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Feeling out-horsed and deflated

4K views 15 replies 9 participants last post by  kiwi79 
#1 ·
Spring has arrived and have just started bringing my horse back into more regular work. A little history on my horse - got him last december, very responsive and forward moving. Well trained and a pleasure to ride. He was a bit underweight and lacked a lot of muscle, he had spent most days stabled with hay then turned out at night on poor pasture.

I have worked at getting his weight up and building some muscle and he is now much healthier AND much more energetic!

He started bucking a little at the start of the year and I had him checked for saddle fit and any pain issues, nothing found. My confidence however continued to grow and I really enjoyed him. However I am now finding my confidence and enjoyment rapidly going downhill. My neighbour who is a much better rider than me has ridden him a couple of times recently, once he has had a few attempts at bucking he flies around and she can canter him on a loose rein with no issues. However when I get on him I am hesitant to let him go, my main fear is being bucked off at speed. He gets annoyed that I won't give him his head and it turns into a battle.

I am happy on him at a walk and trot but when it comes to cantering now, I would rather not - he is just so fast. I can see that he is goes well for my neighbour so obviously I am the root of the problem and it is really tearing me up inside. I am wondering if I am doing this horse a dis-service by keeping him and whether he would be happier with a more confident rider. I was thinking about getting some regular lessons with my trimmer who is fantastic but the combination of having a small property with no decent flat areas and not owning a trailer makes this a bit difficult.

I would be sad to sell him as I am not even sure whether I would look at buying another horse immediately. I know that the combination of a well conditioned but not particularly fit horse and spring time doesnt help either. Any thoughts or suggestions would be greatly appreciated. And thanks if you managed to get all the way through my novel :)
 
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#3 ·
I have one small completely flat area in front of the stable but its only big enough for him to walk and trot comfortably. Once things dry out I will be able to use a larger area but as its on a slight slope its too slippery right now.
My neighbour lets him go which he clearly enjoys but when I hop on I don't want to go so fast - he wants to go straight into a gallop and goes back to wanting to buck when I try to keep him at a canter :?
 
#6 ·
I have heard many people say that a certain horse loves to run, but I seldom see that same horse running when there is no rider on his back. This leads me to believe that the horse is uncomfortable with the rider on his back or thinks the rider wants him to run.

The bucking may be caused by what the horse perceives as conflicting signals. A rider's legs and balance may be telling a horse to run. At the same time, the rider might be pulling on the reins in an effort to prevent the horse from doing so. Think of how confusing and frustrating this could be for a horse, especially if the rider is using a severe bit.

Some riders, like your neighbor, may be comfortable with a horse moving at any speed. You don't need to judge yourself by this.

If you are comfortable riding this horse at a walk and trot, concentrate on these movements. Work on perfecting your balance and movement. Try to keep your center of balance over your horse's center of balance. Try to relax and feel every movement of your body as you allow it to move with the movements of your horse's body. Try to become one with your horse.

As you get better at this, try experimenting with your movement. When you feel your seat bone drop and slide forward with the horse's back at a walk, consciously take it just a little bit further forward for a few strides and see if your horse lengthens its stride. Restrain the motion of your seat bone and see if your horse takes shorter steps. Stop all movement in your body and see if your horse comes to a halt.

Continue experimenting with such things and see how responsive your horse can become to subtle changes in you balance and movements. The more you can relax, the more your horse will relax. The more relaxed your horse becomes, the better he will become at noticing and responding to these subtle changes.

The more you practice these things at a walk and canter, the more you and your horse will begin to trust each other. When you are ready -- and this may take some time -- you may find that your horse's canter is totally different than what you are experiencing at the moment.
 
#8 ·
Just a few thoughts that may or may not be on point:

Only you know your confidence level. How comfortable are you when the battle begins and he gives a few bucks? You may need to ride this out with him until he understands that you will travel at the speed YOU set...not him. A ride shouldn't be a battle, it should be a pleasure. If you're going to deal with this, I would advise you to NOT let your neighbor ride him. By letting him go, he is only creating a bigger issue for you.

