I dont even know

[meeree]

I have a 20 year old quarter horse. My dad bought him after being told he’s calm and great. The seller incorrectly said he was 14 too, we found out when the vet really gave him a look in the mouth. I bought him in march and finally got him a saddle etc in september. He’s my first horse.

I would ride him with a curb bit. Either from my inexperience or discomfort in his mouth, he’d chew at the bit, throw his head, trot when I didnt want him to. I like to ride him on the road I live on, the sides of the road are grass. He tries to turn around to head home. I know the curb bit is really tough so I made sure to not pull hard, be gentle, but sometimes when he wouldnt listen when I wanted him to stop, i’d have to pull some while sitting firmly in my seat like I learned online.
So today I bought him a snaffle bit with copper rollers after some research. I thought he’d like something more comfortable. He didnt throw his head this time, but he doesn’t listen still and will trot to the back porch door. He would always hang out at this door when we had him loose around the property so I guess its a comfortable place for him. He was hard to stop. So my dad told me to get off to teach me how to control him. All he did was pull extremely hard on the reins to the point Handsome’s mouth was gaping open and he made him turn in tight circles to “dominate” him and that just doesnt seem correct at all. There was nothing nice about it or refined. I dont feel comfortable at all forcing my horse to do that, horses are sensitive and I want to be a partner to my horse not just dominate him.

Is my dad correct in his methods? He told me if I looked on the internet he’d be proven correct, but from what i’m reading he’s wrong. Last time before we got Handsome he rode horses in Cuba when he was like a teenager-20’s.

[aktill]

He’s barn sour, so right off this is a brain issue and has nothing to do with the bit you’re using.

He’s telling you he’s uncomfortable away from the barn, and you thus have a few options at this point.

You can (among other things):

1. Make it less comfortable for him when he thinks about the barn. How much less comfortable you make him is going to be up to you to decide…too much, and he’ll just get extra worried about what you’re going to do to him every time he gets worried about where he is. Too much worry, and he’ll tell you to take a hike.
2. Change his thought pattern so he thinks about something else. Give him a bush to walk around, rope a log, find some uneven terrain to walk over. If you give him a job to focus on, he’ll be less likely to worry about where he is.
3. Find the edge of his comfort level, and wait. If you teeter on the edge of where he’s uncomfortable, but hasn’t yet decided to go home, if you leave him alone for a bit he may realize it’s no big deal. Go home when he gets settled, and next time out odds are his comfort zone will get a touch bigger because you’re rewarding him for being more confident.
4. Go back to the barn, but work the snot out of him when you get there. If getting back to the barn is the magic place where he gets untacked, groomed and fed, then he’ll want to go there all the time. If that happens sometimes, but other times he works hard there, it’s more of a toss up.
5. Do other things that build up his trust in you, so when you have a disagreement in the future, he’s more likely to trust you. Trust is earned, so you can bank more credit to draw on in the future.
6. Punish him for “being bad”…YMMV if you choose this one.
7. Get him tired before you head out…YMMV if you choose this one. The fitter you get the horse without addressing his brain, the longer this takes each time.

WHERE you notice him getting uncomfortable will play a big part in how big a deal this becomes. If you wait until he flat out turns around to come home, odds are you’re going to be in for a big fight. If you notice the first time his ear flicks back to the barn, or when you can first hear the volume of his breathing change, you have a much better chance to make a change by doing small things.

Think about his comfort level as an elastic band. The bigger the stretch before you address things, the bigger the argument. Go so far that it snaps, and you’re in for a rodeo or a VERY fast ride home, during which you’re not likely to be able to fix things.

[SuzieQNutter]

You cannot learn online.

You either need to learn from your Dad or an instructor you pay.

A 20 year old horse needs respect of his age.

[aktill]

If you choose to try to dominate him, keep in mind that you’ll be making him obey out of fear of what you’re going to do to him. If you can get him to believe that you mean it (this implies you believe it yourself BTW), it’ll probably work in most situations.

Eventually, however, you’ll be in a tight spot where the horse has to choose whether to step back underneath you or dump you on your *** and gallop home. Think about what you’d prefer in that situation.

You have to be willing to step up and do what your horse requires. Only one person can lead the dance, and so that may extend beyond the limits of what you’re comfortable doing (especially if you’re of the more sensitive type). That doesn’t require being a bigger bully though. Somehow I don’t think Ginger Rogers danced with Fred Astaire under threat of being beaten up if she didn’t, however (<–feel free to insert more currently relevant example here).

You can usually redirect a horse’s thoughts in a way that you want more usefully than just punishing the ones you don’t want.

[cloudy18]

This horse knows he can get away with this with you. And your dad’s methods will not be a cure. You really need to take some riding lessons and work on some basics, as well as this particular issue. Is there someone local that could help you?

[meeree]

Thanks so much for the input so far. I don’t believe at all that my dad’s methods will help correct Handsome. He insists its the only way and he doesn’t like the idea of me bringing in a trainer. As for a trainer, I live in Naples FL and I haven’t found any online that state they’re mobile, so i’m going to the local tack shops to find out and ill ask my farrier.

[KIloBright]

You have a barn sour horse, and agree on the standard advise, used to fix such a horse, like making home not such a magnet, tying him up after you get back, working him harder around home, etc
While your Dad’s solution of using more force is not correct, neither is it correct to allow the horse to decide when he can head home, as that will only make him more barn sour and perhaps escalate tot he point he will refuse to ride away from home period.
You do need some help, and while riding around home is boring, I think you need to work on some basics there, so that when you do ride out, you are able to decide when and at what speed you both leave home, and come back.
The horse does not know how far you intended to ride, so if you know he is going to try to head for home, either have the skill to prevent him, or decide just before that point to turn home. The horse does not know if you had planned to ride further, just that it was you who decided when to head back
Don’t let him head to the porch, his comfort place, nor immediately un saddle him or feed him. Instead, tie him up for an hour or so, then ride him some more

[NoSuchPerson]

[QUOTE=meeree;7904573]
Thanks so much for the input so far. I don’t believe at all that my dad’s methods will help correct Handsome. He insists its the only way and he doesn’t like the idea of me bringing in a trainer. As for a trainer, I live in Naples FL and I haven’t found any online that state they’re mobile, so i’m going to the local tack shops to find out and ill ask my farrier.[/QUOTE]

If you can’t find a trainer that will come to you, go someplace and take riding lessons on their horses. Learning how to properly handle a horse (any horse) will help you to handle your horse properly.

[merrygoround]

Agreed that the horse is barn sour.

Agreed that your father’s techniques could create more problems than they solve.

You need help!

Barn sourness has faced even experienced riders and sometimes challenged their
abilities. Definitely practice stopping, steering and turning in the confines of your property. And get help!