Overcoming My Horse’s Fear of Other Horses: The Breakthrough Continues (Article 2)

I'm really trying my best to get over my fears, Mum!

This is the second in a series of posts about implementing my own suggestions in the article  4 Steps For Overcoming Your Horse’s Fear of Other Horses  which I originally wrote for ezinearticles.com.

It is an ongoing exercise in putting my money where my mouth isJ

Tackling the Next Step

Yesterday Julie brought her ‘scary’ mare, Cayenne, over for our next session in getting Cruz over his fear of other horses in general, and this one in particular.

I’d already exercised Cruz for thirty minutes before her arrival, and decided to skip the initial ground work which began our previous sessions.

Instead, Julie and I immediately rode in opposite directions from each other in walk, with only a small gap between the two horses. This meant Cruz had no time to get used to Cayenne's presence before having her walk 'at him.'

I purposely placed Cruz on the outside track, as he tends to feel ‘hemmed in’ between a moving horse and the perimeter fence.

So it was wonderful when he calmly accepted Cayenne walking towards him on both reins!

Upping the Stakes

Blown away with elation, we decided to move up to trot.

During our last session Cruz walked while the other horses trotted towards him on either side. This time, with only one other horse in the arena, we transitioned into trot together. Again, we immediately rode in opposite directions.

Not wanting to destroy what we had so carefully built, I trotted Cruz on the inside track, so he wouldn’t feel claustrophobic. Julie and I rode several circuits of the arena on both reins, while I moved Cruz closer to the oncoming ‘scary’ chestnut mare.

Playing My Part

Desperate for this exercise to succeed, I think I was more anxious than my horse! It cost me a lot to sit quietly, with my hands firmly in front of the saddle to encourage forward movement.

There was only one anxious tremor from Cruz. I immediately pushed my hands a little further along his crest, with a slight closing of my leg, to encourage him without bullying. 

Ending on a Successful Note

It worked. The tremor subsided almost as soon as it had begun and we rode smoothly past. WooHoo!

After three quiet trot loops on each rein it was time to walk our horses, give Cruz a huge pat and thank Julie and Cayenne for their tremendous help.

This afternoon we will trot Cruz between the mare and the outside railing. Here’s hoping for another big step forwards in his rehabilitation!



Overcoming My Horse's Fear (and Mine!): Final Part: Completing the Cure

Part I and Part II explored why my horse and I are afraid, and the first steps I need to take to overcome the problem. But there are other methods I can adopt.

Besides changing my attitude, here some more practical things I'm doing to help Cruz and me work through our fear.

Desensitization

If you’ve read my previous blog on desensitizing Cruz, you’ll already know that I’m throwing nerf balls at him: opening and shutting umbrellas next to him, holding them over his head and waving seven balloons round his body and between his ears. He is coping magnificently – if not actually happily! – with this.

At the end of this month we’re going to a Rick Pelicano bomb proofing clinic. It’ll be with eleven other horses, so I hope to (a) get through it with flying colors and (b) have lots of photos to prove I did!

Change of Nutrition

I’ve changed his feed to CoolStance, which is a starch reduced feed deriving ‘cool’ energy for horses through coconut oil and fiber. It seems to be having a very positive effect on him: he is much less spooky and anxious after only a short time on the feed.

Reintroduction of Cruz to Other Horses in the Ring

I’ll be taking Cruz to a local “horse whisperer” who trains difficult horses. He’ll help me build up Cruz’s confidence around other horses in the ring.

I’ve also extended an open invitation to my riding friends to bring their horses to ride with us.

Yesterday a friend brought her horse and rode with me in my arena. Cruz gave one small sideways shy, but quickly got over it and concentrated on his job. When another friend brought Cruz's stable mate in as a second horse, I rode Cruz between both animals as they walked towards me. Cruz coped well.

Next time we'll do the same thing in trot and canter. I expect to report good results!

Why Bother Doing This Myself?

Why don’t I just hand Cruz over to a professional and be done with it?

Because I’m his Mum! I bred him - from a mare who was a complete basket case when she first came to me, and ended up being the best and most reliable horse I’ve ever owned to date.

With TLC, professional guidance and determination/grit/guts I hope to turn this talented, athletic gelding into the horse that he was born to be.

Overcoming My Horse's Fear (and Mine!): Part II: Where Do We Go From Here?

You now know where our fears originated (see previous post) but what can I do to remove them?

Stop Anticipating Bad Stuff!

Every time I mount Cruz now – and I mean every time – visions of him rearing/bucking/bolting go through my head. I have to remind myself that he has never done any of those things without cause, and certainly not while being mounted! He is not a rearer/bucker/bolter. I take a deep breath and remind myself to act like a confident leader.

Be Cruz’s Comfort Zone

As I wrote in a previous blog about spooking I need to take charge and ride Cruz with quiet but determined purpose. Whether he pretends to be afraid or is truly worried, it’s my job to steer him through that anxiety/naughtiness.

