a little discouraged and worried about the future, if I bit off more than I can chew.

[funky_bunny]

@Renn_aissance

All that said I have to say I’m a little disconcerted that your trainer described the horse as “green” and thought she was suitable for a rider who says she wants to do the long stirrup. Was the horse’s experience level a conversation you had before you bought the horse?

I knew she was green over fences and didn’t have a lead change. My trainer was recommending we aim for the hopeful hunter divisions at our local shows, which are set at 18” to 2ft. I could be botching the terminology but I thought anything under 2’6” was considered long stirrup. I did see video of her showing at 3ft but she was a mess. I think she was overfaced. She can probably do it one day but couldn’t do it then.

[TheDBYC]

@funky_bunny

No, but I aced her before the trailer ride and noticed a big difference in her behavior and entire affect

There’s too many variables involved in medicating a horse to be able to say yay or nay just based off what it looks like after Ace. Dosage, how long ahead of time, how well hydrated the horse was, etc.

[PaddockWood]

@funky_bunny Where you bit off more than you could chew was asking so much of her already. It’s time you became a trainer - we’re all trainers every time we handle our horses. It’s your job when you handle your horse to confirm she is relaxed and WITH YOU before you ask more. That’s how you begin to build trust.

You’ve had it easy with your first horse. This new horse sounds like the kind where you really learn to train. There will be frustrating days and set backs but ohhhhhhh is it rewarding in the long run. Later you look back and realize just how much you appreciate a horse like this. But it’s not easy now and maybe for a while.

On the ground you must confirm she is mentally relaxed before you swing a leg. Once you swing your leg you must again confirm she is under thresh hold and mentally with you before you ask her for the next level of work. Every moment. Every day.

Does the saddle fit well? Does she feel good in her body? Did you have a good dentist in her mouth?

My last three horses came to me with problems and it’s a bumpy road to success and happiness but looking back I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Knowing I solved the problems instead of getting rid of them and possibly ending up in bad hands. That’s priceless.

[NancyM]

Hard to give you valuable input from afar.
BUT. A relationship with a horse, a REAL relationship, takes time to develop. If you are a “superstar” rider with decades of top level experience, it can come quicker. If you are not this type of rider yourself, it will take longer.

It sounds like you have a coach to give you input. But in decades past, “most” riders faced these problems alone, at home. And most did successfully sort these problems out… by taking things slowly, and learning how to communicate with the horse. 2 way communication, both listening to each other to help to solve problems. To allow you to know what your horse is thinking, and the horse knows what you are thinking. You respond to each other. The horse is not a “vehicle” that you purchase, get on, and ride (even though they are often treated this way these days). I hope your coach can give you the hands on information to help you to gain a relationship with this horse, and that it works out for you successfully.
Don’t be jumping the horse over jumps right now. Don’t ride with other horses in the arena. Limit distractions for both of you. Don’t even CONSIDER going to a horse show with this horse. Take some time to get to know each other, respond to each other, get into each other’s heads. The beauty of riding horses is forming the relationship between two different species, and developing a language that both understand, and each respond to each other, which is what makes it look so easy when good riders ride horses. Do some ground work with the horse, lunging, leading her about, learn about each other. Cues, responses, and reward for good decisions… and that goes BOTH ways.
It seems that often these days, the “coach” programs the horse to be a machine, then puts the rider on, and the horse is expected to carry the rider around, if the rider can steer. Then people are surprised when things go badly. Then the “trainer” gets back on, and reprograms the horse. But it’s not the horse that is the problem, it’s the rider, who is not “really” a rider because they are just a passenger, and expect the horse to be a machine. And people seem to LIKE this, having someone else “program” the horse so that they don’t have to actually LEARN about horses, about riding, and about training, and establishing a true relationship with their horse. Don’t be that person. Take some time with your horse, learn about how your horse thinks, and what they think, about THINGS, about YOU, about the job at hand. This is “horsemanship”, and it is sadly lacking in some coaching programs.
When you get on the horse, just walk for a while. Walk. In both directions. Reverse across the diagonal. Halt. Walk again. When this gets boring and you have NOT been thrown onto the ground, you may try a trot in much the same method. When trotting is easy and everything is going well, you may try a canter. This may take a month, or so, more or less. Don’t be in a rush. Let the horse set the pace of what you are doing. When you are confident, and everything is going well, you may try a pole on the ground, then a course of poles on the ground. Make it “easy”, and don’t let anyone push you to do more than you feel confident doing.
If the horse has a physical or mental issue that is going to come into play, you will probably get tossed off again, and this relationship will fail if these problems can’t be solved. Good luck. Wear a helmet and a good protective vest, just in case. Welcome to horse ownership… there are no guarantees.

[lenapesadie]

Did you ride the simple changes in your trial rides?

Just curious if horse reacted to the particular exercise

[Jackie_Cochran]

When you turned your horse out 24/7 on pasture did you cut the horse’s concentrates?

Whenever I turned a horse out on decent pasture I cut their grain ration (including alfalfa or other legume hay) in HALF. If the horse still was too antsy I cut that in half.

Spring grass can affect horses like it is ROCKET FUEL, my otherwise super calm saint of a horse would all of a sudden “remember” he was half TB, he was born to RUN, and it was off to the races!

Once the “rocket fuel” spring grass matured I monitored the horse’s weight, when I felt the horse’s ribs I wanted a thin layer of fat (around a 1/4" or so), not an inch of fat over the ribs. When the horse started to calm down I would start increasing his concentrates again, slowly over a week or two.

