I was thrown off my horse today

[Chaos Ranch]

I have a 12 year old Peruvian Paso mare. She's broke to ride, but was ridden' in a Peruvian Bozal. (prounounced ba zol not ba zul) They had her in 4 reins... which means she had the bozal on , but she also had a bit in her mouth and reins on the bit. He said she should go into bit very easy if I just take my time with her. Well I've ridden her twice and there's no way I think she's ready for a bit...that would be one more problem against the problems I'm already having with her. He suggested I ride her with a halter and a lead rope on each side. I really really do not like that because I really don't have any control over her that way.

When you mount this mare, she lowers her body down and shakes all over. Peruvians are very spirited horses, and if you don't work with them a lot, they can become very nervous, hard to handle horses. Arrogance and personality left un-trained becomes a very big problem. I've only rode this mare twice, but I've only had her for 3 weeks and the weather this past week and a half has not been good for riding. A lot of rain and snow... which in a minute I'll tell you why I'm glad we've had so much rain and snow.

Well I got the mare...her name is Dot. I got her out of the pasture and tied her to the rails on the back of my truck. I eased the blanket and saddle up on her, and lead her out into the yard and lounged her for a little bit. Then I got one leg up in the stirrup and lifted myself up. I felt her squat and start to shake so I was trying to go slow and easy. I started my right leg over and she bent to the left and jumped to the right which threw my balance off and my right food landed on her rump instead of going all the way over. She did NOT like that at all. She bolted forward and bucked a few times and threw me off onto the ground. This is the place where I'm glad the ground was soggy. I managed to hold onto one of the lead ropes, and endured a quick skid acrost the ground as she was backing up very fast. I got a good rope burn, and hurt my back and shoulder.. but she finally stopped.

I went to her and began to pet her neck and pat her on the shoulder. I talked to her and continued to pet her. I lead her back to the truck and kept talking to her and petting her. She still shook all over, and would raise her foot high in the air and pawed at the air. I spent about 10 minutes more trying to calm her down. I took her back into the yard and put my foot in the stirrup and raised myself up and stood there for a minute. Then I leaned over and put my weight in the saddle. I eased back down and went back up a couple more times. I got back down and pet her and talked to her some more. The whole time she was shaking and very nervous. This is my problem... well... aside from being thrown off. That was the first time I've ever been thrown off and I just couldn't muster up the courage to ease the rest of the way over the saddle and ride her. I will,... but I couldn't do it today.

I have no roundpen to work her. Peruvians are also very sensative... if you do something that hurts them or scares them very badly, they will hold it against you and not bond with you like you want them to. They have definate personalities. So how to I get this mare to settle down and stop beiing afraid to be away from the other horses, and easier to mount? Once I get back on her I just have to expose her to things and ease her through them. The more I ride her around these alien things, the easier it should get... but I can't do that until I can mount her. Any advice?

 

[TheCaseFamily00]

I personally wouldn't get back on her until she seemed calm. Maybe she needs a little more time to settle in,I definately wouldn't rush her,please be careful

.I wouldn't ride her with just a halter.Once she settles down could you get someone to ride with you? Can you take her from the other horses and just let her graze,brush her etc? If she is a sensitive horse you need to make sure your relaxed as well. I would try to get her quieted down and relaxed before I would get back on.I took a pretty good fall last summer,alone in the woods.My horse spooked from a killer hawk,lol.

 

[Soggy Bottom Ranch]

So how to I get this mare to settle down and stop beiing afraid to be away from the other horses

We were just going through this with our haflinger, and I can share what we did. He became very buddy sour with Spot, and whenever you'd take him away, or take Spot out, he'd get very disrespectful, which isn't normally like him. Since he's so big and strong, it made sense to break the bad behavior from the ground, before hitching him up to the cart again. It's been winter here, and icey, so we had time anyway.

What we started doing with him, is either leaving him out to eat his hay in the pasture alone, and locking Spot in the stall, so they couldn't see one another, or taking Spot out for walks, away from him. At night when I'm doing chores, I bring Spot in, and tie him, then close all the doors so the haffie is by himself out there. That way, he's not tied, he can get crazy if he needs to, without pulling on a rope, and being nervous. It just gave him the opportunity to adjust at his own pace. Spot's really good too, he never answers Landers when he whinnies, and it's been good for Spot to be reminded what it's like to stand tied for long periods of time. I will also mix it up, and leave Spot out in the pasture, bringing in the haffie, then tie him, groom him, and leave him to stand quietly while I do chores. He's to the point where he'll stand there quietly all by himself, yawning, with one hind leg relaxed, and it's worked really well for him. It's repetition. Don't expect to leave them sit, and then have them respond the way you want them to if you haven't worked with them to keep it fresh in their mind.

