Ok, I Need Some Serious Advice Here

am sorry you are having a hrad time FL. I You know I can sympathise after my experiences. :eek: I was just reading my new book - Pippa Funnels 'Training Young Horses' and it interesting to read what she says about youngsters being in 1 of 3 categories and how some are always going to be more bolshy. I really admire your perseverence - but I felt a lot happier about some of my decisions when I also read in the same book that its ok to sometimes accept a youngster isnt going to work for you and to pass it on to someone else for whom it will. Good luck :) I dont have the sort of experience you have though - but all the same I sympathise with how you are feeling.
 
Sounds like you have found a kindred spirit there in angelfben. :D

Always useful to have someone you can yarn things over with that knows what you are going through. :)
 
Oh no, I don't give up that easily, if necessary I 'call in the reserves':D

I am well up for the challenge, if finding it frustrating en-route now and then.

I am certainly not for 'throwing the towel in' as yet, if it reaches a point where I think I am doing him no real favours then maybe it will be time to think again, but I think I know myself well enough to KNOW if I reach that point.

However, first things first, blood test to check his levels and take it from there. It is however, great to know that there is someone on here i.e. angelfben, who totally understands where I am coming from and has been there and done it. Many thanks to all of you for taking the time to reply, I will keep you all updated. Meanwhile, 'Morse, here I come, yet again';) Emma H, who has already met Morse, will understand exactly what I am talking about, she SAW what I mean, lol.
 
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fairlady said:
Oh no, I don't give up that easily, if necessary I 'call in the reserves':D
I am well up for the challenge, if finding it frustrating en-route now and then.
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ahh good on you FL, sending positive vibes your way:) Good luck with the blood tests.
 
Thanks everyone, especially angelfben, saved my sanity, lol. Emma H you are a glutton for punishment:D Will ring you tomorrow......did pm you about a meet up with Showjumper and Neptune, but will speak to you tomorrow:D

Thanks again everyone, will get some photos when Emma comes down:D OR a video......then you will see. but there would be a fair few 'bleeps' on it:D
 
fairlady said:
Thanks everyone, especially angelfben, saved my sanity, lol. Emma H you are a glutton for punishment:D Will ring you tomorrow......did pm you about a meet up with Showjumper and Neptune, but will speak to you tomorrow:D

Thanks again everyone, will get some photos when Emma comes down:D OR a video......then you will see. but there would be a fair few 'bleeps' on it:D
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sounds good :)

i think there's a problem with Pms not getting through and to me though :(

i'll have to give you my email address
 
I would get the blood test down for peace of mind. If he is a Rig then you can try and rectify the problem.

However if he is not a rig and is just a dominate character you are going to have fun and games:) He also sounds quite an intelligent horse. If you have the opportunity I would throw him into a larger herd of mares, sounds like Coco will sort him out. Mares do not suffer fools gladly and will put a cheeky young horse in his place particularly if there are a few mares together.

Good luck with him:)
 
Good Luck fairlady. You are one gutsy lady! Remember he's a welshie- they like to pretend they don't really need us...!
 
Hi Fairlady. I think its wise to trust your instinct and get the vet to run tests. At least that way you will know exactly what you are dealing with. From the behaviour you describe I would come to the came idea - that he may be a rig or alternatively that he may have been cut late.
there is of course the possibility that he is not a rig and just very dominant but its best to find out first. I think you have been doing a great job with him so far
 
angelfben and fairlady I soooo know where ** coming from!!!!!

Defo have him tested for being a rig as the piles in the corner could be a little sus, however, I do know geldings that do this (but thinking about it they were all cut late so that could be an option) is there any means of turning him out with either a much larger herd or with one or two really dominant older horses? Sounds mean but he'll probs take more notice of being threatened by the boss in the field. We used to have a section a that was a handful so he was turned away in a herd of 40 for a month every year to knock him down a peg or two - worked every time!!! Other than that just pure repetition I think and just make sure that however dominant he is that you are more so (without picking fights) do u think join up would help? Put u more in line with his herd members maybe?
 
Just read this thread with interest. :)

I was in a similar position a few years ago and I ended up getting my horse blood tested after coming under considerable pressure from other liveries/RI. All came back negative and I just have to live with the fact that he is a very male horse. Afterwards the vet told me he had performed hundreds of tests and not one had come back positive! :rolleyes:

But I had to know as Jez was virtually uncontrollable around mares, I couldn'd ride out with them at all. Its the only time he has really frightened me. Funnily enough he calmed down loads when we moved to a yard where he was turned out in a mixed herd, its as though he has established himself and could pester mares all day long so wasn't interested when being ridden. He is still very dominant in the field and with the mares and geldings 'beneath' him he herds them round the field biting at their legs which I've been told is another 'boy' trait. And of course all summer he is permanently tired as he spends all day climbing over the mares!
 
