New Horse New me!

[fourlegs]

You are not alone in your confidence crisis - been there, done that and I have been riding 35 years - my advice would be to take small steps, don't push it. Ride her when you feel you can, preferably with someone there, maybe after your friend lunges her on Thursday?
Always end on a good note even if that means getting off before you want to! Always have a plan of what you are going to do - that will give you something to think about and she will respond - nobody (and no horse) respects a leader who doesn't know where they are going!!

 

[newforest]

If she was only backed last year you've bought an uneducated baby.

The chances are she's not been led around a field and had riders swapping. The bucking although it could be saddle related, it could be insecurity or simply annoyance. I suspect the girl who started her did some longreining/ lunging and just got on with riding.
She should know the basics of lunging at least?

At five you have taken into account that's what's in front of you is going to get bigger.

 

[moweykezza]

Update: My friend is coming to lunge her tonight and I have been in touch with a RI who I have told everything (young horse, ? saddle and help with lunging and riding her etc) and she said she would be happy to come and help just waiting for her to get back to me with times to come over etc .... so I think once she has been I will feel a lot better in making a decision either way .... just fingers crossed this will work out

 

[fourlegs]

Good move

 

[diplomaticandtactful]

she's very young and cobs mature late, so she is a baby. people tend to take their calm nature for granted and push them too much until they eventually have a tantrum, usually with those that have been ridden young as they were 'quiet' and put up with it and then when they get to around 6 they have the kevins and turn into monsters. Often folks don't really train them properly.

I am not of the school to get on with it from day 1, I tend to see how it is and take my time. Moo hasn't got the experience to teach someone to ride, she needs folks to teach her what is required. riding in a strange field is an ask for a young horse. hopefully it is just a one off but once they get the idea that bad behaviour allows them to evade what you want, it needs to be stopped. I wouldn't ride her at the moment, I would work on bonding with her, playing with her and getting to know her. She isn't an ideal purchase, a much older horse who had done it all would have been better.

I bought a 6 year old cob mare just like her who I tried at a yard she had been sent to be sold. what they forgot to mention was that she was very quiet in a new place as she was worried about what might happen, but once she relaxed and got used to a place, she changed totally.

 

[Huggy]

Agree completely with d&t - I got a shock when I got Hogan at 12, (still getting shocks!) He can be SO stubborn and tantrumy, but equally, each time I've won a battle, boy, does he learn fast too! Hopefully softly softly catchy monkey approach will work on moo. And having the ability to stand your ground quietly, but firmly.

 

[Mary Poppins]

My initial response is to send her back. She is only just turned 5. She has been turned away for the winter and only been brought back into work this Spring. She is just a baby, she doesn't have an education. It is irresponsible for the previous owners to sell her to you in the first place.

Did you get her vetted? Her extreme reactions may be due to pain, but I would be more likely to say that she is simply uneducated and doesn't know what is expected of her in this new environment. A green horse and a novice owner are not a good mix and for both your sakes, I would find her a new home with someone who has the knowledge and expertise to teach her.

 

[carthorse]

I have never understood why people think cobs are suitable for nervous/novice/non-riders. Though often not as quick or sharp as a hot blood can be they can be so opinionated & stubborn - plus having the strength to back it up - that I often feel many people would be better off with something with a bit of blood in it. I was by no means a novice, but I remember a very experienced horseman's comment on my then young ID was "now I know why they cross them with tbs, it's not for ability it's to make the *darlings* half way trainable!!!". Said horse was an extreme case (though my horse of a lifetime & I will always miss him) but I was forced to admit the guy had a point & I think it holds true of many cobs too. They can be lovely but they aren't always quiet, can be very willing to take charge & the very unflappability that is so valued does create it's own training issues particularly with the type of owner who is unable or unwilling to take a firm stance with them.

 

[Trewsers]

I have never understood why people think cobs are suitable for nervous/novice/non-riders. Though often not as quick or sharp as a hot blood can be they can be so opinionated & stubborn - plus having the strength to back it up - that I often feel many people would be better off with something with a bit of blood in it. I was by no means a novice, but I remember a very experienced horseman's comment on my then young ID was "now I know why they cross them with tbs, it's not for ability it's to make the *darlings* half way trainable!!!". Said horse was an extreme case (though my horse of a lifetime & I will always miss him) but I was forced to admit the guy had a point & I think it holds true of many cobs too. They can be lovely but they aren't always quiet, can be very willing to take charge & the very unflappability that is so valued does create it's own training issues particularly with the type of owner who is unable or unwilling to take a firm stance with them.

That is so true about cobs. And also warmbloods / tb's. Zi is a warmblood kwpn (think that's right I want to call him a quickpin! lol) yet he is an absolute saint and has been the perfect re introduction to gaining confidence for me - I know many cobs that would give me the run around pretty quickly! And size does not come into it either - my friend's small cob would most certainly be a much scarier ride than him for me (Zi is 17hh a little over if anything). Chloe has never been ridden by us - she is a joy to handle on the ground (mostly free ranges anyway) but I always wondered what she would be like under saddle. Quite opinionated I should imagine - and quite a handful if the mood took her.

 

[fourlegs]

I don't think it is all gloom & doom - as long as you are prepared to take it slowly and with expert support you can get there.

