Can you ever regain the trust of a horse who has been mistreated?

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Mavis

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I have had my horse for a few months, and it is increasingly apparent that he has had a rough time of it in the past. His 'escape' mechanism is to rear but remain in the same 'footpprint' - he will rear and hump his back several times if he panics, yet he won't move from the spot where he was standing, even if (like today) he breaks his rope.

I am consistent in the way I handle him, I do not make sudden movements and I try to ensure he isn't ever in a situation where he may panic - it is his fear of what other people may do to him that is his big downfall. His main issues are people holding short whips (I can lead him, mount and ride with a whip, but the sight of a whip in the hands of another person sends him into a quivering wreck), mounting (I cant get him near the large mounting block, and even at his preferred block he will panic if held and at the moment it takes me a few abortive attempts to get on as he will rush backwards. Once mounted he is ok but he is quite wary of any sudden movements of the rider, such as when I carelessly swung my leg forward to tighten the girth - big mistake!)

I can see progress with his trust in me, but it only takes one minor incident to set him right back. Today, he was tied up outside his box and simultaneously a horse threw his feed bowl over the door and someone tried to approach Humphrey whilst pushing a barrow. Not quite sure what prompted such a violent explosion, but Humph reared maybe 4 times, broke the rope and stood shaking - I could see his heart banging through his chest. After a couple of minutes he settled again and went on to do some really nice work in the school (another fear which is improving).

Im certain that he has been roughly handled in the past, possibly in an enclosed space because of the rearing thing, and definitely by someone with a whip.

If I remain consistent and calm, and ensure that everyone on the yard is aware of his fears, do you thik it's possible for him to gradually forget his past, or is his fear something that's now imprinted? He is a lovely chap and it makes me so sad to see him frightened.

Sorry, that was long - thank you for reading, it just helps to 'tell' someone and my husband, much as he tries to appear interested, really isn't!!
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Aah, poor boy. I guess this is a piece of string type answer - it depends very much on his basic temperament and his age and for how long he was frightened by someone.

I have a very stressy 13.2 NF who I suspect had a hard time of it in a past life. He won't be caught, he is very wary of people with sticks and he shakes like a leaf at shows, when about to be loaded and sometimes when tacked up. I have had him here for 3 years and he has improved a little, but not hugely. However I like to think he is happier in himself here even if he is never going to fully trust me. But I also have a connemara type pony here who was treated badly by a previous owner, and he is completely relaxed and trusting, he is calmer by nature and doesn't seem to have any mental scars, fortunately for him.

At least your boy has found a lovely home now, but I suspect he will always be a little wary, and it will be two steps forward, and sometimes two back again for a while.
 
Having worked for a dealer where every other horse who arrived had been abused in some way, I can say he will definitely, definitely, get better with consistent handling.

I remember one pony I used to ride you had to sit so still when you were on him or he would just panic, and any sudden moves in the stable he'd whip round and kick out. One day he was working really nicely so I forgot myself and leant forward and gave him a gentle pat on the neck; poor thing jumped out of his skin, bronced me off and stood shaking!!

These days, he works in a riding school where he happily gives lessons to absolute beginners and is handle and groomed by children. It takes a lot of time though; over a year to really have a changed horse in my experience.
 
yes 100% BUT they never actually forget it, 2 horses, one of which i still have the other has been sold...

Mare.
well bred 8yr bsja mare with a fab jump... but WAS a year a go an evil cow. on the ground, she would go for you in field, she kicked, she bit (when i say bit i meen she would lunge over a stable door to get you) she would strike with a front leg, she would body slam you against anything solid. bloody horrible, grooming was a mission, rugging/tacking up entering a stable all a mission,. hard food.. well i had a friend do her for me once, it was so bad she was at the point of getting a ladder to climb out of the stable.

to ride.. she bucked, reared,she lept, if you dared touch her with a whip she was more than capable of rearing, as she reared she lept off all fours, in mid air she bucked, then just to try and get you off she will spin all in one move..

a year later (she was bought off a thread from this forum) totally differnt horse, shes funny,sweet, and loving. (it was a long road) i found out shortley after i bought her she had been starved as a baby (hence food aggression, and that her previous owner was told never to go near her unless she had a whip in her hand.) this mare has clearey had a beating or 2 both on the ground and ridden, she didnt know affection, you touched on the neck she would go for you.

gelding...
6yr arab. home breed, went on loan came back messed up. i bought him to rebreak and as a companion.
rugs.. hed sit down if anything touched hes bum the 1st day i went i went near him with a bridle he flipped, i later found out hed been strapped down beaten and left.
that little horse was so sweet, nothing nasty about him, i done all the work with him so he trusted me, but if anyone else went near him with a rug/bridel/saddles he was a nervous wreck.

