Training Tips

QUESTION: Sylvia, About one month ago I purchased a 10-year-old Spotted Saddle Horse gelding. He had been used, I was told, for trail riding (by both novices and those with experience), camping trips, and for Bird Dog field trials. He was absolutely a sweet, quiet horse, until about a week after I brought him home. I currently board with 6 mares, and a week after I got him, 2 of the mares went into heat, and he subsequently began acting very stallionish. He broke through the fence to get to the mares and shredded his blanket into 10 pieces, and subsequently began acting more aggressive. Prior to my buying him he was boarded with all geldings, for at least a year. His aggression continues to grow daily, and in the past two weeks he has viciously attacked/bitten 5 people, including a trainer who came to see him this past Sat. His worst and first incident was when I went into the field to put a halter on him so I could tack him up. He greeted me, then without warning, he lunged, bit my hand and held on, knocked me down and stepped on my knee and almost my head. On Saturday, once the trainer had given him just enough room on the longe line, he suddenly bit the trainer's stomach and ripped half his shirt off. The trainer is not sure if it would be possible to break him of this, he acts out like this when he's being asked to do something that doesn't suit him. He's unpredictable and strikes quickly, and I fear for myself and those around him. At this point the broker won't take him back and swears that this is not the horse he sold me, so I have very little options. I can't bear the thought of him hurting someone and fear that the only thing I can do at this point is to put him down, but he was supposedly such a wonderful sweet horse prior to my buying him. Any thoughts or suggestions? (He is getting his blood tested on Friday to determine if he was proud cut or is a cryptorchid, and the vet is also going to examine him to see if he has any unseen injuries from the fence incident.) Many thanks!

REPLY: Hi. Thanks for writing. Oh my gosh, how agonizing this must be for you and I can only imagine the level of stress you must feel right now. I think: the seller completely lied to you there. Par for the course sometimes, unfortunately, when people are selling horses. Soooo many disreputatable horse sellers are out there, I'm sad to say. I'm glad you're having the vet check the proud cut/cryptorchid issues. I was thinking about that possibility when reading your letter and was going to direct you to a section on my site all about that here: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips67.html

Hope that's what the issue is, because if it comes back all checking out there, you're screwed, I'm afraid. This is an extremely dangerous horse and people have to come first safety-wise and I know you know that deep down. This horse already has come close to killing you and now others. And those types of horses CAN kill people, if not maim/cripple them for life. I hate to tell you this but if the vet comes back with there's "no physical problem there re the gelding procedure" you are going to need to look at getting rid of this horse I'm afraid, looks like from here. And know I don't say that very often. Our horse activities are in the category of our lives as recreational. For pleasure, relaxation. Fun. Are you having fun yet? No. You're in danger. And that's not okay. All horse endeavors need to have safety as their primary focus at all times. This is not a safe horse. It is an extremely dangerous, aggressive horse. And you may need to get rid of him to keep humans safe.

By the way...your broker may not be correct there. You may have legal recourse options here since the horse came to you almost from the getgo like this, unbeknownst to you. There are laws protecting buyers of horses that the seller has to honestly represent a horse, disclosing such behavior flaws, especially when asked about a horse's demeanor and they respond to the contrary. That's against the law. There's just no way this horse is "suddenly" like this, doesn't happen like that. He's long been like this, I can almost guarantee you.

So... you are stuck between a rock and a hard place. If the vet check reveals that this horse is not a proud-cut or cryptorchid, which are conditions which could be surgically remedied, you may want to contact an attorney who specializes in equine law. Incidentally, there's a good chance that even if this horse is proud cut or a cryptorchid and the vet operates to remedy, you may still be left with an aggressive, unsafe horse, because now the behavior is learned, since he's 10 and, my guess, has long been like this. It's a lot harder to undo such aggressive behavior after being potentially so long engrained. I don't know how much exposure you had to this horse before purchasing, but if your exposures were brief, there's a always a possibility that the horse was sedated by the seller before your arrival. It happens! More than you want to know, it happens!

I would suggest this: await the vet's results, but in the meantime, gather your evidence just in case. You have more power and control than you think you have there. Don't let a dishonest (clearly!) broker or seller intimidate you. Consult an attorney who specializes in equine law. Let me direct you to a page on my web site to help you track down an equine attorney if feel you should need one up the road: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/EquineLawyers.html

There is also a link in the left margin on my Equine Lawyers page to take you to another page for some good books on Equine Law you might check out if needed:

I know you hope it doesn't come to that, and that everything turns out okay and that the vet has a magic bullet answer, and so do I!! I'm just preparing you there for the potential worst, but also showing you that should it come to that, you have more legal rights in the situation than you might now know.

Incidentally, I would like to mention one more occurrence that happens more times than a lot of people realize, especially when dealing with disreputable horse traders or brokers: sometimes the wrong horse is indeed switched on you in the delivery process, a bait & switch that dishonest dealers do now and then. Is not unheard of in the horse world, unfortunately, and I have even had clients this has happened to. And may very well be another avenue to check out to see if this is a possibility there.

I'm truly sorry this is happening to you. Really wrenches my gut for what I know you are going through there when you thought you were getting a sweet, safe horse, but were horrifically dealt the complete opposite for no known reason. Hang in there. Everything in life is temporary and you will get your answers soon, and move past this one way or another. Good luck to you there and do keep me posted how it unfolds.