For a horse that has been spoiled/abused into becoming a "predator" do you think there is a chance for it?

It really depends. There are some people that will tell you training can fix anything, but unfortunately it simply isn't true. There are a lot of factors to consider in "problem" horses, and unfortunately some of those factors have irreversible effects. Is there anyway that while this horse was abused he came into a head injury? What is his breeding like -- are his parents or siblings well controlled and respectful? Even in the event his breeding is good, like with any other living creature a horse too can be born with learning disabilities that severely impairs their understanding of the world. Unlike with people, however, this can make an animal very dangerous as they may find it exceptionally difficult to comprehend our teaching methods.

That's not to say your horse may have a disability or have been brain damaged, certainly it's a possibility. But for those horses -- and many other animals in similar shoes -- there is not a lot of hope. Impaired horses and dogs, especially, generally do not have a lot of chance when their behavior becomes aggressive... They just can't think and analyze things the way a properly functioning horse can EVEN with a good trainer.

It could be that he was spoiled and then abused beyond all reasonable limits. This, however, can be corrected. It will take a very experienced, special person to do this, however. You have to put him in the hands of the right trainer.

Even in orphan foals (and I have one, his mother died a few weeks after he was born), it is not the fact they are orphaned that creates this behavior. My orphan boy is fabulous and I wouldn't trade him for the world, I love him to bits. It's the training (or lack there of) of any horse, orphaned or not, that needs to be taken into consideration, and a spoiled and abused horse has every ability to be corrected once again. It will take time, patience, and a lot of bandaids, but the horse will eventually come back to themselves.

Funnily though, I just finished watching that Buck documentary about two hours ago out of sheer boredom. This sounds loads like a colt that they had in one of his clinics that was featured for a few minutes in the documentary. Unfortunately he did have to be put down.

My pony mare was a classic attack-pony when I got her. People were telling me left and right to sell her, she was crazy, belligerent, a nut job. I sort of agreed for a while, she was off her rocker. Lunged at people, very aggressive in the field, wouldn't lead -- she'd bite and run you over if you tried, kicked/bit/reared if you tried to tell her where to go, and was especially aggressive toward men (my vet, quite frankly, was not a fan of her). She has abuse scars all over, and was so unhealthy when I got her. It was incredibly sad. I tried to sell her once, got some hits, and realized there's no way I would feel comfortable letting this horse go to someone else. She was a danger to herself and anyone around her. I didn't want someone else to get hurt. Some months of rehab and training later and she is hands down my favorite -- of any horse or pony I've ever met. Like Emura said, this is not a job for the faint of heart, you have to see and accept all risk and injury that can come with it.

How many "experts" have you taken your horse to? Are they the ones that say to put him down? I dunno... We don't know your horse so ultimately you have to be the one to make this decision. You could give him chance and chance and chance again but is it worth him getting hurt? You getting hurt? Someone you know or someone working with him getting hurt? What about killed?

ETA: How long have you had him/been working with him like this? Also you don't mention his behavior before the sell, but you had him for five years? Could you elaborate a bit here?

ETA and @Rachel: Somebody obv be TDin' and hatin' on Buck. ;(

Let me put it to you this way.....

1. You have openly admitted to a horse trying to kill you.

2. You have openly admitted that this was not the first time.

3. You have been advised to put him down.

Now here is where it stands....

You can be held guilty of negligence if for ANY reason the horse injures or kills someone. It doesn't matter what state in the US you live in, and in fact almost every country has similar or stiffer laws.

You may be able to bring the horse back to the point that he doesn't try and kill YOU but the horse can never again be trusted and there is no telling when it will flip out on someone else. Sometimes only because the stranger wore a coat which somewhat resembled the coat of the person who abused them. And as far as you are concerned, there is no telling when the horse will panic and deliver a nasty bite or kick because you did something that its abuser did.

I have worked with a lot of horses and seen this time and time again....and the fact remains....you will never know if or when the horse will suddenly snap and try to hurt someone else. Nor will you ever be able to anticipate the trigger. Such horses are extremely hard to predict when and if they snap.

In other words.....don't put yourself and others at risk over this. In the end it just isn't worth it, no matter what the horse means to you. People's lives are at stake here. Can you guarantee that no child is going to get into the pasture thinking "pretty horsey"? No you are putting the lives of everyone nearby this animal at risk. Your life is your business, but you have no right to risk anyone elses.

Well, it is obvious that this horse has been through some very bad stuff. He sounds like he has some trust issues. Now, before people start saying stuff like, 'Put him down! Blah blah terrible horse he must be shot today!' think about it like this: Let's say you learn to trust a horse. So you do, and then you end up trusting another horse who is kind of like the first, or so it seems. Suddenly, you are just riding the horse, doing nothing wrong, and suddenly the horse rears and throws you and begins to attack you. I'm sure after that, you'd be terrified of horses, and probably would flip out and attack (well, not necessarily attack) the horse, because the horse is always near you. Naturally, your brain would say: IT'S A HORSE! RUN FOR YOUR LIFE OR IT'LL TAKE YOUR HEAD OFF! But, with patience, you can learn to trust horses again. Although in many ways, horses are different then humans, in many ways we are the same.

Have you heard about Monty Roberts? Have you heard about his 'Join-Up' method? It really works. And the reason I think it'll work with your horse is, The horse is afraid of humans, then you'll become a horse.

In a herd, if a horse is acting up or being weird, the lead mare with cast them out and not let them return. Then, the 'exiled' horse will begin to show various signs of submission, and then the lead mare will let them return to the herd. That means that the horse trusts you as it's leader and such. Your horse seems a bit crazy, so this will probably only work once he doesn't try to take a chunk outta your arm. So just try to approach him carefully, slowly, etc. If you want more help with that, just google 'How to approach a nervous horse' or something.

