More Horse and Bitting Advice

Kind of a quick question about my neighbors horse.

My neighbor got this paint/paso fino for free, the lady gave it to her saying it had similar problems to my horse, rearing and bucking and stuff, had a vet check and everything came u clean. My neighbor isn't the brightest in the bunch, but she's now boarding it right up the street and I know she was afraid to get on. (She'd rather have other people do the work for her, I guess :rolleyes: ) I went with her to check the horse out, and told her if everything was okay I'd get up on the horse for a minute. They have a round pen there (I'm thinking of moving my horse there) and we put him in the round pen, and I worked him for a little bit...he bucked and kicked at first, but I think he was just full of energy, he's just in a smaller paddock. He did very well and was soon following me around the roundpen and I could do anything to him. So, I tied a lead rope to his halter and got on, and he behaved VERY well. I realize this is the first day riding him, but I was somewhat impressed. He is, however really responsive to any of the aids given to him..especially with his head (turning, halting, etc) and if you asked him to go, he went! He didn't really respond to the leg to move over...if you put your leg on his side he went faster.

Neighbor says the lady says that he has been ridden in a hackamore, but I don't know what kind. I wonder if I SHOULD bit him, or if I should put a side pull on him, or my own horses hackamore. I guess we could use trial and error, but I just needed an opinion. :) I'm hoping maybe that lady just didn't have a clue and he turns out really nice, he was supposed to be a kid's horse but I can't see a kid riding him.

It sounds like your neighbor has no clue about horses. If you have the time and patience you would be doing that horse a huge service by helping them both! She wont keep that horse if she cant ride him. Work with him as you have been, try your hackamore and see how he responds, then get your neighbor up on that horse and work with both of them. Teach her what you know and hopefully she'll take it from there. Clean stalls with her, groom with her, the works. Teach her to demand respect from her horse and show her the correct way to do so when she's riding and on the ground. It's a very kind thing that you're doing and sounds like a real project. Good luck, Beth

Well, I never got down to my barn so we went and rode him today in a regular snaffle. I lunged him for a bit in the round pen, with no bucking whatsoever, put a saddle and the bridle on him and rode him out in the arena. He did SO well, he has a gorgeous trot and a canter that looks really pretty on the ground, he's very animated. I walked, trot, canter, etc. around both ways and had no problems, like I said very responsive.

I had just finished commenting on how he's almost push button, and would probably at the very least make a good trail horse..my neighbor got on him and it was ON. She was trotting him, and then picked up a canter on the side where the roundpen is, and almost threw her from stopping so quick and spinning around. So she spun him around and had him canter again, and he kept doing that stop and spin thing, after she went by the gate, he stopped spinned and reared. She tried to circle him and move him away and he came off his feet about 4 times in a row. I led him away, then made her get off and tried it. He only did that stop and spin once with me, and then was fine until we got to the gate. Then he reared a few times, crow hopped, and stood shaking. I tried to get him to walk away, and he would just keep rearing and coming up to the gate. Both of our feelings are that if we were to try to really try and physically force him that he would in fact attempt to go through the gate or the fence.

She got on him again, tried again, no luck, still rearing. So I hooked a lunge line on him and lunged him with her on him right near the gate with no real issues. I unhooked the leadline and walked with them for a bit with no problem, and then walked away and she got him past the gate twice and then called it quits, on a good note. So hopefully that is some improvement and maybe he will get better with time and understanding.

I just don't know what happened within me getting off and her getting on. :confused: Maybe he decided-enoughs enough! For some reason though I'm not afraid of him at all, versus my horse. :confused:

It sounds like that lady is doing something or has done something to either spook him or cause him pain in those two locations. There is something she is doing that you were and are not. I would say get an experienced trainer to watch her ride him becuse someone will get hurt that way. I didn't see it but maybe she has so much fear she conveys it to him and he wants her off, and since you don't he responds and trusts you. She might be poking him with her heel or snatching at his mouth when she gets scared, I don't know but if you were able to ride him fine, the problem is her, not him.

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Originally Posted by Vela

It sounds like that lady is doing something or has done something to either spook him or cause him pain in those two locations. There is something she is doing that you were and are not. I would say get an experienced trainer to watch her ride him becuse someone will get hurt that way. I didn't see it but maybe she has so much fear she conveys it to him and he wants her off, and since you don't he responds and trusts you. She might be poking him with her heel or snatching at his mouth when she gets scared, I don't know but if you were able to ride him fine, the problem is her, not him.

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I feel there is something along those lines too...a trigger of some sort. I know that we canter differently...I use the normal outside leg back to ask for it, but I was watching her just use both legs more to ask, like speeding him up into a canter rather than asking for it, if you get what I mean. I also prefer to canter in a more forward position, almost in a half seat if I'm riding for pleasure, so the saddle distributes the weight, wheras she sits way back and almost bounces in the seat. I wonder if maybe she bumped his back, causing perhaps some pain and he got afraid and was trying to get out? Because not only did he balk at the gate to go back to his paddock, the other point at where he would stop and spin was at the round pen gate on the other side of the arena.

I don't know...I've already asked her to get the vet out for herself and check him out but she dosen't think that's the issue, she's already got it in her mind that he's crazy. I don't think he's "crazy", I think there's something there that everyone has missed. This is the third home we know of that he's been in, he keeps getting passed along due to this issue. I don't want her to get rid of him and have him keep getting passed around until he ends up at the slaughter house, that would be a waste, and he's really very pretty and was really good for me until she got on him.

I actually found his sale ad and a picture...here's one of the pictures:

http://www.equinehits.com/photos/10/horses/115042x1.jpg

http://www.equinehits.com/horse-for-...da_115042.html

:( I've been riding this horse with no problems. I am really falling in love with him. She has already put him up for sale...for $3000!!!!!!!! He jumps 3ft, which is why she's selling him for that much. She gets on him, and it's like a totally different horse. Today I came out with her to show him to some girl and I was telling the girl the negative qualities ;) . I rode him perfect, he napped one time and I got after him and then he was fine...the boyfriend got on and he was fine, and then my neighbor got on...and the second her butt touched the saddle he was spinning and rearing and wouldn't go at all. So she got frustrated, jumped off, and beat that poor horse with the reins in the face/chest...and screaming at him not to back up!. I was screaming at her that that will NOT help, it only makes the poor horse unwilling to be in that arena. :mad: I got back on him and he was fine and I walked him out and then we started washing him off. I asked her for the horse. I told her I would pay the $100-200 that she spent on the first month of boarding. She said no, that if I wanted him I would have pay more than $1300. She got the horse for free! Geez, I don't know what to do. I really have fallen for that horse, I like him a lot...