In need of suggestions/opinions

1

O.K. guys. Here’s the deal.

I was full out attacked by my horse this week. He lunged at me with his ears flat back and he

was rearin up and striking and he got me in the back of the head and all that good stuff. He

did it twice, and he did it to get out of work. So what’s the opinion here? Should I try and

solve it with the help of my trainer, or should I just sell him. Keep in mind that this horse

is super super smart and he doesn’t forget anything. Also keep in mind that the second time

he attacked me that day I hit him good and hard with my dressage whip and he

ignored it. If you have an idea of how to get him to not do that

again, I’d apreciate that too ^-^

2

If he’s that

aggressive/non-influenced by pain, I’d suggest having your/a trainer work with him

exclusively for 30 days (or longer, if need be) so that he learns respect. If, after that,

you can work with him safely, then keep/sell him as you like.

I can tell you one thing,

though, selling a horse that can’t be worked with is nearly impossible. Hell, giving away a

horse like that is nearly impossible.

My filly “attacked” me and kicked me in the chin,

but she was also 4 months old, had known me for a week, and I’d been giving her shots that

entire week. She is pig-headed sometimes, and is totally unflappable, but I know that if I

actually hit her with a whip, esp. on/near her head, she’d

definitely pay attention and back off. She mainly likes testing the boundaries, rather than

actually trying to cause harm/be dominant. (And, she’s 3, so she hasn’t quite learned how

to safely test boundaries…i.e. she’ll break the cross-ties by twisting around b/c she’s

bored, or she’ll pull me a few steps while lunging as she tries to go faster/farther,

etc…nothing dangerous).

Anyway, I’d suggest professional training for him, and/or give

him to a professional trainer if you don’t want to put in the time/money. He’s learned the

art of intimidation/harm, and you likely won’t be able to un-learn that for him…a trainer

might, or might not, but at least they’re getting paid (in some form, either by you or by

his future sale price) to take that risk.

3

Agree with Shanthi, it

sounds like your horse has major dominance issues. Now, that’s something that can be fixed,

but it’s not going to be easy or necessarily safe. Getting a trainer to work with him is

definately your best bet because they have more experience and then it’s not you taking the

risks with him. Selling him while he’s like this is going to be a challenge because who

wants a dangerous horse? And lying to potential buyers is a bad idea. You wouldn’t want

someone else permanently hurt or killed because you didn’t warn them the horse has done

that.

If you already have a trainer you like and respect, definately get their opinion.

The fact that he didn’t back off when you hit him isn’t a very good sign, but there could

have been other factors that influenced him. Has he shown any aggressive tendencies before

this or was this totally unexpected?

4

You both brought up that he

would be hard to sell. Well here’s the strange thing: he only does it with me. I can’t

figure out why, but his former owner said it’s because he just didn’t want to work and it

snowballed from there. My trainer suggested selling him, and she said she wanted to find a

home for him with a trainer or osmeone who has trained youngsters and problem horses. It

might come down to selling him to her, and she works on him and sells him to someone else. I

know for sure that I can’t show him to people on my own, I’m scared crapless of him

now.
You’re also right that he doesnt respect me. Until that day though, he was very

respectful. He knew not to get into my personal space. He knew that if I told him to move he

had best get moving. I’m really not sure what snapped in him to make him ignore all of that,

and ignore the dresage whip and the lead rope and voice commands that he knows to obey. But I

do know that I can’t keep him because he’s going to remember how it worked and do it again.

Before this though, he used to bite and he kicked twice. He hasn’t done any of that lately

because I really got on him for it. He sometimes would pin his ears just a little when I

asked for a speed change but I had started to get on him for that too. He never gave me any

warning that he would come after me like that.
My trainers other suggestion was to ship him

off to her or someone else. But I’ll be honest here, my mom isn’t working and we’re really

tight on money. We can’t afford that. I don’t think he’d ever stop doing that to me

anyways, so I believe it’s just best to sell him.
Of course this means back to lessons and

lesson horses <_< le sigh…

5

Could it be something

medical wrong? …I have no idea what it could be since he is a gelding but I knew a mare

that did the same thing your horse is doing (except with everyone) and she ended up having

cysts on her ovaries. This made her really sensitive to everything around her and she hated

people coming around her most of the time. She ended up biting someone real bad and got sent

away. Sad but she was dangerous. She would lunge at people, turn and kick, pin her ears,

and show her teeth even if you just passed her stall.

I know your horse doesn’t seem

this sensitive but maybe you could ask your trainer if it could

be something going where he has pain somewhere…

6

Yea, that boy needs to learn

some respect…so he never gave you any warning? He didn’t lift his hindleg or turn,

showing his butt to you?

It could be medical too, has he been checked by a vet lately?

