help!! why do i fear new horse???

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Frisky Filly

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hi there everyone,
i recently bought i 5 year old filly ex-racer...first 3weeks were bliss now she is a nutter in some senses, she has been through 3 head collars a bridle and will not respect a chifney!!:mad:

heres the problem, shes ok to turn out but explodes when coming in, rearings flying bucks and totaly loses her head and doesnt care whats around her or in her way so everyday i dred getting her in...i have another ex-racer who was a hell of alot worse than her n he never fazes me, i jus get on with it. but her! i jus clam up n my heart thumps like mad!:eek:

i have worked with youngsters alot as i have worked as a race groom so pretty much been thrown every which way possible...so y does this filly scare me ?..she is sweet in so many ways and when not loseing her head a very clever little girl but there is no exuse for her blowing up.

she is not on mix,nuts or anything starchy or heating so it is not feed as she has a large hanful of chaff jus to get her sarkex into her and plenty of hay as well as aound 9 hours turnout.

would realy appreciate some help or ideas guys as never been fazed by a horse...so feeling this way unknown to me!:confused:

:(
 
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that sounds strange. is she being taken from her friends when shes brought in?? maybe she just thinks shes always going to work when you bring her in?
Have you tried bringing her in, feeding her or grooming her and just putting her back out again or bringing everyone in from the field and leaving her to last.
Ive had experience with one that used to freak (though not as much as this) when he was the first to come in. never used a chifney though. i used to get someone to bring his friend in with him just to give him some confidence.
good luck!!!!!
 
My horse used to do this when she was a youngster it was like she has so much energy and would just explode every which way - she would rear, bronc, leap at you the lot - she is 16 now and luckily we dont see that behaviour too much anymore but its still in there.
I used to use a lead rope with a chain but put through the head collar under her face and through rather than over and then a lunge line attached to that then she could leap around and I could just leave her to it and carry on regardless if she got too much I would give a tug on the end and she would just jog spanish horse style till we got back.
I dont envy you as I remember what a pain it was but dont take chances - wear a hat if she is rearing, use a lunge line, gloves, chain and body protector just in case!!!
 
reply to dandy candy...she is the second from last horse to come in as the other stays out and owner rarely comes down so im affraid that is not an option but that is a gd idea...i do not ride every night due to my work hours and she is very exitible about being worked so i dont think its because of that its as she does not play up being taken to school...she is very unpredictible as are all TBs.

but she jus fazes me terribly

x
 
Can you keep her turned out 24/7 with a companion?

I have a retired ex-racehorse, ex-broodmare mare that I was given as I needed a companion for a yearling filly. The mare is 20 this year and she still hates coming into the yard. She has got alot better and she cope with being done by the farrier and a quick groom before going back out again. I know her whole history and when she was in training she was pretty much stabled unless she was working. I think that it is worry of confinement that gets her so stressed (she used to start shaking as you bought her into the yard).
 
she is very unpredictible as are all TBs
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I strongly disagree with this.

I always treat each horse as an individual and try to find out their history and former routine as that really helps you to understand them. So many ex-racers become calm and relaxed with calm handling and a routine that suits them.

It will make it harder for you as you are scared of this mare, she will know that you are scared. Have you tried asking someone who isn't scared of her to lead her?

I really do wish you lots of luck with her, don't give up, I'm sure that the situation can be improved. :)
 
I dont know if this could be a reason but i found that i was slightly nervy with mine when he played up at first even though like you i work with racers and have no problem with other horses at all. In the end i put it down to the fact that if someone elses horse really did injure or do something to me and i lost my confidence so what who cared? Not my horse and i didnt ever have to ride/deal with it again if i didnt want to!
With this horse i had just bought it was the opposite even if he caved my head in(!) the next day i had to ride him again. One i realized this and told myself if i can handle other horses doing the same or worse then i can sure as hell manage this one! It worked and he knew there was a difference and was never hard to handle again!
 
i totaly get you all...and she does the same with anyone who brings her in..and i have all of her history,, she was not allowed to graze apart from end of season...she is a very kind mare but when she goes she jus goes inside out...because when i get to the my yard it is dark i think thats another reason i am fearful and there isn reli anyone around to give me a hand if needed..

do any of you think a herbal calmer or magnesium may help this Anxiety?

as my other Ex racer did very well on this and it realy leveled his head out

or am i just masking the problem ?
 
A calmer wont do any harm, so it would be worth trying. Also the evenings are getting longer so hopefully you'll soon be able to do her in the light and this should make you feel more confident. :)
 
Could you do some serious in-hand training with her - as if you were preparing for a major in-hand show.

I had a mare who could be bad - but not as bad as yours. I sent her away for some training and one of the things they taught her - and then taught me - was in hand work. The trainer had spent a lifetime with Spanish Stallions and basically made her be as foot perfect as she expected from her show stallions.

The theory was that if from the first moment you caught her you had her 100% attention, then everything else was going to be a lot easier.

So if you could do the work in the school - and then take what you have to the field/stable trip she should at least understand what you want!
 
