Yesterday my young horse Ricco went to Tony's farm for some help. He is a 5 year old warmblood gelding that is very headstrong and says "No" quite often. I was worried when Tony started to ask Ricco to backup during ground work and my horse stood straight up and started striking at Tony. It was a behavior I had never seen from him. Although he says "no" often it's never been to that extent, maybe he would kick out at my leg but I was shocked to see him stand up and strike at someone. I was worried that this new behavior would translate into other situations where he would choose not to listen. As I'm sure you guys know this was not the case. Once he realized it was easier to cooperate and listen to Tony he stopped his antics and turned into a very happy young horse. Today I went back to see him to find my horse in a western saddle and suddenly soft as butter! He was backing (not rearing!), turning, trotting, cantering all around with no more pressure then Tony's index finger! It was incredible with so little pressure he was soft and lovely! I was so excited and then I got to get on and try it for myself. It was incredible, suddenly a studdish headstrong gelding was willing and happy to do anything we asked! I can't wait to get on him at home tomorrow and show my trainer all he has learned in two days! I was expecting him to be better after two days but by no means expected such a big change in two days! Thank you Tony Simonetti for doing so much with Ricco in just two days! I will keep you updated on his progress and how we do working together! I am really excited to see the difference back home!
Samantha Ruttura