palo1
Well-Known Member
I barely ever join in threads like this but blimey! It will all be fine OP. You have bought a young horse you like and he has some current issues with his manners and respect. You don't have to spend loads of money necessarily on youngstock livery/professional yards or employ esoteric internet/youtube based training methods. Accept where you are and the fact that this horse may take more time to untangle. Slow down any kind of plan and do NOT 'crack on'!! Do you have a professional who can support you? If not, find a sensible and sympathetic someone who can work with you, within your budget and with your existing facilities. Accept too, that this may be a steep and possibly difficult learning curve. It would be helpful for this horse to have more company possibly so how about approaching a charity for a companion or even two (possibly a strong mare who can instill some manners into the young'un). If this horse has not been within a herd so far, it is not a total disaster nor is it something you must make up for at great cost to yourself. It just is what it is. He can still be a perfectly fine, functional horse! He may or may not be too much for you but at 2 and a half, you can't yet say. If you like him, work with him till he is a better chap and has a better chance in life. I would turn him out with the other horse/horses for a week or so and just allow the normal kind of interaction of feeding, checking, putting on a headcollar, tying up etc. Don't ask more than that just yet possibly. If need be, don't cause more anxiety by taking away his only security (your other horse). But slowly, slowly ask for a tiny bit more, making sure that anything you ask for is responded to as you want it to be; politely, attentively and respectfully. If you ask too much, go back a little but try not to get stuck with repeating the same 'safe' actions! If he leads nicely away from the other horse one day, the next day just ask him to walk through the gate politely, turn and wait before walking back through the gate and back to his pal nicely for example. You may find it very hard work and rather demoralising but many people have and can deal with tricky horses in less than ideal situations; you may or may not want to be one of these!! Good luck, he is a really smart sort.