My friend owns an abused mare...

[TheDuckCrew]

thanks everyone! it was really a lot of help. i'll talk with my friend and tell her all the advice you guys gave. i've only been riding for a couple years and i had lost all my confidence at one point, but now i'm really confident when riding and i'm not afraid of falling off so i'm the new guinea pig at the barn. when they get new school horses they put me on them first to see how they behave. lol. my friend has only been riding for about 2 years and she needs a confidence boost, and i know how hard that is. i think for her and her horse it would be good for them to do some ground work and more experienced riders can ride and she can watch how they act and how nikki acts. thanks for all the help!!

 

[Karrie13]

Quote:
Excellent advice!

Another owner, a confident and knowledgeable owner, may be just what this horse needs to gain confidence and trust in humans.

My mom took in a horse that sounds a lot like this one except she knew it was abused. I live 1,100 miles from her and worried constantly about her getting hurt by the mare. Luckily she didn’t but did gain the horses trust and respect through patience and time. Now the horse has moved on to another home that rides her frequently and is well loved. Before the horse moved on mom had the gal who wanted her visit several times a week to make sure it was a good match.

Good luck with your friend!

 

[chickbea]

Most of what has been said above is right on the money. Horses are so in tune to the people around them that a nervous human in their midst is going to enlist a similar response from them.
Several years ago I took a few bad spills from a big old warmblood who I had previously ridden fearlessly for years. I lost all confidence with him, and between the two of us we were trembling messes every time we rode together. It finally came to the point where I figured we needed to start again from the ground up, and that is what we did.
As for the abuse issue - in my experience horses who have been abused for long periods of time rarely act like bullies, they generally get that "shut down" look to them, like they just don't care any more. However, I also knew an old Morgan who was treated like a king his whole life and then landed in an abusive situation - he ripped that place apart! Good boy, I say, because that's how we ended up with him and he turned out to be one of my best buddies as a kid.

 

[katrinag]

This is reagarding the lameness issue, is she shoed? Has she had x-rays?
Has a vet been out to look at Nikki? Does she get her feet picked everyday? Did she have an abcess???????

Stalling her will only make things worse. She will go stir crazy, not good for her mentally. The are herd animals It's good for them to be able to move freely.

This also might help with the lameness. Good blood flow is a must. Never in all my time with horses was I told to stall them for lameness. Maybe confine to a smaller paddock but never stall them.

If you can turn her out 24/7 that might help. It will give her something to do.

Start building a good foundation. Easy ground work. Reward but also correct.

 

[TheDuckCrew]

Quote:
no she is not shoed and the owner hasn't gotten a vet out. she's been lame for months. everyone at the barn strongly disagrees with this fact but there is nothing we can really do.

eta: i was told today by other friends at the barn that nikki is rarely groomed. when she is taken out to be riden, the owner just soft brushes her back quickly and never picks her feet. i was told a lot of things today that really bothered me. there are good people willing to take nikki, but not pay much for her at all because she has been ruined. she's a good horse, she really is, she just needs a lot of work.

 

[Cara]

To be honest, it sounds more like she is being abused now. Not by someone beating her or intentionally trying to be cruel, but keeping her confined without an outlet for her energy will not make for a happy or healthy horse. If her owner doesn't know how to handle her, she is going to turn into a 'problem horse' if she isn't already, and that never ends well. Unfortunately feeling sorry for an animal doesn't equate to helping it. It sounds like the owner has more issues than the horse. She should offload her while she can to a good home, not be stuck with her further on down the road when someone has been seriously injured and end up having to send her to the sale barn. But then animals usually have more sense than people

As for that dreadful woman that sold the horse to the owner, she should be ashamed of herself. She has no respect for people or the horse.

 

[Elite Silkies]

I use to take in Rescue's and not so well treated horses. (Before, we lost our business, and now were poor and had to cut the debt

I believe a horse can sense fear, and they in return feel that there is something that they need to fear themselves.

I have seen abused horses, still trust with everything in their soul.

Anyone can ruin a good horse, just by letting them get away with bad behavior, it is much easier to teach them the right way the first time, then to correct bad behavior.

Sounds like to me, this horse just needs someone with a little more experience that does not fear her.

I use to set on the ground for hours until the horse trusted me enough to approach me, wether that was right or wrong, it seemed to work with the ones that I worked with.

I only see the horses behavior getting worse, if she continues this way. Generally a good trainer can see what the horse needs in just a couple of hours.

I had a Stallion ( I didn't fear him on the ground, but I feared his back, and he knew it, maybe it was just because he was stallion, I didn't fear any of the others) My friend came over, which he breaks horses all the time, and within an hour he had him riding in town. So, I say it's just how experienced the trainer is, and how much respect he gave the horse and demanded in return.

I do hope that things work out for this horse.

Cammy
Miss all my horses very much!

 

[redhen]

Is this the horsie that stepped on your foot?

 

[TheDuckCrew]

Quote:
nope not this one, another one. i end up dealing with most of the horses at the barn so things happen. lol

 

[CountryMom]

Quote:
Would have to totally agree with Pat here. I would highly suggest this person find a home for the horse and find a more stable mount for herself.

Most people say a horse is abused when in reality they were not trained properly and their mind gets a big nasty. And being a mare, the chances of mental attitude adjustments are high without a training or abuse issue. Most horses I see as abused are the ones that were not fed or allowed out and about.

If the horse is lame, the last place she needs to be is in the stall. Her legs/hooves need circulation to help them heal and adjust. Standing still in the stall will not help that.