disrespectful quarter horse

Question
Lyn,
I have had many years of experience with horses.  I owned several horses over the years. Three of my four daughters and myself recreationally rode while the fourth daughter showed extensively on the hunter/jumper circuit.  I did a lot of work as a groom for the barn to offset some of the show fees.  After being away from the horse business for about 10 years I decided to get back at it although this time with trail horses that we have at home.  We chose to rescue horses from the 'horse killers' at the auctions.  We got an older arabian, three years ago, that is a dream.  He is like having a dog hang around. He has obviously been around the block a few times as all I had to do was re-inforce basic training and he happily stepped up to the plate to comply with my wishes.  He does seem to be a bit skittish on the trail, but I think most of that is due to the fact that he appears to have been used extensively in the show ring. We also acquired a quarter horse from auction about two years ago.  Assumed age at that time was 'about 10'. It appears that he was 'cowboyed' and perhaps had been used as a bronc.  The bucking shows that we sometimes witness when he's feeling fresh are tremendous.  He also had a bad habit of bursting forward as soon the riders left foot was in the stirrup.  The biggest problem that we have is his lack of respect on the ground, especially for me.  My husband is rather green, but he will respond and show more respect to him than to me.  We wonder if this could be a response to my husbands deep voice. This horse has run me right down in the field and several times he has shoved me into walls. He does not like me to do any ground work with him at all. I am having problems lunging him because if he sees a whip or a 'stick' he panics and tries to climb right out of the round pen. If a try to lunge him without a whip he pulls me and turns his head to the wall and backs up to kick me. He is also a huge bully to our arabian.  He leaves bite marks on him nearly every day.  When we separate the two of them they panic until they are back together.  We hate to give-up on this guy because we have seen the sweet side of him as well but we are very much concerned that we may not be able to earn his trust and turn him around before one of us is hurt.  Help!
Jeanne

Answer
Jeanne,

You don't know what has precipitated his issues but I agree, he needs an attitude adjustment.  You have a round pen, excellent!  Take him in there, take everything off, no line, no halter, nothing.  And start doing basic round pen work to establish respect and who runs the show.  If you are not familiar with true, natural-horsemanship/least resistance traing there are some very good videos out there.  Pat Parelli has some good ones.  I think John Lyons does, Curt Pate, a lot of them.  The methods work, all have the same basic idea of getting the horse to think about what's going on and realize it's easier just do do what you ask.  The methods differ from trainer to trainer, as you do it you figure out what works for you and how you want to do something with the horse.  I've refined mine over 20+ yrs. of training mostly Mustangs but other kinds too.  You will be amazed at the difference after just the first session and how fast you can get the  horse to respond.  It probably will take some repetitions to get the point across but it will sink in.  Geldings are slower to respond than mares but he will "get it".  

This will give you a real advantage when you start addressing the "taking off" when you go to mount.  Mine have all learned to wait until I give them a treat and ask them to move.  It didn't happen overnight and involved lots of time of getting on the mounting block and putting a foot in the stirrup and taking it out when the horse moved.  When first starting I have someone hold the horse and go from there getting on and off repeatedly.  It took time but all of them stand perfectly still now and wait for their treat and the signal to move.  Food is a very strong motivator but they have to earn it when I'm training.  They figure that out very quickly and work to please me.

I do have a gelding right now, a Mustang who looks to have some Percheron in him, who is a case in point.  Over the year and a half he's been here, while I'm letting him grow and mature both physically and mentally (drafts and anything with draft blood tends to be a little dense) we've had a number of sessions in the round pen when he becomse a disrespectful smart-ass, like a lot of teenaged boys I run into in school.  I also substitute teach at school.  So, until he starts some real work I'm sure we'll go through this again.  You have an older horse so this probably  won't be as much of an issue.  Once learned it should stick with him but if not back in the round pen you both go.  

Rescues can have a lot of issues, both physical and mental.  I would suggest you get him some bodywork and possibly chiropractic work ASAP.  You can't be sure that some of his issues don't lie with physical problems and muscle damage he's accumulated in his previous jobs.  That could have some bearing with his behavior under saddle.  And make sure his equipment fits properly and is comfortable for him.  You want to eliminate any and all excuses/reasons for behavior problems.  I've done a lot of work with rescues and have resovled a lot of problems that stemmed from physical issues.  

Good luck with him and let me know how he and you progress.

Lyn