 

[Shari]

I have owned Pervians in the Past and they were very brave horses and I kid you not, not worried or afraid of anything. My Zanero bred gelding.. could ride him down a busy country road and no matter what.. he never batted an ear. Slide all over him..toss things around him.. drag tarps over him.... he didn't care.

Sounds like the mare you have hasn't been properly started. I would not try to ride her until you get some good ground training on her and Desensitize. I would highly recommend, Clinton Anderson's, Ground work DVD's.

Some horses require you to go veryyy slow with their training. While it might take a year for an average horse to be fairly well started in their training... some like my Icelandic Dyfra, is an on going project. I will have owned her 7 years early summer. She was started wrong and too fast and have been dealing with the aftermath for years.

She is however, turning out to be a good horse for me.

 

[Minimor]

The Peruvian Pasos I've been around were all very sensible and quiet--not dead heads by any means, just nice, calm horses, very accepting of being handled and ridden--even the very green ones. One was a back yard pet and trail horse, and he was the most placid horse I've ever come across. The others were show horses--there wasn't one nervous one in the bunch.

Out of curiosity--have you known many other Peruvian Pasos? Did they all act the same way? Or is this mare your first experience with the breed, and the nervousness thing is what you were told by the seller?

 

[Floridachick]

She sounds very green. I never would have gotten on a horse that I couldn't control with just a halter and lead while riding. I teach them ALL to ground drive and do all the ground work and am 100% confident the horse will listen while under saddle. IMHO you need to "train her and bond with her." Glad your ok

 

[stormy]

I rode literally dozens of Pasos and Andalusians while living in Central America, they were big movers and agile but very steady, intelligent and dependable rides. Sounds more like you have a horse that hasn't been started, was she represented as a well broke animal? I would be going back to ground work.

 

[wcr]

I read this post yesterday and have been thinking about it overnight. I take it you just bought her 3 weeks ago? I am glad you are okay from your fall but on the other hand, your horse was screaming at you in the best language she knew, that she was not ready to be ridden. Communication between humans and horses are a 2-way street. We often see posts like "my idiot horse is so stupid and vindictive that it doesn't understand what I want it to do and is behaving this way just to P**s me off". That is way overstated but you get my point.

As example, if we are trying to communicate with someone who we don't understand each other's language we tend to slow our speech down and talk louder, and louder and louder. No amount of screaming and yelling are going to make one of us learn the others language in the next five minutes so we can communicate. It may take hand signals or drawing pictures to be understood.

It is no different with horses. We don't speak a common language so have to rely on other methods to understand each other. This is where people get into a fight with their horse and then everything falls apart. The human is not understanding what the horse is saying so the horse talks louder and louder and louder until you got bucked off.

Please don't think I am criticizing you as that is not my intention. I am trying to point out where we fail in our communication with our horses. As I said, it is a 2-way street. We want our horses to understand what we are trying to teach them but they also want us to learn when they are ready to progress but also when they need you to back up a bit. So many of the horsemanship clinics I have been to are really doing amazing oh and ah things, but it is only because the clinicians have learned the horse language of when to press and when to back up. They don't want to get bucked off in front of thousands of people but they also push the horses pretty hard to produce the oh and ah moments.

To your specific situation; I don't care how old that horse is and what they told you. From her reaction you are basically dealing with an unbroke horse. If you don't feel comfortable riding her with a halter then she is not ready for a bit. 5 inches of steel in an unbroken horses mouth doesn't give you control but only scares and hurts the horse reinforcing it's fears of being ridden in the first place. As others have stated, I would put in lots of ground work before considering getting on her back. If you do your groundwork correctly, it will be anti-climatic when to do get on her.

John Lyons once said that his daughter was asked why she was still riding her well trained horse in a snaffle instead of using a different bit and her response was that it was all she needed. Also remember that ANY kind of bit is only as harsh as the hands holding the reins.

 

[Bess Kelly]

I agree with the others, she is very green broke. She is nervous because she is scared. Now, whether she is scared because of lack of ground manners or because of a previously extreme handler (notice I didn't say trainer, as anyone who passed her as "trained" did not know what it meant).....we won't know. Sounds like she got a 30 day "crash course" and only minimally passed.

At any rate, gentle, loving handling in reassuring her that she is safe and will not be harmed is needed. So bond within the leading, grooming, touching, etc., areas, then begin some lounging, saddling, reining aspects before you get back on. Sounds like you know to do this but, are now a little apprehensive. That's a good thing to the degree that you know the mare is not ready to ride you YET.

