Hello there! I'm a fairly new horse owner (it's been around 9 months now), and I was hoping I could get some advice. Please bear in mind that although I have ridden horses previously before owning one, I was not raised around horses, so all of my horse experience had been gained from a riding barn before I got my horse.
I own a 16 year-old Oldenburg gelding named Prince Charming. He is sweet when he's in a good mood, and when he's in a bad mood, he likes to bump things with his head... hard. Anywho, he was retired for a year before we purchased him because his previous owner went away to college. A friend of the family and also a huge horse-person has been assisting us with our new horse, and we board him at this friend's private stable. I have gained most of my horse ownership from this person, and he's helped me out a lot.
Naturally, Prince has no muscle from being a retiree for so long. He's also been acting up lately because his only stablemate went away for a show and we had to close off the field for a little while to grow grass (don't worry, he gets plenty of hay and some alfalfa pellets to help balance out his diet for now). He's been acting up a bit, so our friend suggested that I lounge Prince to get some of his energy out.
I was lounging this morning and got him to walk and trot, although it took some serious pushing to get him to trot, he doesn't listen very well when picking it up. Then I asked for a canter, which he gave me in much less time than he did the trot. He went around a few times and I had him slow down and walk to rest a bit. After a minute, I asked him to walk again and then trot, and finally asked for the canter again. He sped up, but before he actually began cantering, he half-bucked twice and then proceeded to trot very quickly. I asked again, he half-bucked and then picked up the canter for a beat of two before slowing to a trot.
Now, when he had been trotting before the canter, Prince would lower his head all the way down to the ground as if he were eating, though he didn't try to slow down and bite anything. He did not lower his head at all when he was walking or cantering, only at the trot. His ears were, for the most part, pricked forward the entire time, and he didn't seem to be favoring one leg over the others or anything of the sort. I had also cleaned his feet previously and did not feel any heat or swelling. That being said, I'm no expert, I could have missed something.
So two questions: 1) Was my horse lowering his head because he was hurting or hungry (he hadn't gotten breakfast yet, if that's of any importance) and 2) Was he bucking because something hurt or because he hadn't been in the field in a few days and was full of energy?
Thank you in advance for answering!
I own a 16 year-old Oldenburg gelding named Prince Charming. He is sweet when he's in a good mood, and when he's in a bad mood, he likes to bump things with his head... hard. Anywho, he was retired for a year before we purchased him because his previous owner went away to college. A friend of the family and also a huge horse-person has been assisting us with our new horse, and we board him at this friend's private stable. I have gained most of my horse ownership from this person, and he's helped me out a lot.
Naturally, Prince has no muscle from being a retiree for so long. He's also been acting up lately because his only stablemate went away for a show and we had to close off the field for a little while to grow grass (don't worry, he gets plenty of hay and some alfalfa pellets to help balance out his diet for now). He's been acting up a bit, so our friend suggested that I lounge Prince to get some of his energy out.
I was lounging this morning and got him to walk and trot, although it took some serious pushing to get him to trot, he doesn't listen very well when picking it up. Then I asked for a canter, which he gave me in much less time than he did the trot. He went around a few times and I had him slow down and walk to rest a bit. After a minute, I asked him to walk again and then trot, and finally asked for the canter again. He sped up, but before he actually began cantering, he half-bucked twice and then proceeded to trot very quickly. I asked again, he half-bucked and then picked up the canter for a beat of two before slowing to a trot.
Now, when he had been trotting before the canter, Prince would lower his head all the way down to the ground as if he were eating, though he didn't try to slow down and bite anything. He did not lower his head at all when he was walking or cantering, only at the trot. His ears were, for the most part, pricked forward the entire time, and he didn't seem to be favoring one leg over the others or anything of the sort. I had also cleaned his feet previously and did not feel any heat or swelling. That being said, I'm no expert, I could have missed something.
So two questions: 1) Was my horse lowering his head because he was hurting or hungry (he hadn't gotten breakfast yet, if that's of any importance) and 2) Was he bucking because something hurt or because he hadn't been in the field in a few days and was full of energy?
Thank you in advance for answering!