Help please!

Question
Hi I'm having some problems with my horse. He is a 8yr old registered quarter horse. He used to be well behaved now when he gets really excited he gets almost uncontrollable sometimes. He will back up or spin instead of going forward. Any advice on how to make him listen and not freak out? also my horse is pretty scared of things that flap such as flags but I am hoping to use him in a rodeo grand entry tis summer as a flag bearer horse. Any ideas on how to get him over his fear? One last problem is when I go to a jackpot or fair to run barrels he won't always go in by himself I have to have someone ride up beside me. Any ideas on how to fix that? Once you get him goin he goes lol he is just a very hot headed horse and I would appreciate any advice you can give me on these matters especially getting over his fear of flags and gettin him to run into an arena without assistance from some one else. Thank you very much

Answer
Hi Courtney!

While these may have seemed simple questions to you, I could not even begin to answer them over the Internet ~ If I could train horses and clients without ever going to the barn....I'd be rich!

An eight year old QH gelding is just about the wildest, strongest and most ornery creature around.  You have your hands full and need lots of help.  It is clear he has many gaps in his education and needs to be trained to think before he acts.  And I mean solid training that he can fall back on in highly stressful situations. Just dragging him around and attempting to make him do things he really doesn't understand has gotten you nowhere, right?  

Think about it.....could you possibly do well in an advanced algebra class if you never even completed your basic 6th grade math course??  Wouldn't you sit in that advanced class getting more and more frustrated as the teacher just yelled or kicked or called on you in front of everyone, just "expecting" you to know the answer magically??

If I were you, I would either forget using him this summer to do the ONE THING that scares him the most....being a flag bearer.... or get to getting and train him consistently and well how to do it so he is perfectly ready to be ridden in that scenario.

Either way, you need hands-on help.  Talk to your vet, farrier, tack shop or someone at the rodeo who can recommend a local trainer to help you.  Spending the time and money now to correctly train him will benefit you both and above all, keep you safe.

Good luck and remember to always wear an ASTM/SEI approved helmet!

Solange