Horse terrified in school! Suggestions please

Hal1k1

Hal1k1

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I may be looking after my friends 7 yr old ex-racer for several months while she is recuperating after an operation. He is 16.3hh and a really sweet horse unnless you try and ride him in a school. It does not make a difference if it is indoor or outdoor but the minute you are in the saddle he starts rearing and will not stop until you are out of the saddle. It is pure fear because he was abused before my friend had him. When he has made you fall off he stands there quaking because he thinks he is going to be beaten and will not eat his feed for 24 hours afterwards. It is such a shame because he has fabulous paces and has a great jump.

Please does anyone have a suggestion?
 
Whilst I can't see the point of traumatising the poor creature , would it be worth taking him into a school for a feed? Or with a friend for some hay? If you really want to help him get over his fear, I suggest some kind of groundwork with lots of rewards, taking things very slowly. The best thing would be to avoid tacking him up to go in there until he is much more comfortable about the whole idea.
 
Does he have a field companion he could be loosed in there with to have a mooch about with, perhaps put some feed and hay in to start with, until he is comfortable, then start introducing a person into the situation?
 
As Pearlsasinger has said, he has to be happy in a school before any attempts to ride him in one. Time and patience is all he needs, make being in the school nice and fun, play time and treat time.

Poor sod, its always a human who causes such problems, people like that beat the horse even when its rider error, make them feel better :(
 
Is there any necessity to take him in the school at al?. One of my liveries has just acquired a beautiful ex-steeplechaser. We have no school, so the question of using one doesn't arise. He is straight out of training and just hacks out with the other horses with no concessions to his background. As it happens we have to go quietly at present anyway as another horse has been ill, and so the new lad is just working gently, being taught things like opening gates (instead of jumping them!)

Your friend's horse sounds to have had a dreadful time in his past life, so why subject him to more stress and memories if it isn't necessary?
 
Long line him in the school, if he rears or refuses to go forward you are much more in control, for rearing just be relaxed about it as in "If you want to waste that much energy be my guest" until he is so bored he no longer reacts. Then do some work on the long reins, until being in the school is a boring place to be.
It sounds like genuine fear, in which case he needs to find out that actually it isn't anything to be scared of. Or it may just be that he dislikes being in the school (school = work) and has found a strategy that really works well for him.
 
So, if I read correctly, he is fine in the school until someone gets on board. So it is the RIDING in the school that is the problem. I would suggest you fill an old pair of trousers with hay, attached them to the saddle & stirrups so they don't move but he can feel the leg along his side when he moves. Keep him on a lunge line so you have some control, then take him in the school, give him a feed & generally let him mooch about, gauge his reactions & go from there. Hope this helps.
 
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