Hi All,
I have a 5yo. He was backed in June and I don't think they worked with him enough before I got him (September). He was riden once a week for maybe 15 minutes (The original person who backed him came out and took a few rounds in the round penn.), I was recovering from an injury (horse fall) and couldn't ride, probably it's also a good idea to mention that I myself is a beginner advance rider. In November my husband got on, he went halfway round the penn being a very good boy, then he got a fright and jumped to the side, husband fell off, the saddle slipped to his right side and he went nuts. He ran around the penn in it took a few laps before I could get him to stop.
I took the saddle off and gave him a little time to settle and calm down, he was super spooky and jumpy. Then I resaddled him. Husband went to get on again, and the moment he got on Stavvy (Horse) went nuts again. No bucking or rearing, but very quick movement - lunging forward and to the side. Husband came off again. We left it at that. The next week I had a friend who is also a horse trainer get on him,..... he came off too. I asked the people who had originally backed him to see if they can help us. He was there 2 months and came back to me in the same way I had send him there. Somewhere along the line he had suddenly developed a head issue as well. They couldn't bridle him at all. I managed to fix the head issue in a few days of him being back.
Trying to saddle him up now is nearly impossible. I don't have that much experience, but judging his reactions, he acts as if he doesn't know what a saddle is.
Seeing as I am definitely not able to help him right now except with ground work, I am taking him to people who does this for a living. I have been to a riding course at these people, seen their horses, rode them and I know they will be better equiped to get him back to normal. Just thought I should mention that as I am sure you are all - beginner, why do you even have a horse??
Any advice?
Now after that long story: What could I have done differently when this all started?
Why would he react so severely to a saddle slipping? I am wondering because this hapenned to me the other day on my 7yo and he didn't even flinch?
Thanks,
Wendy
Oh Wendy how awful for you and your husband and how dangerous! I fear this poor horse was not started very effectively and needed more time. In making this comment I must also add that it is extremely scary for any horse to have a saddle slip like this - I am not sure how my most spooky boy would handle it either. He went crazy when I tied a chaff bag with chains for gates on the pummel of his saddle. Thankfully I decided to lunge him with them first but did expect the reaction I got so we all make mistakes. No dually at the time but perhaps I could not have held him even if I had one. He got away in a total frenzy, jumped five paddock fences before disappearing over the horizon on our neighbours property. In trepidation I went after him and expected to find him dead or badly injured. Luckily he ran himself out and I found him standing rigid under a tree still shaking like a leaf. What went wrong with my horse and yours? In my opinion they were not given enough time and exposed to enough things while they were being broken - certainly not desensitised sufficiently to strange, rattle things hanging off them or under their tummies etc. Like you I wrongly assumed that in the process of backing, breaking, starting or whatever my ostensibly very quiet would have been exposed to a range of scary things and desensitised to them - I was told he was very quite and definitely suitable for an older rider. I was partly to blame myself as at that time I was extremely busy on my parents property and just didn't give my new young 3 year old the time he needed - again assuming it had all been done previously. When. I checked with the breaker he admitted to not spending much time at all with my boy as he seemed so quiet and easy to handle. He was when he arrived at the property too as he was under nourished and wormy. With a worm dose and my demented Dad feeding him large quantities of alfalfa lucerne in my absences he certainly turned into a different horse. My lesson learnt the hated way for Uggs is not to assume anything about your new horse - almost treat them as if they have not been started. Allow them to settle in to their new surroundings and grow accustomed to you and then slowly start working with them . Purchase a dually halter, watch as many of Monty's videos as you can on the dually, join up and desensitising spooky horses before starting your own planned on the ground program for your new horse. Slow is good here as you are building up your relationship. After a few sessions you may discover that you are one of the lucky ones and your new horse is as good as the previous owner said and you can move ahead faster and commence riding. If not then you will need to put the time in which I know is hard and I am guilty of not having done it in the past. Wendy's it's tough but all you did wrong is what. I did we assumed our horses had been desensitised to spooky things - me chains - you to the saddle underneath them. Fortunately your 7 year old was desensitised. As it has happened twice to you I am wondering if you are tightening the girth enough. Fortunately it has not happened to me and I have been riding a fair range of horses for many years. It should not happen but if it does we need to have our horses prepared for it. Certainly now he needs to go back to an experienced professional who can start to desensitise him to the saddle - hopefully you will find someone who is kind and gentle and preferably Monty trained so that he is not terrified further. Apologies for such a long response - good luck with it.
Oops! Didn't take the time to read over this prior to posting so apologies for all the errors. My boy spooked with the chains 12 years ago - " did NOT expect the reaction I got", " ostensibly very quiet horse" hated = hard way, Wedy's = Wendy, plus numerous full stops in the wrong places!
totally agree MaggieF, the saddle slipping round like that is very very frightening for the horse!!!
He needs taking right back to the beginning with groundwork as MaggieF describes desensitizing to all sorts of things before even thinking of getting back on him.
now he's been scared, so badly, you do need someone who really knows what they are doing to work with him; all young horses should have trainers who are very experienced to start them, make sure you are there watching & continue having lessons from them as you gradually get involved with his handling.
If you don't do this, either you or the horse will get seriously injured or even worse!
Please don't try to carry on by yourself, it's not worth the risk & you will enjoy your horse much more if a professional helps you out now. Good Luck
Totally agree with Maggie & Beryl, look for a trainer in the instructor tab at the top of the page. Inform them of everything you & others have done with your horse, good & bad. They will be able to help you, your husband & your horse to enjoy life together. Some horses take longer than others to become accustomed to being ridden they are after all individuals. Continue with the uni lessons & don't be afraid to ask questions, no matter how basic, no-one minds being asked anything if they genuinely want to help & pass on their knowledge. Above all enjoy the time with your horse, I hope this helps & good luck.
Thank you all so much for the input! I will keep you updated on his progress.
xxx
Dear Wendy, after 12 years with Monty, there is one thing I always say to my student - the horse never knows were the lines should be or the saddle for that matter. Many times we get very scared ourselves, for obvious reasons! - the key here is to start on the right page to start with, and second, your horse probably do not know him self what frightened him. With you good thoughts of taking the saddle of and give him time to settle, this gave him a window of associating the saddle with something that was more frightened, with that said I mean your husband falling of. The best thing you can to is to view your horse as a green horse, start with the whole procedure of re starting him and remember not to feed his bad pictures. Work around it! You will probably also get a lot of ahas from Rosie, Montys video on the horse you can not get on - there are plenty of good notes and key thinking! Good Luck, be safe and keep up the good work! Warm Regards CI Ann Lindberg Sweden