Sometimes to Love Them is to Leave Them

There has been a long discussion on the Linkedin group, "Horse Lovers of the Business World" concerning Dan's problems with his horse, Primo. Primo's behavior is inconsistent -- sometimes he's a joy to ride and then other times he's a terror. Dan can't predict which Primo will show up and Primo will change his temperment during a ride. After listening to much advice concerning training and riding techniques, supplements, aromatherapies, etc., Dan said that while selling Primo would be sad, riding is a hobby and he can't afford a project horse. He's trying to apply the advice for another week or so and plans to sell the horse if things don't improve.

I was in a similar position several years ago with the horse pictured here -- I'll call him Leo. I'd bought Leo at a reputable auction for trail horses. Most of the horses, like Leo, were registered and most, including Leo, were shown over a series of demanding trail obstacles before the sale. Leo was intended to be the eventual replacement for my 20 year old Appaloosa mare.

I should have been warned when the seller didn't offer to let prospective buyers ride Leo in the ring before the auction started. I should also have been warned when Leo went for a relatively low price despite being a great looking young horse with foundation Quarter Horse bloodlines. I wasn't cautious though and thought I'd gotten a great deal on the horse that would carry me into retirement.

I started having problems with Leo as soon as I started to ride him. He was pushy and hard to handle and knew as many tricks as a seasoned dude string horse. One of the first times I tried to ride him, he started to buck as I put my foot into the stirrup. There were respectable bucking sprees occurring on every ride, whenever he found a slight excuse.

Using the name and address on his papers, I talked to the woman who had owned Leo before the auction seller. She told me that she'd purchased Leo for her daughter, but that her trainer had abused the horse, and Leo had finally bucked off the trainer and the daughter. The person I'd bought Leo from had done a quick retraining and consigned Leo to the auction.

I was able to ride Leo three or four times a week, and we made slow progress. His ground manners improved, he stopped bucking when I mounted, sometimes he completed an entire ride without bucking, and his bucking was getting to be less exciting.

Then I took a new job that kept me away from home much more often, and my riding slipped to only two or three times a month. Some horse adapt easily to more time off, but Leo didn't and he became much harder to handle. I was riding him one fine October morning, and he put on the biggest bucking display I've ever been able to ride. But for my good luck, he'd have thrown me and I'd have been deposited in the far part of a pasture several miles from the nearest house. I completed the ride, but my confidence was shaken. I decided something had to change to make Leo safe to ride again.

I read several books about training and settled on trying to apply Clinton Anderson's techniques from Downunder Horsemanship to the task. You're probably asking why I didn't send him to a trainer -- I guess it's because I thought I could fix the problem myself. I also wasn't sure that I wanted to put lots of money into him with only the hope that it would make him a safe trail horse. I worked with Leo for several months, when I had time, but it became apparent that things weren't going to change, and I found a trainer to work with him to prepare him for sale.

The new trainer told me that she rode Leo every day for a month before he stopped bucking, but eventually he did stop. She also liked Leo and found a qualified buyer for him as a long-term project, so that Leo never went to auction. Today, Leo is doing really well and has won ribbons for his new owner. I have a new horse now -- one that's never been abused and is a pleasure to ride.

It was hard to make the decision to sell Leo, but sometimes it's better for you and for the horse. Like Dan, riding is a hobby for me, and it's not an enjoyable hobby when your horse is trying to throw you. I hope that Dan can find a similar win-win situation -- a horse better suited to him and a rider better suited to Primo.