[skyhorse1999]

So as you may know, i just got my first horse!! we had been boarding him at the stable a month prior to his pourchase and i rode him almost every day and played with him everyday at least once, no exceptions. well on the third day we had him, i was a super warm day but the oputdoor arena was still muddy so the garage like door on the indoor was open. my friend convinced me to take him outside for a while, but the second we were out i could tell he was uneasy. So far he had been the calmest, molst agreeable horse i'd ever ridden, but he was trying to go up to the barn or back to his pasture and was ignoring me. it wasn't like he was bolting or anything, just walking strongly, defiantley. i tried to ge him to go back in the arena after maybe 3 minutes outside but he refused to walk in so i scolded him and dismounted to lead him in. later, i was taking him over and easy jump and he kept running out of it, one time almost making me fall off. i did it several morse times with him until he did it right, but it felt like he was rebbelling against me. after the ride i rode him bareback to cool out and he was back to his normal happy self, nudging me playing with his ball. i have been super busy since then and i'm late for rehearsals as i write this, but i haven't been able to ride for the last few days and i think thats making the ride seem worse in my mind. i just want someone to tell me if they think this was a one time thing when he was feeling wacky because of the suddenly very hot weather or if there was something else wrong...when i have gone back to see him he has been just and kind and friendly as always and seems sorry, but i don't know what happened that day! please give me some support!

 

[tinyliny]

Horses are emotional beings. they do not always do what we want becasue they have their own mind and their own feelings. Becuase his behavior changes from the indoor to the outdoor tells you that he is very uncomfortable in the outdoor. He is basically scared out there. He's not being good, then bad. He's living in the present. So, when he's in a scary place (for him, at least) he acts on those feelings. When he is in a calm place, then he feels secure (such as you on him bareback indoors) , he acts "good".

Your job as his rider is to not deny his feelings, but work to proving to him that he can follow something other than his immediate feelings; YOU! If you cannot make him obey you out there, then get off and work on making him listen to and obey you out there with you on the ground, and don't make him stay out there a long time, the first time. You work into new and scary things little by little.

That being said, if you are riding him and he turns around, runs away from the scary thing and yo9u let him do this, he will have less and less confidence in you as a leader. If you have to get off, do so but take him back out there and walk him around. work with him and just hang out out there for a bit. walk around the outdoor arena looking down at the ground , leading him, acting as if you are hunting for Easter eggs. It is your horse's business to jus follow you, and your being mentally absorbed in something other than his fear will help him to join you in being unafraid. Act as if there is nothing to fear and he will have nothing to fear, eventually.


spend more time getting to know this horse and doing things that he is succesful before you start asking him to jump, unless this is something you two have already done a lot of before. work your way up in steps, such that they are successful. Each one will make the next one more likely to be successful, too.
When you have refusals, they tend to make more refusals more likely. But, if your horse was feeling more confident about his surroundings and his rider, he would not likely refuse in the first place.

 

[DancingArabian]

Has he ever been ridden outside of a ring? How about alone?

Horses are herd animals. Survival is to stay together. Going out alone, away from the herd and home, with a new-ish person he doesn't fully trust yet is asking for a lot. Build his confidence in you more. More groundwork!

 

[Horse4Ever]

Every horse has their days. I would give you my full opinion, but tinyliny pretty much sums it up.

I hope everything goes better for you

 

[Foxhunter]

The horse is being a horse - the problems are not his but yours and to put it bluntly, you seem a real novice that should only be riding under instruction.
From what you wrote the horse did nothing terribly wrong you just do not know how to prevent it happening.

 

[skyhorse1999]

ok foxhunter i understand that the post made me seem like a beginner but im 15 and have grown up on horseback and yes have ridden by myself before. as amazing as it may seem, i did not buy a horse because i was inexperinced and wanted something new. i know what to do with a horse and i know how to ride. i get lessons every other week and i have been leasing horses (and riding them alone) much more difficult than my horse now and when i had problems i fixed them. i bought an easy horse for my first horse because of his amazing abilities to jump as high as i compete in (and win in) and i have ridden outside by myself before. i had one problem with my young horse on his first time outside at the barn he has been at for a month. i know how to stop it and i know how to ride through it, and i did fix it if you read the post well. You don't know me and you have not seen me ride so you have no right to be judging my way-beyond-novice abilities. i went back and rode him again after working with him outside on the ground for a while and he was fine. it was a one-time freak thing and i know how to fix it if for some reason it happens again. Next time don't judge anyones riding abilities before you know them and have seen them ride. To sum it all up, i am an advanced rider schooling 4 foot 7 jumps and do not need to be under instruction any time i ride.


Now that i got that out, thanks everyone else for the help! i rode him outside after working on the ground and he was an angel! went over jumps indoors and he was great! i think it was a one time thing and I am totally in loooove with my baby!!!!!!!! thanks!