Calming your horse. What do you do.

[FanyDuChamp]

I was reading the "what do you sing when hacking" thread and it made me think about how we calm down our stressy WB. We sing to him, he has his own song "I feel pretty, oh so pretty I feel pretty and witty and gay etc" When Elizabeth and I first got him he was extremely stressed, bolshy, opinionated and had an appalling reputation for being a "difficult" horse. We started singing to him, his own song and he began to calm down and de-stress (obviously it took more than that. Or maybe he just stopped stressing to stop the singing! ) Any how he started to associate the song/singing with happy/safe times, now all we have to do is start the song and he will stop his stressing behaviour and listen.

So what do you use? Or do to help your horse over stressful periods? What have you found that works?

FDC

 

[PolarSkye]

It depends on what is stressing him out . . . if we're hacking then, like you, I sing to him - I also put my reins in one hand (for some reason that signals relaxation to both of us). If we're in the school and he gets upset then I ride him forward on a loose rein and give him a gentle scratch. On the ground, I make a particular noise . . . a little like a nicker - hard to explain - just something that we landed on that seems to work . . . and that focuses his attention on me and signals that I want him to calm down and come back to me . . . also, he almost always calms down if I can get close to him and put a hand on his neck (invaluable when he's wound himself up in the field to the point where he actually can't calm himself down).

P

 

[YardGeek]

I use the Noah Ark song "the animals went in two by two" and relax my whole body (while maintaining a secure leg)
Also rubbing his mane works really well from the ground or in the saddle

 

[nomad]

my yearling came to be unhandled.6 months later hes learnt that when i sing twinkle twinkle little star alls right in his world

 

[picolenicole]

Again depends on when and what he stressing at (never stresses in the satble or field) In the school I say the same thing "We're in here, they are out there" in the most I don't care sort of voice I can do, when hacking (he usally only stresses out over goats) I say "King stup up, it's a goat" or what ever once it was a......... bag. I also put my hand on his neack so he knows that I'm here if his hearing goes

Oh yeah the other thing is if he can push what ever over, like a cone in the road it's nothing to stress over so somethimes I say "Do you want to look at it?"

 

[FanyDuChamp]

Some interesting techniques, I will try some of them.
FDC

 

[Megibo]

i scratch her shoulder/crest of her neck and talk in a babyish voice to her

 

[Queenbee]

I use the words 'good girlie' when I am on the ground, I doubt there is anything in the actual words, but they put me in a good frame of mind and the tone calms her.

If it is the dentist, I stroke the top of her nose with the palm of my hand, otherwise I am one for scratching the shoulder if she is in hand or being ridden (often in combination with the above 2 words LOL)

If a car is approaching us from behind, I will always place a hand on her rump to signal there is a car and to not swing her quarters, although this isn't needed and hasn't been for years, it is common practice between us now, I will then return my hands to the reins and carry on as per usual.

with ben it is always a firm hand, a 'good boy' and a soothing scratch or rub of his neck.

 

[horseless jorge!]

Sam never really stresses and panics, but I usually just coo to him if he gets worried about something. I always give him a little half halt if he's panicking underneath me, and I just talk to him, all the time. I also am one for letting him look at things all the time.

 

[maggiesmum]

I either talk or sing when we meet scary things and I carry a pocket of alfalfa pellets for a treat after we've dealt with the 'monster', if he's generally stressing and being over reactive at nothing in particular then I do some lateral work to engage his brain, once he has to think about where he's putting his feet he stops looking for things to gawp at.

 

[ThePinkPony]

stroking the full length of her neck saying 'heeeeeeyyyyyyy' quite low and calmly.

the cows over the path spook her (and me) sometimes and its the most successful way to clam her.

 

[CHH]

I too put the reins into one hand, drop my other to my side abit 'cowboy like' (also means it's harder to snatch at their mouth), it does actually sit you a little deeper, and just act like there is nothing there.

Our 17hh ID ia brave out alone generally however a road cone is an evil monster with the sole purpose in life of killing him.

He will pass anything and everything else, except cones, so we set them up at random spots about the place and I just ask him forwards, he can see them miles away!

But with him we are fortunate in that he calms down quite quick.

Our other will spin and leg it if you don't be the confident lead - this horse needs alot of security from it's rider. When you have that you can pass anything (albeit abit quick and tense).

I taught all mine to lower their outline, soften and find a contact (this doesn't mean yank at them, just you can feel them they can feel you) and it works. It starts as youngsters on the ground.

I've always said that their view point - if they are in a contact with me and I'm Ok with whatever bothers them, they'd rather stick with me for security.
There have been afew occasions when I've sung too, but I really wouldn't put them through that pain too often.
However it does work!
But I think I could be sued for the use of the word 'singing' as misrepresentation.

 

[Kokopelli]

I totally relax myself first as 90% of the time when he's being a knob it's made worse by me tensing.

When it isn't caused by my numptiness I'll pat him behind the saddle and talk to him in a soothing voice. Might also drop my reins as he tends to fight them when he gets himself in a tizz. Nothing really works once he's wound up on a hack though so all I can do is just sit tight and take the shortest route back until he calms down again.

