KNOWING YOUR HORSE - opinions please

fairlady

New Member
Jul 14, 2007
10,306
1
0
Bristol
L O N G ..... I have owned Morse (Welsh sectD 2 and a bit:)) since end June and we have been having a few teething problems as in a. He has not had anywhere as near as much handling as I had thought. b. He is bolshy, nippy, bit too full on in your face. However after saying all that I am learning and learning to understand him ......fast:)

He makes this little grunting noise and then bites you, or catches hold of your sleeve, skin if you have a T shirt on:eek: This was beginning to really peeve me off and no matter how many times I say 'NO' turn on him etc he still does it. However this week I have realised that if when I hear that little grunt, I turn quickly and reassure him, nicely, we do not quite so often get the little bite:D:D He is still such a baby, bless him, very immature.

The other week I was asked by my friend if I wanted the farrier to see him when he was visiting and said 'no thanks, he is not ready and I do not want anyone injured, especially the farrier, cos it is his livelihood' however we brought him out so that he could watch and he was genuinely interested and well behaved. Tonight one of the girls let it slip that the farrier had remarked 'you didn't tell me he was still WILD':D so looks like I made a good decision there then:D

Tonight again, we were talking about him and she said 'this time next year you will be riding him' to which I replied 'only if I think he is ready', I could sort of tell they were a bit shocked, however there is no firm and fast rule that they have to be broken at 3 is there, if I do not feel he is ready surely it does not matter. At the end of the day I am looking for a well adjusted horse and I really am not prepared to rush him and ruin him. I am only just beginning to understand what makes him tick and I really do not care if I cannot climb aboard until this time next year and then turn him away or even the following spring. I'm not being soft, in fact I am quite hard on him when needs be, but his welfare is the important thing, he is intelligent, bold, brave, ie. He was being nosey, again, tonight and knocked a metal stepladder over, I was there, so there was no risk, instead of jumping back as I sort of expected he walked straight over and was trying to pick them up again with his nose:) jUST WONDERED if you thought I was right or being a bit slow on this or if I am right. I appreciate that he could come on leaps and bounds during the winter in which case I would obviously start him next year:)
 
You are doing the absoloutely right thing! He is your horse and if you don't feel he is ready to do something, then don't. Gut feelings are almost always right so don't do what other people say. He sounds like a really nice horse so don't ruin him by rushing him into things! :)
 
We didn't have our younster backed until after Christmas in her fourth year as we didn't think she was ready, mentally or physically at 3.

It hasn't done her any harm at all, in fact the opposite.

Its your horse and generally you know what best for him, although it doesn't hurt to ask for expert advice.

Dont listen to people on your yard, god knows where our horses would be if I did :eek:
 
I think you know your horse well enough to know when he will be mature enough to be trained.

A lot of people do start their horses off at 3, but hopefully they know if their horse is ready for it.

By the looks of things (and i am sorry if the person is reading this and i am wrong) Morse hasnt had an awful lot of ground handling prior to you buying him, and you are in fact having to start again with him giving him what he should have had a year or maybe more ago.

He is the type of horse who needs a sympathetic but firm touch and you are doing that.

Try not to let people around you inadvertently give you doubt, which i am certain they didnt mean to do!!!

Honestly, you are doing well and like i said, if you ever need a hand and i can help give me a ring or send me a PM.
 
No I have to admit she is a very good and knowledgable friend and has been so good to me with both the Arab and Morse and I value her advice:) I really think I would be struggling a bit without her and the other girls on the yard they are fantastic. I was not getting at the fact she was a bit suprised to say the least:) Ha, its quite nice to know I can still shock people after knowing them for 20 years:eek: just wanted some reassurance that I was not doing wrong really.

What I am trying to say is I really am only just sort of beginning to understand what a baby he is:) It really has only just hit me, I was expecting far too much, and thought it was me, and that perhaps he just didn't like me:D(not too paranoid then) However, we are getting there and he must like me, he certainly knows me cos when I whistle (4 finger job, how ladylike:D) he comes running and tonite everytime I walked away from the gate he left the others and came over calling me, how sweet.

BUT I am not going to let anyone put any pressure on me to rush him, I am
always spouting on about that and bonding on my posts and intend to follow my own advice. Thankyou:D any more opinions would be gratefully received.
 
aw Emma, you of course have met him, as I said in my post above I don't think she meant anything in any way shape or form, you saw her helping the other night, she is fantastic, think I am just doubting myself at the moment, feeling low with this eye thing etc. I will be in touch and will all to readily accept your offer of help, just have not really spent any time down there at the moment with my red puffy eyes:D Lookin' pretty as a picture - not:D
 
think you are completly right .
about the biting and the funny grunt, my sisters horse used to do something similiar, he was weaned way too early due to his mum dying, it was a sort of comfort thing ( for him, not us ! )
 
well it is funny you should say that cos that is EXACTLY what my knowledgable mate said to me the other night, she thinks he was weaned early and so has not had 'momma mare' teaching him the basics, and he certainly has not had that much handling since, however he loaded so easily when I picked him up I honestly thought he had more handling, I now however think that was his nosey curiousity getting the better of him:D

He did travel well, came off a bit quick:D
 
HA totally off the subject I am in the middle of cooking chilli, which OH does not like so he has decided to eat something else and is stood watching it cook intently in the oven, he just looked at me and said 'how the hell do you do that, type on your forum, cook a chilli, boil the rice, and type on your forum inbetween:D' um ........ cos I'm a woman:D:D:D
 
marlow had lots of funny quirks, most of his came from being over imprinted on people and not taught by his mum, will post again when spoken to my sister.
also have a book with a bit about youngsters like this, will look it up
ps to oh, men will never understand, one of the best ways I ever heard it explained is that mens conversation is like a roman road, it goes straight from where it started to its conclusion.
womans is like a country lane , wanders all over the place on the way !
 
