| No Stigma We hear it all the time "I would never sell my horse" In the horse world there is no stigma attached to selling your horse. The chances of you finding the exact right horse, that will do the exact thing that you want to do, and then be able to change as your needs change are extremely remote. There is a difference between selling a horse because of problems and selling a horse because it no longer suits your needs. The First Horse - Did you know that the horse you bought when you were a beginner, is still a beginning horse, even though you may not be a beginner rider anymore? That can cause a lot of boredom from a lack of new and challenging things. The Wrong Horse - How do your personalities work together? Did you start out just wanting to trail ride and now you want to show? Trail horses usually aren't suited to run barrels or jump fences, it is time to find your horse a good trail home and buy a new horse. |
| The Older Horse-Older horses can be worth their weight in gold. More and more horses are living up to age 50!!! They are being shown into their 20's and ridden into their 30's and 40's. With proper dental care, vet care and diet as well as being cared for much better, horses are able to be utilized later and later. Don't put your older horse out to pasture if he is not suiting you, that is not good for him!!! (See photo below on the left) Sell him to a beginner who needs an older forgiving horse, or donate him to a handicapped riding program where he will be loved and cared for while he works for a good cause. My Child is no longer interested-We see this one a lot, and a lot of it stems from the above problems. Children learn extremely fast. You bought your beginning child a beginner horse, now your child has learned from him, is confident and wants to do exciting things, but he still has that beginner horse. That horse will not change, it may be time to get your child a more challenging mount. Or you could be having the opposite problem. Did a qualified trainer help you find your child's first horse? Maybe the horse is too advanced and the child is truly afraid to ride it. That is the problem that the above girl had that is laying down on her new quieter horse in the second photo. There is nothing wrong with that. Some children like and need quiet docile horses (one with more "Whoa" then "Go") that is what they enjoy. Make sure that you properly evaluate your child's reasons for not riding. We can help you do this as well. |
| So why do we discourage selling problem horses? Are you sure it is the horse that IS the problem? Be sure that it is the horse and not the rider. Our philosophy is that 99% of the problem with horses is rider error. If your horse misbehaves with you, and not with a trainer, then you may need to figure out what you are doing incorrectly or we guarantee that you will have the exact same problem with your next horse. And remember, the better trained the horse is, the less they can usually tolerate constant errors made by the rider. |
| Top Ten Ways to Ruin a Good Horse 1. Let all of your friends ride him unsupervised- You wouldn't let an untrained driver drive your car would you? Rough hands and mixed signals can cause a horse to become frustrated and eventually start misbehaving. 2. Put the wrong saddle on him-Have you ever had a pair of shoes that didn't fit? Hurts doesn't it. Did you know that not all saddles fit all horses? If there are any pressure points on his back, that is going to hurt REALLY bad after awhile. Be sure to get your saddles fitted properly to your horse for the most comfort. 3. Use the wrong bit- When you go to the tack store, have you ever wondered WHY there are hundreds of bits to chose from? Different bits have different controls depending on how the horse was trained and what you are using him for, the wrong bit can be very uncomfortable, painful and even useless for what you want to do. 4. Always blame the horse for the problem-Was the horse nice when you bought him and now he is REALLY bad? Horses don't just become bad on their own. A Horse will always act like a horse is supposed to act when reacting to inexperienced handling. We have seen horses go from good to bad in as soon as a week to a month with improper handling. After having your horse evaluated by a good equine vet to make sure there are no pain issues. Go and see a very good trainer or instructor and ask them to evaluate you, your tack and your horse. You may be surprised at what they find. Don't be surprised (or offended!) if it turns out to be rider error. If your horse behaves perfectly for the trainer, then it is you, and/or your tack, period. If your horse misbehaves for the trainer, then you may want to consider sending him to one for a short refresher course. 5. Never discipline him-Horses will test their riders, if you don't discipline him immediately when he acts up you are telling him that it is OK to be bad. Take lessons with a good instructor and learn how and when to discipline your horse when he misbehaves. It is your responsibility as a horse owner to make sure that your horse has good manners. 