Terrified horse...desperately need help/advice

Bertolie

Bertolie

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B is a 16hh Warmblood X which we have owned for nearly a year. He is 13 years old but sold to us as being green. He spent the first 5 years of his life in a field, was professionally backed and then spent the next 6 years of his life doing nothing. He was bought for my grown-up daughter and she took him back to basics and he was coming on really well.

So heres the problem:
Last October we went out on a hack, me riding my cob and my daughter riding B. Whilst in some local woods something spooked both horses and we both fell off. My horse stayed put but B paniced and bolted off through the woods and several miles later ended up on a main road. He was spotted by some people from our yard and they caught him. Before we were able to get to him a group of motorcyclists passed at speed and paniced him once again and he took off. He galloped passed the motorbikes in a blind panic (they were doing 45mph and he overtook them) so one of the bikers made the decision to get back in front of him to alert oncoming traffic. This meant that he was 'chased' by the motorbike but the end result was B was in a collision with a stationary car, resulting in multiple injuries from which he has made a full recovery. If the motorcyclist had not taken this decision it would have been a lot worse.

He has been out of work since, due to the accident and winter and we have just started hacking him out on a normally quiet lane near the yard. Last night we went out and half way round the hack a bicycle came up behind us and unsettled B but he carried on. We then met another cyclist heading towards us and B just flipped out. Span in the road, backing up, etc. Daughter stayed on but unfortunately another cyclist was coming the other way and B was just in a state of panic. We both dismounted and were walking back to the yard and were virtually home when a motorcycle came towards us. B was absolutely terrifed, span, took off dragging my daughter down the road until she had no choice but to let him go. He then bolted off down the lane to the main road. Luckily a passing driver picked my daughter up and took her off after him and luckily he stopped before he hit the main road. He was absolutely terrified not just of the motorbike but also the bicycles as well. We realise this is probably a throw back to the accident but havent a clue what is the best way to deal with it.

We are going to ride a bicycle in his paddock so that he gets used to them and we have the offer of an offroad motorbike at a later stage as well.

Ideally we would like to get a behaviourist in to help but unfortunately the coffers are a bit empty following the £2K vets bill after the RTA.

Does anyone have any suggestions or advice to help us get this lovely lad back on track and out hacking again? We realise that it is not going to happen overnight but as he was bought to be a hacking horse we really dont want to give up on him. He is never nasty, just petrified.

I only have choccie biscuits to offer to anyone that has made it this far!
 
It sounds to me like you are thinking along the right tracks with bikes in the paddock.

Do you have access to a school? I think that your going to need one. Please don't hack him out again until this is sorted, it sounds as if you've had lucky escapes so far.

I would definitely seek professional help.

Good luck.
 
Crikey, what a nightmare!
I think what you have said is the best thing to do, start in his field with the pushbike, make sure he has a friend with him that is good with bikes, and work from there, that way you are in a controlled area with his familiar surroundings.

I don't think you'll be able to take him on the road until he's totally happy with things again. You just can't be sure whats coming around the corner, especially noe the nice weathers here, motorbikes are always out!
Be consistent with this, do it as often as you can until he gets bored of seeing the bike, then work up to the moterbike that you have been offered.

I feel for you, my boy is going through a bit of a traffic problem at the mo, he's ok with others but not on his own, even with cars, so i have to rely on otheres to hack out!
Please keep us updated, good luck
Kate x
 
Not an expert but my guess would be to stay off the road and go right back to the basics IE ground work in the school , and build up confidence /bond and trust in the handler with gradual introduction of the bikes ect, then ridden work with the same aim, take as long as it takes good luck..
 
many years ago mine was seriously attacked by a pit bull, to the point pts was a possible outcome (3 major wounds, several punctured & over 60 minor wounds) & understandably went into blind panic at the sound of even my dog barking, let alone one near her. It's a very slow process but with time it can be worked on. Start somewhere he feels secure & just feed him pushing a bike
 
You got it right, basically make him dream about bikes and motorbikes.

Don't be disheartened about the push bike, many many calm horses find a silent bike zooming up behind them very very scary.

I would get him used to a push bike every single day at home, ride around the paddocks, ride outside his stable, then progress to a family member riding infront of him on a hack, then beside him, then behind him, so he knows no different!

