Handling advice - panicking TB!

[AbFab]

Need some suggestions please!

Fairy is a dobbin to handle. She's lovely and is fairly respectful of personal space now. She moves back easily with slight pressure on her chest or nose. I can move her around with a light touch.

However, when she hears horses moving behind her, she freaks. I *think* this is just in the dark. There have been times when I've brought her in from the field and Saf has started to follow (at a walk..obviously..it's Saffy!) and Fairy has leaped into the air and span around me. The problem then is I can't get her to focus on me at all until we are inside and back in the light (stable, barn etc). She doesn't feel like she's going to bolt, I can hold her quite easily, but I think if she could jump on me for a piggyback she would! I need to teach her to re-focus on me when she panics like that. Would clicker training help maybe? Or something similar?

I know her panicking will likely get better over time. After all, she is a 5yr old who has been trained to run, so hearing hooves pounding behind her in the dark is likely to lead to heightened adrenaline. I just can't get her attention back to me after such an occasion, regardless of what I have tried so far (ignoring/calm voice/angry voice/backing her up).

Suggestions?!

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Are her eyes fine?

 

[AbFab]

Are her eyes fine?

Ahhahaha sorry forgive me, I read that a few times and thought 'is she asking me if she has narrow eyes?!'. I has been a long day

As far as I know, yes. She's fine to ride in fading light and she seems very aware of things around her. She's quite nosy and will stare at things without spooking etc. It's literally just when horses are doing things behind her that she can hear.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

Sorry, I put it really badly.

The reason I ask is because a friend had a pony who was inconsistent in his behaviour (very calm and rock steady with some things and then suddenly flighty for no apparent reason) and he was found to be partially sighted.

 

[redriverrock]

The first I thought was ...maybe a problem with her eyes, periphial (spelt wrong im sure) vision may not be great or maybe she is just abit lively because she is being fetched in?

 

[AengusOg]

Proactive handling, rather than reactive handling, is the key to keeping a horse's focus on you. You need to be attentive to what is going on around you, and working the horse on the halter accordingly.

The more you 'feel' the horse through the halter, the more attentive will be the horse to you. If you leave it until the horse has reacted to other stimuli, such as the sound of moving horses behind, you have left it too late and can only deal with the consequences of being inattentive and lacking in your handling skills.

If your mare is taught to yield to halter pressure, you will be able to give her a touch on the halter to zone her in to you and, by doing so, keep her attention on you, premempting any reactions from her, and maintain control at crucial times.

You are correct in that your mare is purely reacting naturally to the presence and actions of the other horses. Try to be confident in your handling of her, keeping your focus on the task in hand, and remain calm, and your mare will feel more confident in you.

 

[AbFab]

Sorry, I put it really badly.

The reason I ask is because a friend had a pony who was inconsistent in his behaviour (very calm and rock steady with some things and then suddenly flighty for no apparent reason) and he was found to be partially sighted.

The first I thought was ...maybe a problem with her eyes, periphial (spelt wrong im sure) vision may not be great or maybe she is just abit lively because she is being fetched in?

I did actually wonder about her sight, but she doesn't tend to react in daylight. I have ridden her in a school with horses running around in the field next to it and she hasn't done anything. I'm thinking it might just be the dark that causes it (I've only had her about 8 weeks, still experimenting!)

Proactive handling, rather than reactive handling, is the key to keeping a horse's focus on you. You need to be attentive to what is going on around you, and working the horse on the halter accordingly.

The more you 'feel' the horse through the halter, the more attentive will be the horse to you. If you leave it until the horse has reacted to other stimuli, such as the sound of moving horses behind, you have left it too late and can only deal with the consequences of being inattentive and lacking in your handling skills.

If your mare is taught to yield to halter pressure, you will be able to give her a touch on the halter to zone her in to you and, by doing so, keep her attention on you, premempting any reactions from her, and maintain control at crucial times.

You are correct in that your mare is purely reacting naturally to the presence and actions of the other horses. Try to be confident in your handling of her, keeping your focus on the task in hand, and remain calm, and your mare will feel more confident in you.

I agree with that, but what kinds of things can I do to be proactive? I know that's probably a bit of a dumb question. I'm continuing lots of ground work with her, but are there any particular exercises you'd recommend?