7

The pain idea is a good one.

It just doesnt make much sense right off because I had been working with him for around 20

minutes already. He was very nice, he was willing he did everything I told him. He hadn’t

even worked up a sweat at all, he was moving just fine. And no, he never turned his butt

towards me. Come to think of it he hadn’t even pinned his ears at me that day. He just went

from nice wiling partner to something like a chestnut nightmare on 4 legs. He did have a

saddle on the first time, but the second time I had managed to take it off so he wasn’t

feeling pain from it. I also did check the saddle fit about a week ago when I started putting

it on him (he had been wearing a diff saddle) and there were no problems. He wasnt wearing a

bridle, so it wasn’t that. The halter I was using was the same one I use every day to train

him. He’s the picture of health and very fit. It seems the more in shape he gets the more

aggressive he is towards me.

8

I knew a pony (yes a pony :wink:

) who was not respectful. I think I found the problem, she had thrush. When I told my

instructor she said it was just dirt. I amy not be an expert, but I’m not stupid :angry: .(I

think she thought that her students couldn’t be right :angry: :angry: ) So right now I’m

looking for another stable. I still love that pony though. :rolleyes:

9

Hmmm, maybe he has a loose

shoe? <_<

10

Haha, good try but my horse

doesnt wear shoes. I check his feet every day, and they’re fine. He’s not due for a trim

for another 2 weeks. I look over him really well every day, hes not lame at all. He hasn’t

got a cut on his body.
And yes, I knew alot of disrespectful ponies. I knew one that was so

stiff he pulled me into the woods all the time. So one day I went out with spurs and when he

went to pull me I gave him a good hard kick on that side. :blink: No, it wasn’t nice but I

can tell you he never did it again.
Sadly, my horse doesn’t respond to pain. I can hit him

with that dressage whip till the cows come home but if he doesnt want to feel it he wont.

<_<
He was otherwise so responsive. I still can’t figure out exactly why he chose to snap

on me.

11

As I looked at the post you

wrote when you got him i noticed that he was orphaned at 4 months and with people who didn’t

know much. He might be so use to people he treats you as if you were a horse. So he’s

doing to you what he would to any other horse to say “Get Away!” So yes I feel we all come

to the same conclusion…respect. But considering he’s only about 4 he may still have

chance if taught by a trainer. When I rode QH’s and a horse didn’t want to work and fought

my trainer would “tie him up”. As in, she would saddle and bridle him and put side reins on

the horse and let him/her fight it out with themselves untill they decided it’s easier to

give and work than fight and work more. The way he was raised probably has a lot to do with

it and what Shanthi and Andrea said in the first place sounds like the best idea. :slight_smile:

12

I just had someone from John

Lyons tell me to sell him -_- Well, my trainer comes out tomorrow morning and I’ll discuss

his price with her and see if I can’t place him with a trainer.

13

Wait a sec…

Pat

Parelli! He works miralcles, try going to this link, <a href=‘http://www.parelli.com/’

target=’_blank’>Pat Parelli You might find something… B)

14

Hey Yeah!
I was going to

try parelli Horsemanship on the pony I mentioned, but the instructor drove me nuts before I

had the chance. :slight_smile:

15

Thats true also. My favorite

is Clinton Anderson but I went to John Lyons because he has a discussion board. I got so much

information from those people, but they all seem to think I need to use a round pen. Let me

just say that leading my horse to our arena would be suicide, let alone going into a small

space like a round pen. He’s been known to lunge at me before in my makeshift

roundpen.
Anyhow, I want to thank everyone for their suggestions! I’ll post in the morning

how things go with my trainer and what I will decide to do with him.

16

I know roundpens are

supposed to be the end-all, be-all, but I found them to be the opposite for Emma. Inside the

roundpen, she’d be lazy/grumpy, and mildly aggressive when I’d snap the whip. One time she

tried to jump out of the round pen, and actually bent the top bars (luckily that was all the

damage done to her/it).

Anyway, when I put her in the outdoor ring (about 3x the size of

the roundpen), she was much better. Still lazy at times (that’s The Princess in her :wink:),

but not aggressive at all, and much more free-moving. I think she felt threatened by the

small space of the roundpen, and once she had the freedom of the ring, she felt comfortable

in moving out/listening/etc.

Anyway, given what you’ve said about your horse’s behavior,

I’d suggest having a trainer work with him for a couple of sessions, and then have the

trainer train you to train him. (Assuming this is safely possible, of course.) He needs to

learn to respect you no matter what, and at the very least, turn his lack of desire to work

into passive, rather than aggressive, behavior.

Oh, and even if he only does this for/to

you, you would still need to warn potential buyers that he is capable of this behavior.

:frowning:

Good luck!