New horse all gone wrong

[Chocolatecakeandcoffee]

First horse, been a dream for many years (am 44) and has all gone wrong. He arrived with a cold and had to be kept in a stable until he was better. He’s never been kept in a stable and ended up being in for four days. On the fourth day he was tied up outside the stable while being mucked out and broke the twine and bolted off to the fields on the head collar and lead rope. No one could catch him so the YO said to put him in the field. I left him for the weekend to settle in (visiting him in the field, grooming a bit and giving a few bits of apple). On Monday caught him and led him to the yard for some food (just held the lead rope while he ate) then straight back to the field). Same on Tuesday. Wed tried to tie him up while he had his food but he got a bit stressy. Thursday he was ridden and was ok although tried to run off as the halter was around his neck as I got the bridle on. Luckily one of the girls who work at the yard managed to hold him. On Friday I caught him and was going to ride but he was stressy and one of the girls who work there rode him. He was ok. On Sat and Sunday I just caught him and brought him down for some chaff and carrots/apples. Monday-Tue he was caught etc and ridden on Tue. All good. Wed and Thurs caught him then he ran off. Managed to ring him down to yard for food. Today he bolted as I was trying to tack him up knocking me flying and almost running into a lady who was leading her horse to the field. He then broke into the field. I managed to rug him up and left him. I think he’s not suitable. He was lovely when I tried him and I thought he’d be great. Am so sad now...I need to return him to the dealer. He was meant to be a happy hack for me any two daughters but we don’t have the experience and I am worried he will hurt them with his bargey behaviour. Can I return him to the dealer as not suitable (I’ve let her know but she’s not answering my calls)? It’s been 21/2 weeks since I got him. Thanks for reading

Completely agree...he’s scared not ‘naughty’. Had a lovely morning grooming him in the field. He was super relaxed. So glad I didn’t send him back! Thanks for all the reading suggestions

P.s not doing join up...don’t think it would be at all suitable in this situation. Thanks for sharing links and opinions x

Just keep being consistent. I started riding again after a break and I was never the bravest rider anyway. Slightly different but this is what I did
Decided the horse was too much for me and couldn't even get on. Then I got annoyed with myself and got on. And got off. Next day I got on, walked a circle and got off. I bored myself into trotting and cantering
A couple of years later something completely changed and I went for a hack. Then I ended up doing a 10km hack. Then 15km. Then jumping. Then I climbed on bareback with a head collar. Even the YO was er you ok there hun?!

By the end I trusted her totally, she was my heart horse without a doubt and I had a great 10 years with her. She died 18 months ago and I'm lost without her

Such a moving story QueenPaw. She sound like an amazing horse and sounds like you have a fab bond x

Had a fab bond xx

Just coming back to this thread and thinking about him not being happy in a stable - again I've been there with another of my (too many!) ponies who I bought as a foal. He'd never, ever been in a stable and I just kept him living out as he freaked out when stabled and did his utmost to climb out.

This was fine, but I was still keen to get him happy in a stable in case I needed to move off grass livery. I sent him to a friend for schooling livery when he was 5 (still never been in a stable for more than a few minutes for a feed and even then I had to be in sight at all times). She started him off at 30 minutes in a box, with an open window so he could see the others out in the fields, a full grille over the door so he couldn't try to climb out, and another horse directly opposite. Predictably he freaked out, but didn't hurt himself and this routine was kept up day in day out, gradually increasing the time in the stable until he just accepted it and was perfectly happy. The key was always having a calm companion, plenty of hay and a strict routine. Just as well he got used to being stabled as the poor bugger ended up on several months box rest some time later with suspensory problems. All fine now - sound as a pound but so glad we got over his fear of being stabled!

