Post by iturner on Apr 10, 2017 12:50:25 GMT 1
Hi,
This is a very long story so please bear with me, I am in a very sticky situation and am getting pretty desperate!
Last summer I came across an advert for a gorgeous palomino anglo-arab gelding called Maverick. I wasn't actively looking for a horse, although my pony is now old and arthritic and I can't ride him so was thinking of starting to look for something bigger to keep alongside my pony. I went to try Maverick and instantly fell in love, he was a dream come true. I went back a second time and he was still wonderful and he passed a 5* vetting. He was priced at £6000 and I thought this was a little too much as he was just 6 years old and still a little green. But I stupidly went for it anyway as I thought he would develop into a fantastic horse as I thought he had heaps of potential.
From day 1 of arriving at my yard I started having problems. For starters I couldn't get him near the mounting block and would bolt as soon as I put weight in the stirrup. I had his back checked by the chiropractor and it was locked solid and needed several treatments to get the muscles to relax. He also had a rotated pelvis. I had a brand new saddle fitted with an interchangable gullet as the one he came with wasn't fitting well. After this I was still having problems, so I contacted an IHRA Adam Goodfellow to come and help. After a few sessions with Adam it seemed we had managed to crack the mounting problem as I could get him to stand solidly at the block and not move while I mounted.
After a few months of good progress however, I was having a flatwork lesson and noticed that he was very uncomfortable on one rein in trot and he was dipping his back as I mounted. I called out the vet and they confirmed that he was sore in the back and slightly lame behind. He was also disuniting in canter. So I ended up having to take him to the vet clinic for xrays etc. He had his legs and back xrayed, all clear, no kissing spines. He also had his suspensories checked because of the slight lameness. These were also fine. So they narrowed it down to sacroiliac pain and he had a steriod injection into that joint. Unfortunately that area is all too dense to scan. He seemed to improve after this and the lameness had gone. A month later I had a physio come and work with him and they confirmed he just needed some gentle rehab work to strengthen the muscles in the back. I had also been having the chiro regularly to heck his pelvis as the vets had noticed some asymmetry.
It was all looking positive until 3 weeks ago. I got on Mav fine at the block and he stood still while I was putting my stirrups in when all of a sudden he took off across the yard in what seemed like a panic - he skidded and I lost my balance and fell onto concrete and he shortly afterwards fell and hurt himself. I ended up having to go to hospital as I couldn't get up off the floor. They thought I had broken my pelvis but I luckily got away with it and was just heavily bruised with muscular damage. It was at this point that I decided that he was too much for me to handle as I had lost my confidence before with mounting and just as I had got it back it was totally knocked and I haven't ridden since. I decided that he needed to go to someone who could give him the consistent patient handling that he needs as well as confidence as he is very insecure and I know I cannot always give him that confidence.
A friend at my yard kindly offered to help me get him fit again and help sell him after he had recovered from his fall. She had a lot of experience with backing horses and I knew she would be confident to get on him. I had the physio check him and all was ok apart from some slight discomfort in his sacroiliac. She gave me a rehab programme and was happy for him to be ridden again after a week off. On Saturday (8th April) my friend managed to get on him after giving him a lunge and checking for signs of pain. He was moving beautifully and not lame and didn't have a problem with the saddle on his back. He did shoot off a little when she got on but he soon settled and she rode him beautifully. She then did some mounting practice and after 3 goes he was standing stock still as if there had never been a problem. The next day all went wrong. We did the exact same routine and she was able to mount, but then he suddenly spun around and took off bucking across the school like a maniac. My friend has a very good seat but there was no way anyone was sitting on that, it was as if to say I am not stopping until you are on the floor. She ended up with a sprained ankle and quite understandably didn't want to get on him again. There was no obvious reason to cause this sudden bronking across the school, it was a calm sunny day and there was nothing there to spook him.
I have now been advised that he would be impossible to sell from my yard as no-one can guarantee that he won't do something like that again, and I would not be happy knowing that someone could get seriously hurt. I now feel like I do not have much choice - either to send him back to the previous owner although I would not get any money back and he might be sold on and the same thing happen, or I sell him as a companion horse for not very much money. I am absolutely distraught as I have spent £6k on an unrideable horse and it would be totally irresponsible to put anyone else on him. The previous owner has offered to take him back for £30 a week until he can be sold but I am loathed to do this because he messed me around with the sale and I know I wouldn't see much of the sale money.
I have resigned myself that I am not going to get much money for him, but I cannot keep 2 unrideable horses and afford a third one. So I really don't know what to do now, and feel that I have wasted so much time money and energy for nothing :-(
If anyone has any advice or ideas it would be much appreciated as I feel pretty helpless.