In a couple of months you will be posting to tell us how great she is to ride!!! I just know it. She needs time and training with a gentle, loving hand. Oh, desensitize along with the other stuff....ropes, bags, leaves, flags.....and so on.

 

[Sue_C.]

I have only encountered this exact reaction once, when trying out a friend's new quarter horse mare. I didn't attempt to finish mounting her, got off, took the saddle off and had my friend call an equine chiropracter. After just a ferw visits, the mare's back was back into al;ignment, and she was an amazningly easy to handleand ride horse. Simple as that.

Were I you, that is what I would do first and foremost...and go on from there. As soon as I read the "squat and tremble" of this mare, I thought of her being in pain. The immediate bolt and buck confirms it in my mind. Doesn't hurt to take a look...cheaper to fix a problem in the bud, than continue and get a hard habit ingrained into her because of something totally preventable.

I too have seen and heard a lot about Peruvians, but never heard such things as what you have been told. Makes me wonder...if you weren't "sold a bill of goods".

Did you ride this mare prior to buying her, and if so...what was she like...did you see her ridden by the trainer or owner?

 

[Chaos Ranch]

I agree with you all. I really didn't listen to her and I should have. I knew she was very nervous, and knew she was scared of things when we were riding, but I assumed that the more I rode her, the easier she would get.

I don't think she has had any ground work at all. Like I said, she was primarily a broodmare. She is under-weight too. All 3 of them that we bought are under-weight. He doesn't grain his horses he only puts out round bales of hay in the winter, and they graze in the summer. Within 2 days of being here I dewormed all 3 of them. I couldn't catch the 6 year old and the 2 year old to deworm them I had to put it in their feed and stood and watched them eat it.

It has had me very confused because everything I read on people's websites talks about how calm and personable this breed is... but I don't see any of that in my 3. I have watched every YouTube video with Peruvian Pasos in them, I paid attention to how the rider sat, how they held their reins, how they cues theirh orses... how the horse moved out, the head carriage.. all of it, but I found none of this in my 3 horsee.

I don't want to speak ill of the breeder I bought them from, but on his website it says the 2 year old can be caught anywhere...but I can't catch her. We cornered her and caught her once, and then once I got ahold of her halter, she pulled back pretty hard but then eased off and let me pet her. The other times I tried to catch her I got a good yanking from her and pulled my shoulder till it hurt.

I am going to have to exercise a LOT of patience this summer. I have been given a lot of great advise and people have been very kind to point out where I went wrong. I am going to start all over with her and slowly work my way up to riding. I'll go slow with her, and she and I will work together to make her new environment a little easier to accept.

Thank you all very much. She will definately be started all over, and we'll work slow and easy and we'll come to a comfortable point together.

 

[Reijel's Mom]

I don't know, the ones I have been around (a friend has one and rides in parades with a large group of them, I've ridden with them a couple of times) I DO think they can tend to be a little hot. Really prancy showy creatures.

That being said, what your describing, simply sounds like a horse that really isn't trained at all. I think I'd forget the riding and start with the basics with her.

 

[wcr]

Kim, good for you. You are on your way to being a good horsewoman. You listened to what people had to tell you, you thought about it and are willing to make the changes necessary to have the relationship with your horse. The most important advise I can give you at this point is to pay close attention to your horses attitude. Go rent the Horse Whisperer dvd and watch the horses reaction when he is working the horse. They make it very obvious in the movie. The breathing, licking and chewing of acceptance. They also show the tenseness and resistance, the eye rolling. Think about it when you are working with your horses. Are they tense or is the lip moving when you hit a good scratch spot? These are the reactions we want to become aware of. That way BOTH of you can learn to communicate more effectively.

Did you say this is the first time you have been thrown? You just got your initiation out of the way in the horse world!

 

[Reijel's Mom]

"The whole time she was shaking and very nervous. This is my problem... well... aside from being thrown off. That was the first time I've ever been thrown off and I just couldn't muster up the courage to ease the rest of the way over the saddle and ride her. I will,... but I couldn't do it today."

Kim, I forgot to say this - it's great that you couldn't do this today - that would have just been way too much for this mare! When you can get her to the point that all the little things you were doing that were making her shake and be nervous no longer make her shake and act nervous, you can move forward a little bit.

I am NO horse trainer. I like them broke when I get them, I don't have time to ride enough to deal with a green horse. BUT I do lots of reading, and you really can learn a lot from all the great resources out there nowadays. Don't fall into the mindset of feeling like you have to show the horse who's boss by making them do what you need them to do as fast as you can. In the majority of cases, when you do that, you lose, and the horse loses, too.

 

[wildoak]

I would second the opinion that your mare may be in some pain. I've started a few horses, and never had one squat and shake like you describe. The training is a separate issue, and it sure sounds like she needs that too but it wouldn't hurt to have a vet or a chiropractor go over her first. You will need your patience with this group I think, but the rewards may be well worth it.

