Rebacking/Bringing On Youngster

Question
QUESTION: I bought my just turned 4 yr old, a year ago. He was broken, lunging & hacking out once or twice a week. I was told he was alot older but turned out he was closer to 2 yrs... I had been hacking him out before I discovered this but I decided to turn him away for the winter. Before he was good as gold, very quiet & unflappable. Now he hates going out on his own & (despite living on a farm) has decided to flee from tractors while out! I have therefore decided he needs alot more basic training in the school, groundwork past scarey objects etc. I have never owned a youngster before. My question is what exercises do you suggest to educate his young brain & spookproof him? & why do you think he has changed so dramatically? He is a cob & I have heard that they can start off very quiet then turn into lunatics! :S I hope this is not the case cause he is a very special boy in every other respect. He gets very bored being lunged too much! I very rarely have the option of having anyone to help out, so is pretty much always just me on my own! Am feeling abit clueless about bringing on a youngster to be honest! It is not an option to pay for him to go to a trainer & come back perfect & to be honest we have a very good bond & I would like to be the one who helps him become a trained riding horse not a stranger! Many thanks

ANSWER: Are there other horses around?  Is he a gelding?  Is he closer to 3 now, or 4?  Are his teeth allright?

What is he being fed?  How old are you?  Do you have a round pen, and is horse stalled too?

I have found that the more matter of fact you act around a horse of any age, the calmer they will generally be.  If you have a tendency to chatter at him, especially in a higher pitched voice, that many times will hype a horse up.  And the more the person carries on about "you're all right" the more the horse decides that there was something to be fearful of.

Keep your movements calm, deliberate and sensible.  Do everything very matter of fact, whether it is picking up his feet, or bathing him, or saddling him.  If you try something with him, and he gets upset, stay with it.  Back off enough so that he settles, but don't let him feel that he has won by giving up.  Watch his body language too, for signs that he is calming and comfortable, but don't baby him.

I like portions of sheets, or a towel to rub with, the rubbing and the movement of the cloth is good to get them calmer.  You can also use the towel to rub up and down his legs, with one end in each hand, and see sawing back and forth like you do when you dry your back after a shower.

Expose him to differing things, a sponge bath, water from the hose, moving him over and back to you and leading him and teaching him to back.

Many horses have a different personality from 2 to 4-5 years.  They will change completely it seems.  

If you have a round pen, work him with a saddle on, and also driving him will help give him something to do, as well as long lining.  Make sure that you devote time to both sides, it helps to saddle from both sides as well.

He may also want to "play at being scared" much as he would with pasture mates.  If you watch horses in a pasture much, young ones, many times they will decide the booger man is out there and spook and run.  Kind of like recess for kids.  He may just be feeling frisky.

And if you up his work, he will come out of some of that.

The tractor might have startled him one day, or someone might have driven by and thrown something off of one, or he just might have decided that was a good thing to be "scared" of for the fun of it.

It may also be partly the spring grass, or the feed or hay he is getting too.  Possible that too much energy is being fed, and he is just full of himself.

Don't worry, just be steady with him, expect him to act like he has some sense, and if you try one thing, and don't get the result you wanted, step back and try something else.  Rarely will you make a mistake so drastic that you can't start over.




---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for your response. I am in the UK. He is kept at livery with 10 other horses, although they all have their own seperate paddocks. He is not stabled, only comes into his stable for grooming, tacking up etc. He is a gelding & turned 4 a week ago. I havent had his teeth checked recently, but surely he would respond in a negative way towards everything, not just tractors, if this was the case?! He is fed a handful of chaff & a sprinkling of high fibre pony nuts just as a gesture feed! The grass in his paddock is pretty well eaten down, so no fresh lush grazing! There is no round pen, but we do have a fenced off schooling area! I am 27 years old, I have been working with & riding horses for 16 years. I do see myself as someone who is not completely clueless about understanding behaviour to train an animal, using firm but fair methods etc & I certainly have the patience & do not flap or scream when things dont go to plan! I know certain tips on how to not tense up such as distracting myself away from the on coming problem humming to myself! (all these things I have learnt from my experience training my aggresive rescue Rottweiler X dog!!!)

Answer
Are you riding him when he is trying to flee the tractors?

Teeth were something I thought of, in case you were riding him, maybe he was tensing mouth on bit, and having pain from one.  He might not tighten up so with other things.  Just a thought.

He may really have just "come into his own" over this last year or so, growing up, and deciding to try more things on you.  And out with you may be the best chance to express his energy, and blow off some steam.

I am glad you are older, was thinking at first you were much younger, and not experienced.

I would say that just working patiently with him, and taking your time is going to be your best bet.  

And glad you aren't a flapper or screamer too, and are willing to work with him patiently.

Other than just calm restarting him, or bringing him along, I really think time is the best thing here.  You sound sensible, and willing to take the time needed here.