Frisky Filly said:
...she is very unpredictible as are all TBs.



x
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Disagree......

All horses and animals can be unpridictable but that is very much generalising about TB's and I have known and owned a great deal that have been fantastic.

Maybe you just don't have that connection with this one, hence why you feel worried by her but not others. Don't know really strange. :confused:
 
Frisky Filly said:
reply to dandy candy...she is the second from last horse to come in as the other stays out and owner rarely comes down so im affraid that is not an option but that is a gd idea...i do not ride every night due to my work hours and she is very exitible about being worked so i dont think its because of that its as she does not play up being taken to school...she is very unpredictible as are all TBs.

but she jus fazes me terribly

x
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We have one on our yard who is like this. At bringing in time he got more and more wound up as more horses left the paddock so by the time you got to him he was completly wired. We started to bring in the horse in the stable next to him first then him next it broke the over excitment of "I'm going in, there's hay there" and winding himself up as he watched each horse coming in ahead of him.

He is still prone to exploding but no where near so bad now, one of the tricks that we have used is headcollar on out of the gate then trot up the path, walk, stop trot etc just to make him think about what he is doing rather than just going waaaaahhhhhhh!
 
Hi, Hope things are getting better. Not sure if you tried it or not but at weekends have you tried bringing her in midday giving a feed and turning her back out. Is she any better if you lead her in with another.

Ive got an ex racer which I had handle issues with and I had Max (Richard Maxwell) out once and never looked back, to me he was well worth it x
 
I know exactly how you feel. Does she do it when there is another person there chatting to you and walking along side? I have found that having a friend with me diverting my attention and in turn, the horses, they behave much better. xx
 
hey everyone...

well last night i brought her in with my other ex-racer he is dope on a rope and she was much better...i wore my hat soo that made me feel abit better she still pushes her luck abit... but prob is although she is good to be brought in with my old boy i cant do that every night as there isnt always some one to help me as they are in the fields next to each other & and i shouldnt have to lead them together...soo now to boost her confidence bringing her in aswell as mine ?

what do you reckon?

so the prob must be Anxiety coming in?

so try a calmer guys?
&&
can any one recomend one?

i used feedmart`s magnesium and that sorted my old boy out when i first had him.

btw thnx for the help guys x
 
Glad things are improving :-)

If the 'last' horse that is left out in your mare's field is available as a companion perhaps it might be an idea to leave your out 24/7 too, at least for a while.

That way she only comes in for nice things like
- food
- work (you're obviously doing well with her if she likes it!)
- groom

instead of bad things like
- being stuck in stable which isn't very natural for her at all.

It sounds like she is telling you (albeit in a scary way!) that she much prefers her new life with you to the old one she had with no grazing.

Obviously be careful and instil good manners but do try to take it as a compliment too!
 
Would it be possible to leave her out 24/7 for a couple of months and just let her chill out? I used to have several coming out of racing for a bit of R and R and for the first couple of months just left them out. So many racehorses have so little 'childhood' and so much boredom and routine leaving them to do horsey things really seems to help.
 
There is some very good advice here. If you could leave her out for 6 months to chill then I think you would reap the rewards. Certainly my ex-racer (then stud mare) is a different horse now to the one I got - trouble is it did take a couple of years. Its just sheer fear I think so try to communicate reassurance and always be consistent. Good luck
 
Frisky Filly said:
heres the problem, shes ok to turn out but explodes when coming in, rearings flying bucks and totaly loses her head and doesnt care whats around her or in her way so everyday i dred getting her in...

would realy appreciate some help or ideas guys as never been fazed by a horse...so feeling this way unknown to me!:confused:

:(
Click to expand...

We have a horse at our yard who tends to 'play up' when being led. The secret is to have her on a loose lead rein when leading her anywhere, the looser the better. If you have the lead rope to tight this will restrict her movement and cause tension and she will detect this. It is the same with dogs when you walk them on a lead. If you have a relaxed hand on the lead and a relaxed arm and shoulder the dog will not pull so much. We also have another horse that tends to kick out when being led down the aisle of the yard. Again the secret to this is to have her on a fairly long length of rope but also to walk her fast. If you dawdle along whilst leading a horse this will give it the ammunition it needs in order to play up.
 
Hi I am using RelaxMe and that seems to be working well - early days only started a couple of days ago, but already seen a difference.
Also you could try clicker training as something different - I have just started using it with a stressy aggressive WB with good results. It's something completely different and easy to teach - look on Youtube and a clicker is but a couple of quid! Good luck!
 
Just had another thought!
I have also had bringing in problems with my horse and the horse i look after at work used to have going out problems! (basically the same tho- its all "leading" issues)
I used tit bits- not great i know but better than getting injured.
I had a handful of nuts in my pocket and for every few calm steps he had literally 1 or 2 nuts. He was so interested in the fact i had food he soon forgot all about playing up. At this point i made him go further and further between treat until he got one at the gate and one on the yard-then just one to catch.
 
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