AboutRick Gore (www.thinklikeahorse.org) Expertise Visit Rick Gore's Horse Site: --- www.thinklikeahorse.org --Rick is a student of the horse. He can answer questions about sacking out (Desensitizing vs. Sensitizing), dealing with spooky, abused or ex-race horses, rearing, bucking, horses that won’t tie or load into a trailer, working in a round pen/round corral, starting colts, dealing with aggressive or so called "mean" horses, herd behavior, biting, kicking, hard to catch, using a bosal or hackamore, soft hands and direct reining verses neck reining. If you expect him to tell you feel good advice, you will be disappointed. 95% of all his answers will include "the problem is you and not your horse." About 95% of most answers that I give out are on my web site, so if you read it you will probably answer your own question and may learn a few other things. I am like Gordon Ramsey (Hell's Kitchen) and Simon Cowell (Idol), you may not like what I say or how I say it, but it will be pretty true and accurate, in my opinion, judging from my experience.
Experience Rick is an experienced horseman with over 35 years of riding and handling horses. Rick grew up in Texas around horses and horse people. He has started colts, ridden many horses with behavior issues and worked with problem horses. (He believes that most horse problems are really people problems)
He believes in and practices natural horsemanship and continues to read and study books by great horsemen. He routinely attends clinics, talks with and discuss horse issues with other clinicians and trainers. He has never met a horse that could not be fixed. Rick believes it is never the horse's fault and with proper handling, all problems can be worked out.
Education/Credentials Rick has over 35 years experience in being around and working with horses. Over the years he has watched good horsemen do the right thing and seen the wrong things done with bad results. Rick has a Bachelor of Science degree in Education.
Question Hi Rick, I am 45. I worked at a hack stable for 7 years 30 years ago. I was
on the equestrian team in college 26 years ago. I moved my family from the
suburbs to the country 4 years ago and we bought our first horse last week. I
teach biology and related advanced sciences to high school seniors and first
year college students, and I take in rescued animals.
The horse is a quarter horse in his late teens. He is about 80 pounds
underweight. He was rescued from a family that could no longer afford to
feed him and they used him as a family horse. When I first saw him under
saddle he was responsive to his adult rider. He was responsive to me too.
When my 8 year old rode him (I was holding the reins) she gave a few kicks
and he barely responded. My 11 year old was able to get him to walk, then
trot for a couple of yards, then he went back to walking. My overall
impression was that this horse would be well suited for light riding for
different level riders. So I bought him and shipped him to my house.
He has a 12 x 12 box stall adjoining a 1/3 acre pasture. He is the only horse
at my house. He is able to see my neighbor's cattle quite closely and hear
but not see my other neighbor's mustangs (lawn ornaments). Because he was
kept in a stall for at least two weeks, prior to coming to my house, I have
limited his grazing each day. I have increased his pasture time each day. He
is on grass hay at will, and he gets one 3 qt scoop of sweet feed in the
morning and one in the evening. Up until yesterday (one week exactly) he
was perfectly mannered and never nervous. He has been ridden every other
day for about 30 minutes, and I lunge him just about every day for about 15
minutes. We groom him daily without any problems whatsoever. Until
yesterday.
I noticed that he was especially attentive to his surroundings while he was
tied for grooming. His ears were forward and his whole body was tense. He
was tilting his head to look around and seemed very nervous. He seemed
uncomfortable with the sounds he was hearing: the barking dog, the box fan,
the farmer's hay bailing tractor. There was also a storm brewing. We
stopped the grooming session, I untied him and lunged him for a few
minutes. He listened well and went through his paces in both directions
without problems. At the end of the session I rewarded him with vocal praise
and pats on the neck. We were then able to groom and ride without incident.
Afterward, when he was cooled off, I returned him to his stall, and shut the
gate. (at some point, the gate can remain open so he can enter and leave at
will) This is where the problem is: two days ago, while I was picking the
"road apples" out his stall while he was eating. This was NOT a problem until
this happened; the handle fell off the plastic shavings fork and the fork fell
unexpectedly onto his leg. He jumped back and lunged forward. I was able
to get the fork up and out of his way and he calmed down. Now it seems
that he is "spooky". His body language is tense and I want to make sure I
handle this the right way to restore his calm disposition. Obviously, I am not
cleaning his stall with him there anymore. But I did make that mistake, what
can I do to help him feel safe again? Please help! One last thing, he was fine
the day after the incident, the nervousness didn't start until the second day
after.
Answer This is normal behavior. I hear a lot of inexperience and misunderstanding in your question. Things happen that scare and spook horses, it is normal, you need to treat it as normal and not avoid it. That is how you make a horse more spooky. So what the handle hit him, it was a mistake, but he should handle it, he should know things like that might happen, he needs to know that things can fall and bump into him and it is no big deal.
It is ok for a horse to get or be scared, it keeps them alive and they need to be alert to stay active. Sweet feed is a treat and needs to be very controlled and very limited, small amounts. If you want to put weight on him oats or rolled oats are good, they love them and they are good for them without all the sugar from sweet feed. More time in pasture will help him adjust better. Another horse is really the best thing for a lone horse. Horses need a herd, they need a buddy to feel safe and to be able to sleep. Understanding herd behavior is critical to keeping you, your family and this horse safe.
Sacking out this horse will help him deal with fear. A horse needs to get scared so he knows that he can be scared and not get hurt.
I would think you are being more careful and jumpy and watching more since YOU think he is spooky now and therefore he is reacting to you. A horse is a reflection of the owner/primary handler/person it is with. If you are nervous he will be nervous, if you don't care,he wont care...this is why kids are good with horses, they don't care, they don't see the danger, they are clueless and it is why adults (older or more mature) are not so good with horses since they are more careful, they are more worried about getting hurt, they know the dangers and they act accordingly and the horse KNOWS.
I really suggest you read my entire web site, it will give you a new out look on horses and will help you see them as a horse. Understanding of the horse is the best gift you can give to a horse. My site is long as a book, but I assure you if you read it you will get more information than most have who have owned horses their entire life.
