Nervous Horse
February 3, 2009
Solid training advice to get a troubled horse headed toward recovery.
An America’s Horse Daily reader submitted the following question regarding a very nervous, untrusting horse. AQHA Professional Horsewoman Julie Goodnight offers her expertise toward a solution.
Question:
I have a 17-year-old Quarter Horse that has obviously been abused. On the ground he is very respectful and sweet, but he has a very tender mouth and any hand movement while in the saddle causes him to bolt. After taking a serious fall last autumn, I thought to have a local trainer who is gentle-handed ride him for a week so he could become used to being ridden again. When I went to pick him up, he really wasn’t there (in his mind). He had gone somewhere safe and it took him a couple days to get back to normal. The trainer rode him, but it was very difficult for him to get the horse to walk. He was nervous and waiting for the ball to drop. I tried riding him once, but it was so scary. He was ready to blow in any direction. He is so worried he won’t please and will be punished. Is there any hope, or is he just a beautiful Quarter Horse pasture ornament?
Answer:
There is always hope. Any horse can be trained for the better if he is in the right hands, just as any horse can be trained for the worse in the wrong hands. Really, the question is, are you qualified to re-train this horse, both in terms of effectiveness and keeping yourself safe? And if so, do you have the time, energy and commitment that it will take?
I cannot answer those questions for you, but I know for myself, even though I am qualified to re-train a horse that is this troubled, I don’t think I could commit the time it would take to make it happen.
I’d have this horse checked thoroughly by a vet to determine if there are any physical issues that may be causing him pain. If he is in pain for some illusive reason, he could be slightly on the verge of panic/flight all the time and thus unable to handle any additional stress. Once you have ruled out any physical issues, you can turn to training.
This horse needs to go way back to the very beginning. I’d forget about riding for some time—if he’s that volatile, he’s certainly no fun to ride and he sounds fairly dangerous. No horse is worth getting hurt over.
He needs lots of desensitizing and lots of ground work to build his trust and confidence. For however long he has been troubled, it will probably take at least that long to get him right. For every bad experience he has had, he needs to have a positive one, just to bring the score back to even, so that you can move forward with his training.
For the desensitizing, I’d use a process known as “Advance and Retreat.” There are several articles on this subject in the Training Library on my Web site. For the ground work, you can follow the steps outlined in my DVD series called “From the Ground.” It starts with basic trust building and relationship building in the round pen and then advances to lead-line work. This, along with the desensitization and a whole lot of patience and persistence, will get this horse on the road to recovery.
Good luck, and be safe!
Julie Goodnight
www.JulieGoodnight.com
Comments
18 Comments on “Nervous Horse”
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February 18th, 2009 at 11:15 am
I would gladly take this horse and work with him if she is anywhere in the southeastern region….I work with many problem horses and believe this is a very fixable issue. Sometimes a few hours/days with gentle hands and a little old fashioned know how will go very far……..
February 19th, 2009 at 7:34 am
I believe this horse can be helped. I would be very wary of leaving my horse with anyone if the horse “shut-down”.
I’m not saying the trainer is bad – at all, but for whatever reason your horse communicated to you it didn’t feel safe and therefore retreated.
February 23rd, 2009 at 1:20 pm
Hi I’m sorry to hear about your problems with your horse. Julie Goodnight has done a great job answering your question I feel. With enough patience and time any horse can been trained or retrained. It’s really only a decision you only can make if you have the time and or money that it will take. I have worked with a lot of horses range from wonderfully bred great quarter horses to horses raised in the hills that had never been near people before being wrangled and brought to me to start. I really must tell you some horses are just naturally more nervous. Not every horse that has a problem has been abused. Unfortunately your horse being 17 may be more nervous because his past owners unfortunately never cared to slow down and didn’t mind his jittery self. This has been the case I have had with a few horses before that one particular horse was a reiner that literally had never been taught to walk calmly. Another was a barrel horse, that only knew one speed fast. Good Luck with your decision and your horse. Please just remember though that every problem a horse has may not be from abuse.
