Hello,
Is sending him to a trainer an option, financially?
I would choose someone that has a good reputation, that will let you watch while they work, and will train you as well.
In the meantime - some things to note about dominant horses, or really, horses in general -
Whoever moves their feet is the follower
So what this means for you -
on a lead line, ask your horse to do a turn on the forehand. Do this by holding the lead line right beneath his halter (not on the buckle), standing at his shoulder, pulling his head towards you and using pressure at his haunches. Because he has trampled you, I would recommend having a training stick, or even just a stick.
Whip will make noise and sting, but you can’t physically push into him like you would need to if he is pressing into you
Once you are getting good response at TOF both directions, start training him to back on command.
Do this by standing at his shoulder again and holding the lead rope beneath the buckle. WITH AUTHORITY - snap the lead rope down to the ground repeatedly, and tap his chest with your stick.
This is a big deal leader-wise - because backing up is a choice, a conscious decision to let you move his feet. If you have never done this before, I would expect he will be angry and/or not willing to move.
Spend 3-5 seconds snapping leadrope and tapping chest WITH AUTHORITY, if he makes any move to step backwards - front foot, back foot even just a shifting of weight, pause to reward and ask again
If he pushes against you, leans forward, steps forward or does anything with aggression, BAM - go into your turn on the forehand
Once you can make the horse move his feet out of your space by TOF and backing, you have some great tools that should help you in other aspects of the relationship.
But again, a professional trainer has enough experience to tell when the horse is even thinking about fighting back, thereby allowing them to nip it in the bud faster and of course, remain safer
If he’s good for trainers and experienced riders, your question becomes - do you want to learn how to handle him and can afford to invest in that training, or do you just want to have a horse that is totally beginner safe? If you don’t want to change how you handle horses, sell him, but BE HONEST about his issues, which is sounds like you are - just for everyone’s safety! And be careful in who you sell him to - kill buyers are out there, and this would make easy prey.
If you want to learn, send him to a trainer, and you take lessons with that trainer on ground work and handling horses in general. I will say, even beginner safe horses can become dangerous if not handled correctly. If you’ve never taken lessons on handling on the ground, it’s good to learn for anyone involved with any horse, not just dominant ones. I think plenty of horse issues are created by what the handler allows, or even inadvertently encourages, not by the innate personality of the horse each time.
You need an experienced trainer. Get him some training before you sell him if you want him to go to a good home.
2 Likes
After 4yrs this horse has your Number & he has proved that by injuring you badly twice in that time.
Has he always been pushy with you?
If he is not with your trainer or other riders your body language is the problem & he may not ever be the right horse for you.
You don’t say how long you have been riding or if you have had other horses, but from your post it is clear you do not have the experience to handle/retrain this horse by yourself.
Get some help before you decide, but IIWM I’d look to selling him after putting some training in to make sure he will be safe for another owner.
Even with the help of a trainer why subject yourself to potential further injury?
Put the horse in training for a few months and sell to an experienced person. Find a nice beginner safe horse and enjoy riding vs getting injured. They both cost the same to board and shoe.
2 Likes
Thank you for the helpful information. He is a trained proven show horse. He just has no respect for me. I am going to put in some training and sadly sell.
You realize you need to EARN a horse’s respect it is not a Given.
Even the least dominant animal can become pushy if you don’t know how to work with them to establish Who is in charge.
“Trained, proven show horse” is a meaningless phrase - shows only that handler(s) knew what they were doing.
Good Luck finding a horse you can work with unless you work on improving your handling knowledge first.
