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Location: midwest mama | My daughter has a barrel horse that is insecure. He's one of those ones that absolutely has to have another horse around or he's not okay. He doesn't go totally crazy or anything, but he definitely is looking around and whinnying if he can't see another horse. If he's out in the pasture and the other horses go away, he runs around like crazy calling for them. She is constantly having to get his attention when she is wanting to work with him. He has one of those high pitched whinnys that is like fingernails on a chalkboard.
He is a VERY nice 1D barrel horse and everything else about him is wonderful - he is kind, sweet, very personable and is good with shoeing, bathing.......just about anything - as long as there is at least one other horse around.
When she hauls him by himself he does paw in the trailer, but doesn't whinny or act silly otherwise. Once she is at the race and unloads him, he's great and just stands at the side of the trailer and sleeps although he does lack some confidence when she runs him.
My question is, how much would you all put up with when he acts like this? Would you sell him?
How can you remedy something like this? It is making my daughter crazy and having an insecure horse like this is one of her pet peeves. |
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 Dog Resuce Agent
Posts: 3459
 
Location: southeast Texas | Only you and your daughter can decide what you all want to put up with. Would she be happy with a 3D well mannered horse? Vs what she has now?
My gelding is fine as long as you haul him alone. Or haul an extra horse if you are riding two. He would dig a hole to China if you brought only two and rode off on the other horse.
Ive tried a lot of different remedies, but they stressed him out. Hauling alone was his fix. He will even buddy up at a show if I hang with certain horses too much. |
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Expert
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Expert
Posts: 1561
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Member
Posts: 27
| My horse had similar issues... I got her a Mini and haul It with her and it solved all my problems. and the mini don't eat hardly anything! cheap easy solution! |
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 Midget Lover
Location: Kentucky | I would get him a mini, or a hauling buddy. |
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Veteran
Posts: 113
| You are describing 80% of horses out there....Just haul him alone! Keep him in a dry lot by himself while you are riding/competing on him. When you give him time off then turn him out. This is what I do with all my barrel horses when they are competing. |
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 Underestimated Underdog
Posts: 3971
Location: Minnesota | My horse is like this. He will call for his buddy the second they leave each other's sight. The first couple weeks were rough but he has learned that even if he throws a fit he still is going to work. I kept everything consistent and now he's better. Trail riding is still rough but in the arena he's paying attention. I think a mini is also a good idea. |
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 I Chore in Chucks
Posts: 2882
Location: MD | a schedule might help you. regular hauling alone for a few weeks. ride at the same time for the same amount of time each day. if he's smart enough to have manners he's smart enough to figure out he'll get back to his buddies.
my boy is the same way if I haven't used him for awhile, the first few rides are a nightmare, but if I stay on schedule life gets 1000 times easier. He'll holler and get scared and be upset the whole ride, and it's annoying to say the least.
but if he's a true 1d horse... he could be the Tasmanian Devil and I would probably let it go. If she's that unhappy because he's talkative when away from buddies, a well mannered (in all aspects) slower horse might be her solution? |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 494
| My mare sounds like your horse but is probably 10x worse. Cannot be separated from other horses. She becomes dangerous to herself and people but she is a VERY competitive 1D horse so I put up with it. Ive tried stalling/hauling by herself but nothing worked because I had to eventually give up because she was risking her health. You have to have a plan for where you are going to tie, warm up, stall, etc.. But like the above poster said, 3D for a well mannered one, or quirks to win? |
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 Famous for Not Complaining
Posts: 8848
Location: Broxton, Ga | You might want to try some supplements I have had some success with B1 with my mare.
You'd be surprised what I put up with but if they do their job around the barrels I do. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
Location: Lost in the swamps | Every horse has their qwirks, And in the end it's up to you where you to draw that line.i have one that is a little insecure, will whinny for his buddy and paw a bit when we seperate them but he isn't super bad and stops. He is sometimes get a wild hair and is spooky and will set back. Will try a half ass buck when his sacrum/illium is out and I accidentally bounce on him when stopping. He was 10 times worse than this when I first got him. I figured and later confirmed he was abused. I couldn't lift my leg a hair off his side with out him goosing( he expecting A sharp stab with a spur) that took me 3 months of rubbing him with my feet to get that out of him. when asking to lope to the right.he would kick his leg out.(that's when I know his sacrum is out)I couldn't pop up real quick after cleaning out his feet he would think I was goin after him to beat him. Prior owners didn't understand and were intimidated by his behavior and didn't want to or know how to deal with it. Having patience and understanding of what's going on mentally and physical and appropriate correction to deal with certain behavioral issues is a must. I dealt with all of this for a 3 d horse on a good day! Lol! But he's so fun and consistent!