February 24th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I have a mare that is seven years old that was like riding on a spring. Othertimes she would go ‘inward’, then explode. She has been with me since she was a yearling, so I know she has not been abused or mistreated. She was not started under saddle until she was four and a half and I rode her in a rope hackamore (rope halter with reins). Once I learned her personality, and the proper techniques to calm her and engage her, she has become a wonderful trail horse. She is so courious, inquisitive and will go and do anything I ask her. I have researched and read everything I can about horse behavior and personality so I can meet the needs of my horses. Not all ‘training techniques’ work on every horse. Good luck, and I hope you can bring that ‘inner horse’ out.
February 28th, 2009 at 9:31 am
It sounds like your horse is having a pain response. Something changes from being on the halter, and doing groundwork to being ridden.
He probably needs his teeth floated. Get a hold of a good equine dentist, and have him look at his mouth.
What you describe is a horse that’s had his flight for survival center activated. To diminish how often this happens, you can help your horse practice using the thinking side of his brain more on the ground.
Julie brings up a good point to analyze whether you have the time and desire and skill to reschool this horse.
There are so many good horses that are solid and dependable that need good homes, it doesn’t make sense really to keep trying to ride a horse that has special needs. Believe me from personal experience, that few thousand dollars it takes to buy a good reliable mount, is nothing compared to the hospital bills that can come from trying to ride a horse with issues.
If this was a two or three year old colt, you could justify the expense of having a trainer reschool your horse, but at his advanced age it just doesn’t sound like a good idea.
March 26th, 2009 at 8:06 pm
so many horses need better homes to live in ……just think some people are mean to them or very harmful …. i belive that if we all try we can help those horses that are in danger but only if we work together like all of us are one
this would be a much safer place for horses!!
April 15th, 2009 at 6:41 pm
I have a similar problem with my 9 year old appendix quarter horse. He is a gorgeous bay 16.1 gelding.He has perfect ground manners (tying, brushing, washing) and is the best lunging horse I have ever had either on a lunge line or in a round pen (he follows voice commands). His pedigree is excellent – his sire is the Last Detail, the top hunter/English sire for quarter horses. His half brothers are winning in hunter/jumper shows around the country and selling for between $15 and $60 K. If you search on equine.com for sire: Last Detail, you will see some of them.
The problem is that he spooks at everything, and this has made me lose confidence in my ability to ride him. I have fallen off of him twice with a long recovery both times. Now he is a beautiful pasture ornament.
Julie asked exactly the right question about time, energy and commitment, but I can’t find a solution to what I should do. Does anyone have any advice for how to sell him – faults and all? I love him too much for him not to have good home.
April 25th, 2009 at 9:26 pm
Sara, if you are honest in your advertising for this horse, you may find that there is another person out there who can help him over come his fears and will get along with him. We all know that it takes a lot of time and commitment , but if he is as nice as you say with ground manners he can be just as nice under saddle with the right schooling. Then perhaps you can purchase a calmer horse that is more suitable for you as a rider. Give it a try, and good luck.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:35 pm
Over the years I have “fixed”several blown up/nervous wreck barrel horses. It has been my experience that for every bad experience it takes 100 good to erase it. Horses want to trust, but too many people have too little patience and too little time to spend with their horse. Sometimes it has taken me 2 hours just to walk to pattern once (only advancing when the horse will walk). One must remember to make the right thing easy, the wrong thing hard and never–never lose your cool, no matter what the horse does. It is much easier to start one correctly than to “fix” one. Always be aware given the wrong situation most will revert back to flight.
August 19th, 2009 at 2:27 pm
I have a 19 year old Arab that was very mouth shy and afraid of his own shadow. I’ve had him for 5 years. It took me a year just to get him to accept the bit, and when I rode him he was always uneasy, waiting for pain. After a couple of years of this, I finally decided to go to a hackamore. He is much happier and there are no more bridle battles. He’s still spooky and always will be, but with patience, he’s turning into a nice riding horse. Next up is trailer training. This should be interesting!