Well as I have already stated I sincerely hope he is not a rig and that I am WRONG, but I honestly think it is worthwhile getting it checked out. Did try to speak to the vet this morning but they are all out and about so will have a chat this pm and see what they say.

The only way I could put him in with a bigger herd is by moving him and quite honestly that is not an option, its lovely where I am, there are a few downsides like the traffic, but the yard and people far outweigh the negatives, but maybe putting him in with the Mare is worth thinking about, but she is very particular about who she allows in with her:D

I guess to be honest I also have to remember he is still very much 'a baby' being quite a late foal being born in June of 05. As I said last night I am not about to throw in the towel, I am sure we will get there. Morse is like the nursery rhyme 'when he is good, he is very very good, and when he is bad he is horrid':D But I guess that could be applied to all horses:D

Perhaps I am also having a bit of a case of the 'Winter Blues' its a hard time of year to fit everything in to give him any 'quality time' and everything has to be done in semi darkness, in a bit of a rush, especially with me working shifts. When the lighter nights/mornings come I can get him out and about a bit more and seeing more and things will be more interesting for him as well. Thanks for all your good wishes, will keep you all updated.
 
......I don't nag or ask anymore, I insist.....

I may be picking you up wrong here but going on the above comment perhaps - whilst trying to establish you as a leader - this method is making him disrespect you.
It should be, you suggest (ask) first, then put more pressure on in another 3 stages, this way he gets to realise that whilst you ARE his friend and you are asking him in a respectful way, at the end of the day you will apply enough pressure to (for want of a better word) demand!
This is applicable in everything you do. He will be looking for your weak point from the moment you get onto the yard.............
 
Hi Fairlady, you obviously have loads of experience (and I have zilch so will not try to offer advice!) Just to reassure you though, if he is a rig it isn't the end of the world. I share a field with a huuuugggeee horse who is 5 years old. He was a rig but had an op in the late Summer to rectify things. His field behaviour is miles better, he was becoming very aggressive to the others, and my horse in particular was bearing the brunt of it. Things go so much better very quickly, I'd say within 2 weeks of the op he was a different animal. Unfortunately he still has no ground manners and pushes people around all the time, but that's not his fault if you get my drift. He could be a great horse with the right owner.
 
What I mean is he is brought in, his feet have to be picked out, he has been in a muddy field and also walks through a trail of smelly silage.

I run my hand down his leg to his foot say the 'up' and attempt to lift his foot, its difficult without someone at his head as he moves around all over the place. If he has someone talking at his head more often than not you can lift his foot, once you have it, you can pick it out quite easily, and to be fair to him, with someone at his head, he will stand there. I then place his foot back on the ground and tell him he is a Good Boy, move on to the next, by this time he is fidgeting and tossing his head and this is how it goes on. Once I have his foot, I support it between my legs and pick it out and he is fine, however as soon as you place it on the ground, off he goes, head tossing and fidgeting again, hence the twitching by hand on his nose so that you do not get butted..... I don't grab or snatch, but it has to be done, I don't lift his leg/foot any higher than I need to therefore making it uncomfortable for him or shifting him off balance. I honestly cannot think of any other way to do it other than not doing his feet at all for a while and starting again, but I do not really feel that is an option either. I attempted that by leaving them for a week and just generally making a fuss of him when he came in for a week or so, but when starting again it was just the same.

He is anxious to get into his stable for his food/hay and I have even let him eat first and then do his feet, but it makes no difference, he just does not like it, simple as that. Sometimes, you can do his front feet on your own, but neither myself or YO have managed to do the back feet on our own as yet. We thought that with consistant/repetitive actions he would soon look for the easy way 'i.e. get this done then I go in and get my food' but it does not seem to work that way. I have even done his feet whilst he is eating, and again managed, but to be honest I do not agree with that, I do not think he should be disturbed whilst having his bucket feed, I personally think that is unfair, I never allow anyone to mess around with my dogs whilst they are eating, and I don't see it should be any different with Morse.
 
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fairlady said:
HAVE YOU MET MY HORSE:D

You have just described him to a T.

He is not nasty in any way, not out to 'get' you, n'or is he stupid, far from it, but he will argue the toss all the way, daily, again and again, over the same thing you 'won' yesterday:D He just likes to 'test you' again and again, even though I am sure he knows he is gonna be the loser, he just wants to try, just in case he 'gets lucky':D
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He sounds a bit like my horse, although he is ten times better he still has a go at getting his own way but does give in quickly but still has a try each and every time certain situations come up. Hes a suspected rig by some people too, he mounts mares, batters gelding and so on. I personally just think hes a chavey horse who is just a bit of a jumped up little s***, not a rig.
 
Ha, you are probably right:D You have obviously heard me talking to him, I often refer to him as a 'jumped up little S***':D
 
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