SCARED OF YOUR NEW HORSE?

You buy what seems like a perfectly nice horse, but shortly after bringing it home it begins acting spooky, pushy, anxious and aggressive. What's the deal, you wonder, as you begin feeling afraid of your new horse. Were you duped by a less-than-truthful trainer? Was the horse drugged when you went to try it out? Were the folks who sold it to you flat-out lying about the horse's mellow nature? The answer to those questions is probably not. 

Perhaps there are some unscrupulous horse sellers in the world, but from what I can tell, they are far outnumbered by good people seeking good homes for good horses for a variety of reasons. For example:

• riders go off to college and can't afford to take their horses with them;
• they switch disciplines and have to sell in order to buy horses suited to the new disciplines;
• they have come upon hard times financially;
• they can no longer ride due to health problems;
• they simply lose interest in riding; or
• they are trainers who train and sell horses in their everyday course of business.

I'm writing this article on behalf of two young riders who sold their horses because their riding skills outgrew their horses' capabilities. The sales were made through their trainers' assistance. 

Since I personally know the girls, the trainers, and the horses, I know first-hand that both animals were very well-trained and the girls enjoyed riding them safely for years. I witnessed it with my own eyes. The buyers, both adult women, were seasoned riders who had owned horses previously. By all rights, the sales should have gone smoothly, but they didn't.

Within weeks, both buyers were frightened of their new horses, questioning the trainers' ethics, and asking for their money back. One of the buyers, apparently terrified, felt her only option was to put the horse down if a buy-back couldn't be arranged. What should have been win-win situations for all turned into really awful ordeals.

Now, if you are feeling for the buyers because you too are frightened of your new horse, I totally understand. But I'm guessing you never would have bought your new horse if you hadn't seen some proof of its training...with your own eyes...whether on video or in person. Considering this, surely some part of you is thinking there's a chance your issues have nothing to do with the horse. I'm betting there is a 99.99999 percent chance of it. 

It doesn't matter how long you've been riding or how many horses you've owned in the past, if you can't get this horse to behave calmly, chances are you're missing a part of your education... and you're not alone. It is incredibly common for people to learn all kinds of things about riding horses, yet little to nothing about how to keep well-trained horses behaving like well-trained horses. 

Even if you took a bunch of riding lessons, chances are you never received a fundamental leadership education. An unfortunate truth about the riding lesson industry is that most students don't, and that needs to change. I wrote The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge to help facilitate change because far too many riders wind up fearing good horses.

If you're wondering how to get your new horse to behave like the well-trained horse it is supposed to be, this book is for you. Please, before giving up on this horse... before badmouthing the trainer or the former owner... before inciting a distraught teenager to start a GoFundMe campaign to save a beloved first horse from death... I urge you to buy this book and take the The ALPHA Equestrian Challenge for yourself.

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" I am a huge supporter of your book.  I had been thinking about selling my horse due to her behavior and my fear.  Got to the point where I would have severe anxiety whenever I thought about riding.  Saw an ad for your book on Facebook and thought, "What do I have to lose?"  and purchased it.  I have been working with her and the steps for a little over a week and the change in myself and her is amazing.  Thank you."

-Shannon Guinan

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