riding a new horse

[No_Angel]

on saturday we are off to see a new horse, on sunday theres a pleasure ride i wanted to go to (my hoof boots stayed on :D ), im not sure whas happening yet, but would it be fiesable to take a new horse to a ride the day after youve got it?
mum is a very nervous rider anyway, on one hand it might scare her for life, but on the other hand it might give her the confidence she needs in the new horse, throwing her into the deep end and comming out trumps?
the ride has no jumps, and wed mostly be walking and we could trot and canter if she wants to.
what do you think? what would you do?
(otherwise it may be me and murfs new rider, or mum and murf, dont know fully yet)

[ANN H]

It really depends on the horse. I prefer to give new horses a little time to settle in though, rather than throwing them in at the deep end on their first day!

[Anna**]

If your mum likes this horse etc are you thinking of moving it to yours the same day? If so I would definitely give it time to settle in, new surroundings to cope with and then off to a fun ride could be too much. My boy turned into a bit of a live wire for a while when I got him home and it took him a while to settle but every horse is different. However depending on how your mum feels about it you could ask the owners how they would feel about you taking it to a fun ride to see how the two of them get on. This way there isnt the upheavel (sp?) of the move for the horse and your mum can see what she thinks without wondering if the move has stressed it etc. Hope that make sense :rolleyes:

[No_Angel]

if we liked the horse and decided to have her, we would probably come back the same day and pick her up. We are seeing her early in the morning, so she would have all day to settle in, she wouldnt be with the others, we would section her off, im not on a busy yard so it wouldnt upset her too much i dont think, and its only the other horses she would have to deal with, i might put maddie in with her so she can bond.
she sounds like a very calm horse and apparently only canters if shes in a group of horses who are cantering. i have always played it safe with my horses and not ridden them for a week or so after bringing them home, but im worried if mum doesnt ride her straight away the nerves will only get worse.

[HairyCob]

I agree your mums nerves might get worse if she doesn't ride her for a week, but there's a big difference between quiet pottering at home to get used to the horse and visa versa, and going on a fun ride the day after she arrives!!

As a nervous nelly myself, there is NO WAY i'd have taken Dolly on a fun ride the day after I got her- far to much to ask of her and of me.

Just my opinion however, at the end of the day it's up to your mum really isn't it?:D

[Rarah]

I echo what the others say.

Personally I like to spend time bonding before I would consider going out at all.

If mum's a bit nervous couldn't she just go for quiet walk for 5-10 mins, maybe with you accompanying her on foot until they get to know each other better?

[jools]

I'd leave it too and settle down with your new horse.

I started my part loan Saturday just gone and think I did too much.

Took her out for a hack on my own,and on the way back to the stables she spooked at a plastic carrier bag in a tree,she set off in a really fast trot and went into canter....on this country lane,lost my stirrup so was clinging on for dear life....fortunately there were 2 riders up ahead,thank god.

They helped me with her,and took me back to the stables..

Really shook me up,they said not to hack out alone again and always take someone with you...and also to bond with her becasuse she doesnt really know me that well..only ridden her twice.

Anything could've happened and I'm not rushing to do it again.

Good luck

[Jessey]

I definatly wouldn't go to a fun ride the next day, and TBH I wouldn't pick the horse up the same day, I think you should always sleep on a big decision for at least one night :D perhaps you could pick him up on sunday or if its not to far away your mum could hack him to your place and you could walk with her? that would be a good reason to get her on him and have a good ride asap.

J x

[No_Angel]

its not too far away, about 30 mins, but it has a motorway journey, so we cant hack them home, she will be trailered home.
i have spoken to my mum and if she likes her she is willing to take her to the fun ride, we feel the horse needs to get in the routine as quickly as possible as it will be trailered out alot.
we usually take the softly softly approach and it hasnt really done us any favours i must say, i took maddie hunting a month after i had her, and id only ridden her a total of about 4 times, and she was still new to the bitless. i must say i havent had any problems and i was scared to death of the thought of hunting, i came off when maddie sat down, but all in all i found out she wasnt a bad horse and i could cope when she was at her silliest.
i dont think theres a problem bringing the horse home on the same day, weve had 2 horses brought home ont eh same day of purchase and havent had any problems, my mum is the sort that thinks about things too much, if she knows she likes the horse when she sees it, the next day she would have changed her mind because she has sat up all night thinking of things that could go wrong!
weve made a decision that of she likes the horse and we have her, shes cheap enough that i can school her and sell her on if something goes wrong. we we still have murf for a while anyway so we have a fall back horse.

[KateWooten]

mum is a very nervous rider anyway, on one hand it might scare her for life, but on the other hand it might give her the confidence she needs in the new horse, throwing her into the deep end and comming out trumps?