Jan

 

[funnybunny]

Now you're an initiated member of the "Bucked Off Saddle Club."

Glad you weren't hurt.

If I had a nickel for every time I got bucked off, thrown off, spooked off, fell off or just goofed off, I'd be rich. Alls I know is that the older you get the more it hurts! OH!

Seriously, sounds like the horse needs to be re started again. It also seems there might be pain involved as someone mentioned. Most time a horse will want to buck you off, they don't hunker down and shake. They stand up and look arrogant. Could be having some back pain or something.

 

[Chaos Ranch]

Oh yes, I am absolutely open to suggestions. I am way far from being a trainer, and honestly, I've only really started riding last summer. I know I should have learned a lot more before taking on such a project, but when I bought her I was under the impression that she has been ridden and done very well. I seen the man get on her and she didn't squat and shake with him. I didn't ride her myself at his barn because it was getting dark, and I can't see in the dark. But I did watch him ride her around in the pasture and she seemed to respond really well to his very subtle cues. I watched him very closely, and I didn't see him cueing her, he said it only took a very light touch to the side of the rein to get her to turn, and he only squeezed his legs to get her to move forward. No kicking with his feet or anything. She seemed pretty comfortable wtih him.

Maybe I was doing it all wrong. I tried to be soft, and subtle with her in the only way I knew how. I didn't know about the lifting of the reins. I sure don't want to dominate her or show her who's boss... no way. I don't want to be her boss, I want to be her partner. I want her to know that I will never ask her to do something that is going to hurt her. I guess I scared her pretty bad the other day though... I was pretty nervous since I was out there by myself.. And that day I couldn't get her to walk on the lounge, she only went fast despite me not turning to her and asking her to go more.

I know I have plenty of time to wait on her to trust me. I rushed it I suppose because I could walk up to her and get her halter and she didn't run from me, so I took that as her finally trusting me. I sure was wrong!

I will absolutely do more research and learning be fore I get on her back again. And we're going to work on ground manners and trust. Once she accepts me as a partner and not a threat I'll be VERY happy. I look very forward to that bonding.

Thank you all so much. I really appreciate it. If anyone has more advice, I welcome it. OH, this is my first time ever being around a Peruvian. I have read a lot about them, and have went to every Peruvian website I could find. I talked extensively to her seller... but I sure am glad there's more information out there. I have a guy who's a trainer, but I don't trust him to be gentle and easy with her...he's more of a Quarter horse man that doesn't really communicate WITH the horse, more TO the horse. I don't want him to ruin her.

 

[Sue_C.]

I did watch him ride her around in the pasture and she seemed to respond really well to his very subtle cues. I watched him very closely, and I didn't see him cueing her, he said it only took a very light touch to the side of the rein to get her to turn, and he only squeezed his legs to get her to move forward. No kicking with his feet or anything. She seemed pretty comfortable wtih him.

Sounds even more like she has been injured between that time and the time you tried to ride her. Could be she fell and wrenced her back in the pasture, or even in the trailer on the way to your place...hard to ever know. I think it would be well worth the price of having her checked out, just to be sure.

 

[Chaos Ranch]

If your horse gets excited, stay as close to the shoulder as you can. Your body there will calm the horse. And if the horse gets scared, it is even more imperative that you remain in position at the shoulder. Leaving the shoulder in a time of crisis is like the pilot of an airplane running to the back because he thinks the plane is going to crash. You have to consistently stay in position alongside the horse's shoulder so that the horse starts to realize that he can rely on you whenever you're in that position.[/quote

OH MY GOSH !!!!!!!!!!! I am a HORRIBLE horse owner. The entire time I was working with my mare (other than when I was lounging her) she kept leaning hard on me with her inside shoulder. I kept pushing her off of me. I thought she was trying to push her weight around and push me to dominate me... it didn't even begin to cross my mind that she was leaning up against me because she was seeking some protection from me... I am SO stupid... it makes nothing but perfect sence for her to lean against me...she practically wrapped her body around me. She would be on my side and bend her head inwards towards me.... geesh, I feel so bad for her now.

 

[Sue_C.]

No, definately NOT a horrible horse owner...such an owner would not have come here looking for answers.

If she was leaning HARD...she might have been needing reasurance yes, but there is still a "my personal space" to think about. She still has to realize that she cannot lean so hard, no matter the reason. Should she be allowed to lean on you with all of her weight, she is going to topple you...and where does that leave the pair of you?

Happy mediums, that is what it is all about. Go ahead and reassure her, but still, you can not allow her to take your space, and make it hers.