# Horse has been humpy and tense when first mounted for 11 years



## corymbia (Jul 6, 2011)

I've been sent a horse for bringing back into work and eventual sale that according to its owners of the past 11 years gets tense, humps and sometimes crop hops straight after being mounted on each and every ride. Its apparently been doing this since they bought it as a newly broken in 2YO. After a few minutes it will relax and go on normally though it is a sensitive and reactive and it doesn't take much to set off moments of tension and anxiety which have to be worked through before it can focus on whatever's being asked.

The owners have lunged it or done ground work including join-up before riding but haven't found it makes any difference to the behaviour under saddle. 

According to the owner the horse has been checked by various vets, chiros, body workers and saddle fitters and no obvious issues have been found. 

I've ridden it the once and haven't started any serious work with it, just the familiarisation ride after watching the owner ride it. My aim would normally be to delete the behaviour but given its been like that since being started (was bucked out when first saddled and ridden apparently) I'm concerned it may be too entrenched given its been doing it for all of its ridden life. Any suggestions?


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## nikelodeon79 (Mar 3, 2008)

Following because I have a 9 year old gelding that does the same thing.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

isn't this the description of the classic "cold backed horse"?


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## Chevaux (Jun 27, 2012)

tinyliny said:


> isn't this the description of the classic "cold backed horse"?


 Would appear so....


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

If this is a well-established habit of years rather than a physical problem, it will likely be very difficult to overcome. If the owners are paying you to work this horse, they would probably not allow you the time necessary to do the job.

I would first assess the horse on the ground to determine such things as fear, general tension, flexibility, etc. This horse has probably never relaxed when being ridden. It probably does not know this is even possible.

When I first mounted, I would simply sit and feel the horse. If it felt tense and wary, I would simply sit, do breathing exercises, and talk calmly to the horse until it relaxed. If it walked off on its own, I would not become upset. I would simply move with it trying to create as little disturbance as possible. I might try to stop this horse, but -- unless it simply took off running -- I would do so very gently and smoothly. The whole approach would be designed to help the horse relax. 

After the horse stands still for several minutes and its muscles have begun to relax, I would dismount with as little disturbance to its balance as possible. I would calmly tell him that he was a good boy to let him know that he did what I had wanted.

I would continue this process working with it daily or even several times each day. I would slowly introduce the horse to walking. Again, I would work on relaxation. I would concentrate on my balance. Any cues would be minimal. When the horse walked off, I would let my body move with every movement of his while maintaining my balance so the horse would not need to adjust his movements to mine. 

I would feel his muscles with my seat and legs. My guess is that they would feel tight. His movements would probably feel very "mechanical". Again, I would try to encourage the horse to release any tension in his muscles. I would do this by releasing any tension in my own muscles. I would talk softly, breath deeply, hum, sing a gentle song such as a lullaby. Any guiding of the horse's movements would be done smoothly and with as little pressure as possible, like nudging rather than really applying pressure. The purpose would be to establish a softening in the horse's movements. When you get this softening, you will feel it. Again, verbally acknowledge that this is what you wanted.

After obtaining this soft movement and continuing in it for a while, simply stop moving with the horse. Do this smoothly, as though rolling to a stop as opposed to stepping on the brake. The horse should stop walking. If he doesn't, don't worry about it, just begin moving with him again. If he got tense because you stopped moving with him, work at getting him to relax once more. Continue this process until the horse stops when you stop following his movements. 

Then, just sit patiently. If the horse starts moving again, resume the process of relaxed movement. Once the horse remains stopped for a minute or so, dismount smoothly and reward him.

You may then begin to progress to asking more. Any time the horse becomes tense, however, stop what you are working on and go back to working simply on relaxation. 

Realize that this is seldom a rapid process when dealing with a horse with established habits such as you describe. Few people have enough patience to do what is necessary. And fewer owners would pay to have someone work with a horse in this manner.

If you have the patience and are willing to take the time necessary -- and the owners are willing to let you do so -- the reward will be very satisfying.