Then I would do the same with a quadbike, they are soooooo noisy!! Our youngster used to hack out with one, and we used to have gallop races, make him dream about quadbikes and trail bikes etc etc.

Then do the same with a car and a tractor, and finally get a car and come up behind him tooting the horse and being aggressive, in the end you will have a horse that is unphased by every idiot on the road!

do all of this in the safety of large fields, do not take horsey on road again before he is "bombproof" for 3 reasons

1) Jockey is going to end up dead
2) An innocent member of the public is going to end up dead
3) Poor horse will end up dead

You need to find a method that gets him used to things, i find with nervous horses the reward method works.

Ie you put a bike near him he doesn't move his hooves and he gets a noise of praise, like a clicker then give hima treat. He will soon learn that if he moves his feet he doesn't get a treat... but if he stands still a little longer he gets a treat.

Don't think of this horse as a riding horse for a while, just enjoy yourself have him as your summer project.

Think of it as an exciting challenge that will be really rewarding.

When he is finally desensitised I would get a couple strong men with a lunge line to walk with your daughter on the first solo road hack, that way if he did have a little melt down, you know the horse isn't going to get loose.

Do everything in baby steps, doesn't matter if it takes you 2 mths to get him used to a push bike. Good luck and have fun! X:D
 
Phone! Build up to grooming him outside with a bike round him, basically include a bike at a distance & speed he's comfy with for anything he finds pleasurable & gradually build up to riding alongside one in a safe place. Then work on bikes coming from behind, in front, around, bikes with flappy things, slow ones, fast ones etc. Then find someone to help you do the same with a motorbike. It can be done, its just time & patience. Mine went from bolting through the far side of the field fence at even the sight or sound of a dog to hunting, now she's about the calmest around dogs you can get, so it can be done. Good luck x
 
You need two baby sitters ideally when introducing a horse to traffic. That way your horse can be ridden on the inside, with a babysitter on the outside to protect from traffic, and one horse behind. You don't need a behaviorist - you just need to treat the horse for what he is, unused to traffic and having received a massive fright.

You need to proceed with real caution. Choose your route and time of day of hacking very carefully and be prepared for the fact that this horse may never come right in traffic after the huge fright he received.
 
As others have said , i wouldn't take him back out on the road till he's confident in ALL traffic..i think you're definitely going to have to de-sensitise him to bicycles and motor bikes at home and cycling round the paddock would be a start...I know you said that the coffers were a bit low , but i would seriously try to get some professional help or even just advice from someone who knows how to deal with this sort of thing i.e Richard Maxwell , Kelly Marks etc ( i've only mentioned them as they are names i know , but there must be others in the profession who aren't so well known and possibly cheaper1) If this horse is worth putting right then it would be money well spent and would take a load of pressure off you.
 
Agree with all the above, especially Devonshire Dumpling's post.

I know you don't have the money to have professional help out, but you might want to call Sheila Reed (an Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate) for some initial advice, as this is exactly the sort of issue that they are specialists in dealing with.

Sheila Reed 07780 668136 www.sheilareedequine.com

Stay safe and get inventive with your training! Best of luck.
 
Thank you for all of your comments and advice. We will definitely not be going out on the road until we are sure he can deal with it. We are going to start with bikes in the paddock and the school and see how he goes. He can be quite a nervous nellie when he wants to be so we are going to try a herbal calmer and see if that will help as well.

We do have a very good Intelligent Horsemanship Recommended Associate (Adam Goodfellow) not too far from us and he is someone that one of the other liveries on the yard have used and think very highly of, so we might give him a ring and see what he has to say.

B is such a lovely horse, will follow my daughter around all day long and they do have a lovely bond. She loves him to bits and is certainly not willing to give up on him just yet.

My horse is brilliant around bikes and motorcycles, unfortunately he wont hack on his own or take the lead on a hack, so not much use!
 
[quoteMy horse is brilliant around bikes and motorcycles, unfortunately he wont hack on his own or take the lead on a hack, so not much use! [/quote]

Is this the horse you used to babysit B on the roads?
 
