Hey guys I'm brand new to this forum, and the reason I joined is to hopefully get some help/advice when it comes to my little arab gelding. The problem I'm having with him is his tendency to take off and start bucking while you're mounting, and have one foot in the stirrup. Not fun.
Let me give you a bit of history. He's 19 years young, in great shape, and we've owned him for just under a year. Before I bought him, I went out to see him a number of times, but only rode him twice, which was a huge mistake on my part. Honestly I completely rushed into buying him. I was due to move up to Edmonton from BC to join my husband who was posted at the Military base there, and when I came across "Rummy" it was all just kind of a big coincidence. I was surprised to find that he was the same horse I had been visiting as a little girl, he lived down the road from my grandparents house and we used to go over and feed him handfuls of grass. I always thought he was so pretty, so when I found out he was for sale at a dirt cheap price I kind of jumped the gun.
The first few times riding him I noticed he was very tense when it came to mounting. His neck would stiffen and rise up, and his eyes looked worried. But each time, he would stand very still, and walk off only when asked. Then he would relax and we would get on with our ride. Now the woman I bought him off had nothing but great things to say about him, loved to jump, hack, countless trail miles, and he lived under an airport so he was used to loud noises. So this sounded like the perfect horse for me, and the reason she was selling him was due to the fact that she couldn't afford the pasture rent anymore and needed to sell her horses. A few days later his pasture mates were sold and he jumped the fence as if to go looking for them, lol. He was clearly more nervous being alone in the pasture and she had a hard time keeping him in. I had paid for and arranged his transport up to Alberta, and the day before we were due to leave, I went out for a ride. He fidgeted a whole lot and honestly made me nervous, so the previous owner offered to get on him first and... he bucked her off. She was shocked. Apparently he had never done anything like that before. So naturally... I began feeling disheartened about the whole thing.
Rummy was trailered up to Alberta. When he arrived, the woman remarked just how hard he took the trip. Apparently he was polite, but he shook and sweated the whole way. It took him a few days to settle in, and he seemed like a totally different horse. Pushy. Very pushy. Very nervous. Spooky. Of course I could understand this, as he'd spent nearly 10 years in that field and now he was in a brand new place having traveled a long distance. Suddenly he was a huge pain - he took hours to catch, refused to bridle and halter, and impossible to saddle. However, after a few months of work he improved in huge ways. He's now perfectly fine to bridle, saddle and to catch! He has calmed down alot. He's still rather pushy, but we're working on that. Finally it came to riding. At first, he would walk off and tense up the second you became taller than he was. He would shimmy away and you couldn't mount him. Finally after working on that, he began standing still and appearing less nervous. We got to the point of getting on, and I rode him about 6 times without incident. Just the other day however, he took off with me half on, and exploded into this bucking spree, and I honestly couldn't tell you why. He ended up throwing me of course, lol.
I've had the vet come and check his teeth and back, nothing seems to be wrong. His feet are perfect and he doesn't seem to be sore. The saddle fits, I've had it checked, I've taken his bit down from a heavy eggbutt to a regular snaffle. I had a riding accident about 5 years ago that landed me in the hospital for 10 days and had me bed ridden for 2 months, with a shattered pelvis. The injury still bothers me to this day so, I know how breakable I am and honestly, I don't feel like risking another severe injury. I understand that there is always a risk with horses but with this one, the risk is greater. I don't want to give up on him, but honestly I dont really know what to do or where to go with this. I'm really regretting not taking the time to look for the right horse, and feeling pretty stupid about the whole ordeal honestly. Apologies for the novel Any help would be greatly advised. Oh and, he always seems to have a pretty irritable mood -.-
Other little facts:
He lives in a large pasture with about 30 other geldings. Its run by the military so it`s very well kept.
He's on regular hay, no grain or supplements (however I'm considering a calming supplement... advice on that would be great too!)
Let me give you a bit of history. He's 19 years young, in great shape, and we've owned him for just under a year. Before I bought him, I went out to see him a number of times, but only rode him twice, which was a huge mistake on my part. Honestly I completely rushed into buying him. I was due to move up to Edmonton from BC to join my husband who was posted at the Military base there, and when I came across "Rummy" it was all just kind of a big coincidence. I was surprised to find that he was the same horse I had been visiting as a little girl, he lived down the road from my grandparents house and we used to go over and feed him handfuls of grass. I always thought he was so pretty, so when I found out he was for sale at a dirt cheap price I kind of jumped the gun.
The first few times riding him I noticed he was very tense when it came to mounting. His neck would stiffen and rise up, and his eyes looked worried. But each time, he would stand very still, and walk off only when asked. Then he would relax and we would get on with our ride. Now the woman I bought him off had nothing but great things to say about him, loved to jump, hack, countless trail miles, and he lived under an airport so he was used to loud noises. So this sounded like the perfect horse for me, and the reason she was selling him was due to the fact that she couldn't afford the pasture rent anymore and needed to sell her horses. A few days later his pasture mates were sold and he jumped the fence as if to go looking for them, lol. He was clearly more nervous being alone in the pasture and she had a hard time keeping him in. I had paid for and arranged his transport up to Alberta, and the day before we were due to leave, I went out for a ride. He fidgeted a whole lot and honestly made me nervous, so the previous owner offered to get on him first and... he bucked her off. She was shocked. Apparently he had never done anything like that before. So naturally... I began feeling disheartened about the whole thing.
Rummy was trailered up to Alberta. When he arrived, the woman remarked just how hard he took the trip. Apparently he was polite, but he shook and sweated the whole way. It took him a few days to settle in, and he seemed like a totally different horse. Pushy. Very pushy. Very nervous. Spooky. Of course I could understand this, as he'd spent nearly 10 years in that field and now he was in a brand new place having traveled a long distance. Suddenly he was a huge pain - he took hours to catch, refused to bridle and halter, and impossible to saddle. However, after a few months of work he improved in huge ways. He's now perfectly fine to bridle, saddle and to catch! He has calmed down alot. He's still rather pushy, but we're working on that. Finally it came to riding. At first, he would walk off and tense up the second you became taller than he was. He would shimmy away and you couldn't mount him. Finally after working on that, he began standing still and appearing less nervous. We got to the point of getting on, and I rode him about 6 times without incident. Just the other day however, he took off with me half on, and exploded into this bucking spree, and I honestly couldn't tell you why. He ended up throwing me of course, lol.
I've had the vet come and check his teeth and back, nothing seems to be wrong. His feet are perfect and he doesn't seem to be sore. The saddle fits, I've had it checked, I've taken his bit down from a heavy eggbutt to a regular snaffle. I had a riding accident about 5 years ago that landed me in the hospital for 10 days and had me bed ridden for 2 months, with a shattered pelvis. The injury still bothers me to this day so, I know how breakable I am and honestly, I don't feel like risking another severe injury. I understand that there is always a risk with horses but with this one, the risk is greater. I don't want to give up on him, but honestly I dont really know what to do or where to go with this. I'm really regretting not taking the time to look for the right horse, and feeling pretty stupid about the whole ordeal honestly. Apologies for the novel Any help would be greatly advised. Oh and, he always seems to have a pretty irritable mood -.-
Other little facts:
He lives in a large pasture with about 30 other geldings. Its run by the military so it`s very well kept.
He's on regular hay, no grain or supplements (however I'm considering a calming supplement... advice on that would be great too!)