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## bitslilappy (Sep 19, 2013)

Has the horse been tested for pssm? My step-moms mare had similar symptoms for years. Finally we got Internet and started digging around which lead to getting her tested. After a diet change she was much more supple and stopped with the tense humping up of her back, the crow hops had become behavioral and took a bit more time though.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Cherie (Dec 16, 2010)

Yes! This is a cold backed horse. 

Yes! Horses are creatures of habit -- so as habits go -- this is a long-standing, deeply entrenched habit. It is hard to discern if it is the saddle / rider / weight or the cinch that is is tense about. 

I would do first start saddling this horse and let it stand around all day with a saddle on it. Saddle very loosely at first and then tighten it up a little every hour until it is pretty tight. I would use a mohair cinch as fussy horses object less to them than other kinds of girths. Don't move the horse other than what it can move while tied up. Pay very close attention to whether the horse tenses up as you first tighten the girth. If it does, it is more than likely that the horse is 'cinchy'. 

After a few saddlings, the horse should be less tense when saddled. Then, still keep it tied up saddled all day, but get on it and sit on it at the end of the day. Don't go anywhere; just sit on it; get on and off several times; move around on its back ; get off and put it up. 

What you are doing is breaking the cycle of behavior of being saddled, mounted and ridden off while uncomfortable. 

When you can saddle this horse without it tensing up and can mount it and sit on it, maybe an hour after first saddleing it, she should be ready to ground drive. I would spend several days ground driving her but I would NOT longe it with a saddle on. No horse is going to ride any better than they ground drives, anyway. This should get her used to walking off without the tenseness you would get riding her off.

When she drives nicely, she is going to ride as good as she is going to ride. Do not just get on and ride it off. Always sit on her until she is relaxed and then back her up in a tight circle. Back her around tightly to the left, stand still for a minute and then back her up in a tight circle to the right. Then, if she feels relaxed, ride her off.

I have a horse now that I did this with and it worked. I bought him about 5 or 6 years ago. I had the only bid on him at the local auction other than the killer buyer. He came from a bucking string where he had been a bareback bronc. He was cold backed and got sold to a bucking string because he bucked everyone off when he was sent to a trainer for cutting training. He had more baggage than that as he was also really bad about setting back when tied. He pulled a lady's finger off at the sale barn the night I bought him. She was wearing gloves and somehow got her finger in the knot when she was trying to untie him. He set back her she lost her finger.

He was your classic 'cold backed' and 'cinchy' horse. The above routine is what I did with him and it worked. He is the horse in my profile with my 4 year old (at the time) granddaughter on him. Granddaughter is now six and he is her favorite horse to ride. We can just get on him now and ride him off. You still cannot tighten the cinch all the way when you first saddle him. [We do not do that anyway on any horse.] He still has scars in his flanks and scars behind his ears from pulling back so hard before we got him. 

I have had others that got ridable doing this, but they always needed to be backed up and around before riding off. It seems that just having them move around without getting into a position to hump up was all it took to get them ridable. 

It is just all about breaking the cycle. It does not work on all of them, but it works pretty well on many and helps all of them.


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## DanielDauphin (Mar 11, 2014)

Link to a blog that I posted on here a while back.
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-articles/cold-backed-horses-390586/


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## gee50 (Dec 31, 2014)

Hi, corymbia. This sounds like a habituated behavior. There are many reasons why it could have started. But at this point the horses job as a rider mounts is to step off, buck out or crow hoop. Followed by a somewhat normal riding experience. Both *Mr. TXhorseman* and *Ms. Cherie* have a great explanations and advise to do the behavioral reconditioning.

As mentioned if you are being payed to do the rehab the owner probably won't want to spend the money. Add the time you will have the horse if it has been transported to your facility.

