Rollering problem

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Cassy

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My yougster has reacted badly to the roller being fitted on two occassions now. Yesterday she took flight just as the buckle was fastened and although I managed to unclip the lunge line she would not come near me. So she was left in the school for the day and turned out in a small paddock last night with roller still on. Today when I went to catch her she kept walking away and eventually I managed to herd her down the field and into her stable. I have managed to tie her in the stable and give her a brush but she is not relaxed and any move towards the roller or her front boots and she starts leaping about. On releasing her in the stable she is now objecting to having the lead rope clipped on. What now?? She is not a very people orientated mare and prefers the company of her field companions.
 
Sorry to hear you are having problems. How old is your youngster? Is she usually good to catch,tie,groom? Does she wear a rug?
 
Hi Cassy,

it sounds as if your pony could do with a lot of gentle desensitisation work especially on touch. I suspect also that she may be struggling to be able to cope with something on her on both sides at once - a useful warning signal if you intend to get on her at some time! Don't try and push her through this too quickly and make sure you have ironed out all the problems before taking her forwards in her training. In other words, belive her, and help her to work through it. It would be worth lots of desensitisation work using advance and retreat (what I call touch and move away) and make sure that she is happy with fabric aruond her middle and the sound of the metal rings tinkling away near her. When you do go to put the roller back on, I would secure it at the front with a breast strap so that there is no risk of it moving backwards onto her loin area even if she were to be a little too loose. You could also enhance this training with clickered treats.
 
She is three and a half and is used to being brought in and groomed. She never looks totally relaxed but I think that is just her character. What now then? I have a horse in the stable with roller and boots on.
 
Give that magic instant calmer and give her time to settle, before trying to take roller off if not sedalin. Then I guess take her right back to basics to get her to trust you again.
 
You really need to get the roller and boots off otherwise you could get some really nasty sores. Get someone else to help you and try not to react when she jumps away etc. Sedalin is a good idea just to get them off. Once they are off do lots of work in the stable with her - I would just get her used to having a towel over her back etc. without the girth element. Never put a roller on outside as if she does take fright she could have a really nasty accident. You wiil have to get her alot more trusting before you try again. I have never put boots on my youngsters until they are totally confident with handling. If you cannot get them off today speak to the vet and get some sedation.
 
We have since the last post taken the roller and boots off whilst she was busy eating. Unfortunately we have not made progress with this problem and I am asking for any advice from people with experience of backing nervous horses. We have started her on a calming supplement which I understand can take some time to begin to have an effect. We have put the roller on her again in the stable and she is still not happy. Sometimes you can touch and move it around a bit but another time she will jump suddenly sideways. Today she even objected to having her feet picked out and we are beginning to think she may have a bad experience in her previous home and learnt to get away with things by intimidating her handler. Any thoughts?
 
Sounds like it's going to be lots of patience on your part and making sure she's fully happy with one bit before you go onto the next step.

How long have you had her?

Lots of handling to get her used to strange things going on and lots of repetition.

Afraid i don't have a quick fix!
 
JanetGeorge on here seems to be a good person to get advice off about these things. She seems to do a good job breaking nervous horses and i know she has just worked miracles on another members 'unbreakable' horse. Maybe worth a pm? (sorry JG for suggesting you if you don't want to be, just a fan of your work!)

How did you get a roller on though, without finding out that she was uncomfortable with the feeling? Sounds like it all went a bit too fast for her. I guess having something tight around their girth is one of the biggest steps, it must be so unnatural for them not to fight that sensation. Good luck with her, i'm sure lots of innocent time fussing her and the odd carrot will help her forget about the bad experience.
 
Solid sound advise from Sarah Weston. Totally go back to basics by putting it over her back and taking it away, do this until she is totally happy, then put on and drop one side without doing it up again till she is totally happy, this could take days.

I strongly recommend you go to Kelly Marks website and get an RA out to give you advice and help, they really are not expensive and are very very supportive, getting it right now is what really matters or you will just end up with problems further down the yard.

Best of luck.
 
When I backed my mare who we know was abused in her previous home I spent ages handling her on the ground first. I started by just rubbing the numnah over her back before putting it on and securing it with a plain elastic sircingle as they don't apply much pressure but can be felt. Once she was used to that then the roller went on before a saddle and girth. Tbh once she got passed the elastic sircingle going on she was fine - she shifted around a bit at first when teh roller was being done up but I just plugged her into a haynet :) Also, as she is very food oriented I always gave her a treat when we did 'work' together. The only time she got a treat was once the session was finished - she would always stand and wait for her food at the end lol.
 
I have spent a long time (20+ years!) breaking horses in and when I roller horses I always have them lunging well first and understanding voice commands. This next phase should be in the school or lunge ring. Pop the roller on her back with it folded up and do up the strap which goes around her chest first. The let the long side drop down by her side. Make sure you have someone holding her and you are at her side fixing the roller. Then do it up so it's tight enough not to move around but not girth tight. Give her a lunge and let her relax. Be prepared for a buck and a kick but keep her going forward - this is perfectly normal as she feels something tight around her tummy. The ask her to stop and tighten it gradually until you've got it tight. May take 3 times of pulling it up. My horses then ALWAYS wear the roller for the next week or so all the time. After they have been brushed it's put back on, ontop of their rug and so it becomes 2nd nature to them. I wouldn't be hurrying down the calmer route I think there's too much hype over these and I personally think they calm the owner more than the horse! All horses act differently to being rollered but I've generally found that the ones who react the worst to being rollered are more accepting to the saddle and rider! If you have any questions then ask away
 
Thanks for all the advice. Things are starting to take a turn for the better, whether it is the effect of the calmer or her getting used to things I can't say. She seems a little calmer in her outlook but is still not happy with the roller. We had to take it off yesterday for the farrier to trim her feet and then we had to face putting it back on again. I don't normally believe in treats but with a few treats at the appropriate moment we managed to get it back on and she lunged well this morning. So will carry on now with regular "on" and "off" work and hopefully I will be able to reduce the treats as she becomes more accepting.
 
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