My horse getting more spooky!

Thanks Dana!  I appreciate the input.....and I totally agree with what you are saying.
 
This is obviously the first time I have had to deal with this type of character building situation.....so it's all new ground to me.
 
My last horse was 15 when I got him, and he remained very predictable no matter how long it was that I hadn't ridden him. 
 
I have seen him progress with consistent visits and training, but yes like you say the weather and the business make it hard to stay consistent.  I do have plans for next year to really get more opportunity as my youngest daughter enters high and I have two years of dropping her off near the barn at 7:30am which will give me time each day to work with my horse!!!  So....I just need to hold it together for a while longer and all should be fine.  An exercise rider would be great too....
 
Horse is really gently, and he loves to be with me.....so I think we have a good foundation....
 
Patience right?  As long as we stick with some other horses for now during our trail rides, we will be cool.
 
Thanks again Dana......
 
Eric
 
 
 

Patience and consistancy, Eric.  They are your best friends.  I have heard it said by many Dressage riders that a horse is in his prime from about ten to fifteen years old. 

Ok.....so this past weekend things were going pretty good!  Friday, Saturday...two good trail rides with a barn buddy.  All going pretty well.
 
Sunday back to the routine and we enter the arena to walk around before leaving for our ride......and I get on, sit, wait......decide to put my jacket on and he freaks out and bolts down the rail of the arena full speed kicking backwards with each stride like he's trying to get rid of whatever he thinks I am putting on him or me. 
 
After the third stride, I decide to bull dog the rail, and get off.....pretty cleanly I might add, and landed with both heels dug into the sand of the arena, and land on my butt.  No worse for wear I walk over to him at the far end of the arena and he's shaking like a leaf!
 
We settle down, and I re-saddle due to a small shift in the pad, and we ride together in the arena for 30 minutes or so.....then I just stood there with him at the rail while talking to friends.  My jacket over the rail, it falls off under his nose and he gets really scared!  Soft jacket with no sound.  I re-create the jacket falling off the rail at different moments and he obviously is scared of the movement.....I quit him on a calm note and put him away.
 
I am gettin too old for this ssshhhhhhh........!   He's gettin worse...not better.  To be fair, I haven't been putting in more than 2-3 days per week...so I am not sure I am giving him enough attention....but he isn't getting younger...he's getting older!
 
WHAT DO YOU GUYS THINK about if I send him to full training up North of here where he can be ridden as a Ranch horse.....trailered, work with cows, some training too when they aren't working the cows.  Do you think if I leave him up for there for a full season....4-6 months, he would come back and it would stick?  I have this opportunity to send him up with some friends, and he would be worked by one of the cowboys who commonly works with their own colts. 
 
My concern is that he will go back to his old ways shortly after coming back here when I can't ride him as much.....or do you all think because he will be a bit older, it will stick longer than when I first got him as a 4 year old and he only had a years training?
 
Thanks for any thoughts.....this is a big decision.  Other choices are to bring on a lease partner who will help me train and ride him....or I could sell him and trade up for an older horse with more foundation. 
 
Thanks again for the input,
 
Eric

Eric, I'm new here.  What breed is your horse.  It's kinda hard to judge from an avatar.  Also, have you ever had his eyes checked?

[quote=studeclunker]

Eric, I'm new here.  What breed is your horse.  It's kinda hard to judge from an avatar.  Also, have you ever had his eyes checked?


That's funny you should ask that......as that is exactly what my old horse pro just asked me!  I have not, but I will!
 
My wife and I decided this morning to sell the horse and look for an older horse for me that will be more predictable.  He's a real sweetheart, but I don't feel like I am giving him all the time he needs.  It's a very sad feeling when you consider losing your buddy that you have put so much love into....but I think he will be better off with someone that can give him more attention for now......I am sure as he matures, he won't need as much time. 
 
Maybe he does have some eye issues, but I never sensed that.
 
Thanks!
 
Eric

Oh sorry....he's a registered quarter horse.  A real cow horse, very well bred by a long lasting ranch in Northern California Brooks Quarter Horses

That's a really hard decision to make but hopefully the right one for you.  You need a horse that can sit for a while and be the same reliable horse you were on last time.  It's a good time to buy.  I get horse ads from horse people I know all the time.  Do you need to sell him before you start to look?  Got one yesterday: 
 
Plum Fun is a bright reddish bay registered quarter horse gelding w/chrome, about 15.3h, 17 yrs. old, trailers, clips, etc.  He needs an intermediate-experienced rider, not due to bad behavior, but because he is/was a superb cutting horse, and he responds RIGHT NOW to leg and weight cues. Karren wants to find him a home where he will be ridden on trails. due to concerns about the possible effects cuttin/showing might have on him. She has ridden him on trails all over this part of California. In company and alone; he is excellent on trail. She would like $200.00 for him OR would take a mini cart/harness in trade. Her highest priority, however, is to find Plum a home where he will be well cared for, loved, and ridden  For more informtion, call Karren  c- 951 285 3855, h-951 353 0105  (thanks for getting this out there, Anne Wade-Hornsby)

Thanks Dana......I will let you know when I am in the market.
 
I moved this horse yesterday morning after doing some desensitizing exercises with him and some trail riding over the weekend.  He loaded straight away and did a great job.
 
He is settling in at his new barn, a wonderful location in Newberry Park. 
 
Now I am anxious to see how he handles the daily work that he will get there as a trail guide horse, and the owner will be having his wranglers work with him each day. 
 
This is really a good test to see how a young horse which was once very solid after a year of consistent training, loses his confidence after 7 months of not-so-consistent training....becoming spooky.......then goes back to confident with a more regular routine.  Let's hope this turns out positive, and I will keep everyone posted so we can learn from my mistakes and experiences.
 
For now....I am excited and happy about the new experience to come.
 
Best regards to all,
 
Eric