feel very guilt- I told my horse off this morning..any advice(desperate!).

charlie76

charlie76

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I told my horse off this morning as he was being a totally pillock to tack up again. I feel really bad about it.

Not sure if you have read any of the other post but he is almost 10 yrs old and a bloody big 17.3hh warmblood that you really don;t want jumping on top of you!
To be brief, he has always been fine to tack up, he is a aware of what you are doing as he is a sensitive flower but never been any trouble.
A few weeks ago I used the massage pad on him for the first tim in ages, didn;t think it would be a problem as he has never worried about it. Did up the last strap and he went bonkers, broncking and leaping. Once he stood still he was fine.
From that day on he has been an idiot to tack up. I can get the saddle on and do it up but if I touch the saddle or put an exercise sheet on him he goes beserk- shots forwards and leaps in the air. He had the physio yesterday and she said he was looking better than ever and he was fine with the hand held unit and her massaging him by hand and he had the equissage on. He was fine with it but it took 3 of us to get it off!

If I feed him polos or feed when I tack him up he is fine.

He is also fine to ride and lunge, no problem to get on.

He does not react if you poke and prod his back.

The physio said he wasn't sore anywhere other than down his hamstrings- maybe the fillet string near these is causing a reaction??? Doesn't explain the saddle thing though.

He isn't all that keen on the rugs either but no where near as bad.

I have bought him a made to measure saddle and a cair filled dressage girth.

At first I thought he was being girthy but he even goes mental about the exercise sheet. Today, after I hacked him, I got off and the sheet had moved so I pulled it over as I alway have done and he flipped his lid so I told him off again. I then took him in the indoor school in hand and kept moving the sheet until he stopped going beserk, the minute he calmed I stopped moving it but it took about half an hour of proper running and broncking- he never used to be like that.


I also took the saddle on and off about ten times and he didn't fuss at all but mad a huge fuss when I tacked him up to start with.

I have tried the treats and the nicey, nicey but he is being dangerous.

What can I do, I feel so bad that I told him off as it prob didn't help but he almost kills me.

The vet has checked him.

He is going better than ever under saddle.

Help.
 
Sounds like the pad has given him a right scare.

Captain had a carrier bag hit him in the face on a windy day when i was bringing him in and for months he became terrified if I went near his head or if anything rustled. We had to go completely back to basics with him. He is also a sensitive boy and I think he lost some trust in me that I hadnt kept him safe. I ended up tying a carrier bag outside his stable and leaving it there until he was happy with it, and then got looped it around his headcollar and so forth.

could you try the pad again with a little more notice for him?
 
I never usually tell him off as he is so sensitive but I can't have him leaping on me.
I am too scared to re try the pad in case it happens again!
 
I wouldn't try the pad again. He didn't like it so fair enough.
If I was you, morning and night I would set aside time to de-sensitise him to tacking up again. Be really slow and careful, get someone to hold him if necessary and gently put the saddle cloth on him, off him, on him, off him you get the idea, once he's happy with that try the roller (no point risking your saddle!) do it up really slowly. If he gets fractious go back a step and always finish on a good note and praise him loads.
Sounds like the massage pad gave him a big scare! Probably thinks everything strapped to his back is going to start vibrating! I'm sure with time and patience he will get there, I understand he is not allowed to jump on you and should be reprimanded but I would go back to basics, like getting a baby used to take for the first time and try not to pick fights with him as at the end of the day he is too big and he is trying his best to tell you he is frightened.
You'll get there, don't worry. Oh also when you are tacking him up properly to ride in the mean time, make sure you are not in a
Rush and can take it uber slowly :)
 
p.s. Don't get cross or loud at him, you'll just be adding another negative association. I'm not against a stern word from time to time, but in this case I don't think it's appropriate.
 
Afraid I don't have anything constructive to say but my pony is similar with an exercise sheet. Whenever he wears one he sort of spooks himself and snakes his body to the side really quickly, if that makes any sense? :confused: I have no idea why he does it as he's fine with normal rugs but it's somehow a connection with having a saddle on and a rug on at the same time and it's like he can't handle the two together? The only connection I can make is that he had pinworms during the summer last year and it has something to do with that? :confused: Interested to hear what other people think so will keep an eye on this thread.
 
I think that Op's earlier thread needs to be read to put this in context. Personally I think he may have been flooded and need some careful work to overcome that.
 
I didnt mean just whack the pad on and let it go again obviously, and as the op said he was fine with the handheld it doesnt sound like its the vibrating itself, but probably just the shock.

I would make him stand and lay the pad by him, let him have a look and then start it up, letting him investigate it for a bit and going by his progress (it may take days or longer) move it so it is touching him, then move it over him, legs/neck and belly, then once he is okay with that lay it on his back, keeping it vibrating at all times and then after he is fine with that you can cut out the desesitising at the start and get him to a stage where he is fine with it being on him. If anything doing this will help reaffirm your bond with him.

hes expecting the shock with everything you put on his back, so I think your priority is showing him he doesnt need to be afraid of it and that it wont hurt him.
 
I can't be much help except to agree with the going back to basics suggestion but interesting my 14 yo ex-racehorse has suddenly taken against his fillet string on his walker rug and exercise sheet. He would have worn sheets all his life and has never been a problem until recently.
The only thing I can think set it off was last Monday when I was getting ready for hunting I put some red electrical tape round the top of his tail as the previous time we had been out he had fly bucked once in a gateway. He was fine to put it on but as I moved away he flinched, twitched and sat down (literally). He made such a fuss that I removed the tape and ended up sewing in a red christmas decoration instead! Ever since this he twitches and flinches constantly when I put a fillet string on him?
Will watch this thread with interest to see if anyone else is having the same problems.
 