January 13th, 2010 at 12:12 pm
i recently bought a beautiful 4yr old friesian gelding. He hasnt had the best start in life due to a previous owner. He is broken in, beautiful and sweet natured, but terrified of being ridden. We are building up a relationship but he is so nervous it is a nighmare trying to get on and off him, he has also at the beginning bucked me off a couple of times. He spooks at people riding him as opposed to an object… He shits about 12 times when he is being ridden he’s so nervous and this is just me trying to get on him. Ive sent him away to a trainer whom had no problems but he came back to me the excact same.Im wondering if anybody has any tips or has had a similar experience to mine.
March 8th, 2010 at 1:57 pm
Sarah, if a trainer had him and did alright by him…did you observe while he was under their direction? Ask yourself what you may be doing that is different than the trainer. Are you an ‘A’type personality? Are you more aggressive in your approach even though you don’t think so? Instead of riding him, why don’t you spend time on the ground with him. Listen to him when you work with him…what are his ears & tail telling you? I just think you need to learn better horse language..if he’s elminating that much then his anxiety being around you is extremely high and he’s checkin’ out on you mentally. That will get you both hurt.
I use to take walks with my horse & in the course, stop, ask him to back up, go sidways, soft flexing at a stand still…just mix it up and then walk off. These walks then grew into the round pen of asking direction first at liberty…when he was more consistent in taking my lead verbally and finger pointing, eventually he was ground driven. By this time he knew my voice and commands and now is feeling as if I were on his back with reins in my hands. Even though he was saddle broke…I wouldn’t ride him. I would get up on his back, reach over and rub his neck all over, his hiney & sides then dismount. This will build his confidence in you and if you are like me as an A personality, he teaches you to slow your movements too. I have so been where you are. Its a slower approach but the benefits are great!
March 11th, 2010 at 1:20 pm
Alot of people jump to the conclusion “Oh, this horse is spooky or bolts it must have been abused!” They are most of the time wrong. The horse is most likely over qued. So one wasy little gue can make his re-act very big. Look to the future and put the past behind you. You dont need to know a horses past to be able to own them. You just have to ride and make the horse do what you want. They are always trainable and un-trainable
May 31st, 2010 at 6:03 am
[...] yourself: Is your horse suited to you? Do you feel safe working with him? Are you having fun with him? These are tough questions to ask yourself, but if [...]
September 16th, 2010 at 1:33 pm
i just bought a 9 yr old gilded quarter horse. when i rode him at the ranch where i bought him he did excelent. so excelent in fact that i thought i was getting the deal of the century. i mean he would turn on a dime when opted, and his ability to back up was better than i have ever seen. he reind very easily and took commands on que. he was very calm and easy. then i got him to my house. today he is definatly not tha horse from that day!
i introduced him to my wifes grey mare savy. they imediatly became inseperable. i waited one day to ride him, so he could get a feeling for tha new home my family and tha pasture. the next day i worked him for about 45 mins. before i saddled him up. then ran him in circles for another 10 mins. to get used to tha saddle and me. i got a good 5 min ride before my landlords dog decided he would make a meal outta my horses heels. well you guessed it, i got bucked! that dident make me lose my confidence though. i tried to harness him up the next day and he was acting very nervous with me and anyone around me. i got the harness on him and begane to walk him around the pen, when we came up to an oversize bush he got scared that something was behind it and bolted. ever since then he will not let me harness him up. he runs away when i get to close, i have to coex him with treats. now when he bolts he freaks out my grey mare. and she just bucked for the first time yesterday. what should i do? seperate him from my mare! is there a way to fix this and if so how?
October 4th, 2010 at 9:45 am
They need you to be the leader. I would’nt want to follow a leader either – if bad things happen to me. You are now projecting that energy to your horses.
You need to re-establish leadership and trust. Start with an environment that is better controlled and make it easier for yourself.
CCR
November 21st, 2010 at 12:01 pm
I am continuously searching online for posts that can benefit me. Thanks!
December 5th, 2010 at 2:17 pm
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