I'm sophie. I've a QH 7 years old. I left Sparky with a trainer for one year. This trainer is very good, he really love horses. Sparky was an horse with behaviors problems.when I bought he was a stallion. Now, with more patience, Sparky has become a peaceful horse. I'm so happy because I think when he was young, he was mistreated. In the past I've made some calf races with him. I would like to continue. I sure he like this. he missing one thing... he don't make lead changes. the trainer tell me he so old for teach him this. When he prove to tell him this, Sparky bucks and angry. So he told me that sparky arrived at the most that could be done. So now I can't made any race. this movement is so important in all the type of races I like... reining, working cow... what can I do ? He's really old for learn this ??
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Hi Sophie!
Nice to hear, that he progressed so much in his behaviour!
No, he's not too old to learn lead changes! Any horse is born with an instinct that lets it change leads automatically in freedom. But our domasticated horses "forget" how to change leads when they are getting older. There are a lot of videos on this Uni, telling about how to change leads and what the cues are like. A 7-year-old is a young horse, and even old horses can learn it (except the are ill, for example arthritis).
A reason for his bucking and getting angry when giving the cues to change leads might a physical one. Maybe he had an accident, when he was younger? This could cause a lifelong pain in his back, if you do not act and fix the cause. I would advise you to consult a chiropractor for horses. This will be expensive, but it is really worth the effort.
I hope I was able to help you.
Yours Jasmin
I agree with renjaho. I have the chiropractor see my horse once a quarter as a check up but I dont think it is expensive at all.
@ horselover:
What do you pay for a check up by your horse chiropractor? I'm really interested in that point, because I will start to learn chiropractic for horses and dogs in October this year.
Yours Jasmin from Hamburg, Germany
Wow, unless you are already a human chiropractor or a vet, I dont believe the Equine and animal chiropractic is available to everyone here in US. I pay him $90 and if he comes and my horse does not have anything that is in need of an adjustment, he does not charge for barn call. I understand that that is not necessarily every chiropractor's policy. Also, I have noticed, atleast at my stable, that the vet chiropractor adjusts with an instrument and do know, that using that instrument will barely touch the vertebra of the horse due to the thick muscles of the back. I am therefore not a fan of her adjusting my horse. I believe she charges less but dont know how much. Hope this helps and glad to hear that you are going to get a chiropractor for your horse. I wished all riders would get adjusted themselves too. I do see the ones who compete at my stable definetly have their own chiropractor to make sure their misalignment does not impact their riding and their score. I love my human chiropractor :-)
Sophie,
It may be time to switch trainers. Horses are never too old to learn to change leads--they can do it naturally without a rider without being taught. I suggest that what is happening with Sparky is that he is not understanding the cues the trainer is giving him, and is acting out his frustration by bucking. To me, that means that you need to back up with him and make sure the basics he needs to understand your cues for a lead change are solidly understood. He's most likely missing or is not really good at one of those points. Monty's got some good data on leads changes here on the uni. You can also look on Julie Goodnight's website for info as well. And by all means, clear the horse of any pain issues, either with chiropractic or with a professional saddle fitting session. Good luck and don't give up--you both can do this!
Sophie,
At the tender age of 7, Sparky is definitely not too old to learn something new. Many (dressage) horses won't be taught to do (flying) changes on rider's cue before that age.
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If we assume that he isn't in pain or have a stiffness somewhere that prevents the move, it isn't too uncommon for horses to buck when asked to change leads. Some will learn quickly in one direction and then play up in the other, as it is - literally - a whole new game to them.
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Things that could get in your way - aside from physical problems - is:
attitude - I don't want to do this on command!
dexterity - your horse needs to be able to move his feet quickly to make a clean flying change
form - if his weight is on his forehand or the hind legs behind him, he won't be able to execute a change, and *needs* to buck to keep his balance.
confusion - he doesn't understand the aids and bucks, instead of change, to maintain his balance. If this results in his "problem" (your aids) going away, he will think you wanted him to buck. Same goes for praising him for a change that came by through a buck. They need several attempts to sort out what exactly you want from them.
rider inability - the rider is unfamiliar with lead changes, or simply too novice, and don't know how to execute the aids properly. Teaching yourself and the horse simultaneously isn't always working. This is easily solved by asking a competent rider teach the horse, and maybe the rider can get lessons on a horse who already knows how to do changes correctly.
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Monty has some great lessons in flying changes!
Otherwise, unless you have tried this already, you could break it down into canter - walk - canter (new lead) and shorten the amount of steps at a walk until it's down to one.
Key to make that work is to really *ride* the transitions and collect the canter before asking for a walk and then ask for an energetic, collected walk so you get short, quick steps and lots of energy in the first steps of the new canter.
Not sure this is applicable to Western riding, but horses are horses. ;)
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Just remember that while a free horse have no problems doing any number of flying changes, making them do them on cue is one really tough nut to crack.
Lots of luck and d let us know how you do! :)
@horselover:
Oh, wow, that's really cheap, I think! It is about 64 Euros in Germany.
For my chiropractor you pay 65 Euros for the first session and 45 Euros for the following ones (and it's just about human beings!). I do not know what you are paying for horses in Germany, but I think it will be more cost-intensive than for humans. My chiropractor comes from the U.S.A. and has learned at Palmer-University.
Yours Jasmin