Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[buckskin.]

@Keletheryl
I would get him checked out by a vet or chiropractor if it's out of the usual for him, he could be in pain and tail swishing, pigrooting, tossing the head etc. is a way that many horses tell you they're in pain. Like with the mare i'm riding, she's been bucking and pigrooting for a while now so we're going to be getting a chiropractor out because there is no way she could be acting this 'rogue' without having something wrong. Horses use their body language to try and communicate with us so i'd definitely have him checked over. Maybe the saddle fits wrong, or something is pinching him or maybe he's got sore muscules.

As for the bridle, the mare I ride, Sunrise, was very headshy and would do similar things as your boy when I went to bridle up. As it doesn't sound like he's headshy and once again is out of the ordinary, he might have something wrong with his teeth and had associated the bit with pain? I was taught that you put one hand between the ears and lift the bridle up, pass it to the other hand that's putting pressure on the poll so they can't throw their head as much, this might work but it might not.

How old is he? I know you said he was young but how young specifically? Maybe without realising it you let him get away with something small and now he wants to get it over you. Personally if I was not to ride for three years, I wouldn't have got something young but would have gone for something in it's early teens with more experience and a more reliable temperament, that way whilst i'm getting use to it I wouldn't really have to worry about behavioural problems in the horse if you understand what i'm getting at. I'm no expert and am on the younger side myself so I can't pass this off like I know everything, but this is basically some of the things i've been taught.

[Keletheryl]

@Keletheryl
I would get him checked out by a vet or chiropractor if it's out of the usual for him, he could be in pain and tail swishing, pigrooting, tossing the head etc. is a way that many horses tell you they're in pain. Like with the mare i'm riding, she's been bucking and pigrooting for a while now so we're going to be getting a chiropractor out because there is no way she could be acting this 'rogue' without having something wrong. Horses use their body language to try and communicate with us so i'd definitely have him checked over. Maybe the saddle fits wrong, or something is pinching him or maybe he's got sore muscules.

As for the bridle, the mare I ride, Sunrise, was very headshy and would do similar things as your boy when I went to bridle up. As it doesn't sound like he's headshy and once again is out of the ordinary, he might have something wrong with his teeth and had associated the bit with pain? I was taught that you put one hand between the ears and lift the bridle up, pass it to the other hand that's putting pressure on the poll so they can't throw their head as much, this might work but it might not.

How old is he? I know you said he was young but how young specifically? Maybe without realising it you let him get away with something small and now he wants to get it over you. Personally if I was not to ride for three years, I wouldn't have got something young but would have gone for something in it's early teens with more experience and a more reliable temperament, that way whilst i'm getting use to it I wouldn't really have to worry about behavioural problems in the horse if you understand what i'm getting at. I'm no expert and am on the younger side myself so I can't pass this off like I know everything, but this is basically some of the things i've been taught.

I have been taught to put my hand around him so he can't rear his head back, and usually he does really good but this time he would weasel his way out by backing up.

I think he's between 5-8 years old. His previous owner had him as strictly a trail horse, so that's all he did. Now he's pretty much a pet that gets leased because he's not getting enough exercise.
I wasn't going for something that was young, but because she said she trusts her 5 year old daughter on him, that's what made me think that maybe it was okay then. I definitely wouldn't trust a 5 year old on him the way he was acting yesterday though.

I'll let his owner know to maybe check him over and maybe even get in the saddle and ride him around and see how he does. Maybe he's just upset with me for some reason, or maybe there's something wrong. If she finds something wrong too then as long as it gets fixed everything will be okay.

He's a gorgeous boy and we were doing really well with direction and he works great for me because my mother lives in the same city that he is in so when I visit her once a week I can also see him so it was perfect. And I would hate to have to find something else that's probably going to be further away!!

Thanks for the help!

[wibeke]

Are you the only one riding him? It sounds like he's realizing he can test his limits with you and get away with it, along with having a lot of extra energy that he needs to burn off.
Even completely solid, bombproof old horses can develop bad habits. There are a lot of horses that I'd trust with kids who would still become unholy terrors if they were given their way. I used to ride an old school horse that learned he could just stand completely still and ignore his riders until they finally gave up and got off. He was an amazing horse and we got along great because he knew he couldn't pull any crap with me, but he tormented a lot of kids. The pony I ride now is a wonderful little horse once you get to know him, but the second he realizes he can get away with something once he will not stop trying it.
Horses are smart, if they see an opportunity to get their way and realize that you don't have the ability to stop them they'll take that an run with it. He's figured out that sticking his head up means he doesn't have to be bridled and that bucking makes you scared enough to get off. His owner can probably tell him off for those things and remind him that it's unacceptable, but it's much harder to do when you've had some time off and feel intimidated by him.

