My friend owns an abused mare...

[TheDuckCrew]

My friend bought a mare a little while ago. her trainer used to own her and talked her into buying her. they weren't aware of the abuse that had taken a huge toll on her. she has been trying so hard for months to work with her, but a little while back she went really lame. she's in a stall with a runout but the barn owner keeps the door to the runout shut at all times because she has a bad temper which is expected after what she's been through. she can't be ridden much because they are still trying to figure out what is wrong with her and why she is lame. even before the owner rode her, she would buck and run through her. i was able to climb on once and she behaved quite nicely, but the thing is she needs a very relaxed rider and after all the stunts she's pulled on her owner, she seems afraid to ride.
i talked with the owner and since i'm working at the camp all week, i offered to bring her out and hand graze her each day since she really doesn't get much time out. when i went in to get her today she came up to me but was instantly afraid and was ready to fight and protect herself because thats what she had to do. i just kept talking to her and didn't make any quick or threatening movements and she calmed down quickly. i put on her halter and she walked out to the grass so nicely. she didn't even try to eat any until i stopped her and told her she could although i had been warned that she would try to pull me all around. when it was time for her to go back in, she followed so easily.
i really want to help my friend and whats best for the horse. in a last ditch effort the owner contacted a pet psyhic and asked her what was wrong. she said that nikki (the horse) was afraid to trust anyone because she had been so hurt. the thing is, the owner and the horse don't have that great of a relationship. my friend is afraid of nikki so then nikki is high strung and tugs and pulls my friend all around. and i'm not sure how to fix that. i want to help so badly. any ideas?

 

[Cara]

Does anyone know the horse was abused, or is it an assumption from her behaviour?

 

[Brindlebtch]

Sound like your friend has been had by her trainer.

 

[TheDuckCrew]

they figured out she was abused by multiple people

and yeah...the trainer lied quite a bit. she was later fired for drug use...oops!

 

[sanctuaryworker]

well, if your friend is afraid of the horse, they probably shouldnt be around the horse.

I think you need to get to know the horse, for who she is. I can imagine that being constantly stalled for any grazing animal only adds to the crazy.

You need to remind your friend that the dominant horse is the one that makes the other move its feet. I had to learn to pay attention to the way I walked, as humans its natural for us to move (even slightly) out of each others way, well horses pick up on that. If Nikki is picking on your friend and not on you it more than likely has to do with the way you show who's boss.

I personally am not a fan of riding, but especially with a nervous horse like this. Prey animals typically like to be able to see what's going on around them, and its probably very stressful for Nikki to have a predator on her back. Especially if she's already a nervous nelly.

We deal with lots of abused and neglected horses, I think training is a huge part of it. I teach my horses to target and back up on cue, pick up their feet, and halter training, it teaches them to trust me and it also allows them to be close to me and realize Im not a threat.

I can not stress enough that your friend needs to decide if they can get over their fear (maybe work with a different trainer) or find Nikki a home where they have the time and ability to get to know her and build trust.

 

[patandchickens]

"abused" or not isn't really relevant, you have to deal with the horse's BEHAVIOR not what you think its historical cause may or may not be.

(Fwiw, I can't tell you how many horses I've worked with that the owner was positive they were abused because they <acted in some particular way or did some particular thing>, where in fact it was just a pretty normal reaction to the horse's current circumstances in view of some major miscommunications going on between owner/trainer and horse. Even if the horse *was* treated roughly and has fear issues, you have to deal with it the same way as with any other situation - you have to get you and the horse on the same wavelength, communication-wise, and re-explain and re-teach the basics, and go from there in an intelligent way. The biggest mistake is to sort of bail out with 'oh he was abused' as an excuse for NOT actually addressing issues and just letting the horse carry on whatever way he wants)

If your friend is afraid of the horse, then not that it's any of our business but I'd say that by far the best situation would be to find another home for the horse, as people who are afraid of difficult-to-handle horses just make things worse and worse and worse til somebody(ies) get hurt.

Unfortunately you can't 'help' people do things they don't want to do. If your friend won't find the horse another home, probably the best you can do is see if she'll let you work with the horse so that at least she gets SOME reasonable useful contact with SOMEbody. Purge the whole 'abused' thing from your mind, it may or may not be correct anyhow and is not really helpful to dwell on, and just handle the horse *as she is* and *as she needs*. It is worth starting back from square one as if she were unbroke... the things she already knows well, you'll zoom through, and in the meantime you will be reestablishing constructive communication and trust.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[jqs birds]

Don't let your friend fight the horse. Start with a lead that is at least 16' when the horse backs away let her, she will stop before she runs out of rope. Then bring her back in and keep working that way.
I agree though if your friend is scared of Nikki she will pickup on it. Maybe your friend could watch you work with Nikki and get an idea how to calm her ans show her she isn't going to hurt her. It's all about trust for the horse.
There are tons of programs on RFDTV on horse training and they are free, maybe they can help her.

 

[destiny_56085]

I agree with patandchickens. I don't buy the 'abused' mentality either. Your friend needs to first gain trust and respect from the ground before they ever step foot in that saddle. I little bit of work in a round pen or lunge line will do wonders.

I also agree that cooping that horse up in a stall like that will make them go stir crazy. Try confining even you to a small space for any amount of time and I'm sure you'll get stiff and sore from the lack of movement. That probably explains half of the lameness issue.

Horses are herd creatures too... Put you in solitary confinement and bring you out with some mean scary person all the time and I bet you would be begging to be with your friends too.

Diet.... Dous your friend have this horse on grain or alfalfa mix hay? Without proper outlet for all that energy going into them, that will make them crawl the walls too. With a horse that is doing absolutely nothing, only a good grass hay is needed along with a mineral supplement.

Btw... I have 4 horses and 2 donkeys currently. I went to college for 5 years for large animal vet medicine. I've been riding and showing for over 25 years.

 

[destiny_56085]

As far as the issue of running through and bucking when your friend was riding the horse..... It sounds pretty obvious that there is some miscommunication between them. Everything is mental with them. You ask and if they are understand what you are asking for then they can give you what you want. Take it simple at first and even ask for just a step forward or to the left or right at first. When you have control of the forequarters and hindquarters at the walk, then you move on to the trot. It sounds like your friend was asking for way too much out of that horse and it finally got so frustrated. Other than an ill fitting saddle, horses just don't naturally buck.

Have you ever been at work and have a boss that comes in barking orders at you? Say you really don't understand what they are saying and want them to backup and explain how they wanted the first 2 things done. In the meantime, the boss has moved on to about the 10th thing down their list and won't stop.... By then you just want to put a hand in their face and scream 'shut up'. Yeah well thats what that horse is saying to your friend...... Slow it down and tell it one thing at a time til it understands what you want.

 

[BroncoHollow]

Quote:
Well said!!!