I'm the first time draft owner. I would appreciate some training advice. He's an 8-year old rescue horse (Belgian-Percheron cross), gentle & sweet, but is spooked very easily ... VERY nervous around anyone except me. I'm having a hard time finding someone to come to me to work with him to assess him. Everyone seemingly wants me to send him away and I am afraid that with his history I have real concerns about doing that. I think that might not be the best for him. But my goals are to eventually be able to just trail-ride him, and it appears he's never even had a bit in his mouth.

Does anyone know of someone in Northern VA that might do this sort of thing or am I being unrealistic?

kasandra: I have posted your question on the front porch forum where it better belongs and has a better chance of being read by more teamsters who may be able to help.

Uncle Joe
co-moderator

Kassandra, I rescued a draft a few years ago. He was quite a bit younger than your guy is now but not even halter broke and he would have nothing to do with people. I had a natural horsemanship guy help me for the first month, and was always there for any training sessions. It worked out great for us and before the month was over my draft was accepting saddle, bridle and rider. If you decide to go that route, I'd go see a trainer work with a very green horse first, just to make sure (s)he is competent, has training goals compatible to yours, and is fair to the horse.

Karen,

Thank you so much for your response. You are the first person to give me positive feedback.

Thanks!

Kasandra, I never owned a horse before I bought Barney, a 9 yr.old Belgian gelding, I heard nothing good about when others sent their horses away so, I started reading and going to clinics. I soon decided that I liked Clinton Anderson's methods and started with them , He explains everything in great detail and tells you what to do first, second ,third, ect. what problems to expect and how to deal with them . It has worked out great with Barney,people are amazed at how good he is and how much he can do . When you first start you'll feel like you're not doing it right but watch the cd and keep trying , being consistant is the key , but if you can't or don't have the time then do like Karen said and go watch a trainer first. Drafts are very quick to learn & smart, but some trainers think that if it's not a qtr. horse/ arab it's untrainable ,don't believe them , they're just scared of their size. Good luck .It can be done and you'll see results very fast. Nothing beats a draft

Hi Kassandra, a few summers back I had occasion to work with a friend's aged Belgian/QH cross mare, who at 17 or 18, was still very green. I too went to the Drover's board, and got the same negativity! This mare is kind but had never been properly trained, seemed to have had some bad experiences in her past by her reactions, and had gotten away with nonsense for many years so she's a pro at evasions, but slow and steady work, never asking her for anything I wasn't sure she could give me, and lots and lots of praise worked wonders. Drafts do seem to respond differently than light horse breeds, but they're still just horses, so don't focus on his breed too much! What I found was that this mare was MORE sensitive than my own QH!!! The other thing that I'd mention is the incredible power of a draft horse, so much more than light horses. THAT you can never forget about. The first time I galloped that mare on the trail I almost went over her butt, from the thrust of her takeoff. I tried to longe her once (she obviously had never done that before) and she darn near had me dangling on the end of the line like a kite on a string! So just respect the awesome strength! Other than that, just handle him like any other green horse; slow, steady, build trust and confidence, and never pick a fight you might lose.