If you're saying the whole bush is like it, maybe it needed pruning. If you're saying you have some much longer, very thorny and different coloured stems growing, they'll be suckers. Without a photograph or the proper name of the rose, can't be of more help.

Thanks for your reply...I'll try to be more specific. The whole Abraham Darby (David Austin rose) is growing very leggy with multiple buds that are heavily weighing down the stems and don't open. The scrawny stems have lots of thorns but are all super skinny and are laying basically bent over.This bush doesn't appear to have suckers.

Thanks again,

Rosie

any chance of a picture so we can see what its like

Oh dear - just found an online forum about this rose, mostly people in America, but not all.It seems its a very ugly bush, with weak and spindly stems that stick out at odd angles, and every stem has a flower, which need full and rather good sun to flower properly, though the plant itself appears to dislike high temperatures. It seems most people find that even when the blooms do open, they're too heavy for the thin stems to support the weight of them, so they need to be staked and tied. the flowers themselves, when they open, and if they're staked, are beautiful, it would appear - personally, I'd ditch it, I like my plants to look good when they're not in flower too, but that's your choice, Rosie! On the other hand, I'm not keen on roses generally, and particularly loathe David Austen ones - they always sound fantastic, but often are new hybrids that don't perform well. I'm sorry you fell for this one but perhaps you feel its worth it for when the flowers do actually open.