So You Think You Bought the Wrong Horse?

What You Need to Know

There is a lot of information to be found online about finding the right horse for you. Much of this information refers to which skills you should have first, where to look, and how much to spend. There is also a lot of information on how to go about acquiring a horse, but not too much on how to move forward if you may have picked the wrong horse.

Before You Do Anything Drastic

Make sure that there is no physical reason for the horse's behavior. Pain can cause even the sweetest horse to react badly. If you owned the horse for some time and got along with it just fine, chances are that it is hurting somewhere, and once you figure it out and fix it, he will be back to his sweet, old self.

Take a Deep Breath

First things first, it's okay to have doubts about your decision or to be unsure about if the horse you purchased is the right horse for you. There are so many factors involved when buying a horse, and there is a lot of room for error, even for the experienced. Stay calm, and let's talk this through.

Is the Horse Dangerous?

I know that sounds drastic, but does the horse have any habits that put you in danger? Bucking, rearing, bolting ... those sorts of things? Does he scare you? Is he hard to handle on the ground for other people if he is boarded?

If the horse has any dangerous behaviors, then you are right; this is not the horse for you right now. There is no horse that is worth getting hurt over! I repeat, no horse on earth is worth getting hurt over. I had to learn this lesson the hard way. Hopefully, I can help someone else so they don't.

What if He Is Dangerous?

If the horse is dangerous, you need to determine or have a professional determine whether or not the horse's behavior is correctable with a reasonable amount of training.

I would like to say most behaviors are, but just because they can be corrected by a trainer, doesn't mean that when the horse is done with training that it will be your dream horse. Someone (preferably you since it is your horse) needs to ride the horse to maintain what the trainer taught it.

Speaking of trainers, when it comes to behavioral issues that are unsafe like the ones I mentioned above, you might have to think outside of the box as far as trainers go. A trainer that you would ride with for your specific discipline, whatever it may be, is often not the trainer to correct these sorts of behavioral problems.