thank you for the advice! now i have a new question!! i took raymond for a little ride today. i was planning on having a nice little Thanksgiving jaunt since i am SO thankful for this darn horse! we went to the neighbors which is about 1/4 mile from my house. leaving the house he was a perfect little angel. he walked all the way to the neighbors with no fuss. i long trotted him in the arena for a while, loped him in some circles, did some spins and all that business. he worked really well for me.. but the ride home was a totally different story! as soon as i reached the neighbors gate and headed down the bar ditch, raymond turned into a total punk...running sideways, throwing his head, trying to rear up..being a barn sour little turd. he absolutely wanted to throw me off but luckily he didn't. all i could do was grab my saddle horn and try to hold him back as much as i could knowing if i let him just run that would be the worst idea ever and if i tried to hold him back too much that would be bad too. i definitely couldn't get off because he wouldn't even move in a straight line. so what do i do in that situation? are there any secrets i don't know? i brought him home and left him tied to my trailer..and i'm mad enough that i might just leave him there all night...no turkey for him! next time i think i might try getting off at the neighbors gate and leading him home...making him stop, back up, and turn around a lot. i HATE getting off of a horse when there's a problem but i don't think i can fix anything if i don't feel safe and at least on the ground i can really get onto him without him throwing me off. this is so frustrating! i don't understand how a horse who works so well and is so respectful in the arena can just flip a switch like he does. i guess that's because all of my horses have always been used for pleasure as well as show and i don't think Raymond has ever been used as anything other than a show horse. sorry this is so long-winded! ps- the way raymond behaved today is also how he behaves when i take him out with other riders and make him stay behind while they move ahead...he just totally loses all respect and will do anything to get with the herd.

In my energy work, I have found that a lot of fear is online when a horse is this way. After realeasing that fear through the energy work, then the training techniques work so much easier and quicker. Some take then away for small times initially,, then slowly increase it. Others take them back to the roundpen and work them when they balk right after being taken away.... That way they realize that its going to be WORK if they balk and try to get back.... there are many other suggestions too....

I recently bought a 14 year old gelding. He is a big athlete and very well trained but he is SO herdbound! In the arena he's fine but taking him out on his own away from all other horses is a big task. With the way my stall is set up, I can't keep him isolated from other horses, nor do I want to because after all, he is still a horse. I was just wondering what experience everyone has had with this and if anyone had any suggestions for what might work to help him be less dependent on other horses for his confidence. Thanks!