This attitude really reminds me of these cowboys I have to deal with over here - you know the ones who can 'break' a colt in 3 hours. It makes them look great - but why ? Is it in the horse's interest ? In this case, to take a new horse, trailer it to a new home, remove everything it finds familiar, separate it from any herd, expect it to bond with a new person sufficient to keep that nervous new rider safe on a ride with other horses ? Within 24 hours ??? To me, that's verging on horse abuse, not to mention, mum abuse. Your mother is an adult, she can make decisions that feel right to her, without being bullied into it.

If you ask anyone who believes in 'Natural Horsemanship' they would tell you to 'listen to the horse'. How long will it take your Mum to bond with this new horse so that they both have respect and confidence in each other ? It will take as long as it takes. You do the bonding, respect stuff first, you listen to the horse, and you take them out on a pleasure ride when they are good and ready, You don't plan the big ride in advance and then see how the horse and your poor mother, handle it. You train first, then when confident you test. You don't put it all out to be tested on day 1.

Oh, and by 'Natural Horsemanship', I meant the whole thing - the 'listening to the horse' thing, the 'taking as long as it takes' thing, the 'gaining respect by moving their feet' thing, the 'ask-reward' thing ... not just buying a bitless bridle, a treeless saddle, and slapping a whole load more gadgets on for every subsequent 'problem'.

[No_Angel]

im asking for this to be closed. i know your opinions kate and most of the time i wish you would keep them to yourself.
the horse is trained to do what i want it to do, its not going to be in danger and its a way to see if the horse is upto the job we want. its not abuse at all.

[Crazyhorse]

Maybe just take her to the ride in the trailer, let her have a good look around and then take her home. That way you can see how she reacts to being in the trailer without risking her being ridden. If your mum is nervous and something happens it could seriously knock her confidence at an early stage with a new horse. I am bit of a nervous nelly and would not fancy it.

[KateWooten]

so, and please forgive me if I am boring you, why did you ask the question ?but would it be fiesable to take a new horse to a ride the day after youve got it?

... if just to hear the answer you've already decided upon ?

[Stella2]

I wouldn't do it to be honest. The thing is your mum could only develop confidence if it went well and you don't know how this horse is in this type of situation. Even if the plan is to remain in walk unless mum wants to do more. This horse may be the type who gets excited in company and this, combined with your mum's nerves could lead to things going wrong - scaring (and maybe worse) both rider and horse.

I'd suggest taking things more slowly and maybe looking to do the next fun ride :)

I don't agree with the horse abuse notion. Assuming that the horse is fit enough for the ride and he is ridden sympathetically, especially given that he would be in the company of other horses, I think that would be less negative for him than him standing in a box all day in a strange place - a situation we usually have to subject our new horses to due to worming regime!

[No_Angel]

kate i dont want to get into this with you, you always seem to pick a fight with me!

i have spoken to my mum after i posted this and we have decided that if she likes the horse it *may* be taken to the ride. we dont have it yet, have no knowledge of the horse but it sounds a good sort. competition horses are taken to new places and ridden all the time. we feel the ride will be good test of the horse, its not galloping about over fences, its just an organised hack basically.
we have another horse mum can ride if this one doesnt go to plan.
i have been planning this ride for ages and i need to get my horse out, i cannot ride on my own as it would not be safe for me, i am still recovering from a broken collarbone.
usually i would not ride my horses for a week after coming to me, but in this case i feel my mum needs to get on as soon as she can.
yes my mum is an adult, and so i am, but i have been riding alot longer and more often then her, i have worked with horses and studied them, so i know a little bit, and i also know to go with my gut feeling. if my mum likes the horse but i dont feel she would be capable of the ride she wont go.
i hope i have cleared it up!

[KateWooten]

I don't particularly want to fight either - I just can't figure out why you ask these questions. I mean, you ask if it's realistic to do this, you receive a bunch of answers saying no, not really a good idea, and you state that it is a good idea and you are going to do it. That's fine, but why ask the question.

You'd have to admit, it's very similar to the 'blinkers' question. You were schooling the horse in the field with the other horses, and she was spooking at them. So you asked would it be a good idea to put blinkers on her. You received a bunch of responses saying no, not really... then got a bit huffy and said you were going to do it anyway.

Now, if I was wanting to pick on you, I might ask how did it go with the blinkers, because you didn't report back on her progress with that idea.

As regards the ride in question, realistically, I can't see the logic of your safety concerns here. There will be plenty of other horses about, right ? But none of them you know. And your Mum will be there on another horse that you don't really know? So how does that make it safer for you? I mean, safer than having your mum there just on the ground. I think if I had any worries at all about my own safety, they'd only be made worse if I had to look after a nervous mum on a strange horse to boot.

