“This horse was supposed to be kid safe!”
“My trainer rode him bridleless!”
“She’s won so many shows!”
"They said he was beginner friendly!"
Time and time again, we hear stories of horses that are sold to someone as “beginner safe” and then, within a short period of time, they start to unload their riders regularly, become hard to handle on the ground, stop doing what they used to be able to do easily, and the once push-button dressage horse could now qualify for the NFR.
Frequently, the new owner complains that the previous owner or trainer must have drugged the horse or used calming supplements behind their back.
However, I’d be doubtful.
Here’s why:
New Owner = New Lifestyle. He was living in a pasture in Wyoming and now he’s living in a box stall in Los Angeles. He goes from having an unlimited amount of grass to getting two square meals a day. Then, when he starts to lose weight, New Owner adds more grain. Whether this grain is beet pulp, oats, sweet feed, or even senior feed, this is likely adding unnecessary energy and will lead to gastric ulcers as well as numerous other health issues.
Old Owner has had Horse on a regular exercise regimen. He got worked with on most days and hard enough to work up a sweat. This allowed anyone to hop on him with just a lead rope and pony four more without an issue. Since New Owner doesn’t want to pay for a groom or exercise rider, he takes responsibility for getting the horse out himself, but he misses Friday because it too cold out, then Saturday because he has to work late, then Sunday because there’s a big football game on...Horse remains in his 12 x 12 box stall getting progressively more irritated, bored, and frustrated.
New Owner comes out to ride. Horse doesn’t want to pick up his foot, so after a bit of a struggle, New Owner decides that his feet don’t really need to be picked. He’s only been in his stall after all. Horse starts to get pushy to lead since he’s eager to move. New Owner permits the pushiness, so Horse begins to circle around him, excited to get out of his stall. New Owner goes to tack up Horse and cranks the girth up in one tug - something Old Owner knew better than to do. Horse flies backwards and breaks the cross ties. Now New Owner starts to become fearful of Horse. New Owner goes to get him out of the stall the next day and horse swings his butt towards New Owner and threatens to kick. New Owners gives up and leaves him in his stall another day.
When New Owner finally does manage to get the horse out for a ride, New Owner doesn’t understand why the horse has become pushy and resistant. New Owner doesn’t start by turning Horse out or lunging him, he just hops right on. Maybe New Owner pokes him in the side with his toe while mounting or kicks his hip while swinging his right leg over, but he causes a wreck before he even gets to sit in the saddle. In the event New Owner does get on, Horse is a whoooooole lot more horse than when he tried him out at the Old Owner’s place due to confinement and diet changes. But New Owner does not call Old Owner yet. Nor does New Owner consult with a competent trainer in the area. New Owner accepts advice from other boarders at the barn, including a few Natural Horsemanship followers, as well as, of course, everyone on Facebook. This results in New Owner buying a $150 bit and $300 worth of training videos.
None of this helps. In fact, the new bit results in a new issue - rearing! New Owner is now quite scared of Horse, but not willing to quit yet. He is going to ride that horse. However, Horse can sense fear in New Owner which scares him causing his behavior to worsen and, as one might expect, New Owner to get dumped.
New Owner, from his hospital bed, writes malicious posts all over Facebook about the sleazy folks or bad trainer who sold Horse to him and probably drugged Horse. Old Owner fights back pointing out that his 6 year old kid showed this horse without any issues. Everyone else grabs a bag of popcorn to watch the drama unfold...Meanwhile, Horse gets sent to a kill pen by New Owner’s angry spouse.
How could all of this have been avoided? Here’s what I do as an owner, trainer, buyer and seller:
First, ask lots of questions. Take notes and lots of pictures. Every horse I sell or send home from training leaves my barn with an “exit list”. This is a detailed list of the horse’s current diet, exercise regimen, living conditions, social environment, tack used, habits, strengths, and weaknesses. No horse is perfect, but if we can set them up for success, we may be able to avoid many of these possible issues.
Here are some things to keep in mind when buying a horse for the first time (or a refresher if it is not something you have done in a while):
The vast majority of calories should come from forage (hay) instead of grain or supplements. Horses are built to graze all day, which means they should have access to this forage as much as possible. Recent studies show that more than 4 hours without food can cause GI issues in equine.
Get the horse out of a stall. How would you like to be locked in your bedroom for 24 hours? It’s just not fair. If you can’t get to the barn to turn your horse out, you need to make sure you make arrangements for someone else to do so. If you can allow for your horse to live in a pasture (or at least a dry lot if you’re in the SW United States like me) with other horses, this is always a preferred option over stalls!
Most horses, especially beginner friendly ones, should undergo a “tune-up” by a knowledgeable, experienced rider at least once or twice a year to give a horse a refresher in cues and boundaries which may not be enforced by a beginner rider.
A more complex bit in novice hands solves nothing and creates a variety of dangerous behaviors. Adding training aids like whips, spurs, tie downs, and martingales is a huge indicator that the rider needs lessons, not the horse.
Check your tack. Are you 100% sure it fits your horse well? If not, call a fitter. You won’t regret it. They'll either tell you your tack fits or tell you exactly what does fit so that you can buy something that does.
Still not sure why your new horse is acting differently? Call a vet. Make sure the problem is not a symptom of pain. A horse who bites when the cinch is tightened could be indicating he has ulcers. A horse who bucks when transitioning into the canter could be trying to tell you he needs a chiropractor. General arthritis is also a common issue.
Did the vet say there's nothing wrong with the horse, but he's still showing symptoms of pain? It's possible the source is something more obscure. Unwanted behaviors can be caused by a change in farrier work, he could need massage therapy or chiropractic work, or the source could be coming from an area that modern vet medicine cannot yet get adequate diagnostics of (think deep tissue, pelvis, chest areas where we can't take x-rays). Get a 2nd opinion on the horse's feet from another farrier, have a bodyworker out, and take the time to do your own research. Remember, behavior is communicating, so what is your horse trying to tell you?
Learn the difference between abuse and discipline. If your horse begins doing things he didn’t used to (like biting, kicking, rearing, etc), he may be trying to communicate to you that something is wrong. If using punishment only makes the situation worse, consult with a behaviorist who can help you determine why the horse is acting out and how to curb the behavior without using excessive force. Watching a couple videos on the internet likely won’t give you much more than a band-aid fix, if that.
Yes, all of these things might require a little more money than you originally planned for, but if money is an issue, buy a goldfish instead. Know your horse and the lifestyle you have and see if they are compatible. Some retired show horses may never adjust to being turned out on pasture 24/7 and the opposite may be true for an older horse coming into a boarding barn from a pasture for the first time. At the end of the day, don’t keep a horse you’re terrified of. If the behaviors the horse is exhibiting are truly scary and you’re hitting the dirt more often than not, the horse may just not be for you. Remember, just because you have the papers saying the horse is yours, doesn’t mean the horse is yours.
Take the time to see what lifestyle fits both of you the best. Your horse will thank you.
**This was inspired by a post I saw on Facebook with no author.
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