"Hi,
I have a six year old Wesfalen warmblood gelding. We bought him as a five year old and he seemed to be the perfect horse- very well schooled, listened to me when riding and on the ground, very enthusiastic jumper and confident out hacking. However shortly after we got him our grazing turned to mud and he lost a lot of weight over the winter, developed mud fever and was severely bullied when we put them in a new field and so he had a couple of months out of work. Once again our luck was out when after being back in work for only a couple of weeks he had his routine dental check up only to discover he had valvular diastema and once again he was out of work for a month for the operation and healing time. He hadn't shown any discomfort at all before this was noticed. When we brought him back into work again is when all our trouble started. He had become very attached to our other mare and when we went to take him out on his own he would get very bargy and refuse to be bridled and out hacking became a fight with him not working for me, taking off, spooking etc. We have had his back checked and replaced his saddle, had his teeth checked, changed his bit and his noseband from a flash to a grakle and all seems to be ok now. Except that now he has gone to the opposite end of the spectrum - he has got very quiet and slow. Very unresponsive when riding just plods along like a cob isn't fussed by anything and doesn't even flinch when i use the whip. He routinely gallops about the field and will eventually step up a gear but not without a fight and it takes a lot of effort from both of us. Could this be him challenging me due to him being young and he has learnt that he isn't going to get me to give in if he is strong and takes off as I never fell off him? Or could it be that he has forgotten what all the aids mean and is a totally confused baby because although he is 6 everyone thinks he looks and acts about 4.
Any advice or ideas in how to get my lovely boy back to him self would be much appreciated.
Thanks Ealána"
H&C blogger and natural horsemanship guru Kelly Marks replies:
"A good place to start with this problem would be his diet. What is in his diet? Ideally a fibre based feed is required to help keep horses on an even keel; this is what they have evolved on. We need to try and avoid cereals, pulses, starches and sugar. Sometimes feeds may be called calm something or natural something but they are anything but if you read the list of ingredients! We also need to be careful feeding haylage as opposed to hay as again the energy levels can be much higher. This time of year may also find horses spending more time in stables but still being fed a lot of high energy feed.
It would be great to long line your horse to get him used to new things while feeling safer not being on his back. Also having a friend with a steady older horse to keep you company anytime you may feel nervous is always a great asset!
At Intelligent Horsemanship we have over 40 Recommended Associates (RAs) all of whom have trained intensively with me. They are able to offer owners home visits to help with worries and concerns that horses and owners may be experiencing and giving a huge amount of support. They will look at the whole picture, discussing the routine you have with your horse. A full list of the RAs can be found at www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk They also teach long lining!
I have a further selection of educational books and DVDs which cover a broad spectrum of horse psychology, problem solving and building confidence amongst much more. All of my books and Dually halters are available from our online shop along with information about the Educational Courses that we run through each year.
Good luck with your horse.
Kelly"
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