Should I sell my horse?

Question

He is a 8 yr old, 17.3 Trakahner warmblood and i have only had him for 1 year, but he is so strong! and I do hunters and i cant get him to do lead changes he runs through them and he frustrates me so much but he wins every hack class and i have jumped him over 5 foot but he runs and takes off in shows and i cant stop him what should i do?

Heres a picture of him

http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b7/Carachelsea/FertileGreenFarms.jpg

Answer 1

A big horse like that does not mature physically untill 5 or 6 and that is when the growth plates in his long bones fuse.  Untill then (and beyond because he is very tall) his balance is constantly changing.  I assume he is a gelding and that further complicates the balannce issue for him because an intact male has a hormone that STOPS long bone growth.  The gelding doesn't have that hormone, so he grows just a little taller than he normally would after the regular growth spurt.  

The problems you are having are all at times of really stressful balance requirements for the horse.  Your lead changes?  Go remedial.  Do your lead changes through the trot, change rein, pick up canter new lead.  At first, you will need several trot steps to change rein, then just three, then two, then one, then -boom- flying change without a loss of balance.  Have you ever trained a horse before? Even if you have not, there is no reason you should not be able to go back to the basics yourself and re-teach yourseslf the mechanics of movements.  

If he runs out after a jump, he's jumping too high and he's trying to catch his balance by running to catch up with it.  You should not be jumping 5 feet on him unless you are free jumping him.  Again, go back to the basics and get his confidence up.  Start with cavaletti, change rein over the cavaletti.  Build him with the basics.  His balance and trust will be increased by the basics.  Yours will increase as well.  Stay out of the show ring for a little while unless you have a little rinky dink one you can enter for experience.  Or even to attend but not to enter so he feels like he's a good guy and enjoys the show.

I get the feeling you are young and you have waited a long time for this horse.  He is young too and you can learn a lot from him by teaching him.  In the meantime, you can ride other horses too and it's not cheating.

(Yes, he's a good looking horse, but don't keep him JUST because he's beautiful! )

People will tell you to get a stronger bit, but I would argue that will make him heavier and even stronger.  Fix his balance by giving him time to find it on his own.  In Germany and Poland they do not even get on until the horse is 5 years old and then they don't use anything stronger than a loosering snaffle until the horse had graduated to a stronger bit.  It's never a matter of force.

Lots of circles and keeping him busy will help him find his balance both side to side and front to back.  

And if you are not willing to put in the work, sell him.

Answer 2

You should keep him, he just needs practice, he's probably afraid when he hits the ground afterward.  Or maybe he was taught to run after he makes the jump.  But, he's a beautiful boy, you should not sell him.

Answer 3

He's gorgeous! :)

I'd personally get a trainer to come in and help you work with him. Don't sell him unless you're absolutely sure. If you're even doubting selling him, don't do it.  

Again, he's way too beautiful to be sold. :)

Answer 4

He is still pretty young, I might consider putting him into training with an accomplished instructor or trainer to get rid of some of his bad habits.  If you are really fed up with him, then I guess you could sell him, but I think you might want to give it a little more time.  He seems to have potential if he can jump over 5ft, and it would really suck to sell him and in a few years see him again at a show as a seasoned beautiful jumper.  Just a thought.

Answer 5

i don't think that you should sell him, but if you need the money you could sell him (only if you have to!!!!) and then get like a cheaper horse.

u should just get a trainer to come work with him.

Answer 6

I had a similar prob with a pony i used to ride and it got to the point where nobody could ride him beca he was so strong.

You need to exercise as much as possible it doesn't need to be long or hard it could be doing a little bit longer of a warm up than usual and then taking him on a trail. Also adding a 10 minute lundge before you saddle and after you saddle 5 min each way if he's full of energy on the lundge line you could do longer. If he's not moving at all use a lunge whip. just crack it behind his butt a few times.

You also might need a stronger bit!! My quarter horse was very head strong so I ased my trainer what he suggested and his opinion was a stronger hackamore or bit. I barrel race so I can't give you a suggestion on what type of bit to use though.

But I wouldn't give up on him If you guys are doing so well beca I was going to do the same thing with my quarter horse and 3 monthes after changing hackamores I became a youth world finalist and i am one of the top 136 youth barrel racers in the world. because of that horse. You can be amazed by what the little changes can do.  : )

Answer 7

noo don't sell him just because of ONE problem! it may be a couple problems but every pron\blem can be fixed =)

it all depends on how much you truly care about your horse if you really like him then work throught it if he scares you and you don't even like riding him them get a horse that likes you

Answer 8

dont work super hard with him you can keep him for riding

Answer 9

Maybe you can get an instructer or an experienced person to work with him on lead changes and keeping him from running out of control.Sometimes they have monthly classes at a training center and they'll work with your horse for a month,the price is around $100-$500.

He's really beautiful!(:

Good Luck!;;

Answer 10

you need to get him in to some classes and get him a trainer because he needs one. he sounds like a wonderful horse... if i was you i would keep him but that is just me...

Answer 11

The answer to your question lies within what you want to and are able to do to fix the issues you're having.

Do you just want a horse that you can go out and ride without having to do a bunch of schooling?  Don't get me wrong...there's nothing wrong with that,  I myself don't enjoy the challenge like I used to, and I want a predictable, steady, seasoned, quiet horse to putz around with on the trail.  Just a matter of preference, we can't all want the same things.

Or, can you handle the challenge, but don't have means or access for a trainer to help you work out these issues?

If either of those is the case, you should look for somebody more suited to what you enjoy.  This is supposed to be enjoyable, sometimes people forget that.

Otherwise, if you're up for the challenge and can get some help with schooling him, keep him for awhile and see what progress you make.

Answer 12

Beauty is as beauty does.  You sound overmounted, so unless you have the time and money to invest in having him trained further, you should sell him and look for a better match. It isn't fun to deal with this kind of behavior.

Answer 13

my own opinion, if you cant control this horse and put work into the horse, then what other horse could you possibly get at his level and still control?

get a trainer, and work with the trainer and horse thru your issues, b/c telling you this now, as with anything in life, you cant just get rid of something that you have an issue with, get something new and expect never to have that issue again.  having trouble with someone at work, leave that job b/c you dont like that person, you are bound to find someone at the new job you feel the same way about as the person you left the last job for. same with horses.

if you're just going to sell a horse like that b/c you cant handle it and didnt get help is  just going to lead to you back here asking bout the next horse if you should get rid of it.

Answer 14

Try working with a trainer or riding instructor if you don't already.  That's a problem that should be fixable.  There's no reason you can't correct the issues your having and be able to enjoy riding that horse for atleast another 15 years.