11 year old Laissez-Faire QH Gelding

Question
Hi!  I am a 46 year old woman who bought a horse to get back into riding & practice my riding skills. I was told this horse was "very gentle."  The guy I bought him said he hurt his back at work falling off a ladder & was selling him & 2 other mares.   When I got this horse he was basically just laying around living the good life and eating.  He was very overweight.  The guy had a big bag from which he gave him treats.  I slimmed him down some & am trying to work with him.

My horse is kept in a very large outdoor pen with a shelter.  It is electric fenced on both sides.  He gets turned out alone in a dry outdoor arena because they don't have a pasture where I board.  The reason he is turned out alone is because in the past, when he was turned out with other geldings, he would charge them & come up & kick them if they got too close to him & was very much the alpha gelding.  He is a little guy - a little over 14.2 & very big-boned. He does have another horse in the pen next to him.
 
He is pretty gentle on the ground, though stubborn with picking up his feet most of the time.  He is not spooky or anything.  He is difficult to get to lounge, so we don't do that too often.  The main problem is, when I ride him, he acts up for me but if someone else rides him he is a perfect angel.  I know this is a respect issue -- I have had people come in & work with me with him -- when he trots after going around the arena about 2 times he will put his head down & start trying to canter, toss his head, anything to try to get out of riding & make me get off.  He has never bucked me off -- yet.  He does seem to get more frustrated when I just ignore him & keep trying to trot him, & slow him down.  He was in a big heavy Pelham bit with a chain before.  Now I use a D-ring English snaffle but it doesn't seem to have much effect.  I was told to get a twisted snaffle with a wire but I don't want to hurt & cut his mouth.  I tried a kimberwick but it is too big for his mouth & looks really awkward.  I just try to slow him down.  What can I do with him?  I'd appreciate any advice you can give me.

Answer
Hi Sharon, I am glad to hear that you recognize this is a respect issue.  Horses are not stubborn.  They are just a horse.  The fact that he listens when others ride him confirms that your horse is smart, aware and knows that you don't know how to make him listen and others do.  

His kicking other horses are normal, he is just trying to establish his place in the pecking order of the herd.  If you understand herd behavior you will understand what he is doing to them and you.  It is only a matter of time before he starts kicking at you, not because his mean or stubborn, he is just being a horse.  If you keep getting in his space and he warns you to get away and you don't he will kick or bite you, that is what he would do to a lower horse.  He sees you as a lower horse so he is going to treat you as a lower horse.

If you are like a lot of riders, you think the bit gives you control over this horse.  This a false sense of security and it the main reason people get hurt riding horses.  The quicker you realize that the bit is just a cue device that should be used with lots of things and never used to bully or hurt or cause pain to the horse, the quicker you will improve your horsemanship skills.  The best gift you can give a horse is understanding him.  I tell kids this all the time and they think it is too much work, think they know it all since they have been riding for five or ten years, or want a fast easy fix or answer.

You are old enough to take the time to keep yourself and your horse safe.  Go to my site and read it.  I put it together so people could educate themselves without spending money.  Its free and it will help you understand the horse, how he thinks, how they live in a herd and once you understand this and apply this when you are around a horse, you will see a big change in how horses respond to you.

After you read my site, more than once, you will pick up new things each time you read it, then write me back if I can clear up some things.

Invest in your knowledge and your horse will get better, work on yourself and your horse improves, always look to you for the problem and never blame the horse.

Hope this helps,

Rick