Laying Down Horses-Training or Cruelty
By Gary “Baddog” Bennett, www.MrBaddog.com
H
ello readers! This month we, Gary “Baddog” and Megan
Bennett, want to talk about something anyone who has
ever owned a “Problem Horse” has asked themselves. Is
laying a horse down helpful? Is it cruel, a training technique,
even necessary? Horse lovers grow up watching “Flicka”,
“Black Beauty” and “The Black Stallion”. We love our horses
like family and don’t want to make a bad choice; What if
their spirit is broken? Their personality altered or changed in
some way? Isn’t it dangerous? We hope this article explaining
our beliefs on the subject might help horse owners to make
a better informed decision, or even to hold a more informed
opinion. As any member of the horse world can tell you,
everyone has one of those, so here is ours!
No matter what your discipline there are a always a few
difficult/unruly/hard to handle horses at the barn. No matter
what you or the trainer does they remain unpredictable,
over reactive or even aggressive. Some horses just aren’t able
to cope with life as the domesticated horse of today has to.
Side note: Yes, there are physical reasons for bad behavior;
ill fitting equipment, vitamin and mineral deficiencies, pain
from injury or disease, chiropractic issues, dent [\