I'd bring up your concerns to the owner and find out how often he's being ridden and if those are behaviors he's shown with her. He might just need a bit of schooling to remind him of his manners. If it's possible it would be good to have her watch you ride and handle him

And if you really don't feel safe, find a different horse! Having a nice location is great but you shouldn't feel like your horse is going to put you in danger. That completely sucks the fun out of riding and risking getting seriously injured isn't worth it at all. It also makes it hard to improve when you have to focus so much on worrying what the horse will do next instead of being able to focus on how you're riding.

[Hime]

@Amy Pond: Lateral work of any sort is unfortunately one of the worst things that makes Heta clingy. Like she has problems understanding that not all leg aids mean go faster, and then when I try to slow down the speed (as she's not able to do stuff properly unless she goes quite slow) eventually she just gets super clingy and it's just not nice... Circles and figures she's usually pretty okay with, it's all the halting/half halting that we hit the 'stuck' moments, so maybe I try to work on transitions little more (especially downward transition from canter she tends to drop quite a lot to my hand). I honestly think it's evasion tactic with her, the nagging little part at the back of my head wonders if there's a reason for it or not... Honestly this mouth issue has been with her for years, it has gotten lot better since the begining but now it's creeping back up and I don't understand why. ;_; Easy fixes to everything? Yes please, where do I sign up to sell my soul for that.

@Keletheryl: Have you seen someone else work with the horse? Did the owner mean she allows her 5 year old to ride him alone or in lead line? Huge differance between the two ways, not to mention what is likely demanded of him compared to when someone is actually riding him, and horses sometimes are odd creatures and act much more carefull and nice around children.
Testing is possible if he feels you are unsure. Tý tried that with me after couple weeks at home. I got part of it sorted out myself, when L just told me to man up and be more assertive with him, and then R also rode him once and we then figured the saddle was tipping little too much forward and being seat sensitive horse he found it hard to tolt with riders weight tipped forward. So with your gelding it could be him testing you, but considering it has taken that long I'm somehow little doubtful. The reactions also sound quite big for simple testing, especially the bridling thing... And the behavior has been building up, so pain could be a reason. I also wonder if he could be bit bored of arena work, if that's what you tend to do with him and he has been a trail horse so he might be more used to that type of work.
Definetly have a chat with the owner about his behavior lately and ask how he is when with other people work with him.
_________________________
So Heta's moved to the new place safe and sound. She's really no hassle to travel with, like I can load and unload her by myself, she's that patient to stand in the trailer. c: The new place... Is okay-ish feeling (I forgot the place has clay based soil, which packs into the hooves like crazy >_<). The owner seems nice, just little forgetful and sometimes little too, how to put it... Like it was pouring today pretty much all morning and afternoon and she took all the horses inside in the morning (horses spend nights outside for now) because of the rain, and then left them inside for the whole day because the rain continued into the afternoon... There are 2 horses who apparently really do not enjoy being inside... One of them is real nutcase imo, like he will kick the walls full on with both of his hind legs. Like literally buck towards the walls, hard. Other just kicks/paws the door of his stall mainly so people would let him out. So the athmosphere inside the stable is not that nice when the horses are inside, like it feels stressful and also loud as the sounds echo quite a bit. I can tell Heta's not her usual self, she definetly doesn't like all the banging noices and I think she looks bit lonely in her paddock (which she wasn't at home, even though she was alone in the paddock). We were hoping to put Heta together with one mare eventually. But today I talked to my classmate, who also keeps her horse at the stable, and apparently that mare can be bit pissy with other horses (owner said othervise -_- ) and she and Heta haven't been that nice to each other over the fence... The same mare also tried to bite Heta when I walked her past her stall... So yeah, this might be interesting.
The have a indoor and outdoor arena. The indoor had the ground totally redone and is still waiting for the top layer. Technically we can ride in there even now, but it's mix of sand and round small-ish gravel and fairly soft (for me) so it's really not that good(tested it out today, definetly not good for tolting)... The outdoor also has some ground issues, like it's too hard apparently in their oppinion, so they use it to paddock some horses... So that leaves the oval track as only riding place (other than trails), which is has pretty great ground really and it's outside, so Heta likes it more. But it's so narrow... Like I don't think it's even 4 meters wide, so it's kinda hard to do anything other than going straight and maybe little lateral work (which Heta dislikes a lot, so a no go). I'm just hoping someone would be willing to show me some trail routes next week, so that we can have at least proper work out that way. Not sure if I'm going to give the indoor a shot with long reining tomorrow...
I also may need to clip Heta again. I rode her today and quite lightly to be honest, and she got much more sweaty than I would have liked considering the amount of excersise... >_< Temps are also supposed to go over 15C and it's supposed to get sunny too.

