Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[Lunamione7]

Certainly could be a stallion. With all of the hormones, they tend to be more boisterous. It could also possibly be resource guarding - he sees you as a valuable resource and wants to keep you away from the other horse. With the severity, it sounds an awful lot like he has some anxiety or insecurity there and is determined not to let any other horse get close to you. There could also be previous experience/training problems, especially if the owner gave him attention when he asked for it or reinforced the behaviour you are experiencing with him.

As for what you can do... I'd recommend talking to the owner ASAP. It's their horse and if you & your horse are being put in danger, then the owner needs to take responsibility. In the meantime, is there any way you could put out some hay for him whilst you do whatever you need to do with your own horse? That way, he should be more interested in the food and will have a different resource to worry about, so his anxiety won't be placed on you. If not, I would recommend keeping a safe distance and a close eye on his body language. Have someone supervise if you can.

Resource guarding/anxiety can quickly become dangerous and the shirt tugging and pawing is a cause for concern. Without the owner's input, there's not much you can do since you don't know the horse's history, training, context of the behaviour etc. I would recommend counter-conditioning and ways to manage the behaviour if I knew what the context was but without that, there's not much to be said. All in all, talk to the owner as soon as possible and keep an eye on the horse. Stay safe and don't risk an interaction if you could be in danger. Good luck and please stay safe!

Thank you!

We are very annoyed with the owner, they don't appear to have been back since "Bossy Britches" as we've taken to calling him, arrived.

He is a very tall horse in ridiculously good condition so it all seems very strange. He must be a sporting horse because of the big well defined muscles he has and show quality coat.
He is branded but we don't know if/how that can be used to look for the owner or breeder.
We worry he's been stolen and dumped because he has nothing here, no leash or halter even. No blanket.

[sunny*days*ahead]

We are very annoyed with the owner, they don't appear to have been back since "Bossy Britches" as we've taken to calling him, arrived.

He is a very tall horse in ridiculously good condition so it all seems very strange. He must be a sporting horse because of the big well defined muscles he has and show quality coat.
He is branded but we don't know if/how that can be used to look for the owner or breeder.
We worry he's been stolen and dumped because he has nothing here, no leash or halter even. No blanket.

There's definitely something suspicious going on if he doesn't even have a halter, yet appears to be a show horse. I work with show horses for a living and even the lower-level ones have -very- particular owners! If he has a nice, slick show coat yet they turned him out to pasture - with another horse - that's extremely odd! I don't support this necessarily, but most show horses are not turned out with other horses, so his behavior with the horse you love might make sense if he's never (or very rarely) been turned out with one before.

Is this a boarding facility, or just someone who was kind enough to board a handful of horses on their land? Whoever owns the pasture should have all the contact information for the owner. If they don't have that, I'd definitely call the local police. Nobody - even if it's not a show horse - should leave an animal with no contact information in a new place. Especially with horses, since (again, especially show) people are usually particular about coggins papers, vaccinations, etc.

[valyri]

I ride weekly. I've always wanted to learn since I was in my single digit years but my parents always came up with an excuse to stop me; 'it's dangerous', 'it will be hard'. Those were awful 'reasons' to not take up riding, you don't get very far without some risk or hard work after all.
Now that I'm an adult and had the chance to have my first riding lesson in a group with university I took that opportunity and had a go. Since then I haven't looked back. I've gone from being on a lead rein to trotting and cantering. I still have a lot to learn but so far it has been amazing. Even on those days when I go away from a lesson feeling that I didn't do so well I always mange to have a good time.
I ride at a smaller riding school and have ridden almost all the horses (that are tall enough) at least once. I find it amazing how each one moves differently and how they all have their personality and quirks. My experience learning to ride has just driven me even more to do well in my studies to work in equine healthcare and welfare.

I do have one question for those more experienced in riding.
I could really use some advice on canter work. I ride English style on the school horses (so there is nothing I can do to train the horses, though most of them are very well behaved and do as you ask). There are a few horses that I find cantering on easier, it's likely because they are more forward and don't take a lot to go and do upward transitions.
However not every horse is so easy off the leg (all the school horses are cold-blooded cob types) and I can find it very difficult to get them going. It's harder to sit to a horse who does a few canter strides then trots, back to canter for a couple and then back to trot again. Is there something I can do/change about how I ride that can make it easier to ask these horses to keep cantering?

