The Mare Who No-One Wanted.......

Amber has been pretty unsettled since moving. Perhaps spring grass is a factor too? She is generally more alert, spooky, tense. I have lunged her a couple of times and have noticed that she is not really listening to me. Head up, neighing, looking to the outside. So I am having to work quite hard to keep her attention on me! Still it's early days and I think she is just figuring out where she is now. I've had her since January and we are on our 4th home!
 
That's a lot change and no constituency with her training. That is to say you started her off then had the break with the stranges issues then starting again.

Not that it helps but grass does effect some horses more than others. My normally awesome boy was it fair to say far from awesome this morning but I know I have this issue every April and I have to brave it out and get on and deal with it or leave him for a couple of weeks to settle. The later is out of question so big pants it is.
 
Poor girlie, that's a lot of change for any horse, and I don't think she was very settled before that either, was she?

I know when people ask about this we generally say 3 - 6 months for a horse to settle in a new place, so I know you'll take it easy with her until she has her sensible head back on. She's living with the boys, though, isn't she? Are they ok?
 
Settling is a weird thing - they do take a while to settle but they can also settle far more quickly in some places than others. Angel has been much more settled since I moved her - she was much as you describe KPNut in the last yard, always a bit on her toes. It was a very busy yard and now she's at a quiet one, so maybe that's what it was, who knows really.
 
My horse took about a year to settle in. And that was without moving homes, a change of trainer, anything.

They need time to trust, to settle and to just feel everything is ok.

Some horses have to have consistency in routine, training, riding and day-to-day goings on. Without it, they flounder and just can't cope.
 
It's been a bit of a nightmare tbh.

Move number 1 was because we were unexpectedly kicked out of a stable in the middle of winter and she was underweight. So she moved to a friend's neighbouring yard till a stable became available. Move 2 was back to the first yard but into isolation livery when strangles hit. Move 3 was the isolation livery an hour away and now she is in another (hopefully final) yard as I decided I had to leave my original yard because of strangles mismanagement. And of course she only moved from the dealer in January and had not been there too long either. Poor girl.

Actually she has been very chilled generally up until now - with the one broncing episode. But she is also no longer underweight and the grass is growing. She is a LOT of horse.

Yes she is out with the boys. They are fine and seem very happy.
 
Coming into her fist season with you? Dolly is always a rat bag for her first season of the year....from donkey to diva overnight. Might just be that.
 
Bless her. It took Annie a good 6 months to really settle, even with consistency and no house moves. They just need time and patience, I wouldn't worry about it.
 
Well I am a big believer in giving horses a job to do. I think they settle easier when they are given plenty to think about! So I have been doing ground-work every day and have ridden the past 2 days. Yesterday was.... interesting! Took quite a while to get her to stand by a mounting block but we got there in the end. Did feel like I was sitting on a rocket for a few minutes, but I kept her concentrating with circles, serpentines, quarters over etc. Took about 5 minutes before she relaxed and I was able to ask for some walk-halt-walk transition. Just held halt for a moment or two as I could feel she really was not keen on standing still.

Rode for about 10 minutes then asked her to stand quietly for a few seconds and hopped off.

Rode again today and she again objected to the mounting block but only for a minute or so this time. And she felt much calmer underneath me. Put poles on a circle and got her spiralling round them so she kept having to adjust her feet to not trip over them as they were narrow on a smaller circle and wider on a bigger one. Did that in walk and trot on both reins and finished off with some more walk-halt-walk transitions,, holding halt for a little longer each time. For my other horses halt and rest is a treat/release, but not her. Not at the moment anyway. For her I think walking on a long rein is a release as that's where she is most relaxed, whereas halt is challenging. She was very good. Again just 10 minutes but it feels enough for now. Trying to ride long enough for her to relax and feel comfortable but end at that point before she starts getting bored, tired or uncomfortable. She is still very under-muscled so she could get sore quite soon I think.

I am also trying to help her settle by being consistent each day with her routine. Work first thing, then breakfast and turn out. In the evening it's bring in, groom, more work (ground-work or other 'work' - farrier yesterday, EAT today). Feed and bed down.

Trouble is my life is not consistent! So I won't be able to stick to this every day, but I am trying. At least for now.
 
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I am another one that believes in get on with it. I don't really do settles in as such. every horse I have owned I have moved them to the new yard and just got on with it. That said I obviously take in to consideration their fitness levels etc and adjust around that but the rest is get on with it.

I don't completely understand the settling in walk around despook kind of thing but I guess that's because I go out competing a lot and you don't get the chance to come off the trailer walk round let smiff etc you just get on with it. Plus when you do a warm up and let the horse take it times and sniff every thing you then have to move arenas to compete and have to just do it no chance to stand around and get use to it. You just deal with the spook etc at the time.
 
Well she was snorting and spooking at everything yesterday. So keeping her focused on her feet and on where she was going felt like the right thing to do at the time. I would have pushed her up to trot but I honestly felt that increasing her adrenaline, even slightly, with an increase in pace would have triggered bucking/broncing, whereas letting her stride out in walk allowed her to slowly relax. And today she was fine trotting. I agree she needs to get on with it, but you can only do what the horse underneath you can cope with! She is not remotely competition ready so don't really need to worry about that yet.... I expect over time, she will get used to being in different places and will cope fine. Maybe I am being over cautious but I'd rather take it easy and stay safe, than push her too far to start with.
 
I can absolutely relate to this. I had a lesson long reining with Ziggy today, and the aim was to get him by the end of the lesson to walk over a single pole without increasing his speed, tensing or dropping his back. It was hard work! He has learned to see a stop as a chance to relax, but he didn't used to be like that and still isn't if there's a pole nearby.

I like it that you're working with her for such short periods of time, I'm sure that will make it much easier for her and stop any chance of her getting sour.

*Hm'rmhm* pics?
 
You miss understood me. I never said anything about pushing on or through it I was referring to settling in and just getting on with riding etc

I did say with in horses fitness level.
 
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Screenshot_20170410-112400.png

Had a lesson with the YO. She said she was so, so green she has probably done almost nothing before. So we will spend a couple of weeks in mostly walk to get her moving in a straight line. Which she can't do! Bit of trotting but mostly walk.

I do feel quite positive about the new yard. The YO seems a much more sympathetic rider/trainer than my old YO.
 
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She is looking good :) have to say though that her saddle looks really far forward, I forget I'm used to treeless on a very short backed horse though!
I can only imagine what she will blossom into once she's in regular work. :D
 
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Well it may be too far forward. I am a tack dork after all :rolleyes:

One day I need someone to give me a basic lesson in how to tack my horses up properly!! It should fit her though I hope as we are on saddle number 2 already!
 
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