I was called to help with this gelding after him being passed off through three owners in a relatively short time.
When I went to load him into the trailer he tried rearing, striking, bolting, etc. I could tell he'd "done this" before to scare the human.
He was always agitated, would bite at anything- human/gate/rope, could not stand still nor focus, would literally walk straight through pressure, was herd dysfunctional, tense all the time, would not lay down to sleep, and much more.
My first assessment was focused on internal gut issues, physio problems, and external pain.
My client caught on film as I was showing her some of what he was holding in. She'd first called because he'd bolt... To me, running away is a symptom, not the root cause.
My goal was to peel back the layers of pain, fear, distrust, lack of communication, and help him learn to think through scenarios to offer reasonable behavior. All of his issues were human-created.
He had a permanent ridge in his nose from a tie-down, he'd shake when seeing a saddle, he'd bite at the air if turned loose in the round pen. He was reflecting everything he'd been "taught."
The next time you encounter the "problem" horse, rather than approaching with criticism, perhaps translate the dramatic and dangerous behaviors as pleas for help.
To learn more about understanding horse communication visit the Alternative Horsemanship with Samantha Harvey Reading the Horse online course that uses seven different demo horses as examples to help recognize horse communication and how it influences the partnership. Visit her Remote Horse Coach Video Catalogue for over 165+ video learning opportunities.
Everywhere you touched on this horse in the video was a saddle fit issue. That pain in turn would lead to other unwanted behavior, bucking, kicking, running away etc. Anything to get rid of pain.
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