You may not have room for cantering on your property, but you can do ground work with your horse so that he gets into the habit of responding to your wishes rather than his own. When you don't give him his head and he begins "battling" what does he do? Are you talking about crowhopping and head shaking and a few half-hearted bucks? I would be more worried about that turning into outright bucking. Once you let him go, he's gotten what he wants....so he learns that if he wants something all he has to do is start a battle. You can't let him get away with this. If you aren't comfortable dealing with this issue and the great suggestions of Txhorseman don't solve the issue, then you basically have two choices. Replace the horse with a quieter horse, or send him and yourself to a trainer for lessons for both of you.
 
#9 ·
My confidence seems to go all over the place. Some days I am really determined and other days my nerves get the better of me. I feel confident enough that I can keep him out of getting into some really big bucks, as long as I focus on keeping his head up then he doesn't get too strong about it. He will usually toss his head around, crowhop and then try get his head down to buck. Its more the burst of speed I think that unnerves me most. Perhaps if my neighbour was only to ask him for a nice controlled canter only rather than trying to wear him out for me? And in all fairness to her I guess that's what I have been asking her to do for me.
Today I did some ground work getting him to walk, trot and halt. After 5 minutes of jigging about and calling out to his mate he settled down and I feel like we made some headway.
Then I hopped on and did what TXhorseman suggested. Did some circles trying to keep him at a nice walk (he would rather trot and keep veering back towards the paddock where his friend was). Did a few loops of the paddock, didnt ask for a canter but managed a nice controlled trot back up the hill to the other horse.
The only thing I struggled with was if I asked for a trot along the hill with his mate at the top to our left he would start going sideways towards him. Would I then use my left leg to cue him to straighten up or use my right rein or both? Now that I think about it we seem to spend a lot of our rides going sideways :? Other than that it went quite well and I am feeling optimistic.
Thanks guys, once again this forum has been a big help.
 
#10 ·
The only thing I struggled with was if I asked for a trot along the hill with his mate at the top to our left he would start going sideways towards him. Would I then use my left leg to cue him to straighten up or use my right rein or both? Now that I think about it we seem to spend a lot of our rides going sideways :? Other than that it went quite well and I am feeling optimistic.
Thanks guys, once again this forum has been a big help.
If a horse is veering slightly to the left, there are several things you might try. Try to stay laterally balanced no matter what you do.

You might try blocking his movement to the left with your left leg. You might try this with your left leg at various positions along the horse's side as one area may prove more effective than another.

If riding with two hands while using a snaffle bit, you might use a gentle and smooth pulsing action with your right hand. You might try a slight squeeze and release of your right hand as though you were trying to squeeze only one or to drops of water from a wet sponge. Alternately, you might try a slight outward pressure by keeping your right elbow against your side while rotating you right forearm to the right. Either method should be performed in a take-and-give fashion. The take indicates what you want, the give makes it so the horse has nothing to resist against.

You might also try putting a little extra pressure on the right stirrup. Horses tend to drift in the direction of this extra pressure if done correctly. Be careful not to lean. Keep your heel down while flexing your ankle to apply more pressure to the stirrup. Think of stepping on the accelerator of a car.

If none of these more subtle methods works, it often helps to circle the horse. Sometimes circling in the direction the horse wants to go works best; sometimes circling in the opposite direction works best. When your horse reaches the right spot on the circle, return to the line of travel you you had before the horse started to veer. If the horse starts to veer again, try the more subtle methods before circling again.

As in most things with horses, experimenting with various methods helps a rider discover what works best with a particular horse at a particular moment. In all cases, however, using methods that tend to keep the horse calm are more beneficial in the long run than methods that increase tension in the horse.
 
