[Savvy Debonair]

"I've recently bought Red. He has been abused, please take this into note when making comments or anything.

On wednesday, i went to lunge Red. He plain refused, we i went to send him out, instead of walking out, like he usually does. He backed up, throwing hsi head up, and then proceeding to lash out, when he got moving. He bucked up, threw his head, and kicked out. He trotted out first up, and crushed into me. I directed him out. Though he just crammed in again. He cant be used with a whip, or using the lunge to direct him, because he rears. And this is exactly what he did, when i used the end of the lunge to get moving, with a small flick. he stopped backed up, and reared. Nothing huge or attack like. more like "I want out!"

The second time, we were walking, in hand halter. I was doing some weaving. Just to change from our usual, in hand walk. Incorporate some hills, and body movements. he's very stiff, and does'nt engage very well. This really got his brain thinking, he gets stressed very easily. so i stop, let him relax, and continued the walk. He started head tossing, then he reared. So i told him to stand still. He did, looking shocked.

Then we walked on. He then reared, and lashed out. Im not even sure what caused this, he just went up, legs flailing. then he was back down like nothing happened. I don't even know how to disipline him, because he does'nt seem to register between the actions he does.

And i can't hit him, or use a whip or anything, because he goes absolutly mental. i've already seen this happen twice, and i don't want to see it happen again.

OR Should I get a trainer for him, and see if they can do anything about his problem?

 

[justsambam08]

It sounds to me like hes getting out of work by behaving badly. The best way to treat "abused" horses is if you act like they aren't. Use a lunge whip and crack it behind his butt when he won't move forward--don't hit him with it. If he was abused, that should be enough to get him going, because he would theoretically "know" what comes next....most horses who are abused don't have any resistance left in them. If he continues to rear, that just means he's testing you as if to say "well whatcha gonna do now?". If you behave like he is any other horse, he'll act like every other horse.

 

[Little T Ranch]

Rearing Horse

I am going to give you a more generic answer to address the rearing.One very common mistake is when the horse faces you with two eyes looking at you,at that spot the direction needs to be clear left or right.What happens to often is pressure is applied with no opening the choice for the horse is to back ,rear,or even charge forward .The answer is easy to do but hard to explain.Lets say the horse is facing you and you want him to go to your left .his right.The direction would be given with your left hand and the right hand will move him off the space you require.Another way to say this is left hand is the opening the door the right hand is closing the door.You need to focus more on the opening .Keep your left hand calm and steady,please aviod shaking it ,a common tool using to get the horse to tip his weight back on the rear.This will only add confusion to your direction.You are thinking clearly about not hitting .What you want to do for a horse that is already over reacting to his enviorment is to calm down his enviorment not add pressure .Remember to breath and stay clear .When you have your opening clear slowly apply some energy at the spot to the right you want the horse to move off .Make it a distance away from his right eye a few feet to start,look at that spot not his eye.If you feel him move the slightest bit stop.Go behind his wither and give him a small gentle rub.If you have the chance to pick up the book True Horsemanship Through Feel by Bill Dorance and Leslie Desmond this is where I learned this .Or check out Leslies web site ,you will see me there listed as a trainer,we are trying to spread the word as many are .Hope this helps I am not new to training but new to giving instruction on the web, and that is why I am doing this to reach more people .If this makes sence and you like the result I would be happy to walk you through some more exercises.Please be safe.

 

[Peetz]

It sounds to me like hes getting out of work by behaving badly. The best way to treat "abused" horses is if you act like they aren't. Use a lunge whip and crack it behind his butt when he won't move forward--don't hit him with it. If he was abused, that should be enough to get him going, because he would theoretically "know" what comes next....most horses who are abused don't have any resistance left in them. If he continues to rear, that just means he's testing you as if to say "well whatcha gonna do now?". If you behave like he is any other horse, he'll act like every other horse.

This is spot on! What ever happened in his past is in the past. Most times it is better to not know a horses past so you don't treat them as if they are humans. A horse knows three things, eat, flee, fight. It will fight if it feels it is higher in the herd that it's opponent, it will flee if it feels lower in the herd and eat, well pretty much all the other times. LOL. It seems to me that your horse views you as lower and himself as higher in the herd ranking. This must be fixed first. Start with the basics of ground manners, even if you feel he has mastered these tasks, start back at square one. Any disobedience at this level will flow over to his under-saddle and lunging training. He needs to respect you, and it sounds very much he does not. Gain your place in the herd. If you must learn how this is accomplished, watch a herd of horses and see how they do it. Observe the mares and how they discipline the other horses. Even subtle body postures will be enough or you may need to inflick some pain, but gaining respect is a must. He is, as you well know, large enough to kill you if he wanted to, one strike of his hoof..... well you know. You can gain his respect without beating him. But you also cannot gain it by being a pushover. I feel the first step to a good trainer is understanding their behavior, after you know why they are doing something you can address how to fix it.

 

[Gidji]

Did Red have the saddle on at all when you lunged him?

 

[SeWHC]

A horse knows three things, eat, flee, fight.

No, four! You forgot poop!

Couldn't resist.

 

[tealamutt]

get a trainer. Now. If you don't have the experience to deal with the behaviors you're describing on the spot and immediately you need someone who does and can show you how or you risk serious injury to yourself and your horse, not to mention perpetuating the problem everytime you don't handle it right. Your situation is extreme, you need help here.

 

[SmoothTrails]

I'm going to agree with all of the above...lol. It sounds severe enough to need a trainer. It sounds as if this horse has you fooled and just doesn't want to work. Make sure you're not accidentally causing the issue by blocking all the exits, but I think it sounds like you need some help.

I had to work with a horse that did the exact same thing. She was never abused, but she sure knew that rearing and charging made most of the vet students get the heck out of the way. She didn't like it at all when I just pushed her to go on forwards and kept out of reach. Eventually, she got better about it. It takes time, patience, and consistency.

 

[kevinshorses]

You are not helping your horse by letting him keep his phobias of whips and such. Your horse will only rise to your expectations.

I think you need to reduce the pressure your putting on him and work on directing him better. Little T is giving you very good advice and you should heed it. I also think it might be a good idea to send your horse to a good trainer.

 

[tealamutt]

I agree with Kevin and little T as well. I think these are excellent suggestions but think that getting some pro help and then following up with these techniques will work best for you. There's not shame in getting help, especially if it is what is best for your horse and yourself. Not everyone is born knowing everything about training (I doubt ANYONE is, it takes a life time to learn!!) But I definitely agree on not coddling a horse that has been abused or is afraid. They need to learn to trust like any horse, but sometimes we need to take different steps to do so.