6. Make excuses for his bad behavior-"He is young, that is why he bites and kicks". "He had a bad experience in the trailer, that is why he doesn't like getting in one" "I shouldn't of brushed my hair out of my eyes, or he wouldn't have bucked me off" There are no excuses for this. Why do you see other more experienced people NEVER having these types of problems? Because they don't make excuses. They deal with the issues until they are no longer issues and if they can't do it then they find someone who can. 7. Stop learning - "Where education ends, abuse begins" One of the things we tell all of our students is the more you learn about horses the more you realize that you don't know. Most beginners think there are about ten things to learn about horses, most advanced horse people know there are about ten thousand things to know. Getting to that point is one of the biggest break throughs that students have when it comes to learning. It can be very humbling. Keep listening and learning, nobody learns anything when they think they know it all. 8. Don't fix a horse that startles easily- One of our students notices that the same horses seem to get hurt over and over again at the vet clinic she works at. Horses that "become unglued" at every little thing can become a walking vet bill, constantly hurting themselves. Spending some time truly "bomb proofing" your horse and training him to think first rather then react can be one of the biggest money savers you ever do. 9. Buy a horse that is too young, too well trained or not trained enough for your skill level -One of our students said "Green on green equals black and blue" A green (untrained) rider on a green horse will not work. 100% of the time you will ruin the horse for life! That is one of the biggest reasons why we see people who don't do anything with their horses. Don't buy a young horse to "grow up" with your children. If you are untrained you need to find a horse that has years and years of experience and will tolerate and forgive your mistakes as a beginner. Spending too much on a horse that is too well trained can be bad to. A well trained horse will not tolerate a beginner who asks him to do ten different things at once. They will become confused and eventually they will just stop working. Never do the above two things unless you are working diligently with a qualified trainer/instructor. Not spending enough money on a horse or not getting help finding your first horse. You can find low cost horses that are good, but there is a difference between a fair price and a too good to be true price. It is a difference between a $300 car and a $2,000 car. Both are inexpensive, but which one do you think you will have the most trouble with? Which one will need more repairs and won't be reliable. And if you didn't know anything about cars, would you just go out and buy one without bringing someone with you who knew about them? 10. Think that reading books and websites are enough- You wouldn't read a book on cutting hair and then go out and open a salon. Book reading and studying are great, but it needs to go hand in hand with hands on experience. Don't undervalue the benefits and savings that just a few hours with a good trainer can make. Copyright 2005/2006 DFW Riding Lessons -- All Rights Reserved |
| Don't let your horse waste away out in the pasture. How old would you guess the horse in the above photo to be? You can click on it to enlarge. Would you believe at the time this photo was taken he was age 20! This is a horse that M-Bar-K Farms used as a lesson horse for ten years. With quality diet, exercise, dental and veterinary care, horses remain useful and stay healthy and younger looking for many years. |
Problem Solving
Problem Solving
| Do you enjoy your horse? If you dread riding or even dealing with your horse, that is not necessary. You would be amazed at what a few hours with a good trainer can accomplish! See our Testimonials! |
| This is what we like to see! We want you to have an enjoyable experience with your horse. If you are considering selling your horse because you have been injured or are having to much trouble with him, consider coming to us for help. We have saved many people from a possibly regrettable situation. |
 | |  | |  |
Because we hear and see so many people with serious problems
with their own horses we decided to put together this page as a
reference to people who don't know where to go to get the help
they need.
We are sure that just about everyone knows someone who owns a
horse that they cannot ride for whatever reason. We see horses all
the time in pastures who never seem to get ridden. Horses need a
job. The ones left out in the pasture usually deteriorate, the ones
that are utilized will stay healthy and live much longer.
Remember "Where education ends, Abuse begins" We truly
admire people who strive to learn the most that they can about their
horse and his well being. If your horse exhibits ANY of these
behaviors, then you have a dangerous problem that needs to be
dealt with immediately.
Biting, Kicking, Rearing, Bucking, Not Stopping, Bolting back to the
barn (barn or herd sour), invading your space on the ground, trying
to get away when on the lead or bolting to soon after he is let
loose, spooking, chronically startling at moving objects, irrational
fear of normal barn items (ie: blankets, rakes, etc). This is a
problem at ANY age! We don't care if it is a foal that is still wet
behind the ears. It is never cute, or acceptable to tolerate these
behaviors. Ever.
These problems that we see are more annoyances, but they can
still cause a lot of unnecessary grief and anxiety for the horse
owner.
