From: Heather
Dear Dr. Jahiel:
I hope this question reaches you and somehow you can answer it. I found your web site tonight, and have been hours reading through everything. It is WONDERFUL!!!! We really need your help.
My 16 year old son (145 lbs) and I (his 'nervous nellie' but horse mad 205 lb mother) have just bought a young thoroughbred gelding a couple of months short of 4 years old.
We live in the Dominican Republic and heavier, more experienced horses are hard to come by.
We want to share him this youngster - me for some gentle schooling, perhaps a little hacking later on, and my son for show jumping eventually. When my son leaves for university in another 2 years, the horse will be pretty much for me alone. We have taken lessons for a couple of years at riding schools - but are really beginners. This is our first horse. And we adore him! His name is Mister Darcy - after Jane Austen's famous other handsome gentleman in Pride and Prejudice. He was brought to the Dominican Republic as a 2 yr.old from a thoroughbred racing farm in Florida. I don't know if he ever raced, but it is likely he did a few times.
He is a lovely horse, gentle and kind and as good as gold to lead, walk alongside of, in the barn, to saddle etc. Since we bought him, we together with an instructor have been schooling him, about 2 hours a day. First the instructor rides him for about 20 mins., then my son for about 30 min. and then me. Sometimes it is just my son and I. The first couple of weeks he was fine. Lately though, just the last few days, he has become stubborn and hard to go forward. My son is more determined and when he 'acts up' by refusing, is able to coax him forward. He is much 'braver' than me - and uses his legs more firmly and slaps his rump.
In my case, at times, (sometimes throughout the ride - or towards the end) the horse just point blank refuses to turn or return to the circle, and tosses his head angrily, and walks/flounces backwards a bit. I am a nervous rider and while I try to 'drive him forward with my legs' I am afraid of his head tossing and turning. I also hate it when he walks back and I don't want to worsen the situation by getting into a fight with him. So I usually just let him stand for a few seconds till he gets bored, or turn him, and usually he goes forward. Today though he was worse, and quite a pain. The first 10 minutes I was on him - he was clearly agitated and unhappy. After a few minutes of struggling with him, I gave him more rein and that seemed to work - for a while.
I worry that I am too heavy for him. I also worry that maybe he is too young and gets too tired. That a total of 1.5 - 2 hours a day is too much for him - or that 2 - 3 riders is too confusing. And that this is why he is refusing. Or then I think it is that he has figured out that I am a 'nervous nellie' and is pulling my leg. But the fact that it happens a bit with my son also, (although with much less success) makes me wonder again. Whatver it is, we are crazy about this horse, and very determined to 'get it right'!! So please advise.
We have been borrowing a saddle since we bought him and it seemed to be OK - a French all purpose saddle. But it isn't for sale. Today I tried an Argentinean all purpose 17.5 " saddle and he was much worse, very unhappy from when I got on. Although not so with my son. We used a riser pad under it to protect his back. But is it the change from my son to me? Or the saddle? Or is he just tired and knows he can get away with it with me.
Your help would be great!!
Heather
You are right: he's being asked to do far too much, too soon. He is still very young, and half an hour of light riding once a day would be sufficient ridden work at this time. If he were being schooled by an expert, that person might, on occasion, feel that it would be acceptable to ride a little longer -- perhaps forty minutes.
You have to consider that novice riders, whatever their weight, are difficult for young, untrained horses to carry. Even a small, light child can exhaust and injure a young horse's delicate back, just because the child's position and balance are not good, or predictable, and the horse has to tense against the bumping and bouncing. The bumping and bouncing will make the horse sore, and so will the tension!
It's not just a matter of rider weight; rider ability is the main issue. Some very good trainers are very heavy, but their expertise allows them to ride well and train effectively, and their sensitivity to the horse and its reactions allows them to recognize when the horse can no longer carry them comfortably or when there is a tack problem, etc.
Weight IS an issue, however, when a horse is being trained and conditioned. A sound, sturdy horse can be trained to carry a rider and conditioned to carry a heavy rider (assuming an able rider and correctly-fitting tack). But this doesn't happen instantly, or even quickly; it takes time to develop the horse's muscles and bones and support structures so that he can carry weight without sustaining damage.
Mister Darcy sounds like a lovely young horse, and all of his behaviour problems appear to be nothing more than his trying to tell you, in the only way he can, that he is doing too much and that he is in pain. For instance, he told you quite clearly that the Argentine saddle hurt him. He may be able to tolerate it a little better when a lighter rider is on his back, but that doesn't mean that it fits well. ANY problem with saddle fit will be exacerbated when a heavier rider is in the saddle; the painful pressure that is just barely tolerable with a lighter rider may be completely unbearable with a heavier one.
This means that although saddle fit is important for every horse and every rider, it's desperately important when the rider is heavy, because of the extra pressure involved. A good saddle that fits the horse well and is large enough for the rider will make a huge difference to the horse's comfort. A good saddle that fits the horse but is too small for the rider will hurt the horse, because in a too-small saddle, the rider's weight is concentrated over the cantle, which then presses down into the horse's back.
I'm surprised that your instructor is encouraging you and your son to ride the horse for 1.5 - 2.0 hours each day. It would make much more sense for the instructor to ride the horse for twenty minutes, your son to ride him for ten, and then for you to put the horse back in his field; then the next day, it could be fifteen minutes for your son and fifteen for you, and put the horse back in the field. The horse won't learn faster and do better and develop more quickly if he is ridden too long and put into pain every day -- he would actually do better if he were ridden for a short time five or six days a week, or even every other day, and allowed to recover from his effort in between rides. In this way, the horse could make progress without sustaining damage. It may seem that this would be slow, but in fact it would be faster.
In the meantime, your instructor should be giving you and your son lessons on trained school horses that are in a suitable condition to allow you to ride for longer periods of time, and that are well-trained enough that you can learn the skills and balance that will help your young horse when you ride him.
If you can bring yourselves to allow this young horse to grow up a little, and help him to develop the body that will enable him to carry you comfortably, then by the time your son goes away to school, you should have a very pleasant and enjoyable horse to ride. He truly does sound like a typical sweet young Thoroughbred -- please give him the time and appropriate work to let him develop into the kind of horse you want him to be.
Jessica
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