Anxious horse - NI specific

[smolmaus]

Asking for a friend, literally.

She doesnt know I'm posting this, so all info is anonymised as far as possible but we have a very anxious gelding who is getting dangerous. When he is in a routine he is fine, when something new or scary happens his first instinct is always flight, he tanks off back to the herd. He is a very strong 15.3 cob and he has very unfortunately learned that a lot of the time when he wants to run off, he gets to run off. I've seen him drag a 16st, very experienced horseman off his feet easy peasy and his owner is... not 16st. When he gets panicked he can, and has, hurt people, not on purpose but through just needing to get away.

Current thoughts are that he will always be an anxious boy. He's been known since he was a Yearling and he's 5 now and has not had the most stable upbringing for reasons absolutely unavoidable. Not in anyones control, will not be elaborating here.

His person loves the bones of him and has taken advice from every very experienced person she has access to but the "tank off, think never" response is very very hard to get past.

So posting on the off chance anyone has any ideas of who might be a suitable experienced trainer in NI who can deal with strong and sensitive horses but who isn't going to beat them into submission. He responds really well to R+ training, so looking for positive people.

Thats a very long ask, I know.

 

[rextherobber]

Michael Peace travels, might be worth an ask?

 

[maya2008]

If you find someone, I would send away to a trainer so they have the controlled environment and any additional people they need, along with the consistent handling for a period of time needed to break the habit.

 

[Highmileagecob]

As posted on various other threads, the native types retain a very strong instinct for survival and self preservation. Yes, they make rock solid, dependable horses, with a very loyal, loving attitude, but when worried, they will take evasive action despite your wishes.
At best they can be trained to stand still and assess the worry, but I have never met one that can completely over ride their instinct.
It is difficult, given his size, to establish ground rules, but if you can get him listening to you whilst you slowly introduce him to more and more, you will make some headway. Cobs are very quick learners, but unfortunately, they retain the bad habits too. Stay safe!

 

[smolmaus]

If you find someone, I would send away to a trainer so they have the controlled environment and any additional people they need, along with the consistent handling for a period of time needed to break the habit.

This is unlikely to be an option. And honestly it took him months to settle where he is now so I think sending away would cause more problems than it solved. I do get the logic, I am preaching consistency too but only so much is reasonably possible.

 

[Regandal]

A Google search threw up Megan Hines as a positive reinforcement trainer who covers NI?
I have no personal knowledge of this person.

 

[Bluewaves]

My friend had a trainer from MINT come to her yard in NI. I think they're based somewhere in North down. Her mare had a different issue from the one here though. You've maybe already tried them.

 

[Rowreach]

This is unlikely to be an option. And honestly it took him months to settle where he is now so I think sending away would cause more problems than it solved. I do get the logic, I am preaching consistency too but only so much is reasonably possible.

The advantage of sending him away to someone is that they get total control over his management and handling and can dip in and out of the work incrementally, several times a day if necessary, or not at all when they see he needs a break and reflection, and they get a much better feel of the horse they are working with. In the days when I did it, the horses came to me, followed by the owners, so that the owners got the idea too, and for me I wanted to understand the horse and be able to advocate for it before I started working on the owner.

A trainer visiting at set times for a limited period isn't going to see the whole management situation or how the horse is handled, possibly by several people, and will have to work with both horse and owner at once (yeah I know some people do this, but ime it isn't the best way of going about things long term, and isn't really advocating for the horse).

If you are at the point where your friend's horse is a danger to all around him, I think she needs to seriously consider sending him somewhere for everyone's benefit, including the horse.

Don't assume that he won't settle somewhere else - many's the horse that comes from a place where the whole environment is too much for it, only to get off the box with a big belly sigh and settle straight away because it suddenly finds itself away from all the stressors and triggers it's been dealing with.