Overcoming My Horse’s Fear of Other Horses: The Breakthrough Continues (Article 3)



I'm trying my hardest, honest!


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

In the previous article I'd ended the training session with the scary horse trotting towards Cruz while he was on the inside track.

It was now time to take Cruz on the outside track, where he easily feels trapped.

A Bold Plan

Mindful that I increase Cruz’s anxiety by anticipating his, I decided to get more courageous in this next session. I wanted to learn just how much braver my horse and I had become after the exercises we’d already carried out.

When my friends - Julie, on ‘scary’ Cayenne, and Kelli, on friendly Pippi - entered the arena I told them: “Let’s just pretend Cruz has no problems, and ride around each other like normal horsewomen!”

Acting Normally

And that’s just what we did. We rode around like sensible riders, trotting and cantering towards each other on both the inside and outside tracks, following ring etiquette.

Cruz didn’t bat an eyelid! He’d become so used to working with these horses that even when friendly Pippi nearly ran into him, he wasn’t bothered. I’m not sure how he'd have reacted if ‘scary’ Cayenne had done that, but I was thrilled he stayed so calm when the hotter chestnut came towards him in every gait.

This was a major breakthrough! And just in time, too, as I had an upcoming competition on the weekend where I would have to warm up with other horses.

Showtime!

This particular show venue was perfect for our stage of ‘fear training.’ The warm-up area is very large, and familiar to Cruz.

Although there were only three other horses in there with us, one of them was a youngster and not totally under his rider’s control. So I was glad of the space to get out of his way!

Unlike previous times when I’ve tended to ‘hope for the best’ and not take charge of my horse, I was careful to ‘ride every stride’ in that warm-up. I let Cruz know that I was in command, and would keep him safe. “Just pay attention to me, and you’ll be fine.”

I was proud of him. One horse was performing lateral work, and moving sideways into our line of travel. I quietly turned Cruz away from the ‘threat’ and continued working him. Even when a horse was cantering towards him on a circle, and appeared ready to collide with our canter circle, Cruz kept his cool.

Yet another horse was coming into the warm-up. Since it was nearly my ride time, I decided to take Cruz out now and cash in on his calmness. It was making me feel calm, too, and I wanted to keep it that way.

Entering the Ring

The judge was having a short break. Just as I was about to go in and settle Cruz down before she returned, the rider of the hot young horse came out and asked to join us in the ring for a while.

She obviously thought my amazingly calm Cruz would be a soothing influence! I felt a heel, but had to say ‘no.’ I explained why, and she understood perfectly. Later when she rode her test her horse bucked several times and I knew I’d made a good decision.

Our two tests had some 7s and 8s mixed in with our not-so-good movements. We got 63% in our second showing, and won both Second Level classes. Don't tell anyone that we were the only partnership riding in them! But it was nice to have two blue ribbons (however dubiously come by) to celebrate our successful return to a warm-up arena.

It was an important first step in Cruz’s rehabilitation.

Coming Up

I have another show this weekend, after a two week break and a hurricane. However, the warm-up will be smaller and more crowded, and it may be too soon for Cruz to go in there. I will ride him at the venue on the day before, and see how he copes with the other horses before I decide whether to try the warm-up on the day.

I’ll be reporting back!

A Crossroads in Our Relationship

Recently my horse life has been intensely emotional.

The Problem

Cruz made it painfully clear that he wasn’t enjoying the life of a dressage horse. He didn’t want to go round and his canter was getting four beat/lateral and flat. At our last show he threw his head in the air, his equine equivalent of flipping me the bird.

This caused me to indulge in much weeping and gnashing of teeth while I considered whether we had a future together.

Taking Action

I decided to practice cutting the umbilical cord (remember, I bred, backed and trained this horse) and get used to the idea of saying goodbye to Cruz by trying out new horses for sale.

While I did this, at the suggestion of my trainer I sent Cruz to Steuart Pittman, brilliant local event rider, for a month’s training to re-establish my gelding in his old career as a one-day eventer. And find him a new owner.

Cruz’s Reaction

The very tall Steuart made my 16.2 gelding look like a little pony as I watched him ask Cruz to walk over a teeny-weeny ditch. My previously brave eventer looked at it in horror as Steuart told him to stop being such a woosy dressage horse. Eventually I walked in front to show him it was safe, and Cruz took the exact same route over it as I had done.

After some flat work and a few jumps (which Cruz attacked with gusto) Steuart rode him back to the barn. Cruz was then washed off and put in a stall.

I drove away, listening to his pitiful whinnies but sure I’d done the right thing.

