Help please, Im fed up! long sorry.

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Louby

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My boy is lazy but irrationally spooky and Im totally fed up.
I bought him as a just backed 4 yr old (wasnt looking for a horse so young really) Things were going well apart from him coming in from the field nearly every day injured in some way or another as he wanted to play constantly and was being kicked by the other horses who didnt want to play! It was a big yard and to cut a long story short we were given a dream chance of being on a very good small yard. He was turned out with 3 other horses and things were much better apart from the fact he was worn out when he came in each night as he played all day. Then he got kicked and fractured his leg so he is now on his own in a field along side the other horses, mainly to preserve him as next time he may not be so lucky. We are riding again but he is so full of negative energy, lazy but very spooky. I normally ride out with my friend but her horse has an injury so I now have no one to ride with. Ive been riding 6 days a week combining schooling, lunging and hacking but he barely breaks into a sweat as apart from spooking he puts no effort into it.
To add to this Ive got an irrational fear of dogs out hacking and we meet loads (one grabbed my old horses leg years ago and I just cant get over it) so I hate hacking out especially on my own. I wont risk the busy road near us as my boy is so spooky but we are lucky to have direct access to the bridleway.
He gets fed hardly any hard feed, is on good grass for about 6 hrs a day and good haylage although I mix this with hay as he is overweight.
Any ideas on how to channel this negative energy into his work. He is very talented and I do think he gets bored easy.
What do you thinks best if we are approached by a dog? Stand still or carry on walking?
Thanks for any replies
 
Keep walking and stay calm going past dogs as if you tense up your horse will pick up on your nerves and may act up.

Try giving him a small energising feed??

And Vary his work, how about trying lots of pole work and do grid work so he's more livened up and more attentive.

Good luck.

Lizzie x
 
Don't feed him any hard feed at all, just some fibre mix like Dengie Hi Fi and a vit/min supplement and add some magnesium. See how he is on this after a week or two, with the same amount of work.

Don't know about the dogs issue, that is a bit more difficult.

How about practicing your breathing - if you hold your breath or take shallow breaths it can make your horse nervous. Breathe in as deeply and slowly as you can and let it out slowly. So in walk breathe in 4 steps, out 6 steps, canter 4 in, 4 out. If you come to a scarey situation think "slow deep breathing."
 
I dont think I breathe at all
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Daft thing is, he couldnt care less about the dogs, hes more worried about the scary twig on the floor. I have this awful idea that the dogs going to attach itself to his leg. I know Im being stupid.
 
Louby, one idea (no idea if it is a good one sorry) is to take him out in hand and get a friend who has a dog to walk past you so that you can concentrate on you remaining calm but not worry about him spooking (have him stood still in a famiar environment). Work on this then slowly work on it whilst abord him....it may help you.
 
With the dog issue, I would just calmly walk past it. Most dogs don't care about horses and most horses don't care about dogs, so I wouldn't worry about it.

I think you are unlucky with this horse. Hopefully he will grow out of his accident prone stage once he is a little older. As to spooking, well I'm sure everyone knows my stance on this - I wouldn't put up with it I'm afraid. Put in the time and eradicate the problem.
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Sounds like you've had a lot of stress with him.
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Do you do any competing or anything? Maybe if he had something fun to do he might cheer up a bit?? Also, some horses are just annoying to hack out, but maybe if you did something else with him it wouldn't seem so bad?

As for dogs, you would be very unlucky for anything like that to happen again, it does sound awful though!!
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Just keep going as you normally would, try not to let your horse feel you tense up or he might pick up on your fear and make it all worse.

My horse chucked me off in a very dramatic fashion when i was walking past a person holding a dog - it was a bit scary as he almost kicked the woman in the head!! I'm always a bit scared now walking past people in general on him! I know how you feel!
 
Thanks everyone.
Tia how do I go about making less spooky.
Theres some jump wings behind the fence round our school and theyve been there about a month now. Every time we ride in there he makes such a big issue over them, funny though on one rein but not the other. Its like he is geninely scared. If I get him to walk past them without spooking by riding shoulder in and the bush moves he flies forward or jumps sidewards. He has had a lot to contend with in the last 4 yrs medical wise, GA, sinus's flushed and so on so I suppose he wonders what next. Just wish he was a little braver.

