Stressed out Pony ....

J & M

J & M

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Aberdeenshire, Scotland
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1 month ago I took an Arab x Welsh B 19 year old Bay Mare on long term loan. Everything went well, all the right questions asked, all the right organisation done. In fact all went well until we tried to load her into the trailer to move her to her new home. The previous owner just walked away and said "good luck ... she wont load for me so I will leave you to it as I get too stressed to do any good!!"
An hour later with lots of calming talk and much bribery I managed to get her half way into the box with her snorting and shaking. Previous owner then came out and shouted at her to get a move on ... the mare panicked and shot backwards out of the box with the whites of her eyes showing and nearly fell she was shaking that much poor thing :(
Once I had calmed her down and walked her round the box a few times and across the trailer we decided to have another go ... on MY terms ... calmly!! Lets just say it DIDN'T go well and I decided to walk her, in hand, the mile up the road to her new home.
This gave us bonding time and allowed her to calm down whilst listening to my continual calming chatter :)
This week I had her in the stable on a very windy day to groom and feed her when she began stressing out, barging the door, sweating and shaking all over. All this was with me IN the box with her!!! I eventually managed to calm her and decided to put her back out in her field where she was happier. On the way out of passage way to the outside a gust of wind suddenly rattled something and she panicked, bolted and dragged me outside where I fell and went under her. I am told by witnesses that she did try to jump over me but ended up kicking my head twice in the process and knocking me out. I came to with her sniffing my face and waiting patiently by my side. One of the other girls in the yard put her back out in the field for me but said that she was incredibly spooky on the way :(
Any way after a night in hospital for me and plenty of TLC for her this week I still can't get her any where near the stables OR the trailer.
In hand she is a stress head and very naughty but under saddle she is fantastic and is forward going and does everything asked of her :D
I will NOT give up on her and DO NOT wish to see her go back where she came from.
I will continue with the firm but positive manner with plenty TLC along with it lol.
Thank you so much for taking the time to read all this, I'm just at my whits end as to how to deal with this so am looking for constructive comments .... PLEASE.
 
Some horses, often mares can take a long time to settle in a new home. One of ours is like that, even when moving with us and her friends. It takes about 6 months for her to feel safe.

Could be your mare is the same and if she is stressy normally then it will be even worse.

Our other mare is fine with moving, but stressy if she is brought in when the other are in the field. This is also possibly what happened with your mare.

They do get over it for the most part, its just finding out what works for different horses.

Just keep yourself safe in the meantime. Wear a hat, gloves and if necessary body protector if you are handling her when she is stressed.

I wouldn't give up on her either, once you work them out mares are lovely to own.
 
Wear a hat, gloves and BP at ALL TIMES.

Then get Richard Maxwell's train your young horse. (it doesn't matter that she isn't young). She needs to respect your space, it doesn't matter if she's scared, she still doesn't get to flatten you.

Good luck.
 
Maybe put her on something like relax me... it takes a few weeks to get into her system.

Then lots of work on a lunge line so u have room to get away if their is a problem, lots of praise getting her nearer each time to the box or the trailer.

Make her stable a nice place to be even if just walking in abd out not shutting door etc unti u can build her confidence. Then nice treats in the stable etc

Dont rush her or shut the door until she is ready, she will soon learn to trust you and take her lead from you.

And yes hat and gloves are a must

Good luck :D
 
Thank you all for the replies, very much appreciated and have gone a long way to reassuring me that I AM doing the right thing by having faith in her :D

The book has been ordered, I'm going hunting for the feed and the lunging will begin TODAY.
A couple of points I fail on are the wearing of a hat .... at the moment due to the head injury, I can not get my hat on with out pain so that will need to wait as will the riding :(
The lunging will have to be done carefully as she is terrified of whips, must be something in her past that has caused this as I have never used a whip with her, not even carried on on a "just in case" basis.

Its going to be a long road but well worth it I feel :D:D
 
I think you need to leave her in the field until you can wear your hat. Please don't risk hurting yourself again/worse. She is 19, a couple of weeks won't make any difference in the long run.
 
I had a new forest pony who was very claustrophobic. A saint to ride but panicked and freaked in enclosed spaces. When you led him to the stables he worried and when you led him away he worried more. It does sound like your mare. I ended up never putting him in a stable, is that possible? When my others were in he went on the patio on the front of their stables, and he was fine.
 
J & M said:
Thank you all for the replies, very much appreciated and have gone a long way to reassuring me that I AM doing the right thing by having faith in her :D

The book has been ordered, I'm going hunting for the feed and the lunging will begin TODAY.
A couple of points I fail on are the wearing of a hat .... at the moment due to the head injury, I can not get my hat on with out pain so that will need to wait as will the riding :(
The lunging will have to be done carefully as she is terrified of whips, must be something in her past that has caused this as I have never used a whip with her, not even carried on on a "just in case" basis.

Its going to be a long road but well worth it I feel :D:D
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Borrow a bigger hat or get one of those cheap ones which click at the back to change the size think maybe polly hat was the name. If you currently have a head injury it's even more important you don't sustain further trauma! You need time to recover. Remember your gloves! You could shake a rope instead of using a whip by her. The book will be helpful.
Good luck and be safe.
 
Clodagh said:
I had a new forest pony who was very claustrophobic. A saint to ride but panicked and freaked in enclosed spaces. When you led him to the stables he worried and when you led him away he worried more. It does sound like your mare. I ended up never putting him in a stable, is that possible? When my others were in he went on the patio on the front of their stables, and he was fine.
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Thanks Clodagh, yes it IS possible to leave her to winter out. Am talking to the livery yard manager to see if ,between him and I , we can put up some sort of field shelter. Both of us are looking for materials at the moment :)
I had thoughts on putting a horse trailer (opened up with a nice thick straw bed) in the field so SHE had the option to go in and out in HER own time. Might help solve the loading issues too ;). Well ... one can but live in hope LOL
 
Well its gonna be along haul to get her straight again but with the right handling she will come good I,m sure.Makes you wonder what sort of a background she has had, a welsh b x arab would have been a good kids performance pony, someone along the way has given her the issues she now has.Lots of careful handling and groundwork , you need to be firm but kind .She does,nt sound the nasty sort so hopefully over time trust and a bond will form, you will get there:)..........he other owner sounds horrible:mad:........I really like Micheal Peace his methods are worth a look.
 
When she was bad in the stable, had she just been brought in from the field on her own? it could have been a separation anxiety from her new friends that caused the problem?
 
There really ISN'T a nasty bone in her body and I agree the vast majority of it is coming from her background.
So I have decided to start from scratch with her and build from there.
I began this afternoon with a lovely session in the school, just me, her a head collar and a long lead rope. At the end of an hour she was walking calmly beside me where ever I went WITHOUT her head collar.
We ended on a positive note and I'm looking forward to another session tomorrow. This will take a while but I will succeed for her sake more than anything.
Thank you all for all the positive comments and support. xx
 
ApacheWarlord said:
When she was bad in the stable, had she just been brought in from the field on her own? it could have been a separation anxiety from her new friends that caused the problem?
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Yes she had just been brought in but there were other horses in their boxes along side her and she seemed happy to be out of the wind and having her supper. All I can think of is that its coming from a very bad experience in her past :(
Something which will take time to help her get over.
 
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