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Problem Horse?
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 I
have a lovely horse but she is positively neurotic. Nothing
terrible ever happened to her in training, however I had to pull
her out after six months when she was labelled to dangerous to
ride. I have to look after her completely now as others are
nervous of her and I find others make the situation worse. I
cannot get this horse into an indoor riding arena: she can be so
calm and wonderful and as soon as we enter an indoor she falls
apart! How do I keep her from boiling over?
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'nothing terrible' happened to your horse when she was in
training for you, it is clear that something has happened before
you had her. Some horses do suffer from genetically inherited
anxiety, but this is more extreme and suggests an actual
reaction. This is going to be a long haul, and if she has bonded
well with you, you are right to handle her on your own at the
moment. When you have really got her trust, then start thinking
about introducing new people into the equation. Confidence is
going to be the key to calming this horse, and it will take time
to develop. If you could come on a study day, or have an
assessment, I would be able to advise you more specifically, as
every case is individual.
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I
have had my gelding now for 3 years and I keep getting to a
point where I get scared of putting my foot in the stirrup to
get on him. Usually over the summer, when he is more chilled and
I have more light in the evenings after work, I seem to be able
to pull myself together and gather up enough courage to give him
and me another go. But now I have - again - come to this point
where I seem completely incapable of enjoying my horse.
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This
sort of story comes up again and again: so many riders and their
horses are slowly falling out of love with each other and with
riding itself. This is a case of a mutual lack of confidence,
something that my courses on Intuitive Riding are tailored
towards. Whatever kind of riding you want to do, it should be
fun, and perhaps challenging, but not an ordeal: contact me
about an assessment and advice.
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Now
she is retired, I can't turn my ex-competition mare out because
she jumps out of the field and I can't leave her in a stable all
the time. I was asked to remove her from the retirement yard as
she was jumping out of fields, away from her companions and
careering around the estate in a state of hysteria.
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Your
mare sounds as though she is having a crisis of confidence even
though she is just in a paddock. It sounds as though she needs
to be turned out with a more suitable, reassuring equine
companion who can teach her to be part of a herd situation
again. If you were to bring her to Bowhayes Farm, I am sure we
can settle her and teach her how to be a horse again.
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My
horse Jack is sound (although he may be a bit short-sighted in
both eyes). The problem I have with Jack is that I'm no longer
able to cope with him: he goes mad if either of my ponies go out
of his sight, won't stay in the stable if he can't see them, and
if anything slightly changes he gets really, really upset.
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Jack
is clearly very nervous and insecure in all areas of his life at
present, and it may be exacerbated by his visual impairments.
However this is not an excuse: there is a well-known instance of
a totally blind Grand Prix dressage horse competing very
successfully (the audience were just asked not to applaud until
he had left the arena). The faith that horse had in his owner is
something you may need to build on with Jack: it sounds as
though you both would benefit from my Intuitive Riding courses,
which seek to rebuild the mutual confidence so many horse and
rider partnerships seem to lack.
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I
have the opposite problem to virtually everyone else! I have a
four-year-old TB x Shire who was professionally broken before I
bought him. He was exceptionally quiet to break in (I watched it
being done) and is very well behaved. However, he is so laid
back he is virtually comatose, and it takes spurs and a
schooling whip in each hand just to get him into trot. He has
lovely paces and a bought him to do dressage, but I don't
particularly want to corn him up!
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bowhayesfarm@btconnect.com