Overfed horses cause their riders many, many problems, lots of falls as they accelerate out from under their riders (BTDT), bucking or through increased shying with lots of body language.

I owned, trained and rode an Anglo-Arab, other part Arabs, several pure Arabs and a Paso Fino, mares, geldings and a stallion. Most of my horses were extremely feed efficient and I had to keep an eye on their weight if I did not want to end up on a rocket ship headed for Mars.

[No1]

There are lots of reasons she could be behaving differently that have nothing to do with anything shady and have a lot to do with horsemanship. Things that you could potentially run into with any horse.

Did she go out with others at her old place? Is she going out with others now? Did they have her on Regumate? Is her hay the same? Have you asked your trainer to do some training rides?

[Posting_Trot]

I’m amazed at how much you tried to do with the horse in the first three days of owning her!

Granted, I’m a bit of a weeny and am not aiming myself towards shows, but in my (limited) experience, horses need a little time to adjust. And the greener the horse, the more time they need.

I’d just take a big step back from what you’re trying to do with her for right now. Hack her out for a couple of weeks. Really. Get her relaxed and forward outside of the ring. Jump over small logs on the trail. Don’t jump in the ring at all. Don’t work on changes. Just ride her.

After a few weeks of this, then start re-introducing her to the ring. Do some cross-rails, maybe twice a week for a while.

Slow it down and give the horse a chance. Good luck!

[gone_rabian]

Sounds like you guys are just getting acquainted and she’s also learning her new surroundings. I don’t think you’re over your head, but I do think if you went through a quick groundwork sessions just to make sure that you both are on the same page that it would benefit you long term.

If you need help, highly recommend checking out Warwick Schiller for relationship building with horses. Wish you best of luck!!

[OnDeck]

I’ve seen it happen a million times. Trainer has a sale horse who is easy easy easy and never does anything wrong. Students ride the horse with no problem so horse is marketed towards lower level riders. Trial ride with new owner goes great, as do the first few rides. Then… horse realizes he’s no longer in a program and this person riding him isn’t as strong as the pro. He tries some funny business and doesn’t get reprimanded! Old trainer never had this problem. Or maybe he realizes he can ignore the squeezing and go as slow as he wants, surely if rider wanted to go faster she would use more spur right? Etc Etc…

Get your trainer to put in some rides and more slowly transition her into her new life. Going from a sale horse in a program to an ammy horse at home is a big difference.

[funky_bunny]

@Posting_Trot

I’m amazed at how much you tried to do with the horse in the first three days of owning her!

Yeah I was dumb. I couldn’t see the harm because I figured she had been trailered off property to shows plenty of times.

Well, I watched like 4 hours of Warwick Schiller and bought the app. I thought she was so unpredictable in those moments, and now looking back she was telegraphing DANGER!! DANGER!! I was just not reacting to it.

[S1969]

@Posting_Trot

I’m amazed at how much you tried to do with the horse in the first three days of owning her!

I am also surprised but more that your trainer let you…or at least wasn’t there to watch the first few rides. Because someone on the ground with a new horse might have seen more you couldn’t feel from the saddle. That’s why trainers are so helpful.

I’m glad your trainer will get some rides on going forward - but I would also have him/her watch your next few rides to help.

[Impractical_Horsewoman]

Is your question “is this the horse for me,” because she is on trial and you’re considering sending her back? The horse has certainly been over-stimulated, going from a show barn and spending most of her time in a stall to 24-hour turnout. Her routine has been completely changed.

I also agree (no offense) that the idea of going to a show so soon seems surprising to me, although when I was at a hunter barn, I know it wasn’t unusual for kids to take a new lease pony to a weekend show after just a week’s trial. But it’s not something personally I’d do.

Has the lead change thing been the main trigger? It sounds like she was being taught them, but was still figuring them out, so that’s possibly why she reacted even to the simple change if she was struggling before. Or, as I’m sure others will point out, there may be a physical issue like saddle fit. (Or was in the past, and she’s still reactive, even if vetted sound.)

If the horse is still on trial, and the “spook and spin” just seems to be part of her personality, I don’t think there is anything wrong about deciding the horse isn’t for you. That’s what trials are for, and a horse of your own is a major financial and time commitment. If you’ve made the commitment already, I agree about taking things slowly. I don’t think your trainer’s advice about lunging more and having a better seat is helpful, though. The spooking doesn’t necessarily come from being fresh, and in another recent thread, a number of very experienced posters noted that a true spin and spook that comes out of nowhere can be difficult to ride.

[cayuse]

Every one has great points and they have been said much better than I could. I’m going to add trust your gut on this, if you feel like your in over your head then maybe this is not the horse for you. This is supposed to be fun.

[Foitin]

Have you tried giving her a good lunge (regular lunge) before you ride? Isn’t ideal on a daily basis, but at first might do the trick. Certainly nothing to brag about, but some of our show horses are completely nuts at home (spooky, bucking, hunters running at the jumps, mine will try to leave strides out) when they haven’t had their show “prep” of lunging or cantering by trainers.

[vxf111]

Did you buy this horse? I assumed so but others seem to assume it’s on trial. I am not clear.

Have you lessoned on this horse yet? Seems like you’re asking a lot for a new, green horse with you being a less experienced rider. Maybe take it easy and just hack/do stuff you know she’s used to doing until you can work with your trainer. There’s no reason to push things. She’s getting settled in the new routine. You’re getting to know her. They’re not robots.