[QUOTE=msewhite;7347019]
So I’ve had my 2008 gelding named Mr. Heavy for 9 months, and they have been WONDERFUL. He was so eager and SO brave about jumping, went out cross country the first time and jumped everything I asked without a bit of hesitation and is a lovely mover. Very promising and SO level headed. I’ve was so happy with him especially because he was free. This all changed at the end of September. I guess it’s really true that stressful situations bring out holes in training. While mounting at our first show (it was small and at the farm where I board him but still some tension in the air), Mr. Heavy had a major freak out like I’ve never seen from him and took off and started bucking like a professional bronc horse while I had one leg in the stirrup (aka I had NO chance of staying on). This resulted in a very serious injury for me. A broken C2 and L1. I am lucky to be able to walk. After much rehab on my part and ground work on his, I decided to get back on a few days ago. His ground work had been very productive and pulling on the stirrups/making noise/baby saddle things were no issue so I thought he was ready. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me? Luckily this time, I only have a severely pulled groin muscle and a sore shoulder.
I guess my point is who else has overcome a similar issue and what’s the best way to fix this? This is not due to saddle fit as his saddle hasn’t changed and not pain because I regularly test for soreness and have had the chiro check him over. After the second time, he was worked on the ground which he was just ok with and then looked panicked as another person laid over the saddle. It starts out as “I don’t want to stand for mounting” to “Oh, shit, why aren’t you balanced on me. TIME TO FREAK OTU!” I am thinking that there are major holes in his training and they are finally coming out. He fooled me into thinking he knew more than he did because he is just so kind by nature. I realize this can be an OTTB problem but I am weighing my options here. First and foremost, I do NOT want to hurt myself again. My first though is to send him to a “cowboy” to basically be re-broke. Based on any past experiences, will this “fix” him? Also, how have your experiences been with “cowboys” and OTTBs. His bucking is flat out dangerous and I don’t think I’ll be as lucky next time.
I’m sort of lost on what to do and do not want to give up on this horse for fear of being hurt. Sorry if this is scattered, my thoughts on the situation are so jumbled. I really like this horse and see how much potential he has.[/QUOTE]
OP, I’m glad you’ve rebounded physically. Some of the nastiest injuries I’ve seen came from horses with mounting issues.
If your confidence is damaged, then – by all means – look for a legitimate cowboy type. If you do this for fun, then getting hurt isn’t fun. And if you’re a professional, well, getting hurt means you can’t work, so if it’s beyond you then outsource to someone with a different skill set.
I have seen an adequate cowboy correct this issue. It was not dramatic at all. I don’t remember the full process, but the “trick” was hooking a back leg with a rope that went over the saddle horn and the cowboy held the length. When the cowboy put a foot up, the horse struck out and neatly set himself on the ground. The whole thing was over in less than 1/2 hour on the first day and the cowboy was bored in < 2 weeks.
I rode the horse off and on for years after that and never had a problem with him in any capacity. The owner was never comfortable with him and was seriously injured at least twice after the fix – although not in a mounting accident. Lovely horse, nice rider, terrible combination with too much history to keep going forward. I wish they had parted ways sooner than they did for everyone’s sake.
You noted that your horse seems to be set off by the “show” environment. I would imagine it’s possible he associated lots of horses and the loudspeaker as “back to the races” and reverted to any nasty habits. Not many people bother to try to step up on a runner in the morning and runners on raceday almost invariably get a jock legged up on the walk with varying degrees of drama. It’s not uncommon for horses to “need” to be mounted at the walk or for it to be standard OP for everything in a certain barn.
All that means in this case is that, if it’s my horse, I would assume that if I didn’t TEACH the animal that he must stand for mounting quietly all the time – he doesn’t know it. But you sound like you’ve had some experience with OTTBs.
That said, I have a major reputation and well-deserved reputation for just chillin at the mounting block for just this reason. We do a whole lot of standing around before we go to work.
