rescue horse

Question
I am looking at a 13.2hh pony being brought back from starvation. He is doing wellnow at 6001bs. My question is. He was basically a yard dog for 6 years and a stallion at that. He was gelded in April 2009. We have him for a try period and he has a great temper except in his stall with feed. We have decided to remove him from the stall to tackup to fix the bad behavior of a kick one time. My real concern is we want to show him at the local shows. How realistic is it to tie him to a trailer with other horses and hay bags at times and feel safe to all? My daughter is 12.

Answer
Hello Vicki,
If I understand your question you would like help getting your pony ready to be tied to a trailer while at shows. Of course he can get there, the best place to start is by turning him out with a herd. Since he has been a stallion, he may not know how to be social with other horses. Then I would bring your trailer around and tie him with a bag of food (make sure he has tied before, or prepare him for it by making sure he is really easy to lead in a halter, even up to a trot), leave and do your work for a while and come back, tack him up, and go for a ride. When he is in his stall it might be a good idea to open the door and start by swinging your rope back and forth towards him and then if you need to throw it at him to teach him that when you come in you can send him to the back of the stall. Repeat, repeat until he stands quietly in the back looking at you. Practice this until you walk in and start to wiggle the rope and he goes and stands quietly at the back. Then try doing the same thing when their is food in the stall. You want to set up a relationship with your pony that makes you a herd of two, and you are the leader of your herd.
Best Wishes,
Caitlin Day Huntress