Ring Sour

Question
I have an awesome 14 year old QH gelding. When I got him, he was a retired rope horse, reining horse, gaming horse and cow horse, and I  have put about 7 months of western pleasure training in him. He is trained to the max and we are always in the top ribbons in our classes. We only have 2 issues...after taking him to a few shows, he has decided that every time the announcer says something, it means to go faster or go the other way. At first, I was able to correct him quickly, but every show we go to it has gotten worse. It used to be that if the announcer said "jog", he would jog. Not much of a problem, right? Now, when the announcer says, "first call class 73" or "there is a red pickup outside with its lights on", he will pick up the lope.

Our second problem is patterns for equitation classes. He is a retired gaming horse, so when we have cones set up for the pattern, and we have to go in one at a time or stand in a line with our horses, he gets his gaming mode on, and starts jigging and breaks into a sweat and our pattern comes out as "halt, rear and crowhop a few times while acknowledging the judge, prance to cone 1, attempt to make a large circle at the jog while horse is trying desperately to make a small turn and make the cones into a pole bending pattern, then pick up a lope that turns into a hand gallop, attempt a lead change, try to lope a large circle while horse is trying to "run home", then on top of all that, make a balanced stop, back 6 steps, and perform a 360 degree haunch turn, that turns into a reining spin."

How in the world can I fix these problems? I have never gamed him in my life, and I practice at home with cones for patterns and he is fine, but as soon as we hit the show ring, he gets this way. I have also had my trainer say in a loud voice while outside the arena "walk your horses or jog, etc" and he does fine.

I don't get nervous before going into the show ring, so I know it can't be my nerves that are setting him off, so how can I fix this "ring sour" horse? Thanks!

Answer

Hip Chip Hi Haley!

These are not "problems", it is what this horse has lived his life doing!   It was what he was taught to do.  He takes over and comes up with his own plan, because that is what has saved him in the past.  Your gelding is not "ring sour", he is just very smart and knows how to save himself and stay out of trouble.  It just that now the game has been changed and he is struggling with a new set of rules.

This horse never formed a partnership of trust enough to wait on his rider.  No human has ever been a leader to him.  He is smart and he gets what he thinks he should be doing.  You, Haley will have to pay some dues.  He needs to learn to trust, wait, be patient and you will have to teach him how to accomplish this.

Breaking into a sweat, jigging, rearing all of that stuff is just a sign of emotional stress, fear, lack of trust, worry.  You have to begin at the beginning and show this horse another way to get along.  You will have to start by being a leader he can trust, with a plan he can believe in.  When he jigs, crow hops, rears you have to get to his feet and create an environment that builds trust and does not leave him feeling trapped.  The fix for this horse will take some time depending on how committed you are to finding a better way and learning how to get this done.  It will also depend on your feel, timing and balance.

Start by going back to the snaffle bit.  When your gelding gets bothered and rears, jigs, crow hops etc...do NOT pull on both reins.  You will have to learn to ride in one rein and  understand what it means to get control of the feet, with quality.   Trying to pull on both reins to get a horse to stop, only creates more tension.  You will have to teach your horse to yield his hind quarters so you can give him something constructive to do that builds his confidence.  My suggestion is to attend a horsemanship clinic.  It has the same feel as a horse show, but it allows you to work on all of the issues your horse is having.  It is about as expensive as a weekend mini-circuit.  If you are attending a clinic, with Buck Brannaman, Ricky Quinn or Ray Hunt, you can work on the cures for your horses insecurity.  I would then suggest that you take the information you learned at the clinic and attend a lot of schooling shows.  Small shows in which you can put into practice more of the skills learned from Buck, Ricky and Ray.  Choose a schooling show that you will feel comfortable really getting to the core of your horse.  If you need to roll him over his hind quarters, move him right and left, do haunches in or what ever else he needs, you can do it.  

Go back and read my past answers on yielding hind quarters, bucking, rearing, ground work and colt starting.  All of this information will really help you.  I also have a resource list of DVD's and books that will really do you some good.  You really need to get a good handle on quality ground work.  It will make a huge difference for this horse.  Look at the stuff by Buck Brannaman first.  It is very clear and straightforward.  When you have done more of your reading, give me a shout and we can work on more specific issues.  You have a lot going on with this horse and I really need for you to start right back at the beginning with ground work.  Trust me, it will really help you get the changes you are looking for.

Smiles!  Denise