Hes not scared of the dogs, its me
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. He does have a phobia of push bikes though ... when he feels like it
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Hi, yes we did a bit of dressage before he fractured his leg but to be honest that was a bit of a disaster because of his spookiness as he just wont listen when we go anywhere but at home apart from the scary jumps he is really talented.
God Im really moaning arent I.
We have just bought a trailer so Im determined to take him out regular and let him see things. This is a horse that was shown at county level as a youngster!!! I dont think its helped that every time we got going something happened to him and it was time off again.
Right moan over, Im going to be positive
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Thanks everyone
 
For the nerves thing out hacking - try singing to him. You have to breathe to be able to sing, it will take your mind off of the problem and the horse should find it relaxing after a while, I know mine did and I know lots of other people who do this out hacking and it really helps.

If he is being lazy you need to be very firm with him, get him goin forward on your voice command on the lunge, when the impulsion id adequate transfer this to the ridden work.

Good luck, young horses are a lot of work but very rewarding when it all clicks into place.
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Louby, I can understand totally why he may be a spooky horse because of all of his vet treatment...however it may be a bit of a chicken and egg situation perhaps?

Are you on a very quiet yard where not a lot goes on or a very busy yard where people are always coming and going? Do people tend to make a lot of noise there? Or do they go about their business in a quiet manner?

Would you be able/allowed to bring your own de-spooking kit up with you to your yard?

Oh and excellent idea by Dylan! I often sing to my youngsters the first time they go out on their own.
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Thanks for the singing tip, I'll try that tomorrow when we venture out alone for the first time since November Eeeek!

We are on a small yard, it is in a quiet location but its a vets yard so at times theres a lot of coming and going with day and in patients. Im sure I could have a de spooking kit depending on whats involved.
Ive been too soft with him from day one, my last horse was an affectionate mare and I sort of carried on where I left off with her. Ive had him 4 yrs now and he is slowly getting worse spooky wise although his temperament has improved.
I feel he needs some fun putting in to his life so Ive got to get over this stupid dog phobia so we can hack out more and have a bit of a blast.
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Mine is a bit spooky too - but is way better than he was. I actually had the best hack today on our own that we have ever had. My problem is if I go out & feel nervous about him spooking, he invariably does it more. He is fine with cars - unless they are convertibles or classic models (like the morris minor we met today!). I have found that now he trusts me, all I have to do is firmly put my leg on & he goes forwards. He is used to hacking out with his friend and tends to rely on him in "scary" situations. When friend isn't there, he now looks to me for re-assurance, although it wasn't like this when I first got him - used to panic about everything! Don't worry - you will get there! I would suggest you do loads of hacking on your own for both you & him to get over your fears!
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Had some issues with my ex racer tb mare, horrendous spooking and totally accident prone too - no balance or co-ordination when I got her! A few things have really helped though;
Valerian tablets (you can't compete with them but they have taken the "edge" off her, she is still a bit spooky but can handle herself now whereas before would go into a 20 minute trembling/sweating fit).
Magnesium - just plain old epsom salts.
Sheepskin noseband.
Long reining out and about - go with a lead horse or helper on foot at first.
Also Kelly Marks' books Perfect Manners and Perfect Partners have some sensible advice.
Just a few tweaks here and there have made all the difference. Good luck!
 
Do you have a stable there?
And what is the set-up of your yard area?
Do you have a recycling box at home?
Do you have a tarpaulin?
Do you have a charity shop anywhere near where you live?
Is there a field shelter in horse's field?
What fencing do you have in your field?
Do you have a corral or small paddock/arena?

I'm just trying to get an idea of what would be feasible for you.
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Sorry, I'm dotting backwards and forwards; making a huge vat of chilli and baking garlic bread - having friends around this evening.

Anyway, here is a list of lots of things you can do. You don't have to do all of them, however I have, and it works; the more ideas you can think of, the better!

You should do all of these things under supervision though - do not leave the horse unattended with some of the more obscure ones.

Anyway here you go:

Fly a flags, even hand held ones will work although the large fluttery ones are obviously best.

Attach tarpaulins loosely to the inside of field shelters or better still take one into the field on a very windy day. Lay tarp about 10 ft around feed bucket so that horse has to step over it to get to his feed. Rub him with the tarp.

Tie poly bags to fencelines and move them about often.

Use plastic pepsi bottles and go around crunkling them up. Give them to horses to play with under supervision. Hang from stable or field shelter with small pebbles inside them so as to make a strange noise.

