Hi Courtney,

I'm sorry to hear of your problems, but glad to hear of someone who has so much love & consideration for their horse! Don't lose that, because all the medals in the world won't make up for it!

Firstly, make sure there's no physical cause of discomfort or pain. It's possible it was just bad timing when your sister got to him & she rode him when there was some other issue bugging him. It's also possible that during her time with him, he got hurt in some way & that's still bothering him. Perhaps the saddle, his back, his teeth, the bit if you use one, his feet...

You don't say what your sister did to/with him, maybe you don't know, but if it wasn't caused by some unrelated pain, it was her treatment of him that caused this behaviour, not just a dislike of her for no good reason. Unfortunately, bad habits & behaviour transfer to other same or similar situations, as horses learn by association. This is why many caring, knowledgeable riders are hesitant to allow others to ride their horse. It's OK tho, he doesn't hate you, but has learned to associate someone on his back, especially near an arena, with Bad Stuff & he therefore feels a need to defend himself by behaving as he does.

You just need to 'retrain' him with Good experiences being associated with the events that worry him. This means starting with things that don't bother him & working gradually towards your goal. Without more detail, I can only give a rough sketch of what to do, but it should give you the gist...

You need to start where HE'S at. If he's grumpy about you just sitting on his back, then this is where you start. Don't ask for more until he's happy with you just being there. Mount, give him a treat or scratchie - something he thinks is Good - and get off again. Repeat this many times, until he looks forward to you getting on.

If say, he's OK for the first few minutes of the ride & gets progressively more upset, Only ride for a minute or 2, with lots of rewards, before getting off again. Repeat as above.

If he's OK with general riding but not with the arena, start out where he's happy, at whatever distance, and ride *past* the arena. As he gets better with repetition, gradually ask him to pass closer, until you can actually take him in there. If he gets upset at the sight of barrels or other things, do the same as for the arena.

If he only gets upset when you use your legs in a certain way or such, this is a bit more tricky. Try to work out a way to do whatever it is in a way he can handle, or at least minimise the pressure on him. For this reason, as well as your safety, I'd want to work on this problem from the ground if you can & then ridden on a lunge before I would ride him alone.

While you want to work from where he's comfortable as much as possible, setting him up to 'win' & be positively reinforced(rewarded) for the 'Right' behaviour, if he's worried about leg or rein pressure or such, you will need to desensitise him to it a bit, which will require you to keep *a little* pressure on him in whatever manner, until he responds(no matter how small) in some acceptable manner. When he does, you need to *instantly* remove all pressure - possibly get off him. Repeat this until he's comfortable & softly responsive, before asking him for more.

All sounds long winded doesn't it? And it is, at least to start with. But if you're prepared to take the time to work with him in a considerate way, you'll be rewarded with his trust & respect once again. And as you go along, proving to him you are a Good Thing & care & look out for him, the 'retraining' will go quicker. It also transfers to other areas you might have needed to work on, making everyone's life much easier & more fun.

Oh, & for the sake of you & your horse, I hope you can keep your sister's hands off him in the future! Good luck & hope this helps!

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