Not standing still when tied or being worked with on the ground,
pawing, stomping, ear pinning, tail wringing, head tossing, not
loading into the trailer, not coming up from the pasture or being
hard to catch, pitching a fit when under saddle, or not obeying, fear
of water, being aggressive towards you at feeding time, constantly
injuring himself because of misbehavior (ie: runs into gates etc.),
being balky when asked to do something on the ground or under
saddle, fighting or being evasive when being bitted (when you try to
bridle him), not allowing you to pick up his feet or clean them, trying
to lay down when asked to do something, tries to rub you off on
trees etc. Refuses to move when asked to do something they don't
want to do. Constantly tries to run to the gate when in an arena or
round pen (gate sour). Being aggressive towards other horses
when under saddle. Anxiety when away from other horses while
being ridden (whinnying or calling to herd mates). There is no
excuse for horses to behave this way. We can go over each
problem with you and show you how you can work to eradicate this
kind of misbehavior.
Most of these problems are easily fixed when you work with a good
trainer. We can quickly find the reasons behind these problems
and work with you to fix them permanently. Please call us before
you get rid of your horse! As bad as you think the problem may be,
it may be something as simple as the wrong tack or a pain issue.
Let us evaluate you and your horse and work to put you back in the
saddle!
Also, please be sure to get references when choosing a trainer.
One of our students just saw a young horse permanently crippled
by a "trainer" who did not know what they were doing. Remember,
we never abuse or mistreat our horses. That is just a shortcut for
people who do not have the skill that they need to be affectively
dealing with these problems.
with their own horses we decided to put together this page as a
reference to people who don't know where to go to get the help
they need.
We are sure that just about everyone knows someone who owns a
horse that they cannot ride for whatever reason. We see horses all
the time in pastures who never seem to get ridden. Horses need a
job. The ones left out in the pasture usually deteriorate, the ones
that are utilized will stay healthy and live much longer.
Remember "Where education ends, Abuse begins" We truly
admire people who strive to learn the most that they can about their
horse and his well being. If your horse exhibits ANY of these
behaviors, then you have a dangerous problem that needs to be
dealt with immediately.
Biting, Kicking, Rearing, Bucking, Not Stopping, Bolting back to the
barn (barn or herd sour), invading your space on the ground, trying
to get away when on the lead or bolting to soon after he is let
loose, spooking, chronically startling at moving objects, irrational
fear of normal barn items (ie: blankets, rakes, etc). This is a
problem at ANY age! We don't care if it is a foal that is still wet
behind the ears. It is never cute, or acceptable to tolerate these
behaviors. Ever.
These problems that we see are more annoyances, but they can
still cause a lot of unnecessary grief and anxiety for the horse
owner.
Not standing still when tied or being worked with on the ground,
pawing, stomping, ear pinning, tail wringing, head tossing, not
loading into the trailer, not coming up from the pasture or being
hard to catch, pitching a fit when under saddle, or not obeying, fear
of water, being aggressive towards you at feeding time, constantly
injuring himself because of misbehavior (ie: runs into gates etc.),
being balky when asked to do something on the ground or under
saddle, fighting or being evasive when being bitted (when you try to
bridle him), not allowing you to pick up his feet or clean them, trying
to lay down when asked to do something, tries to rub you off on
trees etc. Refuses to move when asked to do something they don't
want to do. Constantly tries to run to the gate when in an arena or
round pen (gate sour). Being aggressive towards other horses
when under saddle. Anxiety when away from other horses while
being ridden (whinnying or calling to herd mates). There is no
excuse for horses to behave this way. We can go over each
problem with you and show you how you can work to eradicate this
kind of misbehavior.
Most of these problems are easily fixed when you work with a good
trainer. We can quickly find the reasons behind these problems
and work with you to fix them permanently. Please call us before
you get rid of your horse! As bad as you think the problem may be,
it may be something as simple as the wrong tack or a pain issue.
Let us evaluate you and your horse and work to put you back in the
saddle!
Also, please be sure to get references when choosing a trainer.
One of our students just saw a young horse permanently crippled
by a "trainer" who did not know what they were doing. Remember,
we never abuse or mistreat our horses. That is just a shortcut for
people who do not have the skill that they need to be affectively
dealing with these problems.
| 469-682-4405 |