I'm glad you're taking it slowly with him. I've seen too many damaged horses because they've been broken in too soon.
 
aw Emma, you of course have met him, as I said in my post above I don't think she meant anything in any way shape or form, you saw her helping the other night, she is fantastic, think I am just doubting myself at the moment, feeling low with this eye thing etc. I will be in touch and will all to readily accept your offer of help, just have not really spent any time down there at the moment with my red puffy eyes:D Lookin' pretty as a picture - not:D

Your friend is fantastic!

Honestly, you dont need to doubt yourself. It is a daunting thing taking on a colt of this age, when you could have taken the easy option and got something older :p in a few years from now when he is training and a dream on the ground you can look back and be proud of what you have achieved, if only we could give horses books to read to let them know what we want of them!

And i hope your eyes are feeling a bit better. :)
 
Hi fairlady, I think you know what you're doing;) Don't feel pressured, and just take it all, one step at a time.
A lot of people leave their youngsters til they're 4 now anyway.

Whats the rush? Its better to take your time:)
 
I won't break him until I think he is ready, we are having enough problems walking in hand:D If obviously I think he is ready next year I will start him, if not I won't simple as that.

He is a big strong lad full on 'in your face' a bit too playful for his own good, I honestly do not think he has a nasty bone in his body, and that is oh so the way I want to keep him, I am not against giving him a slap and have done when he lashes out with his front feet, albeit I honestly think he is playing, but it is not acceptable and he needs to learn that, I just have come to the conclusion I need to maybe tackle it in a different way and see it from his point of view as well, I don't want to shout, slap, and yell at him, but I want him to know that I will not tolerate that behaviour either. It is a difficult one to get a happy balance on for both of us, and quite honestly I am open to suggestions..... the last few nights when I have had to deal with it I have made him walk round in a circle to try to give him something else to think about after I have muttered a strong 'No' but we could do circles all night:D
 
hi fairlady !! ''LF waves'' i think your doing just fine with morse and if its any consolation welsh sec D's (or most welsh ;)) are renowned for being slightly tricky youngsters especially as they don't stop growing up until they are at least 6 or 7 and they are still physically growing until they are about 6yrs. With the biting .... is he still a colt or cut late? they d have more 'nippiness' if thats the case or if they are weaned young. when Leo my colt started to nip i would push him away turn my back and ignore him (and yes look cross stick your elbows out face him full on and look 'big and terrifing lol' mentally he got quite upset and now doesn't nip hardly at all. as you know my little welsh filly is a handful and a half and i do have to be firm with her. part of her training is learning to 'respect my space' there are times where i ask her NOT to stand in my space/face and if she does she will be pushed (and aggressive stance) and made to stay away much like a older horse would repreimand a youngster for getting uninvitingly close. i also when leading lead on a loose rein and let her make mistakes if she barges past she gets to the end of the lead rope and her head turns sharply when she gets to the end of the rope (her doing not mine) i just stand quietly and wait for her to come back towards me. sometimes at the beginning took 5 mins of her standing there and looking bewildered but she seems to get it now. when being good i always reassure her with a neck stroke. with regards to the farrier i would get him seen now. foals feet should really be balanced from the time they are 6 months old. Get a good farrier and mention Morse isn't used to a farrier. my farrier also trims barefoot and he has been brilliant never bullies a horse but is fit and will stay with and close to a horse (ok so i had both filly and farrier both land on my head on the fillys first time, but it was her doing not his) but i must stress get a good one and not a 'bully farrier' also you want them balanced/dressed not just trimmed. if at any time you want to email me about progress /email buddy then just do and i'll tell you how my lot are too just pm me for my email address. oh and as for when to break in you are right keep to when he is mentally and physically ready. there is lots to do before breaking anyway including lots of longreining ;) my filly probably won#'t be broken until she is around 3 and a half maybe 4 and a half as mentally she won't be ready before (if no-ones bought her although i don't think she's going to go tbh as haven't had much interest)
 
Go with how they are both physically and mentally and whether you think they're ready to be backed over age. Some horses are ready at 3, some aren't.

I backed Mia at 3 1/2 and she enjoyed doing some work but wasn't ready to concentrate and do as she was told and wasn't physically up to much work. I only did a tiny bit with her before giving her a long break and am planning to start over again with her this winter to get her riding properly by the time she's 5 next year. At least I will if the teenager from h*ll phase really is over and she's not just lulling me into a false sense of security before kicking off again :D
 
I don't get the rush?Most people around here break their horses in a two :eek: I think you are doing the right thing going by your gut instinct :)
 
Joy (welsh sec D) was 4 1/2 when she was backed. She has only really started to mayure mentally in her 6-7th year so I wouldn't be in a rush either if I were in your situation. :)
 
newrider.com