Nervous horses - can they ever get 'normal'?! sorry - ridiculously long...

[Morgan123]

Wow this is weird, I just clcked on that thinking that looks interesting adn it's my post from ages ago!! lol. Actually said horse has improved beyond belief!! Massively relieved - mostly what I did was a lot of endurance, a lot of patience, and another set of re-backing (and a bit of help from an animal communicator!!).

 

[Cobiau Cymreig Wyllt]

OP, when I read the words 'Welsh D' and 'old methods' my heart sank on your behalf!
I know this combination...my younger Sec D has some of the same issues...there is some great advice on here and I can't really offer too much new as many of the things that I am working with myself with mine have already been listed..but just wanted to say that I do get to this point fairly regularly with my boy..and when I do, I remind myself that he came to me for a reason..and I believe in him even when he frustrates me, costs me a fortune, makes me despair he'll ever be right...I guess sometimes we just need a long-term project and a Sec D like this is definitely that!!!
So sympathies, keep us updated and well done for getting this far and sticking with him when many wouldn't bother.

 

[mystiandsunny]

It can take more time than you'd ever think, with a horse with a bad start to riding/tack etc. Some things never go - like with humans, some bad experiences will always haunt them. What I've found, is that you can get them to trust YOU. You may never be successful in teaching them to trust all aspects of the things that frighten them, but if they trust you and you're doing it, they'll be ok with you and the fear will lessen.

Examples:
- pony who'd seen a traffic accident in which another pony was killed. We could never convince her that cars are safe - she knows they're not. What we did manage to convince her, was that we could keep her safe around cars. Combination of a strong leader 'human', and a pair bonded horse who was 100% in traffic to give her confidence. Still needs both of those, years later, but copes. She will try out any new rider within minutes of getting on if they're going to attempt to hack out - if they fail to be dominant, confident and self-assured, she panics.
- pony who'd once trusted humans implicitly but was a little sensitive. Backed all wrong, scared of the process and long-term suspicious of humans under saddle. Took 18 months, and progress was painfully slow until used a calmer (Prokalm) to take the edge off her anxiety. Then progress was steady, and enabled some really good experiences that developed trust and a bond.

In all cases, being overly kind and submissive around them isn't the answer - be a confident leader, who is fair but in charge, who never loses their temper. Handle other horses if you can, in sight of yours, doing the things with them that yours is scared of. That way, yours can see that YOU aren't like the person in their memories. That when a horse is naughty you tell it off - in a way that isn't totally terrifying, but is fair. So they can see what might happen (the greatest fear is of the unknown), and what you're really like. Horses/ponies come and join my herd and learn through watching me with the others - they see what is expected of them, and what they can expect of me. They see the others keen to be ridden, to be played with and petted, and begin to want the same.

Do things every day so there's never time for the bad memories to surface. Challenge the two of you gradually over time, so that you're doing scarier and scarier things and the other stuff becomes easy because you managed to .... (go over a motorway bridge/be lunged/whatever's relevant for them).

Sometimes I think it's easier to work with something that's totally wild!

 

[canteron]

Hi, I haven't read all the messages .... but sure there are some good ideas in there. This may (or may not!) be part of any solution.

I have a horse who is terrified of clippers and vets and I am going to try a method called overshadowing. The main teacher of the method has given me a demonstration - but there is an you tube clip which would give you an initial idea. She does a lot of work with vets so they can inject horses safely. As a desensitising technique it has many uses.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVFbTI8R6MI

If you think it might help you on your journey to gain confidence then PM me and I will let you know how I get on!!