Just remember that every time you handle a horse you are training it - I don't subscribe to the "bad behaviour" theory, it is just that the horse has been unintentionally trained to do something we don't want, our fault not the horse's.

The education she needs is only half the story, she also needs to develop her muscles to be able to carry and balance herself correctly, let alone balancing herself and a rider - especially if they are unbalanced as well. This is why it is not a great idea to pair a green horse with a novice rider but as I said you can work through this, I did with Scully and we are still at 17 years old working on her balance in right rein canter departures

 

[moweykezza]

oh wow I'm so torn now with conflicting opinions

 

[Huggy]

Agree also with carthorse, I got so used to a very gentle, very pliable new forest, and Hogans cobby stubborn antsy attitude was an education! But I think moweykezza you said you used to have your own horse? So I assume you aren't a complete novice? In the end, only you can tell if you're going to get along. Ramsey was only 4 when I got him (first horse!) and taking it slow, lessons, and taking my time, he ended up a dream little horse. (But he wasn't a cob!)

 

[fourlegs]

And size does not come into it either - my friend's small cob would most certainly be a much scarier ride

Absolutely - Scully is a 17 hand wbx (with shire, tb & arab) and I feel much more confident on her than a 15 hand Merens I sometimes ride...

 

[Huggy]

oh wow I'm so torn now with conflicting opinions

It's actually good that you're conflicted! That'll be your heart and your head fighting it out! I'd say set yourself a time limit to decide, and when you've got to know each other a bit better, and you've tried a bit of this and that with her, you'll be in a better position to make a decision.

 

[fourlegs]

It's actually good that you're conflicted! That'll be your heart and your head fighting it out! I'd say set yourself a time limit to decide, and when you've got to know each other a bit better, and you've tried a bit of this and that with her, you'll be in a better position to make a decision.

....and hear what the RI has to say once they have seen you & Moo

 

[moweykezza]

I finished with the horses 9 years ago too much with small children,work and horses but now they’re bigger and my daughter being interested thought great time to crack on again, my last was chestnut tb mare who was a bullet ... you couldn’t ride her with any leg on whatsoever because she would fly... she was the kind that listened to your body how you sat in the saddle etc .... but that was for me ... this I have the responsibility of something for my daughter too which is why I wanted it TOTALLY SAFE!

 

[carthorse]

If totally safe is your absolute priority then you needed to buy an older horse, or a rocking horse. No horse is completely safe & anyone who tells you otherwise is either a liar or an idiot, but young uneducated horses are higher risk no matter how good their nature. You've already seen what Moo's reaction is to a situation she can't deal with, that's the response you'll have to work with until your training reduces it & even then it will be her default if things get too far out of hand. Don't get me wrong, I like to know what a horse's instinctive reaction is if the **** hits the fan, at least that way I know what I'm dealing with & whether it's within my abilities, but you sounded in earlier posts as if this was unacceptable to you & you don't feel up to dealing with it. It may well reduce with training, but while training it's likely to be something you have to deal with & it's likely to be some time before she's secure enough to be used for a beginner.Letting her settle & forming a bond with her may help, but no amount of fussing over her is going to give her the training & security needed or your daughter the riding ability to be safe. I'll probably get shot down in flames here, but magical bonds that allow you and a horse to do everything together just don't exist, instead it comes down to hard work, suitability & the mindset to pick yourself up off the floor, knock the dirt off your breeches & start over again.

 

[newforest]

I have never understood why people think cobs are suitable for nervous/novice/non-riders. Though often not as quick or sharp as a hot blood can be they can be so opinionated & stubborn - plus having the strength to back it up. They can be lovely but they aren't always quiet, can be very willing to take charge & the very unflappability that is so valued does create it's own training issues particularly with the type of owner who is unable or unwilling to take a firm stance with them.

My RI said thank goodness she's not chestnut.
She knew her own strength at 18months when previous people couldn't lead her anymore.
She is placid and calm the majority of the time, but she's very upfront with her opinions and attitude.
I think the cob gets seen as the slow half asleep plod that won't do anything so you can put anyone on them. But mine took the gate off when she just simply walked through it and I had been trying to stop or turn her from the other end of the ruddy school. I mistaken assumed we would just nudge into it!

 

[Jessey]

I'm afraid the old saying; Green (novice) on green = black and blue (bruises) comes to my mind when ever this kind of situation arises, sayings don't come about for no reason, yes there's exceptions to all rules of thumb but it's the exception not the majority unfortunately. It can be done but it depends if you want to put several years into creating that safe pony or if you want something now to be getting on with.

 

[moweykezza]

This pony (or any pony) we have, we would be wanting for life so I am willing to put the time in (as in years) of work and training with the correct help... had a long discussion with my daughter last night and she is happy not to ride her (even if its for a long time), she is happy to be having riding lessons (at the school and not on Moo) and just to be bonding spending time with Moo grooming her etc until they both are ready ... my daughter is very patient and doesn’t just want to “get on and go” and she realises this may take some time. I had a friend come down last night to look at Moo who has had horses for 40+ years who has worked with young horses, trained etc and she is a judge and she is willing to help with her .... so at the moment I think Moo will be staying and we will give it time and work and see how it goes, yes I probably should have got an older horse but I didn’t we got Moo and I’m going to give it the best shot with proper help to make it work ... then if it doesn’t I tried... oh and we’re getting rid of that saddle !