Is his paddock near a road? Of it isn't it may be worth putting him in one that is for a while if possible. That way he can get used to vehicles going past from the behind a fence. I used to keep mine on an army camp and due to things that went past,landed or blew up near their field they were literally bomb proof :D.
 
Do as you say with trying to desensitise horse as you describe. But be forewarned not all horses get used to what you want after such an accident. All these NH people mentioned can be of help but they do not have a 100% success rate.

This horse, to me, had no self preservation. The first time he spooked and by your words ran off in a blind panic gives you an indication. Your horse did not bolt even when given the chance to go with his buddy.

These horses to me are the worst you can get, just my opinion. They are never trustworthy. You can desensitise in a safe place that horse is comfortable in and yet the moment they are out of their comfort zone, bam they're gone.

Do not take this horse out on the roads anymore. It's a disaster waiting to happen. Along with the desensitising do some riding where he is secure. He can still be a good horse IF he can be secure in himself. This probably won't be out hacking.

Terri
 
Where abouts are you....pm me if you want. A guy near me is great terry buxton he is great.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing with riding the bikes in his paddock that will help loads.

Xx
 
amymay said:
[quoteMy horse is brilliant around bikes and motorcycles, unfortunately he wont hack on his own or take the lead on a hack, so not much use!
Click to expand...

Is this the horse you used to babysit B on the roads?[/QUOTE]

When we first started hacking B out before the RTA we used a friend's bombproof pony in front and my boy behing B. When he proved to be fine in traffic in all situations we tried just B and my boy together and as B was fine leading, we had no problems. Its only since the accident that he had developed this fear of bikes/motorcycles. We have been out 3 times since the accident (before last night) and although a little bit on his toes, B has been ok. But we hadn't met any bikes on the previous hacks. Last night was the first time we met any out and he freaked. We obviously didn't know he was going to react like that - we did think he might have a problem with cars but never even thought about bikes.
 
Equilibrium Ireland said:
This horse, to me, had no self preservation. The first time he spooked and by your words ran off in a blind panic gives you an indication. Your horse did not bolt even when given the chance to go with his buddy.
Terri
Click to expand...

I didn't fully explain what happened at the time of the accident - I shortened the series of events. When the horses spooked in the woods, we both came off. We were at a junction of two paths in the woods, one of which was an extremely steep descent. As my daughter came off, B slipped down a steep bank and she was unable to hold on the reins (he trod on her knee as he slipped so she was unable to do much). I fell off but was able to keep hold of my boys reins which meant he didn't go anywhere. B ended up at the bottom of the steep descent, a place he was unfamiliar with, and without my horse (they are inseperable) with him. He just carried on running through the woods not knowing where he was and ended up on the main road. I think the events of that day were extreme in the very least, and prior to the accident he had behaved impecably out hacking.

I appreciate that he may never get back to the way he was before his RTA, and if that if the case we will limit our hacking to offroad though we only have one route that we can do that. We really hope by giving him time and patience that he can once again be the lovely horse he once was.
 
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Lots of walking out in hand flanked by bikes and motorbikes. Good luck with him - very sorry to hear about your run of bad luck:(
 
slightlyconfused said:
Where abouts are you....pm me if you want. A guy near me is great terry buxton he is great.

Sounds like you are doing the right thing with riding the bikes in his paddock that will help loads.

Xx
Click to expand...

I am in Gloucestershire - about 20 mins from Gloucester itself. Where abouts is Terry Buxton based? Is he the one on facebook?
 
is he food-oriented? Is he treat-oriented? If so, feed him alongside a bike and then a motobike stationary, and put polos onto the saddles and let him sniff and eat them.

Then ride bikes around him while he eats and stop and give him a polo and then ride around him or to and fro.

Then revving engine and polo and rev engine and polo.

Work up to being able to ride motorbike around him and rev and he carries on eating his feed and doesn't bat an eyelid.

(might take a while, might not work, but worth a try).

All in safety of fenced environment - his usual field or paddock where he feels secure and happy is a good place to start. And helmets/hard hats, gloves, boots for EVERYONE involved.

Defo keep off the roads until you are 100pc sure. And maybe a leadrein or cyclist/motorbike outrider for his first few trips out again too, so he begins to associate the bike as being part of his "herd".
 
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