Depending on the level of training/horsemanship the horse has during it's last 11 years. It could take a week or 3 months of 1 hour successions 5 days a week. Like any horse or person. If they have been taught how to learn, then new concepts come quickly. But if the horse or person has never learned how to learn, than that's the first week or month of training before the issues can even be addressed. Good luck and keep us posted on the progress, Greg


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## smrobs (Jul 30, 2008)

In addition to what TX and Cherie talked about, some horses are just like that and cannot be changed because that type of behavior is ingrained in their genes. My Dad's horse is like that, as are many of the colts from the breeder who bred him. Many of those colts with similar breeding to Pokey, regardless of how they are trained or handled, never improve and it is just something that the owner/rider has to learn to just deal with.


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## corymbia (Jul 6, 2011)

Thanks for such great replies. Very helpful and lots to work with. I don't have masses of time to work with him but I've told the clients I won't be risking my reputation selling a horse that has major unsolved problems. If I can't improve him enough for that I will send him back. He has definitely developed an association between being mounted/ridden off and a tense/fearful frame of mind. He is a nervy sensitive type so it probably only took one bad experience to set him down this path. I've given him the day off to get to know his new home and will start work tomorrow.


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## corymbia (Jul 6, 2011)

Quick update on my boy. After nearly two weeks he is going very well and have had a couple of rides with no tension or humping from start to finish. Have taken things slowly and focused on keeping him calm and relaxed at every step. This seems to be working. We've got a long way to go and I don't think for a second that he is "cured", but at least we've now got an alternative to the panic and anxiety we started with. He's become much friendlier and easy to catch as his confidence has improved which is heartening. 

I've found that breaking down the process of saddling, mounting and then walking off, into small steps and not progressing with the next one until he is calm has been very effective. I've given him time to adjust to each increase in difficulty and that seems to be what he needed. Can now put the saddle on, girth up and mount and walk off in one smooth sequence. Long way to go but very happy with where we are so far.


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Thank you for the update, corymbia. It's so good to hear of people making progress and working in a relaxed atmosphere with their horses. Realizing the importance of this relationship should help you progress further.


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## gee50 (Dec 31, 2014)

This is great to news Corymbia. Looks like he is coming along well. I can surly appreciate you reputation being at stake. Some friendly support would be this. After you have completed the rehab (essentially restarting). Have the owner, from the stall do what ever he/she does through tack and saddle and a short ride. Then if all goes well, which I know it will. Make sure the owner is as happy as a clam. Then give the owner the real news. Make it perfectly clear you take no liability form that point on.

I can only imagine the horse doesn't get worked out. Gets tacked up and saddle poorly, gets no warm ups and then is sold 6 months later. The owner tells the new buyer, “Yes, we just had him in extensive training by (using your name) and the horse is totally sound and perfectly trained for you. Next, when the new owner gets the horse home and something goes south the seller blames you.


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## Corporal (Jul 29, 2010)

TXhorseman said:


> If this is a well-established habit of years rather than a physical problem, it will likely be very difficult to overcome.
> When I first mounted, I would simply sit and feel the horse. If it felt tense and wary, I would simply sit, do breathing exercises, and talk calmly to the horse until it relaxed. If it walked off on its own, I would not become upset. I would simply move with it trying to create as little disturbance as possible. I might try to stop this horse, but -- unless it simply took off running -- I would do so very gently and smoothly. The whole approach would be designed to help the horse relax.
> 
> After the horse stands still for several minutes and its muscles have begun to relax, I would dismount with as little disturbance to its balance as possible. I would calmly tell him that he was a good boy to let him know that he did what I had wanted.
> ...


This should be a sticky. WELL PUT!!!
I have had this problem with my 16'3hh KMH. Now that I've remeasured him and found that he is 1,900 pounds, you DON'T want to be bucked off of THAT!!
Here is something else that can help. Use a helper and have them hold a handful of carrots on the ground. After your horse has relaxed, let your helper back up and encourage your horse to move to the helper and get rewarded by a carrot, and praise, instead of thinking about "humping", or that half hearted bucking. After he moves to the carrots until they are gone, then you dismount. This is one of the few times that treats are a good solution, IMHO.
It DEFINITELY is a habit born of fear. Thanks for sharing!! **hugs**


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