The misadventures of a firey red head- or- where did all the training go ?

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Reignmaker Miniatures

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As I mentioned in my other post, we planned a long drive for this past weekend and my husband chose one of his horses that hasn't been used in a couple of years. Red was not the easiest horse to start, he has always had a temper and when pushed to do something he doesn't want to do or disciplined in a way that he considers unfair he can and almost always does throw a fit. That said, he is a capable driver and once he accepts a truth (such as you must stand when I say whoa and walk forward when asked lol) he will do exactly what he knows to do. he thrives on routine and consistency even more than most and just requires a firm but understanding handler. He is one of a matched pair and the plan is he will be driven alongside his full brother one day but life gets busy and my husband hasn't worked with him much in the past couple of years. So what follows is a story of why you should never assume that a horse once trained is forever safe to hitch. These are living things, not cars and they don't always run the same if you leave them sit.

We hitched the horses and I led Red a head a bit to be sure his harness was adjusted well and everything was good to go. Because I was helping others I was the last to finish hitching so I did a warm up lap while the others waited (this helps us to be sure everything is as it should be before heading out) and looked up to see Red was backing up. I called to Cliff to push him forward and when he tried the little monster (Red) reared. So I stopped my horse got some one else to hold her and went to see if we could unstick that little red devil. I mounted the cart and had Cliff put a lead on the horse and just told him to lead him ahead. That led to more rearing and flailing of the feet. So I stepped off the cart (Yep, you should not lead a hitched horse, always have someone in the vehicle and a hand at the reins but we felt it could be he was unsure of his ability to move the weight) and we tried again to get that little red head to step forward. He reared twice and then sat down. We urged him to rise and he reared again and threw himself on the ground knees beneath him. We continued on this way for some 5 minutes or more, I refused to unhitch him, told my husband if we gave in and released him he was done as a driving horse so we just kept at it, at one point he managed to knock his bridle off (thank goodness we had a halter and lead on underneath) at another he flopped over on his side (and flopped the cart over as well) I despaired of ever setting everything to rights and wondered what in heck happened to the gelding I had driven so many times. Finally he stayed upright when we asked him to rise and we waited while we all caught our breath a bit. It is amazingly difficult to stay calm when a horse is blowing a gasket like this and I needed a second before continuing. I stepped up beside his head, laid my hand on his neck and just talked to him a bit. We discussed the weather, "a bit windy today isn't it?" I suggested this was all an awful lot of work and fuss and told him we'd sure like to come to an agreement here so we could all get on with our day. I explained to him that no amount of temper tantruming (hmm, is that a word?) was going to change a thing, he was a horse, we feed him, clean up after him and we make sure his needs are met, in return he's going to have to do a small bit of work for us occasionally, not an unfair trade IMO, I told him. I talked on for a bit while all my family looked at me like I'd lost my mind, who goes from a pitched battle of wills to a meandering conversation? After a bit Red lifted his head a bit, unclenched his jaw and gave a mighty shake. I asked him again to walk forward and he did, no rearing no flared nostrils or clenched teeth. SO I nodded to my husband who resumed his seat in the cart and again asked our little terror to walk on. And he did, calmly not with a twist of the tail or a flick of the ear but just as tho we'd driven him every day for the last 2 years. Of course by them he was a bit winded and Cliff's confidence in him made the idea of taking him on a long drive less than thrilling so we drove him around a bit to be sure we were ending on a good note and unhitched him. This was a good lesson learned for my husband, if you want horses that are to be more than ornaments, you must use them at least often enough to keep the lessons fresh in their minds. This could have ended quite differently, with horse or cart damaged but Red is a smart little guy, even when he seems out of control he is careful to look after himself and so he had not even a scuff mark on his body for all his hysterics.
 
What a great lesson to hear. We used to have a little stallion named Red and boy was he a stinker. sounds like something he wouldve pulled too, lol!

Thank you for sharing and reminded us of the value if ending on a good note
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What a great lesson to hear. We used to have a little stallion named Red and boy was he a stinker. sounds like something he wouldve pulled too, lol!

Thank you for sharing and reminded us of the value if ending on a good note
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Too funny, my BIL has a mare named Red (which he bought from us - we didn't name either Red) and she is a bit of a 'pill' sometimes too. I attribute it to that red hair ;) Aren't all red heads stubborn and wilful? LOL, no offence intended to all the red haired members out there.
 
Ah, redheads. They're such fun to train and drive!

I love how you handled this and personally think you not only didn't lose your mind but used it quite creatively and effectively. You go girl! I've had those sort of conversations quite a few times with my boys, although usually not with quite so much theatrical drama involved. I've found quite often the most effective discipline with kids or colts is simply to wait them out and let them see for themselves that their fuss isn't getting them anywhere. Much simpler than starting a fight.

Leia
 
Thank you Leia, I do consider it high praise coming from you. To be entirely honest, I stopped to talk to the little ..er... monster because I was starting to get annoyed and needed to give both of us a moment to reassess the situation. My getting angry would only have escalated the fight to greater heights and that was sure not what we wanted. My SIL laughed all day about our fire breathing miniature and my chit chat like we were on a pleasant outing. I tried to explain it was to defuse MY temper as much as the horses but she didn't seem to get it. We gave him yesterday off but this evening he is going to be hitched so we don't have to return to the 'airs above ground' portion of our show again. lol
 
To be entirely honest, I stopped to talk to the little ..er... monster because I was starting to get annoyed and needed to give both of us a moment to reassess the situation.
And THAT'S what makes it such a great piece of training. A good trainer is aware it is as much about your own response as the horse's actions! My hat is off to you, my dear.

Leia
 
Thanks for the lesson. My chestnut can be quite a handful and you gave me something to think about in my handling of his tantrums. I always end up walking away to think about what "I" did wrong. Now I will keep at it but after a cooling off period.
 
I'm happy you found something in my story that may help you lucky seven. I think we all have moments when our 'red heads' test our patience and if someone can benefit from my less than stellar start that day then that makes posting very worth while
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If I really think about what I did wrong that day it goes back to the start. I should have told my husband a refresher was in order before the drive, since I didn't do that I should have not pushed the horse to get with it, since I did push I should have stopped and calmed him/myself sooner ....etc etc. but hind site is always very clear and in the end I did finally do one thing right that defused the situation.
 

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