Many thanks,
Ingrid
This is a very long story so please bear with me, I am in a very sticky situation and am getting pretty desperate!
Last summer I came across an advert for a gorgeous palomino anglo-arab gelding called Maverick. I wasn't actively looking for a horse, although my pony is now old and arthritic and I can't ride him so was thinking of starting to look for something bigger to keep alongside my pony. I went to try Maverick and instantly fell in love, he was a dream come true. I went back a second time and he was still wonderful and he passed a 5* vetting. He was priced at £6000 and I thought this was a little too much as he was just 6 years old and still a little green. But I stupidly went for it anyway as I thought he would develop into a fantastic horse as I thought he had heaps of potential.
From day 1 of arriving at my yard I started having problems. For starters I couldn't get him near the mounting block and would bolt as soon as I put weight in the stirrup. I had his back checked by the chiropractor and it was locked solid and needed several treatments to get the muscles to relax. He also had a rotated pelvis. I had a brand new saddle fitted with an interchangable gullet as the one he came with wasn't fitting well. After this I was still having problems, so I contacted an IHRA Adam Goodfellow to come and help. After a few sessions with Adam it seemed we had managed to crack the mounting problem as I could get him to stand solidly at the block and not move while I mounted.
After a few months of good progress however, I was having a flatwork lesson and noticed that he was very uncomfortable on one rein in trot and he was dipping his back as I mounted. I called out the vet and they confirmed that he was sore in the back and slightly lame behind. He was also disuniting in canter. So I ended up having to take him to the vet clinic for xrays etc. He had his legs and back xrayed, all clear, no kissing spines. He also had his suspensories checked because of the slight lameness. These were also fine. So they narrowed it down to sacroiliac pain and he had a steriod injection into that joint. Unfortunately that area is all too dense to scan. He seemed to improve after this and the lameness had gone. A month later I had a physio come and work with him and they confirmed he just needed some gentle rehab work to strengthen the muscles in the back. I had also been having the chiro regularly to heck his pelvis as the vets had noticed some asymmetry.
It was all looking positive until 3 weeks ago. I got on Mav fine at the block and he stood still while I was putting my stirrups in when all of a sudden he took off across the yard in what seemed like a panic - he skidded and I lost my balance and fell onto concrete and he shortly afterwards fell and hurt himself. I ended up having to go to hospital as I couldn't get up off the floor. They thought I had broken my pelvis but I luckily got away with it and was just heavily bruised with muscular damage. It was at this point that I decided that he was too much for me to handle as I had lost my confidence before with mounting and just as I had got it back it was totally knocked and I haven't ridden since. I decided that he needed to go to someone who could give him the consistent patient handling that he needs as well as confidence as he is very insecure and I know I cannot always give him that confidence.
A friend at my yard kindly offered to help me get him fit again and help sell him after he had recovered from his fall. She had a lot of experience with backing horses and I knew she would be confident to get on him. I had the physio check him and all was ok apart from some slight discomfort in his sacroiliac. She gave me a rehab programme and was happy for him to be ridden again after a week off. On Saturday (8th April) my friend managed to get on him after giving him a lunge and checking for signs of pain. He was moving beautifully and not lame and didn't have a problem with the saddle on his back. He did shoot off a little when she got on but he soon settled and she rode him beautifully. She then did some mounting practice and after 3 goes he was standing stock still as if there had never been a problem. The next day all went wrong. We did the exact same routine and she was able to mount, but then he suddenly spun around and took off bucking across the school like a maniac. My friend has a very good seat but there was no way anyone was sitting on that, it was as if to say I am not stopping until you are on the floor. She ended up with a sprained ankle and quite understandably didn't want to get on him again. There was no obvious reason to cause this sudden bronking across the school, it was a calm sunny day and there was nothing there to spook him.
I have now been advised that he would be impossible to sell from my yard as no-one can guarantee that he won't do something like that again, and I would not be happy knowing that someone could get seriously hurt. I now feel like I do not have much choice - either to send him back to the previous owner although I would not get any money back and he might be sold on and the same thing happen, or I sell him as a companion horse for not very much money. I am absolutely distraught as I have spent £6k on an unrideable horse and it would be totally irresponsible to put anyone else on him. The previous owner has offered to take him back for £30 a week until he can be sold but I am loathed to do this because he messed me around with the sale and I know I wouldn't see much of the sale money.
I have resigned myself that I am not going to get much money for him, but I cannot keep 2 unrideable horses and afford a third one. So I really don't know what to do now, and feel that I have wasted so much time money and energy for nothing :-(
If anyone has any advice or ideas it would be much appreciated as I feel pretty helpless.
Many thanks,
Ingrid