my point.. to deal with a horse thats been mistreated in anyway, you need to see it from a different point of view, ie the horses, every horse i think can be bought round, but may only ever trust the person that handles them daily, and may NOT ever be 100% trustworthy as they have an incredible intelligence and the smallest thing you make them remember something nasty.
 
having re read your post, what i would also say is expose him to things you will know he will react to ie strangers with whips,, sudden movements etc. but do it in stages, i personally dont do treats, but in some ways.. ie differnt people approach with a whip on show, keep approaching give him a treat, teach him it meens good not bad..

the arab i had.. when i finally got the bridle on him, i took the reins off and let him go in the field, (i stayed in the field and kept going to give him a fuss and a treat, to the point i was taking the bridle on and off and he didnt care, ) i then fed him with the bridle on, i spent over 5 hours teaching him the bridle ment good things. the next day he was a different horse.

dont be affraid to upest him, look at it as it as he needs to confront hes fears, but in tiny tiny steps.
 
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Having worked for a dealer where every other horse who arrived had been abused in some way, I can say he will definitely, definitely, get better with consistent handling.

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Agreed - I've seen a lot of horses with behavioural issues of one sort and another and they all, without fail, improve with firm consistent handling. He'll probably never be a laid back plad though, I suspect he may always have a residual fear but he will work through it.

Our new point-to-pointer is nervous and spooky about things like rugs/putting hay over the door/sudden appearance of saddle at stable door etc. However, since he has been with us, he has got used to all his little 'phobia-triggers' - I can now put his hay over his door as long as I'm careful and he will just take a step back rather than running to the corner of the box. Likewise, he is easy to rug as long as I don't rush and approach him slowly. Having said that, he will still spook and panic if a rug falls on the floor from the door or something like that... I don't think he'll ever be 100% but he is 100 times better than he was
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To be perfectly honest - he may always be at a distance.

100% turn around is offen never unobtainable. I had a horse from ireland with abuse scars on his face, his legs and his quarters.

i used tricks to get him over people and food along with clicker training, he would give kisses for polos and take them out your mouth, he could spainish walk, almost bow and begged with his front leg after i finished with him - he was always wary of other unknown people but he seeked confidense in me .... BUT... if i walked across the yard with a schooling whip he would tremble in the stable with fear - if i put a noseband on tighter than if i could put my hand under it he would panic - things like this would NEVER go away - so although he was at peace with me he always had the fear in the back of his mind.

Your horse will more than likly come on leaps and bounds but dont be disapointed if he has his moments, you will come to deal with it if you love him.

I feel sorry for your horse its horrible knowing that they are scared.

Good Luck ~ he will thank you in his way one day
 
Regarding the giving of treats - I wanted to treat him to some windfall apples in his dinners, and it took a couple of weeks of him being terrified of the sound the apples made in his bowl before he'd even contemplete sniffing them! He will now eat quartered apples in his dinner but is highly suspicious of anything you attempt to feed by hand. I dont like feeding by hand in general, I think it encourages pushiness but in his case I agree, I think as he is so suspicious of being stroked/fussed by other people, a small slice of apple is probably the nicest thing you can give him. I have half wondered about leaving a whip in his feed 'corner' to try to desensitise him to it (to some degree) and then progress to bribing various people to feed him whilst carrying a whip.

Thank you for your advice, I sometimes feel like Im being the proverbial wet owner, blaming these things on his past; but I genuinely think it is his past that is his downfall and I want to crack it - he's a smashing horse (in my opinion - am a bit biased) and I want him to enjoy his life with me.
 
Yes he will get over it with consistent handling and Humphrey is very lucky to have you as his owner imo.

Personally I would keep doing all the things he doesnt like so he is desensitized eventually.
 
Yes. We're pretty certain my pony was mistreated when she was young. We know she ended up at a dealer with a foal at foot, was originally going to be shot once foal was weaned because she was a headcase, but she then jumped out of outdoor arena, so dealer sent her to his daughter (a friend of ours). We have videos of her going backwards in fear with a rider on, she had to be ridden in a hackamore because she was so sensitive in the mouth, and she was pretty much scared of everything. The daughter got her going over a few years, but when I started riding her she was still quite nervous, wouldn't let people pick up her feet and hated men. I have had her 8 years now, and I can do absolutely anything to her (except pull her mane). She is still wary of men and strangers sometimes, and doesn't like being crowded. She is now doing lead rein showing with a 6 yr old - the original dealers granddaughter, so she's come a full circle. You can see she will always have issues - she is always worrying about what might happen, rather than what actually is happening. She is still stressy and jumpy, but she recovers from scares alot better now, instead of standing shaking for days.
 
