Hi everyone,
I will do my best to explain as best as I can without this being a huge message.
I have a youngster, she will be 2 in July. She is my first horse and I am VERY green, I am currently having lessons to teach me to ride....that green! I know everyone warns not to do green on green but she is here now and I love her to bits so I have to do my best for her.
So I have taught her to pick up feet, be groomed all over, desensitised to spray bottles, fly masks, leads, whips, tarpaulines etc. She will go yield her hindquarters, go back, whoa, stand (briefly) walk and trot. I am still teaching yielding her forequarters.
I have had her since August last year. I moved her to a new yard closer to home with beautiful hacking through the forest in the middle of March. The previous yard we was at, she was in a paddock on her own so I loved her to this new one as they have herds. She did her 2 weeks quarantine then went into a herd of 7 other mares. She absolutely loves it here BUT the day she went into the herd she decided it was a big deal to leave then so for the next 5 weeks I had a battle on my hands trying to get her down to her stable (quite a distance) for food, grooming, farrier etc. But we got there in the end.
My biggest problem though is when we was at the last yard I went out with another person from the livery and his horse just for a walk to her her out and about and get her used to her surroundings. The other person suddenly needed to leave as they had to get home so they run off and me and my girl was quite happy grazing. Suddenly she realised the other horse had gone and just had a meltdown. She pretty much dragged me all the way back to the yard. I kept hold of her but it was a struggle. She was calling and really panicking.
I have been out on walks with her since but she is really spooky. All the other horses at the yard are ridden and nobody is willing to walk them with me so my question is do I persevere and carry on walking her on her own? Or can anyone offer any advice on how to make her more confident when out and about. The more she gets nervous the more it makes me nervous and it’s becoming a vicious circle.
Please help!!!
Thank you for sharing your new adventure and congratulations on your new horse. A few questions please?
1. You can gain confidence by achieving a Join-Up with her. Have you done that yet?
2. It sounds beautiful there and walks are a great way to bond with your horse too. How are her ground manners? Does she walk at your shoulder and respect your space (and hers)?
3. Do you use at least a 12 foot (4 meter) lead so you don't need to worry you'll have her pull away and get loose?
4. Have you learned diaphragmatic breathing? https://montyrobertsuniversity.com/training/2031189152
Thank you for your help.
I spoke to Kelly Marks and she suggested hanging off doing Join Up just yet due to her age so I haven’t attempted it. I’m not sure how confident I would be of reading the sogna correctly.
If she is happy and relaxed her ground manners are fine when being lead but she isn’t very good with personal space. If she is walking passed something that worries her she will lean her head into my arm so I swap sides and she knows then the monster will get me instead of her.
I do walk her on a long lead. She never seems to try and bolt at the this new yard, the only time she ever did that was when I went out with this other horse and owner and she was really panicking to get back to the yard. Even then though if she really wanted to get away from me she could of done. It’s more about the spooking. You can see as soon as she is out of her comfort zone she will pick up pace, all her movements become a little erratic, her ears will be pricked, her eyes wide open, she will keep going for grass but look scared while eating and then if you just stand and let her graze she will spoon at the slightest little thing.
I really need to learn to control my breathing but have never been able to find anything on it so thank you very much for the link. I’m off to study it now 😁
Controlling your breathing just takes practice. To start, take in a big breath & then blow out as much air as you can - you'll notice this gives you a feeling of calmness. Make it a habit (habituate yourself). You can practice anywhere, before crossing the road, before entering a room or her stable/field. As soon as she shows signs of getting upset, stop still, deep breath in & fully out, place yourself between her & whatever bothers her - yes she will like that the big bad thingy will get you first but it will also mean she can't be overwhelmed & accidentally run you over. Scratch her withers & keep breathing deeply & slowly. As she begins to relax ask her to back up for a stride or two. Backwards requires more concentration, diverting her attention from the terrible thingy. Once she is calm ask her forwards, for 1 or 2 strides at a time, so she can't pick up the pace. Remain calm & reassuring (withers scratching) so that she sees you see nothing to fear. This will educate her & you will find she starts to look to you to lead instead of instantly relying on instinctive flight preparations. Hope this helps. Cheers, Jo.
Thank you so much for your advice. I will give this a go tomorrow and see how I get on :-)
Did you take yours out on their own or always keep them with another horse?
I have found just letting her take her time when she seems a little worried about something, if she tries to rush off I stop her, make her take 2 steps back and then just tell her to stand while I give her a reassuring scratch then we carry on and whilst I do not want to jinx anything! So far she is doing very well so I thank you very much 😁
I spoke too soon 🙈
When I went to see her last night I took her for a short walk and she seemed on edge. She didn’t plant and refuse to walk but she seemed more on edge than she had been the past few days so I kept it short and then ended it by letting her graze on the lead on some really lush grass for 10 minutes.
This morning she came down from the field and into her stable for breakfast and a good groom absolutely fine. Then we went the longer way back to the field. It’s not much longer but it’s round some old barns and not the usual way we go but we have been that way maybe 4-5 times. Again she came with me but was really unsure.
She is also in season again. When ever she gets near any of the other horses she does her baby mouth thing asking them not to bite her, she seems to only do this at certain times but I’ve not learnt when that time is. Could it be a certain time in her cycle maybe? And would that make her more on edge on her walks or are we now going to start going backwards?
Going slow and stopping to let her process what’s going on does definitely work but if she is on edge do I carry on taking her on little walks each day or do I just try every few days. Do you think the edginess is linked to her being in season or is she getting more and more worked up because she doesn’t trust me to keep her safe?
Thank you this it was well needed. Can you come and stay with us for a while and teach me her language because you sound very clued you 😁
Thank you yet again you have been amazing 👍🏼