I'm at a loss at what to do about my TB Bella. A few months ago she stated throwing small bucks(started out as kicking out with one leg). She is prone to ulcers so my first thought was treat her for them again. The bucking started only with one rider, lets call her Jane. Back story- Jane had responded to a craigslist ad I had posted when I first got Bella, I had gotten in over my head and needed help restarting her under saddle. I also had another response from a dressage rider ready to take on her first training project(showing 2nd level and schooling 3rd with some 4th) The dressage rider helped me a ton and Bella was doing great(w/t/c and lateral movements). Jane(eventer/jumper) would come every once in a while and progress never seemed to be being made but it was free help. The dressage rider was moving so her and Jane came up together a few times. The dressage rider warned me that Jane had very harsh hands and I should be careful she didn't ruin Bella's mouth. That was 11/10
After the dressage rider moved Jane dropped off the face of the earth. In Jan 2011 I started taking english riding lessons(dressage rider gave me a few but it was tough learning english on Bella, before that I had only ridden western) and that April I moved Bella there(she had been kept at my moms house) Bella and I were doing fantastic and the teenagers at the barn loved her and started jumping her(with my permission and trainer supervision of course). Bella was pretty fantastic and I was thrilled with how well she was doing. Jane saw pics and videos on facebook and wanted to come up and ride her again(I think that was about September 2011). She always brought her own saddle, which at first appeared to fit(but I didn't know much about saddle fit). For a while it was going ok, she was coming up once every few weeks and then about once a week. After a few rides she started complaining that "Bella was pulling on her"(so she would repeatedly slam her in the mouth with the bit, very aggressively) and that Bella needed a stronger bit, I have always ridden her in a loose ring oval mouth or eggbutt oval mouth. I refused to change her bit. It had been working fine for almost 2 years, why would it need to be changed now.
End of March/beginning of April Jane told me her friends barn was hosting a show in mid April and she wanted to know if she could take Bella, I said she could but that she needed to come up and work her regularly to get Bella in better shape. Shortly after that Bella started the kicking out which quickly escalated into small bucks. My first thought was saddle fit which everyone dismissed(since she Jane had been riding her in the same saddle for months) One day it got so bad I went up and got my saddle and unsaddled her and re-saddled with my saddle to hopefully stop the bucking. It didn't. Every time Bella would buck Jane would kick the crap out of her:evil: which would just make matters worse. Against my better judgement I let Jane take Bella to the show, it was a train wreck.
Eventually I ended up moving Bella to the barn where the show was hosted, Jane was supposed to start paying me to lease her. The barn was closer to my house and the facilities are really nice but it's also closer to Jane so she is able to ride her more, at first I didn't put 2 and 2 together now it's clear that Jane is the problem. Since moving there Bella has gotten so much worse. I bought a new saddle with fits Bella great but "it's too big got Jane and she can't ride in it" She started riding in one of the other girls saddle(her saddle was really tight in the flaps along Bella's shoulders) and says it fits according to my wither template but I don't know which saddle it is to check myself and Bella is just as bad(if not worse) with that saddle. She took it upon herself to change my horses bit to a 3 ring elevator and said "it's just a different type a snaffle, I didn't think you would be mad since it's not a twist" When she knew full well I would not approve. I told her she was not to use that bit on my horse again and I've caught her using it since then. She never lets Bella stretch out while riding, she's always "holding her in frame" and if Bella tried to stretch her head down she just holds her tighter. I've tried to address this with the barn owner(who is the trainer) and she says Bella just bucks because she is making her work correctly, last I checked you couldn't force a horse to work correctly and that holding them tightly only makes them hallow their back out. I don't want her to ride Bella anymore but she is very good friends with the barn owner who says that "Jane works off some of my board" which wasn't in the contract. I really like boarding there but I can't enjoy my horse the way she is acting. I've ridden her twice in the time she has been there, first time was just at a walk(a friend of mine also rode her that day, w/t/c x-rail with no bucking) The second time I rode her I had a few glasses of wine and we w/t and Bella cantered(without being asked), when I tried to trot again she wanted to go right into the canter and I wouldn't let her and she bucked(I was really pulling on her mouth when she did).
So pretty much my only options are to keep her at the barn and keep letting Jane ride her when she only keeps getting worse or move her home where I will probably won't do any work with her. I'm going broke keeping her there and was planning on finding someone to part lease her but who wants to pay to lease a bucking manic. Not to mention when Bella was at my moms she made things difficult since my moms horse is a gelding(as is my retired horse) and they were all horribly attached to each other and always trying to steal each others food since we don't have stalls, just an open barn where we put the old guy in a stall and the other 2 in separate corners.