the thing to me is we can see an issue, but they cant talk and tell us what it is, so its up to us to pin point it, leave the whips about, get him walking over them, eating near them etc before you carrythem. if time is no object then go as slow as you can.

im not actually soft on my horses, once id figured out my mare, and where her issue where (like how dare you look at me) i worked on it step by step, then once she knew she was safe with me, ie stood by her eating, if she stamped or lashed out she got a sharp oi!

i have not hit her, but i work on the you kick me i kick you back, she will still lash out, but not aimed at me, if i hold her nose and kiss her she just has a look that says o for gods sake! shes on rest due to a tendon injury and is going back to being a cow due to lack of handling and work, but its the small things like if im in the field shes near by and will follow etc,

it was with her that i broke my rule of treating, she bite and lash out when you done the girth, or brushed her belly, i hand fed her and kept my hand in her sensitvie bits, she was nasty the treat went, she was pleasant the treat stayed.

one thing with her that always makes me smile, is the mare that would react if you put a hand on her neck, one day the oh and i had a row i went to the yard, she was in a stable to where there was internal door, id taken a bottle of wine and a book, she kept pawing so i went and sat on the step, in the stable, she pawed the groung i told her back, and ignored her. the cheeky cow the struck the book clean out of my hand! it wasnt nasty, she just wanted a fuss. she got it,

i dont trust her with other people and make her sound worse than she is,

your boy will come round, and in another years time you will have such a different horse, when you hit a step back dont be upset,. go back the next day and start again, you will both get there.

im quite hot with human pshycology, i apply this to horses, i try and see things from their point of view.
 
God yeah, absolutely you can. I do agree with others that truly evil treatment can change them forever, and you may never eradicate all evidence of it. But you'll get it down to a handful of minor reactions - a start, a look in the face or eye. Specific aversions that get in the way of his job/your enjoyment can be worked on - once he trusts you.

But, what I've found peronally is, because that trust is so hard to earn, once you have it, they'll walk through fire for you, and can be the safest, boldest horses you could possibly ever hope to own. Good luck with your boy!
 
Ethel I can totally empathise with you, you could be writing about a horse I took on a few years ago, basically the slightest movement was terrify him, if you stood next to him and raised your arm he would bronc (with a rider on board). He would stand at the back his stable and if you went in with him, he would turn away and go in circles always keeping his hindquarters to you so you couldn't 'get in'. He would rear and went through many headcollars and bailer twine when tied up.

It got to the point where I lost my confidence riding him and just didn't know how to handle him. Then after he bronced in the stable with my saddle fitter (never seen her move so fast!), she suggested I called her Bowen practioner, he turned up and it took us an hour to catch my horse, but eventually we did and the practioner started the treatment. As suspected my horse was completely wired, as the practioner explained he was running on adrenalin all the time, as I'm sure you know horses are flight animals and the adrenalin kicks in when they need to get away in a hurry, so the body goes into flight mode. However badly traumatised horses are permanantly in flight mode and 'don't come down'.

After several Bowen sessions (we used EMRT - Equine Muscle Release Therapy), my horse came back into balance, the adrenalin levels came back to normal and started to see life with different, less terrified eyes.

I would really really really recommend EMRT to you and your horse, it was the one thing that saved my very scared boy, he now lives a very happy life, where his curiosity now allows him to be brave and he can let people in. He'll never trust strangers straight away, but he does allow himself to trust people in a much shorter time.

Have a look at http://www.emrt.eques.com.au/ there is also a list of practioners in the UK.
 
my answer would be yes and no "!!
you can regain some trust but never fully.
I tried for a year with a bolter who would happily take off if i so much as sneezed let alone undid the velcro on my jacket.
believe me i tried everything being as quiet as possible never ever carrying a whip even to walk past him.
he rewarded me by winning a dressage test and giving me a real buzz for showjumping he looked moved and looked blooming gorgeous.
but the reality was after bolting again and again he took away all my confidence to the point i wanted to give it all up.
I would have been happier having him shot than him be scared forever with everything in life but sadly i couldn't afford to do that.
I found him a sympathetic home and explained everything that had happened i held nothing back.
a while later i found out the new owner was injured and he was being sold i regret not having him shot. I hope he's happy somewhere with someone.
 
Hi. Have a look on www.horseproblems.com.au

This guy starts and backs horses more than anything but there are podcasts on there where he's dealing with horses that have had some issues in the past. For example, horses that have been been treated harshly when being bitted, who won't let you anywhere near their heads and react violently if you go near them with a bridle. I have spent hours watching these videos and reading his articles and there are some really interesting approaches that I'm sure you'd find useful.
 
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