Ask Recommended Associate Hannah Rose

[VeronicaF]

Question & Answer session

Ask RA Hannah Rose

Hannah has been working with horses since 1980. She holds the BHSAI. Hannah saw Monty at Towerlands in 1997 and less than a year later was on Kelly's last 10 week full time course. Since becoming a Recommended Associate in late 1998, Hannah has worked hard to build up her relationship with local equestrian establishments in Suffolk. Hannah has recently relocated to Mustique, however she is kindly giving up her time to answer any questions for IH's charity the Equine Market Watch.

Please note--that it may take a day or two for a response to your questions due to the time difference in Mustique.

You can post a question to the charity email box ([e-mail])



and upon the receipt of a donation, Hannah will answer your questions.

How to pay your donations:
Any cash / cheque donations can be made directly into any HSBC bank:-

HSBC Bank
Wantage Branch
A/C 81248715 Name: Intelligent Horsemanship Charity donations.
Sort Code: 40-45-36

Credit / Debit card payments can be made through: www.paypal.co.uk
The payment reference is: [e-mail]

[Hannah Rose (RA)]

Question - asked and donated by Phil
My horse won't stand to be mounted. He was ok when I bought him just over a year ago but he started to get impatient and move off and now it's almost impossible to get him to stand at all. I'm now having to be given a leg up and he even moves off for that!
Answer
Thanks for your question Phil. To really give you a specific answer I would need to ask some questions, such as:
Did you get his tack with him or buy new? If it came with him did you get it checked? If you bought new did you get it professionally fitted?
Did you have him vetted when you bought him? Have you had his back checked? Have you had his teeth checked?
What do you feed him (including hay, grazing hours, treats, etc.)?
How does his routine differ from how he was previously kept, if at all?
When you are trying to mount are there other horses on the yard?
I could go on with these questions as there could be many reasons why your horse has begun to move off.
Old tack that came with him may need re-stuffing, or he may have changed shape since coming to you and it needs totally re-fitting. You can also buy tack mail order without having a professional fit your saddle which could mean it's pinching him, or had started to hurt him while he's working. Getting your saddle regularly re-stuffed or fitted is important for the horse's comfort.
The type of work you are doing may worry him and so he's not happy about being ridden at all, make sure you aren't over facing him or asking him to do things that he's not comfortable with - maybe you ride out alone which stresses him? Have you changed your riding routine?
Does he get too excited with other horses on the yard, all getting wound up to go out? Maybe taking him to a quiet place, such as an arena when no-one else is riding, will give you time to get him to relax for mounting, so you can reward him for doing the right thing.
Have you ever fallen off as he's moved off while mounting? Some horses get worse at moving off as they worry about you falling off. Working on getting the horse used to things slipping from their back can help with this. Make sure, again, that you are in a safe area (such as an arena) and work with the horse bare back to begin with, so nothing can get caught on the saddle and frighten him. Have a small towel (or other soft cloth) and rub him with it and slowly get so you can drape it over his back and then start to make it hang off the same side as you are standing and then let it slip to the ground. Be careful, he may spin to look at it, but you need to stay relaxed and just look at it like "what's the problem?", wait for him to calm down, pick it up and rub him with it and repeat. Do this both sides and when he's really happy you can maybe use something else to get him used to things falling. This is also a good exercise to do if you have a horse that worries about rugs, it's best to train the horse for the day you accidentally don't put it on fully, and train in a controlled environment than wait until you do have a problem!
Looking at what you feed your horse to ensure you aren't giving too much sugar or cereals, or other feeds that will give him too much energy. Also, his routine and amount of turn out could also affect his energy levels.
If you did get him new tack, even if it was professionally fitted, it could be causing him to have sore muscles so it would be good to get his back checked by a physiotherapist, or asking your vet to recommend someone.
If your horse has sharp teeth then as you gather the reins to mount he may be anticipating pain in his mouth. Getting your horse's teeth checked regularly is important for many reasons.
Remember, when mounting to keep your toe forward facing (away from the horse's ribs), to hold the front and waist of the saddle, as holding the cantle (back) will twist the saddle onto the horse's spine, and to sit down gently and "wait" before asking the horse to move off. I'm sure you do all these things but they are all things we can get into the habit of doing (especially if a horse starts to move off!) and don't realise we may be adding to the horse problem.
It can be hard to answer some questions in full, without writing a whole book on the subject! I hope I have touched on some things you can check and given you some ideas to think about. If I had some more details I might be able to give more direct answers.
If you are thinking of asking a question then please include in your email as much detail as possible, I will then cut the question down but give as full an answer as I can.