Get some babies Fisher Price toys - the ones which have pop-up things which give out a noise when popped. Carefully tie or screw to inside of stable. These are pretty safe for horses.

Bring your bike and cycle along edge of field, preferably ringing their bells once horse has accepted the bicycle.

Buy a skipping rope and skip next to fields

If you have a trampoline then perfect! If not can you get hold of a cheap used aerobic small one? Take it to outside of field or in corral and bounce on the trampoline and laugh and giggle a lot.

A paddling pool (full size is better) filled with water and splash around in it. Gently splash horses once in a while.

Drag long hoses about fields and then leave them in the middle of field.

Drag rugs on ground to make a good noise.

Clatter about when tacking up, drop items of noisy tack (bits and snap fasteners) on ground to make interesting and new sounds.

Flick your hair in a lively fashion.

Discard clothes or jackets by throwing them down, rather than placing them down.

Put jackets on horses back.

If you can find a tumble dryer hose which is passed its best, take into field/corral and say your horses name through the tube. Speak in a calm manner and then chatter away. Then once horse has come over to investigate, place in the field and let him pick it up and play with it. Mine all love this! They play with it and often one of them manages to put it on their nose whilst another tries to take the other end and steal it.

A lot of these items you can get out of your recycling bin and the charity shops are good for toys, trampolines etc. It's easy really to achieve bombproofing - everyone can do it. There's nothing special going on, just don't pussyfoot around them.
 
[ QUOTE ]


Drag rugs on ground to make a good noise.

Clatter about when tacking up, drop items of noisy tack (bits and snap fasteners) on ground to make interesting and new sounds.

Flick your hair in a lively fashion.

Discard clothes or jackets by throwing them down, rather than placing them down.



[/ QUOTE ]

oops I do those already!
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Some great tips there Tia!
 
firstly can i say I totally understand, and sympathise with you. my advice to you would be to stay away from hacking for the time being, until you've been able to put a lot of work in at home. the problem with constantly trying to go out is that you are setting yourself up for failure - you are nervous, the horse doesn't really have any kind of work ethic, and you don't have the control that you need to feel confident. (Please don't think I'm being rude - I've been in a similar position myself with my first horse about 20 yrs ago and had a few years of fear and frustation {somebody actually suggested I take her hunting, which might have suited a brave hearted soul but not me, that's for sure!}). Every time you go out you are probably saying to yourself 'I hope he will be good today' but really you are the one that needs to be calling the shots, rather than hoping he will be well behaved. This is what I think would help you, (and you have actually hit the nail on the head already by understanding that his energy needs to be chanelled-the best channel is work) get the help of a really good instructor, somebody who is first and foremost a good horseperson who is sensible and understands the importance of putting in a lot of work to get a well rounded, responsive and solid horse. There are instructors/trainers around who have never had a moments fear, but that is not always helpful to a nervous rider, so go with someone who understands your problem. Work in your arena on groundwork, flat work, obstacles, poles, backing up, long reining, transitions, lateral work, slowing and increasing speed within a gait, anything you can think of, concentrating on obedience to the aids, controlling his hips and shoulders, and literally controlling every step. Come away from the habit, if you are in one, of allowing him to make any decisions. If this is done consistently over a number of months you will start to feel so much more in control, and he will be listening to you and basically do exactly what he is told. Eventually you will know when the time is right to go hacking again, and you will feel confident because you have so much more control. Good luck, I really hope you get it together!
 
Thanks for the great replies, sorry only just replied but I work nights and had to go!
Tia that was great, its going to be fun
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This is the horse that wouldnt go near his new water bucket in the field as it was bright yellow! I will certainly try some of your tips.
Buckle bunny, thanks for your advice, I had weekly dressage lessons up to him fracturing his leg and they really helped but since that lots has happened for the group of riders that also had lessons and its too far for him to come for me only so I was only saying last night I need to find someone else and start them again.
The daft thing is I know what hes going to spook at and out hacking the spooking doesnt really worry me, its my phobia of dogs that spoils things. It would be great though if I could build his confidence and make him braver though.
What you say about him taking control is true, once hes upset he just takes over and is a nightmare and so irrational. He bolted the other week over something that wasnt in the bushes and then was so wound up and wouldnt settle at all.
Thanks everyone for your help and advice.
 
Hi Louby, have you ever thought about hypnotherapy for your fear of dogs? It may help - a friend of ours had 2 or 3 sessions with one for her exam nerves and said it was extremely helpful.
 
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