You are not doing anyone any favors by letting your horse walk all over you, so DON'T do it!!

Gawd, I let my frustration get the best of me tonight.  And the whole time I was thinking the dumb ass previous owner is the one I should be smacking with this rope right now.  Moonlight has horrendous ground manners and I saw first hand how he got them the day I bought him.  As I saw his previous owner let him literally walk all over her.  Step on her, push her, just awful things.  She never once corrected any of his behavior.  I don't know exactly how long she owned him but I know it as many years and she all but ruined this horse on the ground.  It is so frustrating because it is so much easier to take a green horse and teach them the right way but can be close to impossible to ever eradicate learned bad behaviour.  I know you can improve upon it and new habits can be formed but those old ones are never really gone they are just kept in check so to speak.  And some times they rear their ugly heads without provocation.

I am ashamed that I did get angry and disappointed by the way I handled the situation but I had had enough.  It is my fault because I did see little things come out here and there and maybe would correct them but let some things slide.  I guess in the mindset that I would show him a little grace cause he really is a good boy.  But unfortunately because of the way he was aloud to treat humans for so many years he can not be aloud one ounce of grace or leeway.  If you give him and inch he will take a mile and if he has to knock you over to do it then so be it.  Sad but true.  As Buck Brennaman put it, he started out thinking he would help people with horse problems when in reality he usually is helping horses with people problems.  And when horses have people problems every owner from that point on has to pay for those problems and most of all that horse has to pay for the rest of his life.  Then imagine if a that horse gets into the wrong persons hands?  So sad what could happen to an otherwise decent animal all because one person did want to correct him.  And his owners case I believe it was more out of 'love' that she didn't want to 'tell him no' but really you are not helping your horse or anyone who ever handles him and you are possibly endangering his well being down the road if put into the wrong hands.