At a loss.. talented horse but no work ethic.

[rachk89]

Sorry but you can't rule out back pain without an x ray. I don't recall ever reading that your horse has had a formal work up from a decent vet but hey ho, I'm sure like the OP's horse he's just another badly behaved one.

How do you know I haven't done that? Just assuming? You dont have his vet records, you haven't met him or seen him. You dont know how many people have checked him over. Yet your opinion is of course totally correct. The owners couldn't possibly be, right?

Your attitude is exactly why I dont bother asking for help anymore from here, because I know all I will get is catty comments like this saying I am a bad owner to my horse and that I let him continue to be in pain through ignorance.

 

[Michen]

Based on what you yourself have said, that's all.

How do you know I haven't done that? Just assuming? You dont have his vet records, you haven't met him or seen him. You dont know how many people have checked him over. Yet your opinion is of course totally correct. The owners couldn't possibly be, right?

Your attitude is exactly why I dont bother asking for help anymore from here, because I know all I will get is catty comments like this saying I am a bad owner to my horse and that I let him continue to be in pain through ignorance.

 

[rachk89]

Based on what you yourself have said, that's all.

I haven't bothered posting about his issues in a while because of the backlash I get. So in the last 4 months since my last thread asking for help, you know everything that has gone on do you?

Of course you dont, because I haven't told anyone. Why should I? I'll probably just be told yet again that my vet is wrong and I need a new vet.

Its a shame because some people are nice and actually try to help me. Then theres people like you, convinced you're right and call me a bad owner who doesn't listen to my horse. But I can't be bothered dealing with it anymore, like what the OP has had to deal with. So I'll just listen to the people who do see my horse and not people online who never will.

 

[Michen]

In that case I am very pleased for both you and the horse that you've now got a professional involved that you trust. I was basing my comments on what you have said historically over quite a long period of time but obviously there have been developments in the last few months.

Best of luck to you both.

I haven't bothered posting about his issues in a while because of the backlash I get. So in the last 4 months since my last thread asking for help, you know everything that has gone on do you?

Of course you dont, because I haven't told anyone. Why should I? I'll probably just be told yet again that my vet is wrong and I need a new vet.

Its a shame because some people are nice and actually try to help me. Then theres people like you, convinced you're right and call me a bad owner who doesn't listen to my horse. But I can't be bothered dealing with it anymore, like what the OP has had to deal with. So I'll just listen to the people who do see my horse and not people online who never will.

 

[Caol Ila]

If a horse has a clean bill of health from a vet but still plays up more often than it doesn't and no amount of training has improved its attitude, maybe it's the wrong horse for that rider, or the wrong horse for that job. I don't see any point in getting into regular battles with a horse.

Here is how I see horses: fundamentally, they're animals that want to get along. That's how they have survived for millions of years and that's why humans have been able to train them for thousands of years. I really hate this adversarial relationship that seems to be pervasive at a lot of barns, viewing horses through the framework of surly adolescents who will simply try to get out of doing what you want, just for the sake of being bloody minded. Horses aren't like that. The horse would rather not expend energy rearing, bucking, spinning, balking, or otherwise fighting its rider. They don't find it any more pleasant than you do. If the horse is acting upset, it IS upset; it's not doing it because it takes any pleasure out of pi$$ing off the rider.

Then, because we (supposedly) have greater cognitive ability, it is up to us to figure out why the horse is fighting us, rather than acting according to its nature, which is to basically get along. But it's also in its nature to protect itself from anything it finds uncomfortable, stressful, or scary. That makes it our job, as trainers, to minimize the amount of uncomfortable, stressful, and scary, and to build trust so when we are asking for something that's a little bit uncomfortable (because building athleticism sometimes is), it won't freak out. It is our job as trainers to communicate clearly, because confused horses are often 'misbehaving' horses. It is also our job to teach the horse how to carry the rider, comfortably and balanced. When I did a stint as a freelance trainer, most of the behaviour issues I dealt with came from the simple fact that no one had ever taught the horse how to balance itself with a rider. The horses were stressed and scared, because they had 120lbs+ flopping around on their back, compromising their balance. If you're a prey animal, this is pretty terrifying. Chrissi Rashid, a very fine trainer from Colorado, has written a great blog about 'half-broke horses:" horses that have muddled through the breaking process and understand cues enough so people think they are trained, but they don't have a clear enough concept the aids to feel confident in working with the rider or carrying them; consequently, they are unhappy. And the riders think, "He's just lazy, unwilling, etc".

Some horses are more trusting than others. Some horses get more stressed by confusing cues and rider errors than others.

Some horses just hate schoolwork, or jumping, or I've even met the odd horse that's happy as anything to school but is scared of trail riding.

Are you riding the right horse for you? For the job?

By all means, get it checked out by a vet, and if there is nothing wrong with it, go back to basics. Does it really understand how to lift its back and feel good with the rider? Does it really understand the aids? Is it strong enough to do the work at the level you're asking?

If that doesn't help, then maybe it isn't the right horse. Not every horse is suited to every rider, and not every horse is suited to every discipline. Four years is a long time to be having regular rows with a horse.