Hello. After a little sweet spot training yesterday, Shilo and I went for a walk.
We were walking besides a building were there are trees, these trees are weeping willows I think, so there are long thin branches hanging down.
Shilo had his western saddle on and I allowed him to eat the grass we were standing on, he was so busy eating whilst walking forwards that I could see that he was walking under one of the trees, I could see that just in a moment the branches would touch the saddle and his body because the branches are very long, but I let him continue to see what he would do.
The branches touched the saddle and him and Shilo sprang forward and then did a 180 so that he was facing me, a this point I was about 2 mtr away from him. He was pushing back a little and then he lifted his right front leg and stomped it down into the ground hard.
Shilo does this when a) he is bored, and b) when he wants my other 2 horses to go away, it's acts like a warning.
He was looking straight at me and the feeling I got in that split second was that he was telling me that he was afraid. I walked to him and stroked his neck and spoke to him,and he was ok again.
Normally when he gets spooky I ignore him, so as not to elevate the situation.
We stood in this spot for about 10 secs, and then we walked away and past to the tree that had attacked him.
Do horses stomp the ground when they are afraid? Or am I reading him all wrong.
In hindsight, I should have asked him to walk to me and then pet him and say that everything was ok, but the afraid look in his eyes I had not seen before, or the stomp on the ground in this type of situation, so I was unsure.
Does anybody know why he would stomp like that?
He has been spooky before and as I say, I ignore it, but this time was very very different.
Any thoughts anyone??
Best regards from Dionne and Shilo.
Hello Dionne! I've seen this in my mare but slightly different situation, when we were doing plastic bag training I had a feed bag on a stick that I was 'flying' in from the side under her nose to replicate a bag flying out from the verge and because she was on a line she didn't spook so much as strike out at it with her front foot, after she had 'attacked' it she was satified it was a bag and wasnt worried. I'm not sure but maybe it was because he met the the pressure of the line (if he did?)span round, then thought 'better fight if I cant run' and did the strike out in anticipation of facing what it was that has spooked him. See what others say!
Good morning Dionne. What you just discovered with Shilo and the tree branch was the primordial response that all horses can give us when they pass under anything that is rooted above their head. Their DNA speaks to them like a switch turning on and they react quickly. They see this as a 100% safety issue in the moment and they need to get out of DODGE NOW. The old wisdom on this issue goes back to the prehistoric era when our horses were only 3.5 feet tall and flying dinosaurs would swoop down on out of the sky them for an evening meal. What also transpired for our horses was that lions lived in trees and would leap from the elevated position onto the back of the horse for a meal. This came along in history after the horse had grown considerably in height.
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.Where Shilo is coming from THERE ARE DEMONS LIVING IN THAT TREE; so consequently his reaction. The good thing, as you described, was that he turned to you for his safety net. His feet were moving, as his instinct directed him to do, but he didn`t bolt away from you. That is CRAZY GOOD. This is precisely where you would to sing to him, because that obviously is most calming for him.
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.This instinct also merges into trailer loading or anywhere a low, closed-in, overhead structure might be that we are asking our horse to place his body into. This is the reason why we desensitize our horses with plastic bags above their head and also why we take a low profile when first mounting a newly, backed riding horse. I desensitize my horses all the time with this in mind as we have many trees for them to pass under. They do get so it`s no big deal, but it does take some time. Good question.
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.Bud
Thank you Bud and Becky C.
When he was just standing there and he stomped on the Ground I really thought that he was going to run me over as he was trapped with a tree either side of him and a brick wall behind him, lucky me that he didn't do that. Wow, I never have seen this sheer look of fear and panic in his eyes.
In some ways I am glad that I did see this event before me, and that I choose to make him go through it, just to see the reaction, but in other ways, my heart really hurt because I made him go in a 'dangerous ' situation, which could have been avoided....
I'm going to take him to these trees again tomorrow ( wow, I'm a really bad lady !) and see what he does this time. By the way, I did not mount him like I said I would today, I just searched in myself and it just didn't feel like it was the right time, so I trust my instincts and I wait for my consciousness and my 'inner me' to lead me to do the right thing, sounds a bit hippie I know, but it hasn't failed me yet.
Thanks again for the wise words Bud and Becky C.
PS:- Bud, how about you take a trip to Denmark and teach me !!!!!! If I become very rich one day, I will pay a trip for you and your wife...ok?.
PS Beck C. Shilo didn't strike out with his leg, he just stomped the ground as if to say'"that's enough", it was like watching a small child being angry, with folded arms and stomping one foot hard on the ground!! Well, Shilo is just a big baby after all !