[No_Angel]

i can cope with looking after my mum, i have to do it everytime i ride out as she is nervous as hell on her own horse, but its safer for me as my horse is an ex racehorse, if im on my own she will just jog untill she sees other horses and wont stop till she catches up, if shes wih another horse she doesnt bother.
i have muscle damage on my arm because of the broken collarbone, if i fall off my shoulder will break again, i cant chance it as i will have to have metal plates and pins put in it, at the moment i have to see how my arm goes as i might have to have the plate in anyway.
i havent actually used the blinkers on her, i have only schooled her once since i asked, and that was in a headcollar with another horse, and it wasnt really schooling anyway, i ended up popping some xc fences.
i have also found a place i can school away from the others, so have not needed them, but if i do feel i need them i will use them.
i havent used a market harborough either, used the daisy rein and it didnt work, and since then murf has only been out 2 or 3 times.
mum is fine on susie our pony, and we went for a trek and she rode a strange horse and cantered across the beach, so shes not always scared, but scared of her own horse, hence the reason we are looking at another.

[Ginger Thing]

Don't think I would do it, but....we went to a sponsored ride from Shugborough, over Cannock Chase, and met a woman who used to be on our yard. With her were her 2 daughters on their ponies, and her husband, on a horse he had bought the day before! When they came back, they said he had behaved perfectly!

Let's face it, it's going to be a strange place for all our horses, and I've had people hack my horse before without it stressing him out.

Let me know which horses to look out for on Sunday...and don't forget it's Mother's Day, so let your Mum decide ;)

[KateWooten]

Thanks for that post, Tasha, I honestly don't want to keep fighting with you, and I know I have been. I hope your shoulder gets really well recovered- and I really mean this - I really hope you don't at any stage come off and damage it before it's fully healed cos those things can end up a real long term pain, for sure. I get the impression you're a bold enough rider, and with a hot enough horse, that you probably do enjoy pushing the boundaries a little - so just you go easy on it, til you're fully fixed - specially since your Mum needs you !!

Oh - great to hear you've founf somewhere calm for schooling - I know I've been struggling with soggy fields and nowhere to ride over the winter - much much nicer now it's dried out a bit - 20 minutes patient schooling is just such a blast, I love it.

Anyway, whatever you decide - stay safe, OK ? Hope your mum has found her dream horse,

Kate

[Kanuma]

I probably wouldnt do it. the horse would be up on her toes and with a nervouse rider it would not be an ideal situation. However if it was me rideing i possibly would, i took stan to a show 2 days after i got him, he was a sweety and gave me a real boost but he was up on his toes and testing his boundries!

[No_Angel]

ive had a long talk with my mum about it, well i talked mum nodded, lol.
were going on gut instinct with the horse, if she gets on and she doesnt feel right, then its not right.
were very soft with our horses and tend to keep them, so we thought, if shes new to us and still behaves ok, taking into account its all new to her, then she will be fine for my mum, if we find shes not so good, than we wont be so attached to her and it will be easier to sell her on, i know it sounds awfull, but we cant keep another horse that wont be used.
i very much believe that you know the right horse when you sit on it, we went to look at another one, she was a very nice mare, but just didnt feel right. maddie span around in circles when i tried her out, and jogged down a very steep hill, but i didnt feel unsafe once, and i want my mum to feel like that, she feels like that on susie but its unfair to make susie do 10 miles with the upper weight limit she can carry.
i ahve to go and scrub my hands now as i still stink of mane and tail conditioner and its making my eyes water!

[chewitmonster]

I'd suggest what you are going to do...have a feel and decide then. If you think she'll be fine gut instinct and you don't think your mums confidence could be severely knocked if something went wrong then go for it. It's not different than taking a horse to a show, stopping over overnight and then riding it. Granted the horse itself might not be used to it ;) Only thing that you can do is judge it on the day. :) Thats if your mum even likes the said horse in the first place!! xxx

[Anna**]

Go and see how you and your mum feel after seeing this horse. Gut instinct just like you said. You may not even like it yet but fingers crossed it will be a confidence giver for your mum. Its a nightmare looking for a new horse and hoping you make the right decision.

And Tasha when I eventually get some transport sorted I can always meet up with you on a local fun ride if your mum cant go so your not on your own and i've never been on one yet so will be looking for someone to babysit me and show me the ropes :D

[No_Angel]

anna you can come along anytime with me, as long as you dont mind comming with nutty maddie:D I think my other horse murf gets embaressed of her, she wouldnt even look at her when she was out hunting:( :D

[Denbenj]

I probabley wouldnt do it, however there are exceptions to the case. I brought home a sec D I used to have and he was such a laid back chap..type you dont even need a leadrope or headcoller with!Happily trundled through life lol !!!! .. I brought him home and tacked him up and we went for a wonderful days hacking! ..Got back in his new stable happily munching away!

However I think these are exceptions and make your decision wisely.. I hope all works well with your new horse!

Lenny

[Anna**]

Thanks Tasha, how funny is that, Murf must have been pretending he didnt know her :D Good luck to you and your mum on Sat, I hope you like her.