I think I'm feeling little stable-homesick. Which I thought was not possible, but apperently it is.

[zliti]

Just thought I'd give a small update on the mule..

Yesterday, we had him in our stocks and was taking a snap halter to him. When he only backed up a little bit upon having it brought over his face, we went and slipped it over his ears and let it rest there. Taking it back off was a bit of an episode, but he didn't freak all that much and we tried again. Each time got smoother and smoother until he simply stood there for us to put it on and take it off! I cannot believe this entire switch in attitude with him, and I am super excited about what we can get done now!

Looking forward to many more great months with this boy before hooking him up!

[Keletheryl]

I'm not the only one riding him. There is also a 6 month pregnant lady that rides him and she says he's great. Apparently though she uses her own bite and bridle and apparently (according to the owner) he freaks out at the new bridle and she doesn't want me to use it so he won't freak out at me. I'm kind of wondering if maybe something happened with her and her bridle and bit and that's why he was suddenly acting like that because normally he's very still and takes the bit (with a tiny bit of resistance).

I'm not sure if he's on a lead line when she rides him or not. She said that her daughter walks and trots with him but that's all she's said about it. I was thinking too that he may be bored of going around in circles if he used to be a trail horse but there's no trails nearby at his new home.

I did NOT let him get away with not taking the bridle. I figured he MAY be testing me, so I refused to back down and like I said, eventually he did give in. So I thought after that he would be more likely to listen having seen that I won't give up easily. But I am not used to a horse bucking, not even a little bit as I've only ever ridden completely broke to ride horses before so I didn't want to risk anything and that's why I got off. If I was more confident with bucking or bolting then I definitely would have stayed on.

I've told the owner about what happened and suggested she should check him over and maybe get in the saddle or have somebody get in the saddle and see if he does the same thing to determine if he's in pain somewhere or just being a jerk towards me and there's something that I'm doing wrong. If that's the case I asked her to let me know what she finds out and if he's an angel to the rider then to re-watch me riding with him and see if i've fallen into a bad habit or something. I have looked over how I was riding and I can't think of anything I'm doing wrong or slipping on but it could be something I just don't see.

[Whippet.]

My new girl was finally making progress after 2 months of consistent work and has started to feel fit and full of herself lol took off and threw in a buckjump yesterday when I asked her for a faster trot but just brushed it off as she's feeling pretty good. Worked her again today and decided to go back to voice and see if she's less sensitive. She'd be going along nicely then get lazy but whenever I'd ask her to quicken up, she'd hump up and pigroot. Very out of character for her so we're going to get the chiro out to her and restrict work to walk-only for a bit to keep her moving and stop her turning feral from no work lol hopefully it's a simple fix

[Whippet.]

My new girl was finally making progress after 2 months of consistent work and has started to feel fit and full of herself lol took off and threw in a buckjump yesterday when I asked her for a faster trot but just brushed it off as she's feeling pretty good. Worked her again today and decided to go back to voice and see if she's less sensitive. She'd be going along nicely then get lazy but whenever I'd ask her to quicken up, she'd hump up and pigroot. Very out of character for her so we're going to get the chiro out to her and restrict work to walk-only for a bit to keep her moving and stop her turning feral from no work lol hopefully it's a simple fix

Update: Checked her out all over with no sights of soreness and gave her legs and muscles a good stretch out so will get her teeth checked out next. Would check first ourselves but easier said than done with a headshy horse

[tenturo]

eeee!
gus's 22nd birthday was yesterday (1st of september) andddd heres some photos!

[Crow.]

So, im having a few issues id like some advice on.
Lately when I've been riding I can never seem to keep my heels down at all because my leg is so stiff with the rubber boots, so stiff I feel like a stick walking on legs. Ive worn these boots for awhile but nothings stretching and my feet always slip out of the stirrup because its so hard getting my heel down in these boots, do I switch to a new pair?
Also any tips for helping leg cramps while in trot and my feet slipping out of the stirrups? Im trying to build muscle in my core reigon as its quite hard for me to do a sitting trot mostly just because I havent gotten strong enough to keep it up.