I must be careful not to increase or cause fear in him by anticipating a bad reaction. Instead I have to ride as if I expect everything to turn out well. If I do this, Cruz will worry less and concentrate on his job.

Dwell on Victories, Not Defeats!

There have been many occasions when Cruz has acted up yet I’ve managed to ride him through it and perform a good test.

This includes our last show of the 2010 season, when he panicked and bolted in the warm-up because an empty trailer rattled noisily past. He followed this with a series of half-rears round the dressage arena because he suddenly developed separation anxiety from Double Clover, my husband's horse who was competing at the same show.

I am encouraged by the video of my two rides that day. Although I felt terrified inside, I was determined to make my talented bay do the tests! Onlookers remarked on how calm I appeared throughout – and I hope I fooled Cruz, too.

He tried to duck out a couple of times, then buckled down to work (albeit resentfully) and we missed first place (to my friend on my husband’s horse!) by half a point, with marks in the mid-60s.

So: I need to stop focusing on the bad times and remind myself that I’m perfectly capable of riding Cruz through his fears as long as I don’t allow myself to be afraid.

Next: Completing the Cure

Overcoming My Horse's Fear (and Mine!): Part I: Where It All Went Wrong

Over his eleven years of life since I bred him, Cruz Bay has had a lot of accidents. Not all of them have involved me, but a good many of them have!

Here are some examples of what I’m talking about.

Accident One

When I took him to his first show, the four year old panicked and jumped over the breast bar of the trailer. He squashed me onto the floor where moments earlier I’d been standing and trying to calm him down (big mistake!).

He scrambled to his feet, then dived out through the jockey door on the side of the trailer. This exit is designed for humans, not horses, but somehow he survived the narrow squeeze with only a few scratches.

I, on the other hand, needed months before I could use my left shoulder again!

Accident Two

Another time he panicked on tarmac between a stationary truck and a trailer. He slipped and fell, throwing me to the ground with him, then kicked me under the trailer as he scrabbled to get up and flee for home.

A few more scratches for him and several weeks' recuperation for his owner!

Accident Three

This is the accident which scared him and me the most. We were at a huge licensed show in New Jersey and had no business being there. I didn't realize that we would be warming up for First Level together with Grand Prix horses coming at us from all directions and performing 'menacing' half-passes and canter pirouettes.

Cruz freaked and reared vertically. I survived the rear but ricocheted off him on landing. Upshot: he was terrified of other horses in the warm-up and I was terrified of my horse. ( While hobbling with the help of two walking sticks for three weeks!)

The Blame Game

It took me a long, long time to stop blaming Cruz for what happened and take responsibility for having put him in that situation. Oh, how I wish I could take back that day!

Instead of thinking we were ready for the Big Time, I should have swallowed my pride and taken it slowly at more schooling shows. It now takes one small thing to ‘go wrong’ in the warm-up at even local schooling shows for Cruz to go ballistic. Mea culpa, mea culpa!

Next: Where Do We Go From Here?

Anyone else have horse accident stories? Let me know what happened and how you and your horse coped afterwards.

Is My Horse Really Afraid When He Spooks?

Does your horse have favorite ‘spook spots’? Mine does!

Every time I lead him down to the arena he hopes that deer will rustle in the woods, to justify him giving a big leap. When that doesn’t work, he waits until I’m in the saddle, then keeps an eye out for any kind of movement at either end of the sand school.

How much of this is real fear, and how much is just putting it on?

I understand that horses are prey animals and watch out for predators (you know, like deer and the barn cat), but I have noticed that Cruz’s ‘fear’ depends a great deal on how he feels on any given day.

For example, I once rode him in the arena with the entrance gate open. The one thing I promised Cruz would never happen, happened. A stag ran into the middle.

Unbelievably, Cruz didn’t bat an eyelid. Turned out he had a respiratory infection (from weed killer spray): he had no energy left over to be upset by the intruder.

I’ve noticed that my gelding’s level of spookiness increases in direct proportion to the intensity of his work.  He’ll seem relaxed at the beginning of our riding sessions, even walking quietly past the short side of the arena where the vicious deer, squirrels and barn cat hang out .

But when I ask for true bend in trot and canter, it becomes Work with a capital W. Suddenly he just knows those varmints are out to get him and leaps sideways. (So much for my outside rein.)

Hmmmm…. Interesting!

So I’m using this evasive behavior as practice for later, when I’m at a show. He’s a strong horse, and it takes a lot of effort and energy to combat his naughtiness, but I have to prove that I can thwart his attempts to avoid work and frighten me.

I drive him powerfully forwards - past the area where he acts up - over and over again, from both directions and in different gaits. Additionally I ask for extra inside bend before, during and after the ‘scary’ spot (he tries to scoot off when we’re past it).

We often have to go through this charade. But on his new CoolStance feed I’ve noticed a considerable increase in his willingness to give in and get down to work.

Translating this into preparation for shows this season, I know I have to ride him this way whether he’s acting out of fear or just misbehaving to avoid work.