I am new to this forum and am wondering if anyone can give me some input/advice in regards to some very perplexing problems with our 5 year old Rocky Mountain horse that we have owned for approximately 7 months.
A brief history of the horse prior to our purchasing him is that he basically had no demands made of him in his first almost 5 years of life, so no true “work ethic”. He initially presented to us that he was a very dominant gelding....he would torment our other horses if turned out with them, nonstop. He was very disrespectful when leading, and if you asked anything of him he would shove his left shoulder into you and virtually try to run over the top of you. You could not halter him....if he seen the lead rope or halter....actually anything you would carry in your hands, he was gone....not just physically gone, but mentally gone as well....he even jumped over a fence to get away when I walked into the paddock to get him. He loved people as long as everything was on HIS terms.
We proceeded with a complete round penning course to gain respect...complete desensitizing, etc. He showed us he was extremely intelligent....too intelligent for his own good. We faced a lot of challenges along the way and we were in constant contact with a local professional trainer, giving us advice every time the horse would try to “one up us”. We would make progress, then regress, then more progress, then regress again. The horse has been extremely difficult to get to accept the saddle and bridle....he blows and snorts EVERY time you go to saddle him....this is after 5 steady months of saddling, bridling, and riding. He will still act like he has never seen a saddle or bridle in his life. On one occasion he broke off a 6 x 6 when we approached him with the saddle...and we had had at least 20 successful saddlings and rides prior to this.
Once saddled and bridled, he acts as relaxed as can be. It is getting there that is the problem. There is nothing physically wrong with the horse. He has been checked for saddle fit, he has had myler bits, and gentle hands when in the bridle. He is soft in the bridle, very responsive, and excellent on the trail. He is a joy to ride, does anything you ask, once you get past the first 10-15 minutes. He tends to be very nervous for that first 10-15 minutes, which I have experienced previously with young horses, so that is not so much a concern. It is the saddling and bridling that stumps us....we were told to use the saddle just as the other desensitizing objects...go towards him and if he moves keep following him, and when he stops, drop the saddle immediately and walk away....release the pressure. It worked great for awhile....he accepted it with no problem for awhile...then he regressed...then he was fine....then he regressed....we can saddle him a dozen times in one day....he can be fine for 6 times, and horrible for 6 times....it makes no sense whatsoever.
We still feel that after all the round penning that he still does not respect us....because at times when we go to saddle him he will throw that left shoulder into you and try to knock you out of the way. We will then lunge him around on the long line to establish the boundaries and he will lick and relax, but it always seems to be short-lived.
Any time he happens to get turned out with the other horses and gets the chance to reestablish his dominance, we find that he then is more difficult to handle....so we keep him separate. He has never really been completely knocked down off his “high horse” by any other horse throughout his life. He has succeeded with this dominant attitude, and our take is that he still is “above us”. I have done research on dominant horses, and have read everything from putting him in with a dominant mare or gelding so he can be “put in his place”, to having someone “lay him down” as that will be a lesson of ultimate respect, to just keep at it and miles and miles of wet saddle blankets will finally sink in.
He did buck me off a week ago when I was leaving out on a trail ride....I seen him give a few looks back towards home and suddenly it felt like he was traveling with the emergency brake on....before I knew it he had his head buried between his front legs and was what I call “flippin' buckin”....I didn't have a prayer of staying with him. Now I am concerned because he is such a dominant and intelligent horse that he will remember that....he hurt me badly enough that I could not get back on him....all I was able to do was take him behind our John Deere Gator and pony him for about 6 miles so he did not get out of working. I have not been back on him....he was supposed to go into training on August 3rd, come out on September 3rd, and then leave out on a shore-to-shore criss cross ride here in Michigan on September 7th. I thought after that I would possibly have a good horse. I have talked with the trainer and his concern is that in the 5 months we have seriously worked with him, the horse is not showing any consistency...he is unpredictable. I love this horse, and am struggling with WHEN IS IT TIME TO LET GO??? When do you decide that something between the ears is not quite right? :?