And finally, because I am too lazy to list how to join up with a horse, here is a video! Yay!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wQ66rwzgRs&feature...

Hope I helped and good luck with your horse.

Have you watched the movie Buck yet? If not suggest you rent it.. sounds A LOT like a stallion a women brought to one of his clinics.. he tried to help the women but in the end after the horse did hurt one of the guys trying to help he told the women like a dog that bites you can not have a horse that is dangerous it's a risk to you and the public. If you have experts saying to put him down I would not come to a message board and ask mostly teens and amateurs. Even if he has been abused from what you said it's made him VERY unpredictable you may be able to save him but at what cost and I'm not speaking monetary. Could you live with yourself if someone trying to help you got seriously hurt or killed?

Edit: Right but the horse will need to have his feet done at some point, and checked over by a vet so you won't be the only one handling him. Also what happens if you get naughty kids (and it happens) who don't listen to signs and get into the pasture .... even though they are trespassing you'll still be liable. Sounds like really you know what needs to be done you just want someone to tell you there is hope. Really does sound like the movie Buck like the poster below me said as well.... sometimes even though we have an emotional attachment to our pets and to us they are the world its most RESPONSIBLE thing to do in a situation like that is to humanely euthanize. That goes along with being a good horse owner as well.

Firstly, I am so sorry about what's happened to your horse :( No animal deserves this and to be quite frank, it's the people who abused him that need putting down, not him!

Anyway. I had a similar experience with a neglect case, basically a watered down version of this. It was awful :(

Some people said she should be put down to, but don't listen, every horse deserves a second chance!! I bought some Kelly Marks and Monty Roberts books and watched loads of videos, decided to wipe the slate clean and treat her like a youngster. My case was no where near as severe as yours, but it worked.

I think you're going the right way about winning his trust back, you need to give him time (as I'm sure you're aware) this will be a VERY long process. Sitting with him in his field is good, moving a bit closer every few days. Maybe chop a carrot and put it next to you, see if he'll come get it, let him have his treat and leave at his own pace.

This all stems from fear, this is not him being 'naughty', his anger and mistrust comes from being mistreat, when you get close enough to him, if you can find his fears and work on them you'll be hitting the root of the problem.

Monty Roberts, and Kelly Marks, use a technique called join up, first I want to say be careful, he's unpredictable and dangerous so do not hesitate to put your safety first! Make sure you';re wearing a hat and possibly a body protector! So join up, in short is having your horse in a round pen and asking him to move out of your space through body language, sometimes you do have to shoo horses but his isn't what its about. Make eye contact, square your shoulders and move him round the ring at a fast trot or canter, use your body to make him change reins by cutting him off at a corner, let him experience both reins. When he's tired he'll start to tell you (For stubborn horses this can be a LONG time), he'll lower his head, lock his inside ear onto you, maybe lick and chew, and start to circle in closer. This is him asking to come into your space, when you've seen enough of these signs you can drop your body language, slump your shoulders, turn away and invite him into your space. Now, in a perfect world the horse will come to and will touch you, but sometimes if this doesn't happen you need to move them back out until it does. I don't know if you'd be able to do this and how safe it'd be, but do consider it. It is the most magical feeling and it worked with my neglected horse.

Its such a difficult situation, and everyone will have their own opinion so I hope mine helped :) Its nice to hear you're trying to help him, don't give up!

Xxx

I think any horse can be taught a lesson on aggression (we like to call them "Come To Jesus Meetings"). I know a gelding who when first bought would try and kill you. After a few stern "talks" about his behavior, he is now a puppy dog, will follow you around not attempt to kick or bite (still tries to nibble at times but never full blown take-a-chunck-out-of-you bite), even the other day I saw his owner playing with him out in the pasture.

Training a dangerous horse is not for the inexperienced or the faint of heart. You cannot be afraid to be hurt. This horse needs someone who knows what they are doing, has the patience to work with him, and is not afraid of what he might do and not afraid to correct it sternly (I know I will get TDs for this but some very aggressive biters need a good punch right in the kisser). You don't have to sell him, but get someone who can work with him.

How old is he now? Certainly cattle prods are not the answer. That is barbaric. They should not be used on cattle either in my considered opinion.

I had a similar problem with a pony who would attack with all guns blazing and would even jump on top of people if they tried to lead him.

I do not know the answer to this one. Does the horse belong to you now? Why is it that YOU took him to the experts - and how did you manage to catch him in the first place? I would want to see the horse before I could pass judgement.

If you think you are good enough then you get on with trying to train him. And good luck to you.

I would choose the gay, for he hasn't committed any crime. The born again, criminal has a good chance, but the gay is ahead because all he did was to do something WE humans look down on. We can't speak for God. But there are those people who do, and condemn gays just because these horrible people think that they are better then the gays. In judgement, the gays probably will do better then these vain people, for "vanity " itself, IS a sin. People trying to say that others are sinners, need to stop and look at what they are doing, in God's eyes. Are THEY so pure that they can judge and condemn others? NO. For it is NOT their place to 1. judge others and 2. to condemn anyone

I have been around 2 horses like that in my life and I can guarantee that neither one had ever been abused. There was nothing that could be done with these animals so I have to believe that it was a physical fault in their brain. Do what you wish (except abuse him more) and try not to get hurt.

Congratulations, you have succeeded where I have failed. You have your very own guard/attack horse. Put a security guard hat on him and let him patrol your property.

I am so jealous!