That's awesome and very impressive that you've progressed so much! Horse riding is certainly dangerous but it's worthwhile

Anyway, as for the cantering... I would recommend making sure that you aren't "blocking" the horse with position - as in, your hands, legs or seat. Make sure that you're not gripping anywhere or relying too much on one thing, and allow the horse some freedom of movement. As well as that, make sure that all aids are clear and precise. If you just flail and kick constantly, then the horses aren't going to have any idea what they're meant to do. However, being riding school horses it's likely that they've experienced that before with other riders and are unmotivated to work because the experience of working isn't pleasant. That's the problem with riding schools and riding school horses in general (I could go on a tangent but I won't )

Certainly could be a stallion. With all of the hormones, they tend to be more boisterous. It could also possibly be resource guarding - he sees you as a valuable resource and wants to keep you away from the other horse. With the severity, it sounds an awful lot like he has some anxiety or insecurity there and is determined not to let any other horse get close to you. There could also be previous experience/training problems, especially if the owner gave him attention when he asked for it or reinforced the behaviour you are experiencing with him.

As for what you can do... I'd recommend talking to the owner ASAP. It's their horse and if you & your horse are being put in danger, then the owner needs to take responsibility. In the meantime, is there any way you could put out some hay for him whilst you do whatever you need to do with your own horse? That way, he should be more interested in the food and will have a different resource to worry about, so his anxiety won't be placed on you. If not, I would recommend keeping a safe distance and a close eye on his body language. Have someone supervise if you can.

Resource guarding/anxiety can quickly become dangerous and the shirt tugging and pawing is a cause for concern. Without the owner's input, there's not much you can do since you don't know the horse's history, training, context of the behaviour etc. I would recommend counter-conditioning and ways to manage the behaviour if I knew what the context was but without that, there's not much to be said. All in all, talk to the owner as soon as possible and keep an eye on the horse. Stay safe and don't risk an interaction if you could be in danger. Good luck and please stay safe!

Thank you!

We are very annoyed with the owner, they don't appear to have been back since "Bossy Britches" as we've taken to calling him, arrived.

He is a very tall horse in ridiculously good condition so it all seems very strange. He must be a sporting horse because of the big well defined muscles he has and show quality coat.
He is branded but we don't know if/how that can be used to look for the owner or breeder.
We worry he's been stolen and dumped because he has nothing here, no leash or halter even. No blanket.

Understandably annoyed!

Hm. Well, that is a bit strange. Most people that show who I know/am aware of barely ever turn their horses out (don't agree with it at all but that's the way it is) and if they do, then they are quick to bring them back in. As for the equipment, that is weird. If he's been dumped then it would make sense as to why he has no belongings.

Are you at a boarding/livery facility? I'd recommend talking to the owner of the facility if you can and trying to locate an owner from there.

[Licorice.]

@Lunamione7 - Do you happen to know what breed or have a guess? If it is a harness racing horse there is a registry for them (and they are usually freeze marked on the neck with a number). If you have a picture of the brand, you could ask some people that show on a regular basis on a circuit and they might know of a stable that brands a certain way (since originally it was supposed to represent ownership when horses were turned out into the wild). There are common brands for different breeds and you could see if the brand matches up with any one of them. Since you say that he has a show coat, you might be able to see if anybody has reported a horse missing in the past few weeks. I would recommend checking local police stations. It is odd though that nobody has come by to check on him since he arrived. My best advice is see if you can track the brand and see what happens from there. Please stay safe! I wish you the best of luck, and I am sorry that you cannot spend time with your horse.

[Spirit23Wolf]

Omg I just have to say how proud and In love I am with my horse cotton we (my coach and I) decided to dress the horses up and take them out to hand out candy tonight. And she was perfect! She could care less about all the kids running around in spooky costumes and just kept walking. And at the end of the night we watched the firework show and of course she Kinda flinched at the first one because you know not expecting it or anything and then after that she just stood calmly and watched the rest of the show!! And I’m just so proud and in love that my heart could burst!!!