Was there any static that could have given him a shock? Mine got a shock from a man-made fibre rug and now I have to be careful about taking rugs off when he isn't in the stable. I have to do it very gently by folding the rug off. He is OK in the stable as he has never had a shock there.

Sounds as though he was quite distressed, so although you need to be firm you don't want to get cross with him or he will get more and more confused and upset.
 
Op's earlier thread said this:

"Brief outline- I have an equilibriam massage pad that broke and I replaced the battery. He had not worn the pad for a while but once fixed I used it on him, when I put it on he went beserk, he has never behaved like this with it before, he humped his back and bronced round the stable. He then settled and was fine with it but ever since he has been difficult to handle. He is scared of being girthed up,he cringes and his muscles tense behing his elbows, he jumps every time I touch him, he gets worried when I put the saddle on and jumps and cringes when I take the rugs on and off. If I touch him on his girth area, back or quaters he is worried and clamps his tail down.
This morning I lunged him, it was raining so I put the sheet and roller on which scared him and he cringed about the roller.
The strange thing is that when I ride him he feels better than ever. He is fine to get on, he is fine on the lunge,stretching and forward. He is not bucking or rearing or swishing at all.He is also fine to get on although if he has the exercise sheet on and the fillet string touches his he will clamp his tail down which he never used to."
 
Tinypony said:
Op's earlier thread said this:

"Brief outline- I have an equilibriam massage pad that broke and I replaced the battery. He had not worn the pad for a while but once fixed I used it on him, when I put it on he went beserk, he has never behaved like this with it before, he humped his back and bronced round the stable. He then settled and was fine with it but ever since he has been difficult to handle. He is scared of being girthed up,he cringes and his muscles tense behing his elbows, he jumps every time I touch him, he gets worried when I put the saddle on and jumps and cringes when I take the rugs on and off. If I touch him on his girth area, back or quaters he is worried and clamps his tail down.
This morning I lunged him, it was raining so I put the sheet and roller on which scared him and he cringed about the roller.
The strange thing is that when I ride him he feels better than ever. He is fine to get on, he is fine on the lunge,stretching and forward. He is not bucking or rearing or swishing at all.He is also fine to get on although if he has the exercise sheet on and the fillet string touches his he will clamp his tail down which he never used to."
Click to expand...

Firstly-are you 100% sure the bad is mended/ it could have given him a nasty shock, or the new batteries were a bit fiercer than hes used to.

secondly-why couldnt you have just let him go naked when you lunged him? if he was already wary then you could have made things even worse. If he is getting worried with rugs and things I would have limited rug use as much as possible and eased him back into rug use instead of rushing straight back into things.

pp is right, it does sound like hes had a shock and instead of being calmed and shown there is nothing to be afraid of you have overloaded him and hes developed a bit of a fear.

my advice would be to steady right down with him, and begin from basics again, desensitising him and re establishing his trust.
 
The pad didn't shock him, the first time he did it the pad wasn't turned on, it was as I did the clips up ( which weren't tight).
he had to have a roller on to lunge as he is fully clipped out and it was peeing down and freezing- it was keeping the waterproof sheet on whilst he warmed up.
He can't go without any rugs on as he is fully clipped out.
 
Charlie, did you read my reply on your earlier thread explaining flooding? Whatever caused him to be unhappy about the pad, it was left on until he gave in. (That's one interpetation anyway that might be worth considering).
 
I did read, he didn't 'give in' as such. I couldn't take it off whilst he was going bonkers, once he had finished going bonkers he just stood there eating his hay with it like nothing had happened.
 
Yes Charlie, and as I explained when a horse is flooded it is very easy for us to not realise that. Your perception is that he was fine, but subsequent events hint strongly that you misunderstood his reaction, which is easily done.
Put it this way, going as you are now things are getting worse and dangerous. If you keep on doing what you've always done, you keep on getting what you've always got? So maybe it's worth thinking outside the box of your personal experience on this one. You can either keep trying out varied advice from people on an internet forum, or maybe consider speaking to someone like Ben Hart and getting a different perspective and new ideas.
 
The advice is optional. I was just checking that Charlie had read my earlier posts. I don't really have anything else to say as she did read what I said before, that alternative explanation has just been put out for consideration.
 
I am not saying I am not willing to take advice, simply trying to explain the horses reactions. I think it is important to also understand that the horse is very very sensitive and does often have a tendancy to be reactive. It doesn't take much to offend or worry him.
It was questioned why I used a sheet- I explained why- he is fully clipped and when its tipping down and freezing its unfair to lunge him with no sheet on.
whats wrong with that??
 
As i mentioned, I have a sensitive horse myself, and carrying on as though nothing has changed will, and by the sound of it, has been more damaging to your horse.
As you knew he is sensitive and worried easily it surprised me that you still forced him into the rugs that were spooking him and didnt take a step back and try to work things out positively with him, ignoring the problem just because you needed to lunge him wont help.
I am only speaking from my experience though, and every horse is different after all, but I'm 100% sure that if it had been me and Captain in your shoes then carrying on the way you have would definitely have put him back.

You could try using a fleece underneath the rugs, they feel different and will change the way any other rugs feel on him, and leave a barrier so he is not as sensitive.

I do think this is a psychological issue.
 
I don't use exercise sheets on anything anymore, they cause more trouble than they're worth. Don't clip the back, loins and quarters, particularly on a horse with a sensitive back. If it rains and my horses backs get wet, they go to bed in two thermatexs.
 
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