Bolting whilst being Led

[kate081]

I have a wonderful WBxISH mare who suddenly started bolting whilst being led last Autumn. The vets diagnosed changes in her eyes & she has now had 3 months off to allow her eye problems to settle down. She's now been given the all clear but I am left with behaviour problems amounting to an agrophobic horse! She wont go in the field & is anxious when led. Any suggestions about how to go about retraining her gratefully received....! Anyone had similar experiences? Or can you recommend someone to reschool her? (Milton Keynes + 50 miles)

 

[dwi]

It depends what sort of approach you are looking for but my mare had really severe leading problems, setting her neck and charging off out of naughtiness and I had a trainer out from

www.montyroberts.co.uk

Look at horse help on the menu and they have a list of people across the country who will come up to help you

 

[Sal_E]

Without knowing more about her anxiety manifests itself, it's hard to give any detailed advice. I guess you mean she's spooky & threatens/tries to run off? If so, I'd suggest a two-tier approach. You need to desensitise her/build her confidence in addition to training her to 'behave'. Work on confidence building exercises (things like desensitisation to carrier bags being run over her etc, join up, clicker training etc) plus discipline when handling - so gradually build up the time on the lead (not sure what causes the problem - presumably the further you get from the stable?) - you need to keep within her within her comfort zone at all times, but trying to build on it. Try to work on her at least once a day, pref more often, so that she becomes used to doing these things again. Try to avoid upsetting her at all costs (which is like a backward step - compounding her fears) but at the same time, be firm with her if ever you think she is over-reacting. Reward & praise her, try to turn every tiny step of achievement into a positive thing - if she's treat motivated that's easier, although clicker training would also be extremely useful in this respect.

Sorry for garbled reply - in a rush to get my dinner!

 

[kate081]

Thanks for that. I'd not really thought about desensitising her. Just got it in my head that I've got to get her walking a bit further each day so one day we get to the school! Definitely worth a try - may be a welcome distraction for both of us. Will drag some poles out into the area she's happy in. She doesn't spook - just panics & runs back to her comfort zone (stable or corner of field) & squashes anything that gets in her way. I know it's not naughty behaviour as it stems from this eye problem but now I have to break the cycle without being broken myself....