 

[skint1]

When my daughter first started trying to get her mare (who was only 4 at the time) to hack out alone, I used to walk out on foot with them. Singing helps to keep your breathing regular and keeps your body less tense so we used to sing, we tried a number of different tunes but her favourites were counting songs particularly "Ten in A Bed" and "X Green Bottles Hanging on A Wall" but she also liked nursery rhymes.

 

[Hovis_and_SidsMum]

I sing to Hovis - row row row your boat is a favourite! I also scratch his neck with my fingers.
If all else fails i tell him in a stern voice to man up - he is the Destroyer and stop being such a girl!

 

[JAGER BOMB :)]

dont laugh! i sing i want to break free or whatever its called by gary glitter lol, thats when he tries to bomb off but for some reason he calms down enough for me to collect him
if im in the school i sing a song that probs no one has ever heard of lol its called shulil a ruin, its irish. and he loves it (or he behaves so i dont sing anymore lol)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zTXrdt7piyc

 

[Mince Pie]

I sing Olly Olly Oxen Free to Olly! Millie seems pretty unflappable so far!

 

[Starzaan]

I purr at all of mine - like a pigeon rather than a cat (yes, all my liveries think I'm mental). It's what I've always done, and what I was brought up with as that's what my family used on horses in SA. A lot of European dressage riders use it as a signal to halt or drop down a pace.

With my blind two I put myself on their blind side. They both seem to feel more comfortable being led with me on their right. If we encounter something out hacking or are competing and warming up in a crowded collecting ring, I place a hand on their neck on the blind side (right eye in both of them) to let them know there's something there. Cooly hasn't coped nearly as well as Roy has with losing her sight, and so I tend to just talk to ther the whole time I'm doing anything with her, and never touch her right hand side without having first run my hand around from the left.

But yep, mainly cooing like a pigeon. I find it's been especially good for my youngster, who initially was like "eh?! what's that weird noise you whackjob?! can't you see I'm freaking out?!?!?", and now associates it with caaaalllm.

ommmmmmmmm

 

[Luci07]

Couple of things - more at this time to ensure my youngster's attention is on me. In the school if he starts to look at things outside, I push the end of my whip into his neck (not hard) to focus on me. Scratch on the neck and dropping the reins means slow down (from my XC days - he picked that up very quickly) and out and about - chanting the marching song "I don't know, but I've been told" etc works as its in the same rhythm as his walk.

 

[much-jittering]

Ditto Kokopelli and others, chill myself out! That's what singing etc does anyway, but IMHO if I can laugh and go 'what are you doing you silly muppet?' it means I'm still relaxed, they haven't frightened me, and I can carry on being of any use.

In the same vein, I also chat away like an idiot to stop myself getting wound up in the first place, for example the other day bringing a newly arrived little handled very strong and very bouncy horse in from a fair distance away from the yard the poor sod got a running commentary on every gate and blade of grass pretty much so I didn't tense up, as if I had it would have been gone.

When the worst happens and both the horse and myself have lost the plot (i.e. we're now both scared), it just turns into stubborn refusal to give up because that's not an option. Again for example had a new young horse absolutely flip it's lid coming in the other week, rearing, spinning, pulling away, trying to flatten me etc. If I'd given in, turned round and gone back to the field, I'd never have held it or caught it again once it had got away. So it was either we were going to stay there forever, or we had to carry on to the yard. Doesn't mean I'm not physically shaking as I can't get through to it, but it did mean once we'd had our battle of wills he came in and has come in perfectly ever since.

 

[BlueCakes]

Luckilly my horse never really stresses over anything.

I guess he does because he is a horse, but because I talk to him so much its like having a conversation, he just knows if somethings okay and if it isn't. I think that because he trusts me, and I say somethings okay, then he will not stress.

 

[pottamus]

Singing to distract seldom works with my Welshie...if he freaks, he freaks and that is it and he can do this in approx 3 seconds! The aim with him is to keep him going forward with a strong leg whilst telling him he is a good boy and how there is nothing to worry about in a very deep and low tone but not chatting needlessly.
The rest is just trying to stay on...heels right down, deep seat but legs off as much as possible. Once past the scary thing he calms quite quickly if you are quiet, still and re-assure him.

 

[Brandy]

Very much depends on the situation, and which horse! The TB, very rarely stressy, and if he is, there is little you can do to help him. His is mostly over excitement (like the time we rode past a hockey match and he becmase VERY lit up - I can onlyt hink it reminded him of his polo playing days!)

The welsh, well, yes twinkle twinkle little star is a good one, as it also calms me to sing while hacking out if I am feeling in any way nervous (which I only do with him....) or, if he has seen somehting that I I sure he is not really scared of, but he thinks will eat him, a firm 'don't be so ridiculous' does the trick. Or I explain to him 'they are people, standing on the sideof the road. They are not scary, you have seen people before.....' and so on.

The people must think I'm stupid.