#12 ·
Agree with the other posters about not trying to "wear the horse out" with fast cantering when that's his main problem. I've found it often makes a horse even hotter than before when this is done.

In fact, I am in the process of trying to retrain one of my lesson horses to slow down & relax on the trail again. I let friends borrow him for a trail ride and they galloped him so much that he is now unsafe for my lesson students to trail ride on! His quiet personality on the trail was ruined in just one day!

I'm glad you are getting help with this but your instructor needs to first work with your horse in slowing him down (be sure to watch these sessions carefully) and then work intensively with you riding him. Learn the exact cues you need to use to slow him down and your confidence will increase dramatically!
 
#13 ·
More great information, thanks! Its funny when I sit back and look at our time together I can see how I have let things slowly slip towards me undoing a lot of good training someone took to put into him. Letting him get away with little things on the ground because I was in a rush and didn't correct him or letting him have his way on rides without realising it. Hopefully though we haven't passed the point of no return and I am feeling much more confident with working on it now.
And I also realised most of our issues all started at my neighbours place in her big paddock where the horses were always allowed to go for a blat up the hill. That's where he started bucking and as soon as we would get to that paddock I would get tense waiting for the bucks to start and he would know he was about to go for a run - time to stop that routine I think!
I am riding this weekend hopefully with my neighbour so will do some groundwork beforehand then ask her if we can just stay at a walk/trot. I know he's got my number right now so will stick to what we both feel comfortable with.
Have printed off your replies to work from, thanks again and will book in a lesson with my next trim.
 
#14 ·
There are a few things a horse is 'hard wired for. That means that these are behaviors and tendencies that they all have.

All horses are herd animals and THEY THINK their safety and well being is dependent on their herd. This is why many horses want to be back with their herd, buddy or home corral. If given a choice, your horse would race straight back to 'his herd', or if he lacks one, his home is where he feels safe and comfortable with his surroundings.

All are naturally 'flight or fight' animals. That means they want to get away from things the THEY PERCEIVE as a threat. This is why they are often spooky. Some horses perceive much smaller threats as something they need to get away from while others are a lot more brave. This is best overcome by having a strong capable rider that the horse learns to trust like their four-legged herd.

The other thing that comes pre-packaged in every horse is that they are a 'creature of habit'. This means that what they do is what they continue doing. When they first did something, it was probably in response to something that happened or some condition that existed. Then, it can quickly become a firm habit that can be very difficult to break. This is why your horse bucks and why he wants to run and tear around fast.

There are several things you can do to break these cycles and get your horse back to being responsive to you.

First, I think you should teach him that you can stop him and take his head away from him any time you want to. This, in itself, is a great boost for your confidence. It means that you can stop him and settle him down any time you feel the need to. It is like installing an 'off switch' that interrupts any unwanted behavior in a heart-beat. This maneuver is nowadays commonly called a 'one rein stop'. Here is a link to a post I made years ago explaining exactly how to teach it to a horse the correct way. http://www.horseforum.com/horse-training/how-we-teach-one-rein-stop-81965/

If you take the time to teach this exactly as explained, you will no longer feel helpless. It will also stop you from committing one of the major errors that most novice riders commit -- pulling too much on both reins at the same time.

Next, stop pulling on both reins at the same time. Most novice riders pull on both reins every time they feel insecure or that a horse is going to get out of control. This makes horses more nervous, makes them 'fight their heads', fight a bit, and makes them start pushing down and rooting with their heads in a desperate attempt to get the rider to loosen the pull on their mouth. Even worse, when a rider tries to 'hold ' a horse in place with both reins, this often leads to a horse rearing and fighting their head violently enough to hit a rider with the top of their head.

