How to teach my 16 year old horse gelding to run?

[Sassysarah123]

You may want to get another horse for your style of riding. But, if this guy has been with you for a while, I'd hate to see him moved without EXTREME concern for his new digs and their knowledge & care. I feed a small herd of aging minis every day because they gave to me when I was raising/breeding, I plan to give them retirement and do that. It is better than worrying what stresses a change would cause a 30 yr old horse, for me anyway. Most have never known another owner.

I've had him 2 months.

 

[Mini Horses]

OK -- You worked hard to save, bought him and now -- issues.

Who said he had arthritis? Did you consider having a vet do a pre-purchase exam? (if you did a pre-buy exam & were told arthritis, buying was not good)

You are young and may not have given these things any consideration. In the horse world "buyer beware" is huge. At this time you have invested your hard earned money into a horse you obviously liked. PAY for a good equine vets evaluation. It may be that he is fine and spoiled. Then you have an entirely different situation. If you liked him enough to spend to buy, give the both of you a chance to possibly be a long time team.

It didn't sound like this was a new horse in your post -- to me, anyway.

 

[TAH]

Also, your saddle might not be fitting right.

 

[Baymule]

I have 2 senior horses 28 and 30. I still ride the 28 year old, he has two speeds, slow and stop. LOL The 30 year old has breathing issues, I don't ride her anymore. They can stay here until they die.

You bought a horse to ride. You can't enjoy him for what you want to do. If you have him checked out and he is unable to do what you bought him for, then sell him. You worked and saved your money so you could enjoy riding and that's what you bought him for.

There are many other horses out there that you can choose from, a much more educated buyer now than what you were. His bloodlines might help sell him, but don't matter if all you want is a riding horse. If he is slow and gentle, sell him for a kid's horse. Lots of people want a slow gentle horse for their kids. I have turned down several thousand for my old gelding. If you take this route, ride him, make sure he is reliable and gentle, then put him up for sale.

Take your money and go shopping for another horse.

 

[Sassysarah123]

It didn't sound like this was a new horse in your post -- to me, anyway.

I'm sorry... I should have said in my post

 

[Bunnylady]

I kind of wanted a horse that I could ride all day without him getting tired.

That animal may not really exist outside of fairy tales.

it isn't impossible it's a learned behavior over a physical.

And, it could be a bit of both. I have a horse that was hugely overweight and had chronic foot problems when she was given to me. I can remember watching her come up from the back of the pasture with her buddies; they were running and playing, and she was pounding awkwardly along behind them. You could almost hear her saying, "wait for me, guys! I'm coming, please wait!" Sometimes she was limping, and I wondered if it was really a kindness to keep her alive with feet like that. Quite a few months later, we had the excess weight off, and she wasn't just keeping up with the others, she was bucking and playing as she ran. She still has thin soles on her absurdly small feet, but at least she's comfortable. She had been a lesson pony in the past, and had learned a lot of tricks to get rid of riders - now that she was sound enough to ride, we had to deal with bucking, barn sour, dog shaking, etc, etc. Sometimes it can be a bit tricky figuring out the difference between "I just don't wanna," and "I can't." In this horse's case, there had been a recent owner that didn't recognize "I can't," and we had to undo some training mistakes on top of everything else.

 

[Sassysarah123]

We found Cash on Craigslist. So we went and took a look at him... The guy didn't say he had arthritis in his post. When we got there he mentioned it to us. Well this was our first time buying a horse, so we didn't know if it would be a problem or not. So I rode him in a round pen. I got him to trot, canter, and gallop easily. We weren't sure about the arthritis thing so we took time to consider it all. We asked one of our neighbors and he said most horses get arthritis, And it wasn't a big deal and it won't get worse if we don't use him to compete in anything. So I bought him

 

[Sassysarah123]

The guy we got him from said he could gallop

 

[Sassysarah123]

I guess he just needs to stay at his own pace... A nice little walk. I hope his arthritis doesn't get any worse

 

[Mtn Margie]

It seems like you should check your saddle fit. Also, a smart good horse will not do what a rider asks if there is fear and and unbalanced rider up there asking them. I have an older horse that will do anything for me but for a new rider, she will not go beyond their capabilities.