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

[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.

[joiedevie99]

Take some major steps back. If you are working with this horse alone, you need to think like a trainer, not just a rider.

Work out a schedule for the next few weeks so you get lots of lessons and trainer rides her a bu nch. On your unsupervised days, lunge first and then think about the basics - do you have a relaxed trot with a clear rhythm? Can you ride round circles with even bend? Can you ride walk to trot transitions smoothly? Trot to walk? Can you trot over a single ground pole without speeding up or slowing down?

[SweetMutt]

@PaddockWood

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.

Yep. But, many of us learned this by falling off after trying too much too soon - so, welcome to the club!

It takes a while to get to know a new horse. And I’ve had perfectly fine horses be spookier than usual in new barns. Shows are one thing, but they make a point to keep known spooky things out and don’t feature some of the surprises (wildlife, pasture horses galloping, loud cars) of a boarding barn.

In your situation, I would step things wayyy down to be securely within your comfort zone for a bit. When I got my most recent horse, our first ride was a walk/trot with draw reins, simply because we didn’t know what he’d do. Not that we COULDN’T go jump around a course - he and I, separately, were perfectly capable at the time - but I’m an amateur who wants to keep my confidence up and let a new horse know they can trust me not to put them in scary situations, throw them off balance, ask them to jump off a bad ride, or kick them as I struggle to stay on.

It’s good that you’re talking to your trainer about it. Do follow her advice, and maybe ask what she recommends you work on or avoid in your rides. Extra lessons are also money VERY well spent when you’re on a new horse.

[equest]

This. I too thought OP is simply asking too much in the first few days that she has owned the horse. I would step back and take a couple of lessons, and have the trainer ride, and maybe wait on and unsupervised rides til trainer has had more involvement.

[StormyDay]

That is a lot of change in a few days. I would cut her some slack.
Also, Mares are very different than geldings. I LOVE my mares. But its rare to find a mare that won’t test its rider. She is probably seeing what she can get away with. Can my rider sit a spook? What does my rider do when i am a little naughty?
Once she realizes you mean business, you are fair, and you give her all the cookies, she will decide she trusts you and will probably stop all that behavior. Though she still might tell you off when you mess up.

[hunterjumper98]

Honestly, I’m very surprised that your trainer is letting you jump this horse outside of lessons. If the mare is truly green, it really doesn’t seem right that your trainer would just turn you loose with her and let you jump her the first three days of owning her on your own with no guidance whatsoever. That seems irresponsible of her, and quite frankly, unfair to you since you seem to be inexperienced with this type of horse.

It seems to me that you are inexperienced with green horses and are simply asking way too much too soon. Since she is new to you and you are not accustomed to riding a green horse, you are probably overlooking the subtle signals that she is giving to you that says she is overwhelmed or lacking confidence. She then escalates the behavior causing you to fall off. Overfacing this horse now will lead to potentially dangerous behavior problems down the road and cause you to lose confidence or get injured.

My advice to you is to put your horse in a program where you are consistently taking lessons every week and the horse is getting professional training rides. I would be willing to bet money that if she came from a bigger show barn, she was in a consistent program or at least being ridden by a professional regularly. This is most likely why your first couple of rides went so well. She was probably freshly tuned up. I know that having a horse in a program can be expensive depending on where you are located and the caliber of barn you are at, but it is honestly the best thing for a new partnership - especially if the horse is young and green… Having a set of eyes on you while you ride and correct your mistakes early on will really set up a strong foundation for your partnership and keep you both confident. It also helps for the young ones to have regular training rides to continue their education and work through any problems that you may not be able to work through yourself. Even if you just do it for a month or two, I guarantee that you will see huge improvements with your progress. You will have a happier horse and save yourself a lot of frustration!

[Red_Barn]

@hunterjumper98

It seems to me that you are inexperienced with green horses and are simply asking way too much too soon. Since she is new to you and you are not accustomed to riding a green horse, you are probably overlooking the subtle signals that she is giving to you that says she is overwhelmed or lacking confidence. She then escalates the behavior causing you to fall off. Overfacing this horse now will lead to potentially dangerous behavior problems down the road and cause you to lose confidence or get injured.

I agree with all this, in spades.

It sounds like the horse is behaving quite predictably, while you need horsewoman’s bootcamp asap - and I mean that in the most sympathetic way possible.

A person who’s ready to buy a young horse and bring it to a new home ought to have better instincts than this, and I wonder if you’ve perhaps been over-dependent on your trainer? (Many people are nowadays.) I’m sure you don’t want to ruin your horse’s confidence or her faith in you, so, honestly, you need to correct problems at your own end of the equation before things really go south.

Do you have a more experienced friend (besides the trainer) you can consult? I think that would help a lot.

~ Have you paid any attention at all to how the horse is settling into her new herd? Moving from a stall to a herd is a HUGE change! I’d give your mare several weeks to adjust to living outside with others, and I’d watch her interactions carefully.

~ Have you done anything to help her build trust in her surroundings and her new owner, or are you just making demands? If it was me, I wouldn’t ride at all for a few weeks. I’d visit, groom, hand graze, and hand-walk around the property, reassuring her as you meet new things together. Let her know that you’re the person she can rely on wherever you go.

~ Have you spoken to the staff? Barn staff aren’t machines either, and can give you valuable information about your horse’s attitudes and health. You don’t know this animal at all yet, and they probably know her better than you do at this point.

~ Finally, think about whether you really want to be an owner. There’s nothing wrong with long term leases and lessons, where your only job is to turn up and ride. Being a horsewoman and an owner demands a lot from a person, and you just may not be cut out for it. That’s hardly a crime, but it’s best to be realistic about it before you do get in over your head.

[vxf111]

Heck that would be a lot for me to throw at my old tried-n-true horses I’ve had for years if I uprooted them and moved them to a new place. There’a a difference between going to shows, performing, and the horse returning to it’s home that it knows and uprooting a horse and moving it to a new place and asking it to do a bunch of stuff that is challenging in a different environment without the safety of its “home base.” OP, I suspect you and this horse could be fine but you need a LOT more guidance.

[lenapesadie]

@vxf111

Heck that would be a lot for me to throw at my old tried-n-true horses I’ve had for years if I uprooted them and moved them to a new place.

Especially if uprooting just one horse. The horse doesn’t even have his/her known horse friends to draw security from. And in the OP’s case not even the known human handlers.

My homebred horse lost his ever loving mind the first time I moved him to a new location without a member of the herd he was born into.

[atl_hunter]

@funky_bunny

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.

From your actions it seems as though you were looking for a horse that you could take home, start jumping, and prep for a show quickly. If that is what you truly desired, then this isn’t the right horse for you. Green horses take patience, expertise and time. That is why they say “green + green = black and blue.”

The trainer is telling you that you need to have a better seat, and this won’t happen overnight.

It sounds like what you probably needed was to continue riding with an older schoolmaster until you established a better seat and gained additional skills needed to bring a green horse along.

If the horse isn’t on trial and the deal is done, I would put the horse in training immediately and then only ride in lessons under trainer supervision. If the horse is on trial, then send it back before you cause further damage. With every ride you are training this horse. You are now reinforcing the behavior of whatever action is causing you to come off - that will be hard to fix if it continues to happen. It will also cause the horse to quickly lose faith in you as a rider.

Best of luck.