Strange horse behaviour

[ally112038]

George my welsh section D has began to have some behaviour issues when hacking out. (Trail riding for my Friends across the pond!). Due to my work schedule my BO and trainer has taken him out for me and he has behaved very strangely. Jogging, spooking, crabbing and generally behaving in a very erratic manner. Now, he has always been fiesty and

Comments

[eversparkling]

I think the main thing is that Jo continues to ride him; maybe if possible - at least for a while - on a more regular basis, so that he gets to know her better and starts to understand that it's the two uf you now that take care of him

[pythia]

"I think the main thing is that Jo continues to ride him; maybe if possible - at least for a while - on a more regular basis, so that he gets to know her better and starts to understand that it's the two uf you now that take care of him. "

This.

[glenatron]

It sounds to me like a question of trust. He trusts you to get through stuff with him, he doesn't trust Jo in the same way so he starts getting very anxious when she rides him out. The way he sees it, she's not really in charge so he needs to be making all the difficult decisions about what is going on, what is safe and so on when she rides out on him. That's a lot of responsibility for a horse to have and it's making him a bit jumpy

[ally112038]

I read your comment and a lightbulb went on! You have described him to a t. When I first had him he was horrendous to hack out. He took the weight of decision making on his shoulders and if he decided something was scary, he would spin and bolt. He was particularly bad with anything plastic - bags, bottles, cartons - and nothing I would do would get him past them. He is an opinionated welsh who wasn't cut until he was three and I have to be firm with him in regards to who is in control whilst still being gentle enough not to freak him out. I spent a huge amount of time doing ground work with him and particularly using my voice as a clamer. I can free-school him using voice alone and even get him to vary his extension through the paces. The more I did this the less spooky he became with me and the more he looked to me to decide if something was ok to go past or to pass us. He is an anxious horse with a complex character who can worry himself stupid sometimes and is sensative to the moods of his rider. I think this comes down to

[blitzen_]

yup. exactomundo.

i had the opposite effect on my *then* new horse & as a result we have barely ridden out in the 3 going on 4 yrs i've owned him. needed to be more of a leader & wasn't. ah well, it's starting to happen now, but i've missed out on quite a lot of awesome trails!

[harnessphoto]

I kept my horse at a barn with a woman I really liked who quickly became a friend. She got me into endurance riding and was always letting me borrow her horses so when she asked if she could borrow Ozzy for a trail ride with a friend, I willingly agreed. My horse and I are definitely bonded (long, long story) but he's friendly towards everyone. I was told he was a perfect angel out on the trail, but my problems came AFTER that ride. He ended up spazzing out pretty badly the next few times I came to visit. He was hard to catch, rude in the cross ties, and pushy under saddle. It's the only time I've ever let someone ride him without me being present, and it's not something I'll ever do again. It's very stressful for horses who are used to a routine and are used to one person. He may not be a "one person" horse, but he probably prefers you to strangers. Your BO and trainer probably have a different way of riding than you do, and while that may be fine and good in a ring, it's very different when they take him out in the big scary world.

[suraineko]

I have a different perspecitve for you

[creseis_acicula]

The rider definitely has an affect on the horse. Does your trainer hack out a lot? Was she nervous or stiff for some reason? It's really difficult to tell sometimes. I have ridden other people's horses on hacks and we've been fine, but then the owner has gotten on and had a big spooky ride. I had one horse going right next to some scary burlap she was afraid of just to get her to realize it wasn't going to kill her, and she was fine, then she wouldn't go within 20 feet of it with her owner aboard. Some horses at my barn are great with adults, but terrible with kids. Maybe the horse just needs to get used to her in a different context.