I guess I just want some advice on how to retrain her from this bucking since EVERYONE(pretty much) just thinks she is pitching a fit because she is "being made to work correctly" I've had Bella nearly 3 years and the only time she's even come close to bucking was when her ulcers were bad(and that was only kicking out). I'm tempted to take her to a dressage barn ride her in a dressage lesson but I'm worried about riding her in a new place as that always makes her nervous and she tends to act up so I'm worried she's going to be really bad. I'd like to get her to the point where I can w/t/c her confidently before I take her somewhere to ride her.
After the dressage rider moved Jane dropped off the face of the earth. In Jan 2011 I started taking english riding lessons(dressage rider gave me a few but it was tough learning english on Bella, before that I had only ridden western) and that April I moved Bella there(she had been kept at my moms house) Bella and I were doing fantastic and the teenagers at the barn loved her and started jumping her(with my permission and trainer supervision of course). Bella was pretty fantastic and I was thrilled with how well she was doing. Jane saw pics and videos on facebook and wanted to come up and ride her again(I think that was about September 2011). She always brought her own saddle, which at first appeared to fit(but I didn't know much about saddle fit). For a while it was going ok, she was coming up once every few weeks and then about once a week. After a few rides she started complaining that "Bella was pulling on her"(so she would repeatedly slam her in the mouth with the bit, very aggressively) and that Bella needed a stronger bit, I have always ridden her in a loose ring oval mouth or eggbutt oval mouth. I refused to change her bit. It had been working fine for almost 2 years, why would it need to be changed now.
End of March/beginning of April Jane told me her friends barn was hosting a show in mid April and she wanted to know if she could take Bella, I said she could but that she needed to come up and work her regularly to get Bella in better shape. Shortly after that Bella started the kicking out which quickly escalated into small bucks. My first thought was saddle fit which everyone dismissed(since she Jane had been riding her in the same saddle for months) One day it got so bad I went up and got my saddle and unsaddled her and re-saddled with my saddle to hopefully stop the bucking. It didn't. Every time Bella would buck Jane would kick the crap out of her:evil: which would just make matters worse. Against my better judgement I let Jane take Bella to the show, it was a train wreck.
Eventually I ended up moving Bella to the barn where the show was hosted, Jane was supposed to start paying me to lease her. The barn was closer to my house and the facilities are really nice but it's also closer to Jane so she is able to ride her more, at first I didn't put 2 and 2 together now it's clear that Jane is the problem. Since moving there Bella has gotten so much worse. I bought a new saddle with fits Bella great but "it's too big got Jane and she can't ride in it" She started riding in one of the other girls saddle(her saddle was really tight in the flaps along Bella's shoulders) and says it fits according to my wither template but I don't know which saddle it is to check myself and Bella is just as bad(if not worse) with that saddle. She took it upon herself to change my horses bit to a 3 ring elevator and said "it's just a different type a snaffle, I didn't think you would be mad since it's not a twist" When she knew full well I would not approve. I told her she was not to use that bit on my horse again and I've caught her using it since then. She never lets Bella stretch out while riding, she's always "holding her in frame" and if Bella tried to stretch her head down she just holds her tighter. I've tried to address this with the barn owner(who is the trainer) and she says Bella just bucks because she is making her work correctly, last I checked you couldn't force a horse to work correctly and that holding them tightly only makes them hallow their back out. I don't want her to ride Bella anymore but she is very good friends with the barn owner who says that "Jane works off some of my board" which wasn't in the contract. I really like boarding there but I can't enjoy my horse the way she is acting. I've ridden her twice in the time she has been there, first time was just at a walk(a friend of mine also rode her that day, w/t/c x-rail with no bucking) The second time I rode her I had a few glasses of wine and we w/t and Bella cantered(without being asked), when I tried to trot again she wanted to go right into the canter and I wouldn't let her and she bucked(I was really pulling on her mouth when she did).
So pretty much my only options are to keep her at the barn and keep letting Jane ride her when she only keeps getting worse or move her home where I will probably won't do any work with her. I'm going broke keeping her there and was planning on finding someone to part lease her but who wants to pay to lease a bucking manic. Not to mention when Bella was at my moms she made things difficult since my moms horse is a gelding(as is my retired horse) and they were all horribly attached to each other and always trying to steal each others food since we don't have stalls, just an open barn where we put the old guy in a stall and the other 2 in separate corners.
I guess I just want some advice on how to retrain her from this bucking since EVERYONE(pretty much) just thinks she is pitching a fit because she is "being made to work correctly" I've had Bella nearly 3 years and the only time she's even come close to bucking was when her ulcers were bad(and that was only kicking out). I'm tempted to take her to a dressage barn ride her in a dressage lesson but I'm worried about riding her in a new place as that always makes her nervous and she tends to act up so I'm worried she's going to be really bad. I'd like to get her to the point where I can w/t/c her confidently before I take her somewhere to ride her.