a barnsour horse

Question
Hi,2 questions,
1:A few months ago we purchased large QH(8yr.old). He is mostly ridden by my mother who is very petite. At first he realy didn't know what to think about the new place or stalls, so he didn't stay in them much, but we were feeding, brushing,and giving him attention there. Now he is Barnsour,he is not allowed in his stall, is that a good idea? We ride him every day and i lunge him in the mornings right next to his stall. Are we doing anything wrong? is there anything else you reccomend?
2:When he first came to us he was in a hackamore,but he would not stop or turn properly, one day i put him in the bridle that i use on my paint[a snaffle] and he did well. So we now ride him in that, but he still dosen't like to turn or stop. when you ask him to stop he rears up and then bolts, he went thru the fence.  is there a better bit to use on him or will he get used to it? What can we do to fix this behavior?
Thank you so much, Ashley


Answer
Hi Ashley!

Is sounds to me like your QH is doing everything he can to establish dominance with you and your mother.  Perfectly normal when a horse moves to a new situation.  Often they will test the waters to see if they can move up in rank or maintain the Alpha position.

You need to stop riding him and get control of him on the ground.  He is listening to you all but, just barely.  His training will not stick forever and it is slipping daily already...as you humans prove to be weak to him.  He does more bad things.  Right?



Since you wrote to me and asked what to do, I feel it is best to ask your vet or farrier to recommend a local trainer to come out and evaluate your situation with him.  Find someone who works with difficult QH's...they will teach you how to speak to him so that he understands what his borders are with you.

When I say you must dominate him, I do not mean with cruelty or hitting.  I mean by using the horse language he understands.  He will only get worse and more disrespectful as time goes on.  You cannot fix this with a bit change or by longeing him next to his stall.  You need a consistent plan of training that you stick to.  Start small and when he is successfully doing something, then move on.  You must start with ground work.  To ride him now would be skipping steps in his training with you.

Have a trainer give you specific exercises with goals to achieve that will communicate to him what you want and expect from him.  Taking the time and money now to correct this will give you 20 more years of a wonderful riding partnership!

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

Solange