anxious horse causing rider to be too.Need advice to take control

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zarla

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Hi,
I gave my horse to a friend, he was a fine, steady, sensible spook-less horse who my young son rode many times. He has a tendency to be anxious when going out alone, especially when he is attached to another horse.
In this case it's a pony, the only one he shares his field with.
He has started trying to evade tacking up, and then when he goes out under saddle he will whinny.
When he knows he is coming home he will take off, with the rider and try to canter/gallop home.
I did have some problems with him when I first got him but soon sorted them. He is now so anxious about leaving his little friend that all hacks are doomed from the start- he's so anxious.
What can we do to make him less anxious? Any tips please as I don't want something to happen to my friend, or for her to become any more scared of the horse. He really is a sweetie when he's thinking straight!
 
Start bringing your horse in away from the pony for quick short sessions of grooming, groundwork or whatever so he gets used to coming away from him and then get's to go back out though after.

I guess take things back a step and rebuild what confidence he has. So little tiny hacks, short and sweet for a while.

Also, could anyone go out with your friend on a bike? This will help alot.

Get your friend to sing out loud. This will take her attention off of being nervous (i.e you cannot sing and hold your breath..lol) which will help ned relax

Possibly ride him and then off on the way back, so he cannot shoot off home and then get her to get back on very close to home and then gradually get her to get back on further away from home until she doesn't get off at all.

Goodluck.
 
tbh, sounds like the wrong horse/rider combo.

are they hacking out alone? can anyone go with them so he might be less inclined to charge home?
 
Agree with RH need to start seperating them for periods of time, sounds like seperation anxiety, and also the horse is possibly saying that he is not confident in the rider too.

Can anyone else that is very confident do a short hack on him?
 
I'd agree with MT - it's sounds as though the horse/rider combination just isn't working. Sounds as though your friend is over-horsed. My bet is he'll just get worse and worse and the situation could get dangerous.
 
Since the new rider, your friend, is nervous it is making the horse nervous.
Since the horse was OK with you, and nothing else has changed, then it is the change of rider that is causing the problem.

The only solution is for your friend to realise that she(?) has to take charge and be the horse's leader/teacher. If she can't/won't then the horse is going to feel that he is alone in a frightening world and must get back to his friend and comfort zone as soon as possible. This doesn't mean being rough or unkind, it is being a confident person the horse can rely on.

You can get some of those CDs "Confident Hacking" which might help. Or get your friend to do some games/trec training with your horse. This takes your mind off the horse and gives you something else to concentrate on. If you do the Trec training, it is good for getting used to obstacles, hazards, etc. Horses seem to enjoy it too and it builds a relationship. She could get a Kelly Marks or Linda Tellington-Jones book about how to train your horse doing ground exercises, and use of body language and confidence issues as well.

I always remember something very simple that a trainer said once said, and it applies on the ground and when riding. "The boss horse controls other horses' feet." In other words, you, the rider or handler, must be control of the horse, where is goes and how fast it goes (OK the horse hasn't read the book and any horse can over-react or be frightened). Of if you don't, the horse takes over.

At the moment, it is as the above posters say, a mis-match of horse and rider.
 
Hi all,
Thank you for your posts, I know my friend is a little less confident than me but he has shaken her a little. I remember being the same when he did the same to me a few years back. I took him on, did lots of lungeing and groundwork with him, then got his confidence in me, as well as mine in him. I have told her it'll take a while, and not to worry about it too much. he goes with her beautifully in the schooling area.

I am hoping that she will replace the little shetland gelding with a mare or two, as he never gets over attached to them. That will help him too.
I am going to ride him for her, although it's a long way and I cant do it very often.
I am sure she will step up to the mark, but I think she will take some time and support to get over her apprehension. She has chronic health problems which also get in the way of riding everyday so of course these things take longer to accomplish.

Thankyou again.
 
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