D/C TRAINING OUT UNDESIRABLE BEHAVIOR | Horse Rules the Roost 

If you'd like some explanation on the "why's and how's" of my training in this video to get a better understanding, go watch the Recap Video posted on 14 June 2023.

I think you are one of the best trainers I have seen since my mentor. I love your videos. No fads just honest horse savvy. Thank you, sir.

Be aware of how a horse corrects another horse in the field when it is being asked to move and it does not respect the first cue! Thank you Dennis for this demonstration.

A beautiful horse just doing what he was inadvertently trained to do: ignore objects, do way too much hookup, and be in charge. (So many videos out there demonstrate desensitizing & hookup like a holy grail.) I'm sure it was confusing for him when his past behaviors were no longer the right answer, but he has a willing nature and clever mind. He caught on suprisingly quickly! You really demonstrate working toward a clear mental picture of the end result.

Im watching this a Second time. And just want to say, kudos to the owner for realising her horse needed some retraining. It’s not always easy to admit our horse needs professional training for some issues we can’t help them with on our own. Sometimes we need that pro help. I’m sure she’s beyond grateful after seeing his follow up videos that her horse is stepping into his true potential as a solid partner for her. I wish them a beautiful Lifelong happy, safe relationship together. He’s a real beauty.

I have had issues with my mare being disrespectful of my space and of me as a leader. I did alot of what i thought was 'good desensitizing' with a stick and flag. However, i taught her to not move her feet in the process. I feel foolish after watching this video as I realized I contributed to the development of her behaviour. I did this with my geldings when they were young but it never caused this type of behavior. But, they had very different personalities from my mare. Thank you for this great video. Unlike many other commentators I can see the clear instructions you are giving this horse and his stubborn, disrespectful attitude. Also i can see you tapping the saddle and cinch. If someone hasnt ever dealth with a truly dangerous or disrespectful horse I cant blame them for not understanding the importance of establishing firm boundaries. Great video! Thanks for sharing Dennis

These are the beginning principals of creating a showmanship horse. This is an absolute must for folks to know how to do. Excellent tutorial! This horse was a perfect choice for this learning exercise. The owner would benefit greatly from learning how to properly handle a horse from the ground.

You work smart and sensitive to the. Needs of handler and horse.

Thank you for teaching in a way that others won't because they think if they do they won't be needed anymore or they won't sound cool or won't make money or "whatever".

The use of De-Sensitization is one of the most mis-used practices in horse "training". We want our horses to accept things (both positive and negative} with awareness - not dullness (being shut down). I like your analogy to a rabbit.

Hes a tough one.

thanks! I always learn a lot from you. This was a good video and I knew you were tapping the saddle and not the horse. Im glad you posted the follow-up video. I hope it helps people have more understanding of what you were doing.

One thing that immediately impressed me is he wasn't using a flag. I despise flags. I prefer to use elbows instead of whacking them but you end up with the same result. With an audience elbows are almost invisible unless watched closely and look less abusive. A light bump here and there and they get the picture. I've never needed a flag my lead rope works just fine. But hay Dennis is getting the job done. More that one way to skin a cat.

Many people don't get the concept that every interaction with their horse is a training exercise. Feed times, petting through the fence, everything. If you let them get away with any negative behavior you are going backwards from your desired outcome. You are never staying consistent, you are either going forward or backward with their training. Many the time that I've had a desire to go do one thing with my gelding and have had to stop that and fix some minor behavior issue first. It's a lot easier to fix it immediately than to let it go until it becomes a dangerous problem. At first, it might only take a few minutes to correct. At the point of dangerous behavior, you have several days or even weeks to correct that same issue. Also, a horse will seldomly "get it" one time and have it stick forever, unless it is a negative behavior. They seem to pick the negative up very quickly. They really aren't much different than humans. They don't want to have to think, learn or work any more than most humans. It's our job to create a positive work ethic in them.

Can a horse this strong willed every be trained enough to not take over an owner without your level of skill and knowledge ? It just seems like some horses need really experienced horsemen , no matter how well they are trained. Also it is sad the mountain this horse must now climb to get back to civilized behavior , due to improper handling (obviously without bad intentions but sadly the road to hell is paved with good intentions !). I hope in your recap video you talk about how good intentions in novice horse people can lead to these bad undesirable outcomes and how to avoid this ?

I like what your doing.

Someone has surely over used the whips on this guy. He's not respecting or fearful of the whip at all. You could verify easily get killed around this horse and wouldn't be the horses fault. I'm sure you're gonna get some hate the pink pony tails who think you're cruel.

I can't hear any of your video's. I have checked my settings and I can hear everyone else's video's .

Thank you / this was very helpful. I have a 3 yr old OTTB that does the same thing when asked to shoulder yield/turn away from me. She also speeds up and tries to get in front of me, occasionally will rear and strike if she can’t get out of it. I certainly didn’t train her to do this and you mentioned this is a learned behavior. Other than desensitization (which I have not done w her), are there other possible root causes that create this behavior?

Why does he keep hitting the horse, and what does head in the fan blade

The horse was confused, i was confused. He didnt know whether you wanted him to come, go, react, not react. Cant imagine just smacking him constantly is the answer. He was awful tolerant of you overall looks like, he could of handled that worse. There's a difference in establishing respect and boundaries and just hitting them too much and confusing them. How is je supposed to use the thinking side of his brain with all the mixed messages. Out of all the trainers I've seen on youtube ive never felt this way watching one or really ever commented. So this horse got bad habits on top of a bad attempt at undoing habits.

Way too much desensatizing in his past

I’m sorry but that’s more “taps” I felt that you never gave clear direction as to what you wanted from the horse. All that smacking is unnecessary. You can get the same movement with a flag. This did nothing but frustrate me as I’m sure it did the horse from what I observed.

This kind of training is not only dangerous but offensive to animals.