Over the next few days Steuart got him jumping quietly, going on trail rides and being turned out in a big field with ten geldings he’d never met before. In short, Cruz went from spoiled brat to being just another horse. He was treated well, but not as anything special.

Feelings…. (Sound of violins)

I felt uncomfortable on all the horses for sale I tried out, ended up taking an off the track Thoroughbred to an OTTB rescue center instead (more about that in another post) and only felt at home when I got back on Cruz for a couple of lessons with Steuart.

Cruz has become humble: he doesn’t want to be sold.

Progress

After three weeks I brought him home to enter a local dressage show.

For the first time in four years I gave him no calming supplements. Although he whinnied for his buddy CD who was also there, he didn’t do anything naughty. He was a superstar in the warm-up, even when a horse came and kicked out next to him.

His three beat canter was back (he got 7 for his gaits) and despite our recent lack of dressage work, we still came in second!

The CoolStance Feed Factor

The CoolStance feed is a big reason for this. Cruz has quietened down so much that I sometimes take his temperature to make sure he’s not coming down with anything!

He hasn’t become a zombie by any means, but he’s calmer and happier. He’s putting on weight and doesn’t spook at everything. I’m no longer afraid to take him out on trail rides, in company or alone, and I jump him for fun, to vary his work.

What Next?

Cruz was getting bored with pure dressage, and it adversely changed his way of going under saddle. He returns to Steuart next week for his final six days of training, and I’ll have some jumping lessons, too. This will keep him interested in his work.

I’ve changed the way I ride dressage with him with positive results. I'll write more about that next time.

I’m more relaxed on him because I’m having fun with him, rather than only concentrating on riding perfectly. As a result we’re both enjoying a better relationship.

Maybe there’s hope for us yet.

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

New Year's Resolution: Create a Calm Horse!

The Mistake
This year I'm going to turn Cruz Bay, my three-quarters Thoroughbred gelding, into a calm horse. I only have myself to blame for my ten year old's problem: he’s terrified of other horses in the warm-up arena at shows.

The year 2007 was a wonderfully successful dressage season for us. We won all our local schooling shows at Training Level, and when I moved up to First Level we won those classes, too.

Then I made a huge mistake in 2008 by taking him to a massive licensed show at the New Jersey Horse Park for our first competition of the season. I didn’t realize that all dressage levels - including Grand Prix - warm up together in one not-so-large ring.

Cruz became anxious about the high-stepping horse traffic as soon as I entered that arena.
Within seconds he was pinned against the boundary fence with a huge black horse cantering diagonally towards him in half-pass. He panicked and reared vertically. I stayed on for the rear, but he landed with such a thud that I was unseated and lifted up into the air. I fell with a thump onto the ground.

Upshot: me hobbling around with two canes, terrified of Cruz, and Cruz with a deep phobia of other horses.

In the last three years I’ve annually - with a lot of hard work - managed to persuade him that the other horses in the warm-up are not out to get him. He has never had a horse actually run into him, yet that seems not to impress him.

Every year something happens to upset him in the warm-up. Another horse acts up or a loud trailer/car drives by and he becomes a basket case again.

The Mission

So, this year will be devoted to getting Cruz over his anxiety. Until I get past this stumbling block, we shan’t be able to compete at the higher levels in licensed shows.

The First Strategy - Change of Feed
Cruz has been on Ultium for the last three years, but now I was looking for something to calm him down while still providing the energy and nutrients he needs.

After researching the internet and reading horse owners’ feedback on various feeds, I became interested in an Australian product called CoolStance

It is made from coconut, and is low on non-structural carbohydrates (NSC). High NSC diets increase the horse’s blood glucose levels which in turn increase the horse’s blood insulin levels. One of the many negative effects of this is hyperactivity.

In a low NSC diet, the horse’s necessary calories have to come from fat and fiber. CoolStance is ‘packed with ‘cool’ energy from coconut oil and fibre from copra meal.’ Online you will find some bad press about copra, but the makers of CoolStance are fastidious about their preparation process.

CoolStance has been fed to horses for over 20 years. The less than 2% starch doesn’t cause hot or fizzy behavior, and the coconut oil is easily digested and absorbed by the horse.

According to the information from http://stanceequine.com ‘CoolStance and hay will provide the required amounts of minerals and vitamins’ for most horses.

I contacted the only person selling this feed on the east coast, Paul Christy, at paul@stanceglobal.com (Tel: 610-247-7584). He visited me from his home in Pennsylvania and left three bags of CoolStance for me to try. I immediately started feeding Cruz with it.

Here are some testimonials

P.S. No, I’m not a paid representative: I’m simply trying out a new feed for my hot horse!

Next: Working to desensitize Cruz, and the results of the new feed