Edited by imturnin3 2015-04-14 10:47 AM
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 Veteran
Posts: 246
Location: Idaho | I was going to suggest a mini but several people have mentioned it. How old is this horse and how long have you had him. I had an outside horse that I knew had herd bound issues. I tried to keep him alone and he nearly torn my place apart. I put him with a mini and problems solved. Now... if i left the mini when i rode away, he was fine. But if the mini left him, we was a nut. It sounds like an issue you might have to manage, something that will likely never be "fixed". But for true 1D horses, people have done some crazy things :) Id say if he is older and you have had him for years, you wil probably just have to manage him. If he is younger and you havent had him long, there might be some things that can be fixed but itll take a while. As someone else said, its up to you and your daughter as to how much you will put up with :) Good luck! :) |
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 Go For It!
Location: Texas |
My suggestion is to trade your daughter's horse for a friend's well mannered 4d horse. (Don't tell her it's only temporary. Sometimes we don't appreciate what we have until it's gone. :)
Good luck!
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 654
Location: Scurry, TX | if the horse is good every other way and solid running, get him a goat or a pony for company. Its not that big of a deal |
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Expert
Posts: 1543
Location: MI | Warwick Schiller has some very good videos on confidence and 'separation anxiety' - although really, he ignores the calling and whinnying and puts them to work, shows them that he is the leader, and they get out of it with consistency and ignoring the attitude.
When my gelding was 2 I sent him to be started under saddle by an awesome cowboy who had done training with Buck Branaman and other types. He kept him in his own pen with a close neighbor (round pen panel separating), off grain, and after he worked him he would tie Grim up while he worked the other horse. He was consistent, and he said that Grim hollered like a mad man for about a week, but after that stood quietly and calmly.
At home, I'm not nearly as consistent. He'll call a little, but it's not bad, and under saddle his attention is on me. If he starts getting more upset, I fall back to the groundwork and try to be more consistent again. For us, it works. |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| Honestly, I've gotten rid of two very nice competitive horses in the past because they make me crazy. They were both very self destructive at the trailer alone, or sometimes even with a buddy. Alone in a stall at a big barrel race was quite frightening for all of us.
It's just not worth it to me to constantly be catering to an idiot that can't pull themselves together. I just like to enjoy myself without constantly being angst out along with my horse, plus they do make 1D horses that aren't silly and self destructive.
If barrel racing were my job, and I had a high powered something that was carrying me to big places like NFR, winning BBR Finals, the Elite, blah, blah, blah, I would certainly be making the necessary adjustments to keep them happy. However. I'm Betty Barrel Racer, and I don't have time for stupid. |
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Location: midwest mama | Thanks everyone for all of the replies.
This horse is 10 years old.
Honestly, I didn't post this question because my daughter is a whiner - she is very grateful for what she has. I wanted to see if anyone had some solutions as she is very confused. Some people say "just suck it up and let him do it or get him a buddy if he's a 1D horse," and some people say "do not go there and be an enabler or you will regret it forever." So we wanted to get some additional opinions from people who have been in the same situation.
The problem we have with a mini is that this horse is on irrigated pasture a decent amount of time and we have heard that minis cannot be on rich pasture all that much. We didn't want to make the problem worse by having the horse go to pasture if the mini can't, and we don't want the horse to have to stay off the pasture just because the mini can't be on it. Unfortunately we don't have a dry lot right next to the pasture so they can at least be next to each other.
Anyone else? |
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Location: Texas | We sold an awesome mare, because she was a nut case if she was by herself. You could never take her to pen cattle or catch a bull if you didn't have another horse with you. She drove us crazy! All of our other horses do great alone and some work better alone. Yes, they do like seeing other horses but don't go insane if they are by themselves. I feel your daughters pain, but have no advice, we obviously took the easy way out and sold ours. It definitely not something that all horses do. |
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 Tough Patooty
Posts: 2615
Location: Sperry, OK | OldSchoolCowgirl - 2015-04-15 2:47 PM Thanks everyone for all of the replies. This horse is 10 years old. Honestly, I didn't post this question because my daughter is a whiner - she is very grateful for what she has. I wanted to see if anyone had some solutions as she is very confused. Some people say "just suck it up and let him do it or get him a buddy if he's a 1D horse," and some people say "do not go there and be an enabler or you will regret it forever." So we wanted to get some additional opinions from people who have been in the same situation. The problem we have with a mini is that this horse is on irrigated pasture a decent amount of time and we have heard that minis cannot be on rich pasture all that much. We didn't want to make the problem worse by having the horse go to pasture if the mini can't, and we don't want the horse to have to stay off the pasture just because the mini can't be on it. Unfortunately we don't have a dry lot right next to the pasture so they can at least be next to each other. Anyone else?
so buy the mini a grazing muzzle. |
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