Is he too much for me?

[ritchiejo]

Hi guys, I am new to this forum, although I have been a fan of IH for a long time. Long story coming up  I have had Red for 3 year now, but have had many ups and downs. When I first got him he was in a very poor condition and I spent a long time getting him we'll. When I started riding him it went ok but I had a stupid fall that ended up with me having concussion. Since then I have attended 2 Monty demos and gone back to the beginning with Red, doing loads of groundwork using the dually, going onto long reins and then ridden work. We hacked out a while ago with his girlfriend and he was perfect. My friend got a new horse a couple of weeks ago and we decided to hack out yesterday. As soon as my friend came with Alfie, Red seemed to even forget I was there, he was really excited and strong ( not his usual behaviour). I decided to long rein in the field beside Alfie to settle Red and he was soon calm so we roe round the field together calmly. We then decided to head out and it all went wrong! When we got to some rubbish at the side of the lane Red spun and although he didn't bolt home I was so scared that he would as he was like a coiled spring.  I got off and we walked round a nearby field but the whole time Red was putting in little rears and pulling. Walked home and decided to walk past my field and into my friends, he soon settled and I got back on and we were soon walking round the field with Alfie calmly. We have decided to ride in the field this morning to get them used to each other. I feel so nervous. I am very confident with him on the ground but as soon as I get on I become a nervous wreck. I am wondering if I should give up and get someone else to ride him, maybe I make him worse?  I would be so grateful for any advice, I feel like the worst rider in the world at the moment xxx 

[ladyndibs]

Hi and welcome, I can't give much advise as I'm not a confident rider but do sympathise with the feeling of 'it's about to go Pete Tong'

Hopefully you'll get lots of advise regarding riding etc but just curious as I expect some people will ask, what sort or turnout do you have, what's Red fed, have you moved yards, is he worse in spring and autumn? And where are the pictures

[alonerawnut]

I think I'd expect any horse to get excited at being ridden out with a new horse, particularly if he doesn't meet a lot of new horses. I think his behaviour when being ridden out with his girlfriend is something you can build on - I think you need to take the same step-by-step approach you've used with the rest of your training to build up to riding with someone new.

I'd start with some groundwork with them both in the same field / same area. Then when you're happy it's not getting too exciting for him, one of you could ride some exercises while the other one leads and build up from there. Poor chap just got over-excited at something new - it sounds like you handled a scary situation really well.

[ritchiejo]

Mar 23, 2014 9:54:51 GMT 1 ladyndibs said:

Hopefully you'll get lots of advise regarding riding etc but just curious as I expect some people will ask, what sort or turnout do you have, what's Red fed, have you moved yards, is he worse in spring and autumn? And where are the pictures

Hi ladyndibs, I should have mentioned that Red is turned out 24/7 and has been in the same field since I got him. I do think he is probably too fizzy due to feed as I've worked hard on keeping his weight on, but may have overdone it as he is now built like a tank! I am slowly going to reduce his feed especially as grass will be through soon. Alfie's field is right next door and they do talk over the fence, so not completely new to each other. 
Good news though, I have been round to Alfie's field where I long reined til he was calm and then got on and we plodded round for ages. I felt red was much calmer today and think he was just overwhelmed yesterday. Going to do the same thing next time and ride the short distance back to our gate. Feel much happier today, baby steps all the way from now on for us x  I also did the " this is boring" thing that I have read about on other threads on here...it was surprisingly helpful! X 

[ladyndibs]

That's great news, keep up the good work.

[portiabuzz]

thats great, Casper turns into an over excited thing if we are riding out and meet other horses, especially if we are hacking alone

keep at it xx

[portiabuzz]

ps welcome to the forum