My new horse

[Lady_Bug]

My new APHA mare just arrived from south Mississippi. She is really sweet but when I kick her or cue her to trot she pins her ears and swishes her tail. Is there anything I can do?

[Shelly_D]

Well what I'm thinking is do you really need to kick her? With my horse I just squeeze lightly and she gets moving. Try using less of an aid, know what I mean? Other ideas are maybe check the fit of your saddle. Perhaps the bouncy movement of the trot is uncomfortable if the saddle fits poorly or if you bounce around a lot on her back.

[Outrider]

Ear pinning and tail swishing are signs that something is not right and is bothering her. Check saddle fit, your own position, lighten up on the amount of kick or check the tightness of your reins. Are you holding them too tight when you ask her to transition to a faster gait? I loosen my reins and give light leg pressure to go faster from walk to trot or from trot to canter. Happy Trails!

[Maci]

Shelly_D and Outrider are right.
When a horse pins his ears back and swishes his tail, something is not right. If your horse doesn't respond to a light aid to go, try backing up your leg with a TAP from the crop. Squeeze with your leg, and if he doesn't go, squeeze again but do a LITTLE tap on his butt to back your aids up. Make sure you are in good position and are not hanging onto the reins.
You might also want to check the saddle fit, his back, and make sure his bridle fits and that there are no sharp tooth edges!

There's no need to kick- that just turns a horse right off!

Maci :)

[Showjumper]

How would you like to be kicked? Of course she’s pinning back her ears and swishing her tail – she must have the patience of a saint! If I kicked mine I’d be off straight away – he’d see to that. I’m not being brutal, but you have to think of the horse. It’s an animal, not a machine, and you have to treat it as such. ASK her to do something via gentle hand and leg movements, and do not TELL her by kicking or hauling her in the mouth, as this will make her sour and bad-tempered. Like the others said, get her back and teeth checked as well and make sure her tack fits, as this will cause her discomfort.

[Somethingroyal]

Well, as my little method goes, you are INSISTING that she trot without ASKING her first. As other people have said, if she pins her ears and swishes her tail then your problem is probably something bigger than kicking, she may be ill or hurting. Ask someone who knows horses well that you trust to look over her and her tack to see if they can find anything, or try having your trainer ride her and see what happens.

[Slick]

Hello,

I am very new to this board and am trying to read back posts before asking too many questions, but I am experiencing similar problems to Lady_Bug. I start with verbal, then progress to light squeezes, but the ears and tail swishing is the same. I have had my horse for a couple of weeks and bought a brand new saddle under the advice of the woman I board from. My friend/trainer is giving me lessons and hasn't noticed anything ill-fitting, but something is not clicking. This behavior appeared the second time I used the saddle, and he didn't want to walk. The next time (with a looser girth), he only did this going into the trot. I am fixing up an old saddle that might fit him, and hopefully I can see if the behavior goes away.... Thank you for listening.

[Somethingroyal]

Well since you mentioned loosening the girth he may be girthy. But I was thinking and maybe you both should try working them on the lunge line. This can help you narrow down the reason for your horse(s) acting like this.

[Slick]

hehe, that is another whole can of worms! I hope to ask for help with that one soon. I have another lesson tomorrow night, so hopefully we will learn some more...He is young and has been trained very well (western), but we don't know _how_ he was trained. We need to learn his buttons, so to speak.

Thank you very much for the advice. Your signature is very enlightening.

[Somethingroyal]

ahh... buttons, gotta love 'em

[k9 Equine]

Maybe it's just my perspective but I would do some ground work and general bonding with a new horse before I hopped in the saddle and started riding. I know it has to be exciting to have a new horse (especially if it's the first one) but patience is something you REALLY need when working with animals.

Think of it this way - how would you feel if your parents divorced and you suddenly had a new step mom/dad. You move several hundred miles away from your home and friends AND THEN this new person immediately demands that you do things her/his way? All this is done without consideration of your feelings. How do you think you would react?

Excellent advice in above posts re: tack. If your tack is new, it might need some adjustments and softening.

Good Luck!

~ KE

[smartie]

You may be rushing things here. Its so exciting getting a new horse, but you need to build a relationship with him first of all. Also, get your vet to do a full MOT (of course if you have had the horse vetted in the first place it should be OK).

If the vet passed the horse it could be tack, which you can get a saddler to have a look at it for you (it may need re-flocking)

Also make sure your saddle is not too far forward it may be restricting the shoulder. When you take the saddle off, are there parts of the horses back where the hair is rubbed the wrong way, if so the saddle is ill fitting.

This horse sounds in pain, the only way it can tell you is by showing its objection to it through the symptoms you say.

Good luck

[Libby]

I've had my new horse for a while now and I have similar reactions when we try to canter. Were happy at a trot ears flopping around listening carefully to me but when I sit and give the aid to canter they flatten and the reaction is a fast terrible canter. My new horse was a race horse before but I have ridden some ex racehorses who just need a little sitting and quietning. Occasionaly after a few large circles we quieten a little and the ears relax but the other day when I gave the aid my new horse gave a little buck.
I've had experienced people look at her but am yet to have someone elso get on to see if they can get a desired reaction.
They have all said she is sound in every way and my gear fits fine. I've thought about her being a bit weak but I've worked really hard with the trot and have built up her mucsles well. ANY IDEAS?????????
thanks
sue.

[Slick]

I am finally bonding with my new guy! He looks at me from the pasture when I call his name now. He is getting comfy in his new surroundings, and the tail swishing is not as strong, but the ears still go back some when I ask for the trot (arena riding). My instructors swear everything fits well, and I'm taking lessons to improve my riding. They think he is just testing me. He has already learned that I'm not very strict, but he jumps to obey my stronger-willed mentor. :)

But, before I bought this one, we saw a Morgan/QH cross with a bad back, and he would fly through the trot and buck his way into a canter...

ps-We went riding down the lane for the first time! It was awesome. :)

[k9 Equine]

Hi Libby ~ First I will warn you that I am far from an expert. That said, I can only tell you what I would try in your situation. Use the process of elimination. Try altering ONE thing at a time to see if anything helps. Just remember too much at once could cause confusion.

If you "drive" with your seat as part of asking for the canter, try not to; or provide a gel pad under the saddle. I've noticed that sometimes when applying a "driving seat" the saddle moves around a bit, if your horse is sensitive to rubbing or has a low irritation tolerance threshold, it may be part of the problem. I know I get irritated by some clothing interfacing (that white webby stuff usually found around the collar or under embroidery.) The clothes are cut and sewn properly but the darn stuff just irritates my skin, whereas it might not bother another person. The same might be true of your horse's pad/tack.

You could also try changing the degree/level of aids you are applying. It doesn't hurt to try something a little different, just be careful and keep an eye on his reactions and be ready for anything.

The very best thing to do is get someone you trust and respect on your horse to see if he/she can figure out the problem.

Hope you find a solution soon!

~ KE

[Edited by k9 Equine on 17th Apr 2001 at 03:21 AM]