How do we manage to get into these situations? Collected another "Slightly Damaged Stray"...

[jdyson]

He is beautiful! What a major difference in his feet

 

[EmtheFishLady]

His training is going ok. I never expected too much, considering Gus's personality. Gus simply doesn't care about pleasing anyone but me. He's being ridden, and most of his worse habits seem to be being worked out of him, and that's what I needed. He hooked him up to a wagon the other day, and he said he did wonderfully. Alfred said he thinks Gus has done this before at some point in his life...so that's really good. Really the biggest deal is going to pick him up at this point.

 

[jdyson]

That's really cool that everything seems to be working out

 

[Bunnylady]

Alfred said he thinks Gus has done this before at some point in his life.

This would explain so much of what you have seen with Gus.

I'm thinking that his early life was most likely much the same as the life of most young horses; he was probably stabled and groomed and given the basic training and socialization that is typically done with young horses. But I'm guessing that at some point, his owner realized that he wasn't just a "late bloomer," he was a crypto, and they didn't want to pay for the surgery. As he entered adolescence, concern for the other horses probably led to him being isolated. There may also have been a bit of the "That's a stud - it's dangerous!" mindset at play, too, and he was sidelined and left pretty much to himself.

Early handling could also partly explain his preference for you - as was pointed out months ago (by Wisher, I think), horses can become biased toward people of one gender. Men often have a more "macho" way of handling horses than women do, so it makes sense to think that much of Gus's later handling was by someone who thought he was "man enough to show a stud who's boss." (My mini mule is markedly "man-shy;" and though she is bonded to me, I have seen that her preference isn't exclusively for me.)

This might also help to explain why Gus is so persistently difficult about having his feet worked with. It is normal for a horse to want to have full use and control of its feet at all times - running away is a horse's primary defense, after all. Fear of the vague unknown is usually allayed fairly quickly when nothing bad happens; a certainty that something bad will happen takes a lot longer to "unlearn." For example, my 6-year-old mini Syd had a couple of bad experiences with a farrier when she was a baby. I can do whatever I like with her feet, and she is no problem for me because she trusts me. Let her get a whiff of the leather apron that a farrier wears, though, and her brain falls out! Nobody has been nasty about her feet for years, but the memory is there, and she is sure that the person in the leather apron is bad news, even if it's someone she's never seen before. Gus's experience may not have been as traumatizing as Syd's were, but if he has unpleasant associations, he may feel he has good reason to object. As big as he is, his objections are just about guaranteed to scare people; he may be channeling some of that negative energy, too.

 

[EmtheFishLady]

Sadly, Gus's preference for only me isn't simply gender related...He's kicked the trainers wife over a rosebush, chased Terry's daughter out of the pasture, and tried to bite a lady who came to look at him. Men...well, men aren't generally allowed to get close period. Alfred seems to be tolerated, but not by much. This was actually our main reason to send him to training away from me...because it was bordering on a dangerous preference and I was afraid he'd hurt someone. (He's already hurt Terry, the trainer's wife, Terry's uncle...)



As for his past...we know nothing about his past except that the man who gave him to me purchased Gus and his brother. The brother passed shortly before I was made aware of Gus's situation. Gus is persistently difficult about most everything...Just like me.

 

[Bunnylady]

Sadly, Gus's preference for only me isn't simply gender related...He's kicked the trainers wife over a rosebush, chased Terry's daughter out of the pasture, and tried to bite a lady who came to look at him. Men...well, men aren't generally allowed to get close period. Alfred seems to be tolerated, but not by much. This was actually our main reason to send him to training away from me...because it was bordering on a dangerous preference and I was afraid he'd hurt someone. (He's already hurt Terry, the trainer's wife, Terry's uncle...)

OK, now you are scaring me. When I read this, and I thought about Lilly, my blood ran cold.

You know that you are going to have to continue to deal with these issues when Gus comes back to you, right? He has spent a few weeks with somebody who won't take mess, and he won't be coming back to the same place, but he'll be coming back to the same people. Once he settles in, he's going to try these things on again; you will all have to show him that these behaviors don't fly, most likely repeatedly. Do you have somebody in Florida who can help you work with him?

The reason that I am so concerned about this, is because I have an equine brat, too. Syd the Man-eating Mini has chased people out of our pasture. When she was 2 years old, she tried it on me, once. She found out that it was an extremely bad idea, and hasn't tried it since - but a 400 pound pony is a lot less intimidating (and easier to intimidate) than a 1500 pound draft cross. I have worked with Syd a lot, and she has it firmly in her mind that I am in charge of her, so she doesn't give me attitude. She knows that I won't allow her to chase people, but I have to be there to enforce it. She generally behaves around adults, but she can get ugly with children (though she can get cranky with adults, too - she gave a lady a nasty bruise when she nipped her arm a few months ago). She's gotten better than she has been, but the kids who volunteer at the fair are all a bit leery of her, and are relieved when I am there to make her mind her manners. Syd is the reason that my son hasn't set foot in the pasture in 6 years. Baby

is made of sterner stuff than her brother; I taught her what she needed to do to back Syd off and make her mind. Syd hasn't tried anything with her in quite a while. Syd has a dominant, "boss mare" personality, and I can't change that; the best I can do is make sure that as many people as possible enforce the idea that this behavior isn't acceptable. With continued reinforcement, Syd may yet become a good equine citizen, but I can't ever takes Syd's good behavior for granted.

 

[SourRoses]

ooooookay.

 

[EmtheFishLady]

The farrier that did his feet does all of the trainers horses. Regardless, he has a vet visit and farrier in his future here too. I've consulted multiple farriers about Gus's feet, and all of them say the same thing, his feet look much worse than they were. The cracks don't go all the way through, and a few gradual trims and he'll do fine. His behavior is getting better, and will continue to do so. I'm not giving up on him just yet. I have multiple horse people and Sparky to turn to, and he'll be in a pasture the kids can't get into. (The same one the Brahma bull is in.)

 

[res]

Do you have a round pen on the new property? Can you put one up if you don't have one? Round pens are priceless for teaching respect. You are able to work the horse without being concerned about tangling up a lunge line if he goofs off, and with the pen being round, you can easily keep him moving. There are no corners for him to seek refuge in and stop. To a horse, being made to move when told is a form of submission. I think you would have a lot of success reinforcing who is in charge if you could work him consistently in a round pen. And others can work him, too, but you'll need to be in there with them until they learn what to do. But Gus will learn to submit to whoever is in the center, all without fear or pain. He just has to move....

I am not a "trainer worshipper" - I do not blindly follow any one celebrity trainer. But, I have watched several Clinton Anderson videos about dealing with aggressive/dominant/dangerous horses, and I totally agree with the method he used. You may want to watch it - I know Gus isn't aggressive with YOU, but it will show you how to have other people work with him so he accepts them.

 

[yinepu]

The farrier that did his feet does all of the trainers horses. Regardless, he has a vet visit and farrier in his future here too. I've consulted multiple farriers about Gus's feet, and all of them say the same thing, his feet look much worse than they were. The cracks don't go all the way through, and a few gradual trims and he'll do fine. His behavior is getting better, and will continue to do so. I'm not giving up on him just yet. I have multiple horse people and Sparky to turn to, and he'll be in a pasture the kids can't get into. (The same one the Brahma bull is in.)

I think your having him gelded has probably helped a lot..
I just wish his previous owners had bothered to do it sooner.. but Em... at least ya got the job done!