A brief history of the horse prior to our purchasing him is that he basically had no demands made of him in his first almost 5 years of life, so no true “work ethic”. He initially presented to us that he was a very dominant gelding....he would torment our other horses if turned out with them, nonstop. He was very disrespectful when leading, and if you asked anything of him he would shove his left shoulder into you and virtually try to run over the top of you. You could not halter him....if he seen the lead rope or halter....actually anything you would carry in your hands, he was gone....not just physically gone, but mentally gone as well....he even jumped over a fence to get away when I walked into the paddock to get him. He loved people as long as everything was on HIS terms.
We proceeded with a complete round penning course to gain respect...complete desensitizing, etc. He showed us he was extremely intelligent....too intelligent for his own good. We faced a lot of challenges along the way and we were in constant contact with a local professional trainer, giving us advice every time the horse would try to “one up us”. We would make progress, then regress, then more progress, then regress again. The horse has been extremely difficult to get to accept the saddle and bridle....he blows and snorts EVERY time you go to saddle him....this is after 5 steady months of saddling, bridling, and riding. He will still act like he has never seen a saddle or bridle in his life. On one occasion he broke off a 6 x 6 when we approached him with the saddle...and we had had at least 20 successful saddlings and rides prior to this.
Once saddled and bridled, he acts as relaxed as can be. It is getting there that is the problem. There is nothing physically wrong with the horse. He has been checked for saddle fit, he has had myler bits, and gentle hands when in the bridle. He is soft in the bridle, very responsive, and excellent on the trail. He is a joy to ride, does anything you ask, once you get past the first 10-15 minutes. He tends to be very nervous for that first 10-15 minutes, which I have experienced previously with young horses, so that is not so much a concern. It is the saddling and bridling that stumps us....we were told to use the saddle just as the other desensitizing objects...go towards him and if he moves keep following him, and when he stops, drop the saddle immediately and walk away....release the pressure. It worked great for awhile....he accepted it with no problem for awhile...then he regressed...then he was fine....then he regressed....we can saddle him a dozen times in one day....he can be fine for 6 times, and horrible for 6 times....it makes no sense whatsoever.
We still feel that after all the round penning that he still does not respect us....because at times when we go to saddle him he will throw that left shoulder into you and try to knock you out of the way. We will then lunge him around on the long line to establish the boundaries and he will lick and relax, but it always seems to be short-lived.
Any time he happens to get turned out with the other horses and gets the chance to reestablish his dominance, we find that he then is more difficult to handle....so we keep him separate. He has never really been completely knocked down off his “high horse” by any other horse throughout his life. He has succeeded with this dominant attitude, and our take is that he still is “above us”. I have done research on dominant horses, and have read everything from putting him in with a dominant mare or gelding so he can be “put in his place”, to having someone “lay him down” as that will be a lesson of ultimate respect, to just keep at it and miles and miles of wet saddle blankets will finally sink in.
He did buck me off a week ago when I was leaving out on a trail ride....I seen him give a few looks back towards home and suddenly it felt like he was traveling with the emergency brake on....before I knew it he had his head buried between his front legs and was what I call “flippin' buckin”....I didn't have a prayer of staying with him. Now I am concerned because he is such a dominant and intelligent horse that he will remember that....he hurt me badly enough that I could not get back on him....all I was able to do was take him behind our John Deere Gator and pony him for about 6 miles so he did not get out of working. I have not been back on him....he was supposed to go into training on August 3rd, come out on September 3rd, and then leave out on a shore-to-shore criss cross ride here in Michigan on September 7th. I thought after that I would possibly have a good horse. I have talked with the trainer and his concern is that in the 5 months we have seriously worked with him, the horse is not showing any consistency...he is unpredictable. I love this horse, and am struggling with WHEN IS IT TIME TO LET GO??? When do you decide that something between the ears is not quite right? :?