Most novice riders have good intentions, but lack the skill -- the timing and feel -- to use reins lightly and correctly. They also usually lack the skil and timing or use seat aids correctly as these are very subtle. They over -use leg aids, that just makes many horses worse. I have found that the best thing to do is learn to ride mostly with ONE REIN at a time until they gain more skill and confidence. This does not mean that you 'throw the other rein down'. It means that you try not to pull equally on both reins at the same time. One rein or the other is your dominant aid. You can easily learn to bring a horse around in a circle to gain better control. If the horse still tries to do his own thing, then you can bring him around more tightly and stop him by taking his head away from him. Then, start over with what you were trying to do in the first place. Horses can argue and fight a rider taking hold with both reins. A horse is pretty helpless to fight a rider using one rein.

If this horse puts a hump in his back and bows his neck down, it could be that he wants to buck or it could be that he just wants to get more rein from your hands Either way, you can bring him around and slow him way down or stop him and commence doing a 'do-over' until you are comfortable with the way he is doing it.

If a horse seriously tries to buck, take his head away and kick him hard with your inside leg. This makes him disengage his hind quarters. This takes away his ability to propel himself forward to buck hard. He needs his hind end directly behind and underneath him to buck, so again, your 'one rein stop' turns the switch OFF. You let him stand there quietly for a minute or so with his head at your leg until he completely relaxes, then give him his head back and go on like nothing happened at all. Learning to do this and teaching a horse to do this correctly is the biggest single thing that will give you confidence and keep you safe.

The next thing you need to learn to do (and teach this horse) is how to 'leg yield'. Learning this maneuver will teach you how to 'push' him away with your leg when he wants to go sideways toward his buddy or the barn. The more you PULL, the more you enable him to go sideways. You need to learn to PUSH instead.

This is another whole lesson. I think you need to work on teaching him to stop and give you his head with one rein first. Install that off switch and stop pulling with both reins at the same time.

You can do this. Cherie
 
#15 ·
Reading this reminded me of a horse my Dad was 'given' many years ago, Scotty. We ran a riding club in BC and usual had 20 or more horses, trail rides mini rodeos mostly for kids & teens some adult and family weekend treks. One weekend ride (camping long weekend) I had the privilege of riding Scotty and giving my horse to some one with less experience (very upsetting for a 12 year old girl lol) That ride was probably the most stressful constant work out on your toes never relaxing nightmare. Scotty never once relaxed. He wanted to run home constantly turning and pulling his head. once we were a mile from home, on a hill side on our property I just got of and let him go. I was so worn down. I completely understand what your saying. I was 12 or 13 but have been riding since I was 3 or 4. If we had a horse that was hard to ride or finicky my Dad would give him or her to me for a week or 2 and they would settle down. Scotty on the other hand was so spoilt and had a one track mind
 
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#16 ·
Thanks Cherie, I have been taught the one rein stop when I took him to a natural horse clinic last summer but I guess I haven't been using it enough. The one time I can remember using it when riding with my neighbour he nutted out because I was making him stop while the other horse was getting further away. I think in that situation I reinforced his bad habit by letting him continue on rather than making him settle until we progressed.
Yesterday my partner finally decided he was ready to have his first ride on his new horse who we have been trying to get some weight on since he arrived. I put my saddle on his horse and an old saddle on my horse then led them down to the stream so we could just have a quiet walk on the flat. We got down there and I was about to mount when I suddenly looked at my saddle and realised it had no stirrups on it! I seriously wonder where my head is at sometimes, no idea how I missed that.
Anyway since we were walking only I didn't bother going back up for the stirrups and actually my horse was lovely and calm (he also was in his bitless rope bridle which I haven't used much since its harder to pull him out of a buck). I found without the stirrups I could really concentrate on my seat and use some of TXHorsemans suggestions. Wow is all I can say! He really listened and was happy to move along at a nice walk, even got a lovely trot on a loose rein and he did not try rush into a canter.
Coming back up the hill to the house I had him on a loose rein and it was the first time ever he has not tried to break into a trot.
Am really feeling it in my seat bones today for such a short ride too!
 
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