[June Bug]

So the last time I posted, I was considering re-homing options for my horse because of my financial situation.
Well, after discussing it with my barn owner, we came up with a game plan and she agreed to help me out until I was either able to afford everything again, or Granix (my horse) came to a point where we knew he would have to be put down. Because of his metabolic issues (He is on Prascend for his Cushings, thyrol for his insulin resistance, and a daily maintenance dose of bute) and behavioral quirks (he's tried multiple times to kill other horses and is unreasonable when pursuing them. The only way I can describe it is that it's like he is possessed) he would not be a good candidate for sale unless he can prove he is still valuable as a riding horse and a rescue would most likely just put him down.
We agreed that we would start him back into work, starting out very slowly and testing to see how he holds up. If he can be given a job it is worth keeping him as he was a wonderful lesson horse and can work for his keep while I get my life together. If he doesn't stay sound and can't work, it would be in his best interest to put him down as that would mean a living in a dry lot, by himself, with nothing to do for the rest of his life. He would not be happy.

So, he's now at the end of week 5 of hand-walking and we just started tacking him up for walks. His muscle is coming back in nicely and his feet are holding up very well. Even with a bad colic scare about three weeks in (it was a nasty gas colic that was mimicking an impaction/gut displacement he had two years ago that we narrowly avoided surgery on), he has been sound as a bell the whole while.
We're currently trying to think of which kid to put on him to take him for his first test ride. Luckily, he is not dumb about going back to work after a break so we're not worried about him being a lot to handle, just someone who wont be intimidated getting on a horse that hasn't been ridden in 18 months, but is also petite and light, lol.
But anyway, that's the plan.

I also finally got a new job after searching for over two years! I'm starting tomorrow morning as a receptionist/vet tech at a local vet clinic. My barn family is sad they are going to be losing me as a full-time helper, but they're also super excited for me. The reference call my boss made to my barn owner actually became a long friendly chat because my barn owner was a vet tech for a log time and is the founder of Pet Portal. Having a real paycheck again is going to be so wonderful.

In other news, I just got finished working a three day clinic we had at the barn with both Isabelle and Felicitas Von Neumann-Cosel and I can't wait to apply some knowledge! I was not able to ride (can't afford it and also don't have a rideable horse atm, lol), but even just being able to audit when I wasn't running around doing set-up/stalls/helping riders/etc. was amazing. This was the fourth time we've had Isabelle out but the first time we've had both her and her sister. It was such a success, we are already planning to have them both back again in the Spring. I am so hoping I will be able to ride next time!
The great thing about these two is that they both are willing and able to teach people and horses of all levels. My barn owner even did an in-hand lesson with her gelding who is in rehab after flipping in the field, breaking 12 bones (all 10 spinal processes that make up the withers, C6, and his tuber coxae) in July of last year (the same weekend Granix broke his elbow). I got quite a few tips for Gran's rehab while watching that!

[vash ♡]

my trainer and i are prepping to go to a clinic a 5* eventer will be hosting in a few months and it’s on the horse i trained myself. it’s such a rewarding feeling!!

[Owlmania]

Hi,
I’m new to this topic.

I’ll introduce myself.
Username- chickenlover456
Discipline- I guess I would say mixed(I’ve done some jumping but mostly stick to ground work)
Horse- sadly I don’t own a horse. I usually ride a paint school horse named scout
Level- I’d say a beginner/intermediate(I just started jumping and bending. I’m very confident with canter)

I’m excited to get to know this community and to become a regular poster.

[bantry bay]

my tb gelding now has a 5th supplement and his getting his coffin bones injected! yay! not at all expensive!
in other news, showing my mother's appy pony in the 2'9" jumpers - he likes to throw me off so we'll see how that goes. he's been schooling 3' courses just fine at home but when i took him off property last friday he threw me off over a faux brick wall that was barely 2'3" in a lovely large rear (despite clearing several other, much higher jumps just fine, naturally)

@chickenlover456
hello! its' nice to meet you! do you do traditional dressage work or hunter/pleasure/equitation flat?

@tinygiants
that's so cool! i almost went to a joe fargis clinic and i was super excited (unfortunately got rained out and mr. tb went lame) so i can't imagine how happy you must feel!

@June Bug
that's amazing! i read your last post about your horse and it really seemed like you were stuck in a rut, its' great that you've found a solution and a new job - good luck in the future!

[Owlmania]

@bantry bay
It’s a mix, but equitation is probably closest.
Also, I hope you can figure out how to get that pony under control.