My horse is really nervous?

[annabel]

Originally Posted by Daisyy

Thankyou annbell! (:

He's an 11 year old TB ex racer, he's fed on purely grass in the summer

Ah, don't be fooled by the 'purely on grass' thing - it's actually full of sugar so not the most calming of foods!

However, basically that means you have good & bad -

a) Ex racers are used to being led in chifneys. If you've never used one before, I wouldn't recommend it as they are pretty strong but I bet your bottom dollar he's trying his luck because you're not using one! A brdile & lungeline are the next best option.

b) Ex racers are broken in young, and hacked out lots, so generally even the total raving loonies are pretty good in traffic. I bet he is fun in wide open spaces Don't feel guilty about riding through / leading through spooks, TBs are super geniuses in horse terms and generally are really keen to please though imo a spooky horse is hardwired as a spooky horse, so you have to manage that by making them think an amble along is working & get them to focus mental energy into YOU and what YOU want rather than all the distractions.

c) Post a picture! My biggest animal regret is not buying an ex racer I once rode that was for sale, and ending up with a horse far more tricky than any thoroughbred I've ever come across. I'd love to have a drool.

d) TBs, more than other breeds, like to 'stargaze' (stick their heads right in the air and get a good look) but sometimes letting them have a good look will settle them down & allow you to walk on with their head leading nice & low.

Pimperella is exactly right - body language & confidence are the key, and if you pretend at first you'll soon find you're not pretending anymore!

[Daisyy]

Okay, thanks for the advice everyone!

I must admit, he's the biggest horse I've owned, and I do get intimidated when he tries to trot in hand!





He's so calm when he's in the school, paddock, barn etc, and follows me like a dog! Its just outside Dx

He was beaten, hence the scars on his face and body, so he can be quite head shy, mainly with men and taller people, though he's getting more confident now (:

[Pimperella]

Originally Posted by annabel

Pimperella is exactly right - body language & confidence are the key, and if you pretend at first you'll soon find you're not pretending anymore!

I have been teaching my 8yr old daughter to ride. She has bags of confidenced. While out on a hack with Spooky on Lead, we went past a field of young cattle. Cause they are nosey being young, they started to come over to the fence. Spooky shyed away from the fence, I explained to Alex about being confident, and that as her rider, Spooky gained confidence from her. I told her to gentley squeeze her on and just tell her to 'walk on' in a confident tone. After a few steps and Alex telling her again, she walked on unphased. On the way back Alex saw the the cattle ahead and just before Spooky was about to look over, Alex confidently asked her to Walk on and squeezed her on, and we had no reaction from her other than her confidently walked on. Alex was impressed with this. Her confidence in asking Spooky to walk on in situations where she would shy, has given her even more confidence in handling her.
Understanding that the horse is taking our lead, and that conditioning the horse that it should be scared by it feeling the leader tense up when coming up to any situation, will make it happen more often.

[annabel]

aww, bless him. I do love a good grey.

He doesn't look that "big" for a big horse, which will probably allow you to get used to the difference in scale much quicker. Some of the big warmbloods, especially youngsters, are so HUGE for their size it's like manoevering an articulated lorry :p How tall is he? 16.2? 17hh?

Good luck with him, you'll have a super time with him I'm sure. Ex racers are really underrated.

[Daisyy]

Well the past owner said 16.1hh, but I'm thinking he's more like 16.3hh xD

I'll check sometime :P

[selina20]

I would recommend you get a monty roberts dually headcollar when walking him down the road. This will get him to require u to be his leader and show him he is safe without him hurting you. When u feel him tense up turn him to look at what he is tensing about.

Also do some stuff with him in his stable like tie some strips of a plastic bag to a stick and get him used to that etc.

Sounds like hes just a bit green thats all .

[annabel]

Originally Posted by selina20

I would recommend you get a monty roberts dually headcollar when walking him down the road. This will get him to require u to be his leader and show him he is safe without him hurting you. When u feel him tense up turn him to look at what he is tensing about.

A dually is just a normal headcollar with the start of the leadrop over the muzzle in a £40 package.

IMO, save the £40! Lungeline & bridle will give you much more control anyway - much safer, and provides a more #'active' role as you as the leader.

Additionally, poll pressure is much more calming than pressure on the facial bars (as with a hackamore, for example) so you & horsey will reach an agreement faster.

You're not going to have any bother with him at all I don't think so long as you take precautions, are confident, and in control!

[Daisyy]

Okay thankyou! (: I'm off to try it out in an hour :P

[selina20]

Originally Posted by annabel

A dually is just a normal headcollar with the start of the leadrop over the muzzle in a £40 package.

IMO, save the £40! Lungeline & bridle will give you much more control anyway - much safer, and provides a more #'active' role as you as the leader.

Additionally, poll pressure is much more calming than pressure on the facial bars (as with a hackamore, for example) so you & horsey will reach an agreement faster.

You're not going to have any bother with him at all I don't think so long as you take precautions, are confident, and in control!

Its a lot more than that and tbh i would rather pay out on one of them than paying out on other gadgets that never work on me. All the rescues we get in get worked in one of these and we never have problems I would never use a bridle and pull the horses mouth about. Iv never had a horse with a hard mouth and would not want to start by doing things like that. The dually can also be worked as a normal headcollar and is a great way to get a horse to do something using the pressure and release method. My mare is a very boulshy welsh cob and this tackled all her problems in one. You can pick them up quite cheaply on ebay or second hand. It is a must for every horse owner in my opinion.

[annabel]

Originally Posted by selina20

Its a lot more than that and tbh i would rather pay out on one of them than paying out on other gadgets that never work on me. All the rescues we get in get worked in one of these and we never have problems I would never use a bridle and pull the horses mouth about. Iv never had a horse with a hard mouth and would not want to start by doing things like that. The dually can also be worked as a normal headcollar and is a great way to get a horse to do something using the pressure and release method. My mare is a very boulshy welsh cob and this tackled all her problems in one. You can pick them up quite cheaply on ebay or second hand. It is a must for every horse owner in my opinion.

That's fair enough, but a) leading in a bridle does NOT make a horse have a hard mouth. My mare is led in a bridle, and wears a rubber snaffle. If you're holding onto a lungeline, with the reins tied under the thratlash, I think you'll find that the pressure is a 'lowering' pressure from the poll, and the attachment to the bit rings makes use of the horse's ridden training as it mimicks a 'stop' squeeze.

I have no doubt dually's are effective, but why pay out on that gadget when you can pay out on none?

There is more than one right way to do things, I just personally think the 'branding' behind natural horsemanship isn't something worth paying out for, if you have suitable equiptment already!