Hi Kathy. I see you have changed your picture from you with Jack to one of, presumably, Henry. That speaks volumes of how your perception of Jack has changed. Jack is lacking leadership - hence the disrespectful behaviour. Because he thinks there are no consequences he is acting like a gangster & unless it is addressed it will get worse. Henry is partly to blame - he's a good boy & wants a peaceful life so he's failed to put the young upstart in his place. Jack has taken this to be a green light for him to take charge & is now experimenting with taking charge of humans to. This is the kind of situation where humans can cause horses to gain a reputation that is actually not their fault. I know you are not greatly experienced with horses & are not overly confident so my advice is to check out your local trainers/Monty Roberts associates. You say Jack doesn't enjoy being groomed. That is an opportunity for bonding but perhaps he's been roughly treated so expects bad stuff. He needs to understand that he's on the wrong route. If he were mine I'd use a Dually, tied by the back ring but with a line loose in my hand to a schooling ring. Negativity gets a NIC, every time & positivity gets a PIC ( wither scratching ). However, Jack will be reading you constantly so you need this done by someone who is calm, confident & fair to him. Better still, one person to groom, but knows to step back when told & another to PIC or NIC, instantly. This will not be a quick fix but you can improve his manners with humans. Henry is on his own unfortunately so perhaps a divided paddock - they can be together but not bully. Cheers, Jo.

Thank you, Jo! I have been grooming Jack with the halter and his behavior is better. He did think about nipping yesterday, but turned quickly. I also have a very good trainer who knows Monty's lessons.
My trainer rode Jack for the first time last week. She is a very good rider. When she asked Jack to back up, he reared up on her. Since she is well experienced, she did not take it badly or have any fear of Jack. She said that he rides easily and has had many hours of training by someone. She feels that he would make a great show horse and would be good on trails. My trainer, Sonia, thinks that Jack will be good for me to ride eventually, but thinks I should learn on Henry. She also told me that she would like to ride Jack on about twelve trail rides before I try to ride him on a trail. Sonia wants me to learn to walk, trot, and canter before riding a trail and will go on the first trail rides with me.
You've been so good about responding to my "beginner type" questions, so I'm wondering what do you think about that? Thank you! Kathy

Hi Kathy. I think you have a good trainer. With horses you can often get unexpected outcomes so good horse people learn to 'read' when a horse is ready - & still get surprised! The plan seems sound, learn the skills you need on dependable Henry & let Sonia work out the kinks in Jacks behaviour but don't necessarily stick to fixed timetables. I used to design, build & run cross country courses - a lot of work but great fun. A parent came to me, having walked the course & asked " Is it safe "? I said I've made the course as safe as I can but the competition is jumping fences at speed, it involves horses so no, it's not safe. Her daughter competed the following day & made a point of coming & thanking me for ' the best day, ever, with her pony '. Life isn't safe - look where the world is currently. We make choices all the time & sometimes things just happen. You're going to have so much fun, enjoy the companionship of likeminded people & incredible animals but there will be bruises along the way. Make sensible decisions, don't take silly risks & embrace life. And by the way, I love the fact that Monty gives us the opportunity to share our knowledge, our thoughts, our experiences so - ask away! Cheers, Jo.