Let’s talk about Jig’s behavior. I absolutely have formed a bond with this horse and know that he trusts me so much more than when we started. When we started he ripped down the fence after I had tied him (silly me didn’t know not to do that yet) and tried to use fly spray. Everyone was fine, except for the fence, water pipes, and my poor husband who had to fix it all over a few weeks. I had gotten advice to put a metal loop on the barn to tie him instead and he ripped that right off the barn. Fast forward to today, and I rarely ever tie him or need to, and have learned quick release knots thankfully. I also learned to spray him while holding the lead rope and move with him rather than tie him for scary things. (Thank you, farrier!)
Jig loves to walk with me and will even do it at liberty sometimes. Turn when I turn, stop when I stop, and follow me around. He winnies and comes to me when I come outside to feed him. He will even stand and watch as I play with the kids or follow me to put the chickens in and stare into the coop. He loves to be walked around the pasture on the lead rope as well.
Let’s get to what Jig hates, or either has pain to do, I’m not sure. He does not have a good attitude to lunging. He bucks, takes off, backs his ears and comes toward me, or keeps trying to stop. At times he will walk calmly. If I use my lunge whip as a long hand, not to hit him, it helps. When I saddle him up, he seems happy. He does not seem happy when I put his bridle on. The dentist seemed to think it had something to do with his bad teeth. I got him a new loping hackamore to help that and sometimes just use a halter because he doesn’t mind his halter. He doesn’t seem to like the mechanical hackamore he came to me with. He tries to take his head away, whereas with the halter he puts his nose right in.
When I try to mount from the left side, he tries to walk away. When I mount from the right, he stays put. He tries to start walking as soon as I get on and tosses his head and spins when I try to turn him or stop. If I start riding near the barn he spins and tosses and tries to push me into the gate. If we start at the back he cooperates for about 15 minutes and then tries to force his way back to the barn and will spin and toss his head if I try to turn or stop him. If he manages to get back to the barn I’m unable to turn him back without the spins, which scare me quite a bit. I understand these behaviors should be stopped but I think my skill level isn’t there to stop him and I’m not sure what to do. The last time I rode him he stopped short and jumped to the left and I almost fell off. I haven’t felt comfortable since.
For the record, he behaves the same way with my husband or the farrier who has also tried to ride him. My expert level neighbor who has several horses doesn’t even want to try riding him and doesn’t trust him. If you remember from a previous post, the original vet that saw him suggested his trainer. I called that trainer a few weeks into May 2024 after I got him. He came by, said Jig needed to be reminded and we set up a plan for him to come back. He flaked on me 9 or more times. The vet also would not answer the phone or messages. It was very frustrating and perplexing. The few times the trainer showed up I learned a few things. One being how to lunge him, and just a few other basic horsemanship tips. He also tried to ride him a little bareback but it was just a tiny bit. He said he thought he was lame and that’s the reason for his grumpy attitude and the vet would come with him.
Needless to say the vet never came with him. The trainer came one last time on the date we had set for the vet to come with him and did a little lunging and talking. He also brought a lady with him that he said was there to help him with his finances. After that he never showed up or answered messages again. Maybe they thought my horse wasn’t good for their finances?!
I was still worried about that lameness comment so I found another vet through a horse loving lady I know. My expert neighbor’s vet didn’t answer my calls. The new vet came and said he seemed fine. All was well.
So, at that time I thought the problem was largely my skill level and perhaps something pain related with Jig, or maybe he is ready to be retired and enjoy being a pasture pet. Maybe we aren’t a good match as far as riding goes. Perhaps he would do better in a round pen instead of trying to ride in the pasture. It’s a tough call for me to make but I’ve come to terms for the most part with being ok with whichever way it goes. Maybe with the new plan for feeding and horseshoes will help. Maybe it won’t. On the positive side, I have learned a lot about horse ownership and I have enjoyed the process of learning and getting to spend time with what I feel is one of the coolest creatures on the planet.
Jenny and Jig 