Good Morning Dionne. You and Shilo have come a long way together and you seem to have a connection that most horse people just dream about.
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.In the encounter with the tree branch, you witnessed, first hand, the FACE OF FEAR. Yet you had the presence of mind to call upon your intuition as a woman, for a response. There were many directions you could have taken as a reaction to what you were faced with, but you chose to help him through the turmoil he was experiencing. It was in that moment that you crossed the bridge of connection with Shilo and probable neither of you will ever forget what happened. YES, YES, YES take him back to that area to revisit the tunnel of terror and help him with his cup of worry. If his cup is running over with worry, show him, through small connected movements, that HE CAN EMPTY OUT what was almost overwhelming for him before. You might also sing to him.
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.I wrote about the reasons why all of this probably came about yesterday, but what I didn`t say is that when horses get into this frenzied mindset they can travel long distances without thinking of another thought. They will go through fencing, break down gates, and they will certainly run through and over people.
Shilo did none of these things because of YOU. Anyway, that`s how I see it, and I hope you do too.
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.Regarding your first ride with him, ONLY WHEN YOU ARE READY. There is absolutely no time element to contend with here. Time is a human adaptation to life, and I believe has no business entering into to our world when training horses. The Spanish Riding Academy spends months on the ground with their horses before backing them. They build their minds and their bodies to ensure positive results. Keep asking questions. This how we all become better.
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.Respectfully Bud
Bud, There is no time, there's only clocks and watches.
I took a small ride on Shilo today.
My husband was there for safety, and he had Shilo on a lead rope, we took a short walk and then I dismounted, and really made a fuss of him.
Then I mounted again, Shilo is so very patient with me and stands like stone at my mounting block ( which is not a mounting block but a very low stool, like a kitchen aid to reach things because I'm not so tall ) I digress....
So then I mounted again, keeping my head very low, and all the time Shilo's ears were pointing towards me because I was talking to him, just softly, telling him that he's such a good boy.
So we went just a very short walk with my husband leading and then I dismounted and made a big fuss of him ( which he likes)
I didn't take the reins up, or ask anything of him, other than to accept me on his back which he did, and very nicely too.
It's nearly been a year since I first mounted Shilo, so I was very pleased that he still was ok with it.
Next time, I will take the reins up and just ask my husband to be there( no lead rope)
I have seen a few YouTube videos of trainers taking the first ride, they just let the horse go where it will, so I might try to do that, I'm just praying that he will stop when I ask him to, that's really what I worry about. He stops when asked from the ground and with ' whoa' ( spelling?) and he does it 99 percent of the time, so here's hoping he will listen.
Best regards from Dionne.
CONGRATLATIONS. That`s a big step. Be very careful to read Shilo. He will tell you if it`s OK to mount.
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.Respectfully Bud
Lovely thread Dionne and input Bud :D
Going back to the stomping when he got spooked Dionne, you said there was fear in his eyes, understandably, but can you think back and see what else his face was saying. How were the ears positioned, was his body facing you, did his head go up, down, to the side or shake and was there a frown type look across the top of his eyes.
From watching the herd, the stomp comes when one isn't being listened to, so everything around what happened before the stomp is important.
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For your riding remember the diaphragmatic breathing and sink into the saddle and connect with Shilo's back.
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Mel
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Hi Mel.
Sorry, I missed your question about what happened at the tree of death!!
We walked besides some trees which grow parallel to a long brick wall, there are about 7 trees in a row, weeping willows.
Then we stopped and Shilo started eating the grass, he was eating and walking along same time.
I stood still holding the lead rope.
Then I could see what would happen with the branch.
Shilo leaped and did a 180 and faced me.
His head was up and he looked about 3 meters tall.
He was facing me, he was kind of pushing backwards, his two front legs spread.
His ears were pointing to me.
His eyes were size of tea cups.
He was looking directly in my eyes and then he stomped.
It's a while ago it happened , but such an experience I will not forget.
I have that picture in my mind and I can describe it in detail.
The wind was not strong, the sun was blocked by cloud.
It was not raining.
There was not a frown across his face, only a face of sheer terror.
He did not move his head or ears or anything.
He did not move a muscle until I walk over to him and stroked him and talked to him, then we walked away and he walked very close to me ' for protection'.
Very sorry for the late reply to the question.
Dionne.
Ah bless him and what respect for you Dionne. He needed to take flight but becoming faced with you as he did the 180 he held back, the stomp was listen to me run, he couldn't understand why you didn't take to flight. Very well done with your follow up action, he looks to you as leader!
Mel
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