Hey Op I am a relatively inexperienced owner and bought an ISH for my daughter who is a experienced teen. She did a six week loan with him at her instructors yard who we bought him from. We knew his previous owner & his full history. Even with all that he still I would say took around 4 months to settle as didn’t like the herd & field set up. He was used to a small quiet herd & moved into a busy riding school environment with big field groups. He was stressed & dropped weight. We made changes to field, turnout routine & his diet & he has improved so much & has recovered his weight loss & is fighting fit. Our instructor said it can take up to a year to get to know how the y are in each season, how they react, likes dislikes etc & no 2 are the same. I feel your pain as I’m on a steep learning curve as well and my DD was ready to hand him back when he was trying to jump out of the field. But I’m so glad we persevered as he has settled so well know. I definitely did not realise what a huge change moving yards can be as we have another loan horse and he didn’t have the same issues xxx

Thanks so much for the message...so glad he settled and is great now. My horse also moved from a quiet yard to a busy riding school and livery yard. He’s slowly getting used to everything. He’ll have his first farrier visit this week 🤞 all goes ok!

Hi OP my horse can be bad with stables. The first week we had him, he repeatedly jumped out of his stable (even bashing his head in the process) and used to barge the door to get past if he could.

With him, it was a mix of separation anxiety and not liking to be "left out" of what others were doing. We were on a busier yard than he was used to too, and it was all a bit over stimulating for him.

A few things that worked for us:

• We switched his stable from one where he could see absolutely everything going on to a tucked away one where he could see very little. Sounds counter intuitive but he calmed down a lot with nothing to wind him up
• We gave him as much turnout as possible and made a deal with the other liveries that he wouldn't ever be brought in alone. Sounds a pain but actually, it's been totally fine
• All grooming in his stable was done loose, not tied up. When tied, he would get agitated, barge, snap off and bolt for the door
• At first we used a bar across the stable as an extra barrier but instead learnt, when he barged towards the door to stand very tall and square to him and firmly, but not aggressively, make him back up. When he was being particularly rude, poking or prodding (never hitting) to force him back worked wonders.
• When NOT barging the door, we did lots and lots of practising moving him round the stable- and backing him away. In the school, before any ridden sessions, we'd start with some in hand work to include backing up around poles

He's loads better now, we just work around his quirks. I admit I'm not a novice, but now you've made the decision to keep him, I hope you find some tactics that work well for you too.

Thanks v much for the advice. Appreciate it. We’ve been doing loads of ground work. Stop, back, walk and trot when led. He’s picked it up quickly and we walk around the yard/school every day. Got saddle fitted today to once I get girth/stirrups etc I can ride him too. He’s doing great and seems much happier. He’s happy to come in for a bit every day (I feed him ready grass in his stable which he loves!). Really glad I kept him as he’s a lovely character...

Just an update...
Sooo glad I kept him! He’s lovely to ride and is the kindest, friendliest horse! He comes over as soon as he sees me, follows me around the field, loves a groom. He’s quite forward so not exactly what I was looking for (as was meant to be shared with my daughters) but I love riding him. My dds are thankfully happy to look after our lovely loan pony. Going to hack out next week for the first time (with an instructor). Just wanted to update incase anyone else finds themselves in this position. There’s loads of great advice on this thread...mainly give horses time to settle/get help if you need it/establish a routine.

Well I'm glad you updated as I've just spent half an hour reading the entire thread.

Think I've got something in my eye.

So happy for u both.

Brilliant! Thanks for updating! I still think of you and have been wondering how you've been getting on!
Horses are not machines, they need time to settle in too ... so glad you stuck with him ☺️☺️

That's fantastic news! So happy for you both :)

@Chocolatecakeandcoffee I love this thread and I’m so glad it worked out well in the end! Could we possibly see a few photos?

Ok 😄

Oh he’s handsome!!

Are there other photos on the thread? I read it ages ago and just came back to read your last couple of updates so I can’t remember if I’ve seen any before! But he really looks like a lovely thing.

Thank you! He’s never going to be a world beater but he’s made me very happy!

❤️

I'm so pleased that it's going well. Its so hard to get used to a new horse and know what's 'normal' for them. I hate it.
We bought a new horse 5 weeks ago, she's very green and very very forward going,which we knew when we bought her. I've told Dd2 that there will be days when it seems like it's not going right,but it'll sort itself out with time.
Everyone who has ever owned DHorse has been in touch with me since we bought her,and no one has a bad word to say about her. The dealer who bought her over from Ireland years ago is delighted to know where she is,and asked if she was still forward going. Errr,yes!😂 She did the wall of death with Dd2 when we went to try her.
Good luck,I bet you'll have a lovely summer of fun with him.

Great thread and I’m not a horse person