After many years of waiting I finally acquired an Appaloosa. He arrived just over 3 weeks ago and all seemed well. At 3 years old he is completely unschooled but well handled, so I started him out lunging. Within a week he was lunging great. I put a light bit in his mouth and he accepted that without fuss. Then he stopped lunging! He just kept walking into me. I would shake the rope out, wave the whip in front of his nose. Nothing. This boy is solid as a rock, nothing scares him. He just kept walking up to me and dropping his head. I would drive him out again and he would do half a circle and stop. So my husband said he´d have a try.

The horse started great, for 2 minutes, then he stopped. But then he charged into my husband, rearing up and knocking him to the ground then passed over on top of him. I, naturally, screamed and as quickly as this happened the horse stopped by my husband and dropped his head. I attended to my husband, fortunately not seriously hurt, and all the while the horse just stood by. Dare I say he looked ashamed of his actions! I took him to the shower and then back to his stall.

Later that day my part-time help came and he took the horse out to lunge him (having done so quite a few times already). He went well for about 5 minutes then stopped dead at a distance. He seemed quite calm but then, as before, he took off at a charge and reared up. The groom was quick with the lunge whip and got in a good few cracks across his head, causing the horse to fall away short of attacking him to the ground as well.

The following morning I took him out and quietly started him out at a walk. He did 4 circuits and turned in to me. I was well prepared for any aggressive behaviour with a short whip in my rope hand that I had tied a plastic bag to the end of and the lunge whip in the other hand. I only slightly agitated the bag to deter him as he didn´t appear challenging and he turned out again and continued for half a circuit before turning in again. This time I agitated the bag more strongly. He couldn´t give a hooty tooty! I turned him to try the other leg. Same story. But at least no charging. So I decided to put a saddle on him figuring something new might get his attention. He didn´t mind a bit, not even turning as I tightened the girth. He did a couple of circuits in walk and again came into me. This time I was very aggressive with the bag. Again nothing.

My groom wont even go into his stable to give him his feed now and my husband is also rather wary of him. I have heard of ´one man dogs´, but a ´one woman horse´!
If he sees me as his mare and felt the ´machos´ were threatening his territory, we need help to get past this.
If it is something else, we need help to get past this!

His living accommadation -
I have one other stallion (Pura Raza Española) who is 4 and a typical stallion handful, but controllable and very well schooled after a year of training. He will probably be castrated, but it will have to be in autumn as there is too much heat and too many flies now. It is NOT an option to castrate the Appaloosa. I have bought him to compete in Endurance and to breed all the way from America to Spain. I have two mares (PRE) and my retired gelding (though castrated at 18 years to save his life, so though very calm and relaxed still has many stallion tendencies). They all live in a loose boxes in an ´American Barn´ set up. The PRE stallion is next to the gelding, the Appaloosa opposite the PRE stallion. The two mares are further down the aisle on the other side of the gelding. He lived out with his brothers until a few months before I purchased him, when he spent the time alone in a field. He then spent his 4 weeks of quarentine in a stall, with a couple of hours turn out each day on his own.

Bless and hug my wonderful husband - He immediately has started to build me a round pen. But it will be some weeks in completion as we both work full-time. We currently ´only´ have a 18 x 50 m sand school which is fenced but has openings at both ends. So until then I can´t leave the poor horse shut in his stall. I have to do something. Please help, anyone and everyone!!