hi...i just watched ur video on the unfocused buddy sour horse and found it enlightening. i have a small paint horse i purchased in feb. unfortunately he wasnt the same horse i attempted to ride a wk later tho i knew he had some problems...ie the boy who owned him apparently taught him to run instead of walk.
i have worked thru a lot of his problems and unfortunately hes developed a spooking habit and avoids water like the plague. when i got him i built a lean to for him on the side of a building which during the night fell and scared him enuff that he went right thru the electric fence and ended up with our neighbors horses. hed not shown any indications of spooking before this incident. now he spooks at everything and ive come off him twice when hed spin around unexpectedly.
im wondering if this can be mended since its happened becasue of this fright he had. u may notice that i will be purchasing several of ur videos to help me to unteach him his bad habits. so far im not afraid to ride him but he can be a bit to handle. hes a sweetheart to be around...doesnt bite or kick and will follow u like a puppy but he has loads of energy and no patience whatsoever. thank u for taking the time to read this and i welcome any advice u r willing to share.
First of all, I strongly suspect the horse is not trained.
You may be able to ride him but I just don't believe he's trained. I also suspect that he is probably quite young as well even though you give no indication of his age.
The lean-to collapse may be a factor in your problem but I rather doubt it. Unless the "lean-to" collapsed on him. If there were no visible injuries to the horse I'd kind of discount it actually came down on the horse.
In many years of horses I have had horses who have experienced "lean-to collapses" and have suffered no apparent behavioral changes from them. Doesn't mean your horse didn't, just that I think it is more likely he didn't than he did.
Now then, that said, I have found that there appears to be a strong connection between excessive spookiness reactions and cervical / thoracic subluxations. If the lean-to did actually hit him he may have some problems. These subluxations can cause a "stiff neck" that cause reactions like you would exhibit with one; you have to turn your whole body to look sideways.
Examine his neck to make sure both sides are the same. If you find lumps on one side that aren't on the other, chances are he has cervical subluxations.
You might want to have him examined by an equine chiro if you can find one in your area.
At any rate, I think your horse is more likely not trained. He may follow you around like a puppy dog and all that but I don't believe he is trained, or, as some folks might say, broke to ride.
The horse more than likely needs to be restarted from ground zero. It needs to find its place in your "herd." It needs to be despooked to the point that it blames you for any "spooks" and pretty much ignores them. It needs ground driving and longeing work. Then it is ready to start the under saddle work. The under saddle work consists of wet saddle blankets while you polish the stuff you already taught it from the ground.
Then if you want something other than a good old riding horse, you'll need to set out on a course of training for that discipline, whatever it may be.
I'm glad that you'll be purchasing more of my videos. They contain a wealth of information that you will find helpful as you work with your horse. You can check out my video inventory.
Best of luck.
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