R. E. S. P. E. C. T

I'm hoping I can get him back in shape and barrel race him starting in the spring of 2012.  He has a long way to go before he is fit enough to run.  He will be back to his old self soon.

I received some more questions and I'd like to share one with you!  Remember if you have any questions you can post them here on the site or Email them to me at karentharp@risingsunstables.com,if you don't want me to share your email just let me know.

Question:

Karen,
I have never had so many problems with my horse since he got gelded.

Now every time I ride him he bucks for like 10 minutes and I thought that gelding was suppose to mellow a horse out and I am having lots of problems.

He doesn't respect me anymore, and I really miss our bond.

He was awesome before and now it seems like he don't trust me once the saddle is on his back. Its hell.

I haven't fallen off yet but he's going to over power me one of these days.

Now when I lead him he rears but I don't want to send him to a trainer that's going to beat on him. So what should I do?

Connie

My Answer:

Hi Connie,

Let me see if I've got this right.

You say your horse has no respect for you.

You say he is getting to be dangerous to handle.

You say you know it's just a matter of time before he hurts you.

Then you say, in spite of him being extremely dangerous, you don’t want to discipline him. Hmmmmmm…

Hey, it makes perfect sense to me… NOT.

Connie, here is my question to you.

Besides disciplining him, what could you possibly do that would motivate your horse to behave?

Horses like this don't care if they hurt you.

This horse is having a great time pushing you around and using you for his personal entertainment. He's having fun doing this, what motivation does he have to stop?

Connie, it's time to get real here before you get seriously injured.

First of all, gelding him had nothing to do with the way he is acting.

This behavior has been building for a while (it's probably the real reason why you had him gelded in the first place). But his behavior now is so bad you're scared.

The bald face truth is that you need to make "bad behavior" uncomfortable for your horse or he'll only get worse. And if you can't do it, send him to somebody who can.

The consequence for not taking the appropriate action is a trip to the hospital.

SIDE NOTE: According to the latest statistics, approximately 80,000 people each year are taken to the hospital emergency room because of horse related injuries? After reading this question, are you at all surprised?