Panicky/ nervous new horse help!

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Blondie_2008

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Morning! Im looking for some tips & advice on how to help a horse that panics easily. I have had my new mare 2 1/2 weeks now (not long i know so i understand she is still settling!) She is such a sweet little mare, will walk to me in the field when i get there, follow me around while im poo picking etc.... and will let me ride her in the school (admittedly i havent done much ridden work as shes settling) as well as being really good on the lunge, listening to my voice.

However in some situations, she will panic. For instance her feet.... i was told she wasnt good at picking her feet up, so have tried to persevere with her. She now lets me do the fronts after lots of praise & treats, but as soon as you ask for either of the backs she panics & will move & kick until youve dropped it. I asked my vet what he thought and he tried & she did the same, he said shes not being nasty shes panicking. The same when shes tied up. If ypi groom her while holding the head collar she is fine, tie her up to the hitching post (we have only shetler no stables) she will stand and eat her hay for 5 minutes, then suddenly panic and pull back until the bailing twine is broken & shes free. Once shes free she just puts her head down & eats the grass and relaxes. When it comes to tack up time, shes fine for the bridle, but when we get to the saddle she will move & fidgit. She is now 7, but wasnt broken until 5 1/2 so she is very green. She really has not got a nasty bone in her body & has never bitten, kicked etc to be nasty.....just panics & then calms down.
Is it still because shes settling? Does anyone have any tips on how to get her to calm & relax? Any informations would be greatly appreciated!
 
did you get her vetted before you bought her? assuming she has a clean bill of health, i would get her saddle checked first as she is not happy to be tacked up. as she is 7 she should be used to having her feet trimmed by the farrier so that behaviour sounds a bit odd...if she panics when tied up you need to go back a step and treat her as if she is a baby. what i did was put a lunge line on the headcollar, thread it through the tie up ring (do not tie up!!!) hold the other end of the lunge line and if she pulls back let the lunge line slacken and as soon as she stops pull it gently through the ring again until she is back standing where she should be. that way she doesnt have the shock of breaking the string and also isnt able to run off...hope you understand what i mean , if not ask questions and i will try and answer...good luck
 
I would not be overly concerned as she is a new horse, and IME new horses often have similar issues.


As far as the feet go, I would just keep picking them, twice a day, allow her time to balance but persist until she lifts them. For tying up I would first make sure she understands to come forwards to release the pressure. When she will come forward off pressure then I would go back to tying but have something that will give for her, but just keep tying her back up without fuss or fanfare. It would be better if you could have a rail across the field shelter and work on this in there, so she can't go anywhere while the lessons are taking place.

For the girthiness, I would suspect ulcers, but if she is happy in other ways (grooming, in herself etc) then I would make sure she were in a ulcer friendly regime (ad lib hay, low stress etc) and be careful when tacking up. I have seen where the tree being tightened on the back can have them react, or a girth nipping. If it does not resolve, or there are other symptoms, then I would investigate ulcers with the vet.


I have seen many horses learn to pick feet or tie up with firm and consistent handling, often in just a session or two.
 
The lunge idea is a great idea! Thank you 😊 yes she passed her vetting when we brought her, and when i spoke to the vet about her recently he wasnt concerened about pain or any problems there, but more that she panics & needs a bit of reassurance & trust from me. We know the last home, who she was with for 18months, but before that we know nothing. Shes very nervous around men & much more likely to panic around them. With me shes more relaxed everyday but its just back feet, her saddle & the tying up we struggle with, basically any situation she feels restricted?
 
I used to work on a stud farm and to teach the foals to accept having their feet picked up we would start by ensuring they are happy to have their legs touched and then move onto picking the feet up. Instead of picking the back ones up the usual way (i.e. by bringing them backwards how we normally pick feet out) we would lift them a small way off the floor for a couple of seconds by bringing them forward, so under their belly rather than pulling them back towards their tail if that makes sense. This helps them accept having their back feet up but without unbalancing them and frightening them, so it may be worth going back to basics with your horse. We also taught foals to tie up as has been described by splashgirl45. Also agree with the above comments about the saddle checking. Is she happy to have other things on her back like rugs and saddle cloths? Just wondering if she could be nervous of having stuff being swung up and landing on her back.
 
Will def try that idea with the feet & the lunge to tie her up to start- thank you! :) i know shes still settling in with us but even just doing a small amount everyday will hopefully give her the confidence she needs!

Its not only the saddle she moves with, its anything- she will move with just a saddle cloth or her fly rug. She does it as soon as you lift up you arms to put it over her. If i stand by her holding any of them she doesnt move, but as soon as you lift up to put anything over her back she darts her bottom away from you. Once you get it on she settles right down and will stand again, almost like she darts away because she thinks im going to chuck it on her & hurt her. Once its on and she realises its ok she wont move?
 
Blondie_2008 said:
Its not only the saddle she moves with, its anything- she will move with just a saddle cloth or her fly rug. She does it as soon as you lift up you arms to put it over her. If i stand by her holding any of them she doesnt move, but as soon as you lift up to put anything over her back she darts her bottom away from you. Once you get it on she settles right down and will stand again, almost like she darts away because she thinks im going to chuck it on her & hurt her. Once its on and she realises its ok she wont move?
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Have you tried doing things with her from the 'wrong' side? Often if they have been used to having to brace themselves against having a saddle 'chucked on', they relax when you work from the off-side.
 
Try and work equally from both sides, I'm not quite sure why some people are obsessed with doing everything from the left hand side of the horse. That's not aimed at you, just a general observation.
 
Yes i will, ive always done it from the left, think its just because it was how i was taught- makes sense though to do the wrong side as well (especially if it makes it easier for her!) Thank you 😊
 
It might help if you don't refer to the right hand side as the "wrong side". There is no wrong side, there's the left side and the right side, and you can (and should) do all things equally from both sides. That includes leading, mounting, tacking up, rugging, everything.
 
My new mare was similar with picking her back feet. I now follow same routine each time, doing front hoof, back, back, front. I find running hand down from hind quarters before asking to pick up prepares her. I make sure shes standing square before picking up a few inches & and then put it down. I then pick it up again making sure isn’t too high & pick it out. If she thrashes about I don’t hang on to hoof but repeat until she figures out just easier to stand quietly & let me pick it out. She’s not 100% but so much better after only a few weeks. Praise lots as you have been when she does right but don’t punish the bad.
 
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