Teaching an old horse new things

yakyakfire

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Help! I recently acquired an older horse, he is 18 and a slightly nervous thoroughbred type. I have to move yards this summer as we are moving away and I need all the advice I can get on how to make this as easy as possible x
This horse is terrified of being in a stable or a field shelter ( although we are working on that )and he hasn't been loaded into a box or trailer for at least 12 years if not longer so I have no idea how he will react... but judging by his fear of stables it won't be pretty. I don't have a trailer to practice with, but oddly there is a garage door we are going to practice walking on to give a similar experience to the ramp. I have personally never loaded anything but really easy horses so I Will be getting more experienced friends to help when the time comes, but i would really appreciate any advice on things I can do to prep him.
Has anyone else had a similar experience? This old boy has so much to learn ( as do i) it would be great to hear from anyone who has taught old horses New tricks .
Thank you xx
 

Makemineacob

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Sorry but I would not be using an "old garage door" to practice him standing on, they are not designed to take weight and it is a recipe for disaster (either injury or frighten the hell out of him!). it also isn't secured and could move underneath him.

Borrow a trailer, even hire one for the day and get in touch with intelligent horsemanship to speak to one of their recommended associates to come out to help you (they used to come out just for fuel cost), they will help you understand his issues and give you ideas as to what to do to help him overcome his loading issues.

Yes, its a pain to borrow or hire a trailer if you haven't got one but you need to make sure you have the right equipment before practicing. If he has an issue with stables also it could well be that he has a confinement issue, which using something to just stand on wouldn't help you anyway. I had a rescue who was terrified of stables and loading and we got him checked and it turned out he only had limited vision in one eye and he was struggling to work out distances etc, he now loads on his own and loves his stable (and events so is out all the time!).

You need patience, especially with a horse you have just taken on and do not know his background. Do not assume because he is 18 he knows it all and you have no idea what he has endured prior to your ownership. Have a look at you tube for Warwick Schiller, Clinton Anderson (personally I would avoid Parelli) and watch and learn, there are many great videos online that will help. A pressure halter is a very good tool (but has to be used correctly and do not under any circumstances tie up in one!).

If you don't have the experience of dealing with a horse with loading issues then you will most likely add to his problems and he will just run a merry dance around you. Get an expert in who knows what they are doing (not the yard know it all!), you will then start off right and can work towards resolving his issues rather than creating more.

It can be done but you have to know what you are doing and have the tools to do it with. Ignore anything you regard as "bad behaviour" and just reward even the smallest of tries.

Best of luck.
 

yakyakfire

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Thankyou, I have considered hiring a van/trailer closer to the time but I hadn't heard of intelligent horsemanship so I will look into that.
I should have been clearer, the garage door I refer to is currently used as part of a driveway and has tractors running over it, I would not be so daft as to try and walk him over an unsecured piece of junk. It just has that strange tinny quality underfoot that I thought may help build confidence a bit.
He does seem to have issues with confinement, his previous owner bought him at 6 yrs old and I/she knows very little about him befire that. He has lived out 24/7 since then, she did very little with him and I took him on loan 2 and a half years ago when he was in a pretty sorry state due to her neglect. We have already come a long way together and his owner has now gifted him to me and signed him over so we are now free to move yards and start doing more exciting things. He has the best temperament but is a worrier so we do everything slowly, very slowly. Hence why I am planning a 20minute journey 6 months in advance.
Thankyou for the YouTube tips, I will be sure to go look them up and any further tips would be gratefully received :).
 

Makemineacob

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Firstly, great news that he has been gifted to you and that you can now progress further in the direction of your choice without restrictions. It is going to take time for him to overcome his issues, especially stabling etc if he has just been turned out 24/7 and precious owner hasn't really done anything. My mare has been with me two years and she's 9 and until two years ago was completely feral. She is very nervy and spooky but is coming on fantastically.

I do a lot of groundwork with her based on the warwick schiller/Clinton Anderson style and it has worked amazingly well. I regularly set up an obstacle course for her with "scary" things and we go around, under, over them together and she has learnt to deal with many things much easier. I found the key with her was that she was very food orientated (she was on tether most of her life next to the motorway) so little bits of healthy treats (carrots/apples etc) when she has achieved something new works wonders. I use mints for the biggest scariest things (we are still working on tractors!), she had a terrible habit of tanking off from the mounting block to begin with so took her right back to scratch and she is hilarious now as she will ground tie and will not budge even an inch until I am settled and ready and she has had a mint (I forgot her mint once and wondered why on earth she would not walk on!).

It takes real patience but spending time on the ground with them does develop a bond. I regularly take my mare out in hand on a "hack" (especially as hubby will not let me ride unless he is home for safety reasons as she has been very unpredictable) and we have great fun, I get her to watch my body language to halt, walk, trot and mix up the transitions. I've found it's been really helpful being on the ground to distract her and keep her focus on me when she gets worried. I also found hubby coming out on foot with me has helped her massively as she also looks to him for reassurance. I don't have anyone to hack out with so I've had to be inventive and it's building her confidence up alone.

The intelligent horsemanship associates are great, they will give you help over the phone or come out for very little cost (as I said it used to be just for fuel costs).

I would try to make any time he has in the stable really rewarding, bring him in initially to feed him and pamper and then put back out, extend the time he's in each time. I did this with my mare as she had never been in a stable and she is the first at the gate now and loves being in, she walks in with me from the field and puts herself in her stable.

Do hire a box if you can and just practice, I wouldn't take him straight out even for a short journey, just get him on, loads of reward and then bring him off and again extend it each time. He will get used to it, just takes time and patience. If you get someone who know what they are doing they will show you how to use a rope halter (horseman's halter) so as to release the pressure at the correct time. Personally I would go for a horseman's halter rather than the Monty Roberts dually, I bought one and my horse wasn't a fan (rearing as the strap at the front across the nose doesn't release immediately - if you watch Monty Roberts you will see him regularly go to the nose of a horse he is working on to do a little readjustment to loosen the strap. Not saying the duallys are not good but I found a horsemans halter releases immediately and with the benefit of using with a 12ft line you are in a greater position should the horse have a panicky moment).
 
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Brightbay

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I would recommend you look at Connection Training :)

For an older horse, who has had a lot of life experiences and who is, as a result, a bit nervous, the best approach is to teach them using rewards. That way, they learn very quickly but in addition they start to change their opinions about the world. Instead of being something that has to be endured, they begin to find things like loading something that they want to do and will do willingly.

In addition, learning that they can deal with things that were previously scary but are now rewarding means that they start to find life in general less stressful and worrying.

It is very very rewarding for the owner and trainer of older horses like this to see just how fast they can learn new things and how their faces light up when they realise that it's a training session :)
 

Makemineacob

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Sorry not dissing this but OP you don't need to spend money un-necessarily on training and home study courses (unless obviously you want to) the necessary resources are ALL available free online and Intelligent horsemanship etc and will teach you the basics and then you can decide whether to take your training further by paying to follow a certain path of training. Just hate people spending money that generally as horse owners we don't have a lot of, when there is not a need to spend money.
 
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