# my horse Hawk



## ProudMorganOwner (Jun 30, 2010)

Hawk is a purebred Morgan gelding who was born on my farm. His dam was one of the greatest cart horses i ever had but she met a horrible demise that her son was lucky to escape. Hawk is also a great cart horse and a great trail horse but he lives to pull. I sent him to a trainer to begin his training and then after 2 years took over. He is still getting used to pulling my covered wagon, the tarp scares him to the point that he breaks out in a nervous sweat and he also tries to bolt while attached to the cart! I have tried just about everything i can think of to fix that,but, i ran out of ideas. Any suggestions? I love to see him pulling the small two wheeled cart with his head held high and proud. Hawk is a typically loyal and proud Morgan horse.


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## macscootin (Jun 19, 2010)

Hmm have you tried taking him back to basics, can you take the tarp off of your cart and pull it over his body and back? Just like you would a baby, just sack him out with it? I could see why he would be scared.


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## eliduc (Apr 5, 2010)

Head held high and proud? That sounds like a horse that's above the bit which is a dangerous place for his head to be on a horse that is prone to bolting. It's not attractive on any horse in my opinion. The previous poster is right. It sounds like your horse lacks basic training. He should submit to a little rein pressure and drop his nose either when being ridden or driven. You should be able to stand at the end of a thirty foot rope tied to his halter, drop it on the ground and not have him move, gawk to the side or eat grass for an indefinite period of time. His stop should be automatic when you give a voice command. as should his walk and trot. On my horse when I am riding him all I have to do is sit down on him slightly and lift the reins two inches and he stops. I say "Hut!" when I am driving and he stops instantly without any rein pressure. He was three in April. A horse that cannot safely pull a two wheel cart should not be harnessed to a four wheeled covered wagon. A horse that bolts is a danger not only to the people in the cart but bystanders and other horses. Someone told me that yesterday in a 4th of July parade one horse in a pair team pulled off the bridle of the other horse. They bolted through the crowd and there was a fatality. It's incidents like this that give driving a very bad name. Many horses do not have the temperament for safe driving. I apologize for being blunt but driving is a very unforgiving activity.


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## ProudMorganOwner (Jun 30, 2010)

what i mean by held high and proud is that he ( when standing still) holds his head high and arches his neck a little. I have tried taking him back to the basics and it made everything worse. I even sent him back to his trainer....again.


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## ridergirl23 (Sep 17, 2009)

Try hanging a tarp in his pen (is it a big pen?if its small, hang a few tarps in it.) attached the tarps to something solid, and (this usually only works if they are scared of it, but naturally curious) then just put him in the feild like nothings there, eventually (if hes curious) he should get used to it. But if hes a scared horse that isnt curious then he probably would jsut turn into a nervous wreck. do groundwork, LOTS with a rope halter. and then bring in the tarp, and just put it on the ground like a mat. Ask him to walk up to it like nothings there. stand on it and ask him to come towards you. once he walks over it without hesitation, then pick it up, and move it and do the same thing in a few different spots. 

After that, pick it up and try to get him to let you pet him with it, do this until he is calm. Then rub him all over, then hook it to your foot and drag it while you walk with him behind you, he should follow without being nervous of it dragging around your foot. then hang it on him and so on. but dont move up a step until he is comfortable with the first one.


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