How can I help an abused horse trust me again?

Question

I have a horse who has been abused BIG time and she used to trust me untill I left for school and left her were she was abused even more. Now she doesnt trust me and I was wondering if anyone had any tips?

Just a little more info... the horse was beaten with a 2-4 and pitch fork. she also was tied to a tree with no room to move her head then forced to take a bit. she was crossed tied to two trees and the leads got tangled around her hind legs and rubed so much that the fur was completely gone. Also after christmas i will be able to get her from the stables shes at because my mum bought her for me and im not supose to know.

Thanks to bandit I understand most of what you said I watch the stuff Clinton Anderson does and use alot of it I also just join up and t-touch as some one else said.

Answer 1

I to have a horse who was abused and it has taken a long time, but he loves and trusts me now. I don't have all the answers, but here are some things I have learned over the years from many great natural horsemanship trainers. Never feed a horse by hand, this is no way to gain trust, they become pushy searching in your pockets and then nibbling at fingers, next some child with candy on their hand looses a finger. Think about herd mentality, all horses want to follow and be with the lead horse in the wild, because they will protect the herd. You need to establish yourself as the alpha horse (you do not do this by being mean, but with groudwork or roundpenning a A LOT of patience.) Get him to hook on to you and to start wanting to come in to you. let him know he can rest when he stands next to you quietly and you will keep him safe. Just ask for little things at first, send him off to the left just at a walk, if he runs around you wait until he slows down and turns in to you. Walk up and pet him, let him stand quiet. This can take days to years, you build up slowly. Then the most important thing is de-spooking. In a safe area such as a roundpen tie a plastic bag on the end of a stick. Wave the bag in constant rhythm, most likely he will go through the roof and take off running, do not chase him, just stand still and he will go crazy until he slows, as soon as he stops and looks at it STOP. Timing is everything, if you don't stop it the second he gives to it, it will do nothing. Clinton Anderson has a video on this, if all of this is confusing. It is hard to explain all of it, but eventually you will be able to rub it all over him and he will stand still because he trusts you and he knows you are not going to hurt him. We use all kinds of objects, tarps, cans in a bag, ropes. This is something many people don't do with their horses and wonder why they spook with them or dump them on a trail. If your horse truely trusts you he will look to his lead horse for security. Good luck, I know you will get the trust back and have a long happy life.

Answer 2

Yes, but it's going to take time and a ton of effort and patience on your part and the reality is that some horses never do get over the abuse completely.

We had a horse at the stable I used to ride at while I was in school that was an abuse case. He was a quarterhorse gelding who's previous owner beat him horribly with a crop around his face and neck and left several scars. Even after months of working with the horse, it was obvious that while he had recovered physically, he had enormous disrust of men. He could be worked with and riden by women, would accept a woman grooming him and cleaning his feet but absolutely freaked if a man came near him. This made things difficult in a schooling stable, especially since the farrier we used was a man. We had to put a twitch on him to keep him calm while he was shod.

There are several questions that need to be answered. Is this your horse? If she is and you have the time to devote to working with her one on one, that is a much better situation than if the horse is in a working stable with multiple people caring for her. How was she abused? Was she starved or beaten or kept confined? The type of abuse will have a big influence on how she responds to kinder treatment now.

The key is being enormously patient and eventually you might be able to get through to her that she is not going to be physically hurt by you, that she will not be deprived of food or locked away if she misbehaves. You need to have a good trainer working with you too if this horse is being worked to make sure that she is being handled in a correct manner. Also, get the vet involved.

The good thing is that many horses that are abuse victims do bounce back to some degree, thought with each animal it varies greatly. Really ask yourself if you have the time and patience to devote to such a project because it will take a lot of work on your part and there are no garuntees that your effort will pan out.

Good luck!

Answer 3

yes I agree, patience is the key.one thing that I find as a showjumper working with nervous horses is that when you are feeding them in the morning or at night, you should first let them eat a few handfuls from your hand, they see that if they are close to you, they will get a treat(aka the feed)and so will grow to trust you more.when grooming the horse, use a soft body brush(like one you would use on their face) and work slowly, never make jerky or sharp movements. I also hope that the horse has been renoved from where it had been abused. other than this, you will just have to devote a lot of time, just petting the horse and getting to know it again. you'll soon pick up on what it needs and after all, if it trusted you before, it will trust you again. good luck!!

Answer 4

Food and lots of patience on your part. I work at a horse rescue and it can take a long time for an abused horse to trust. Just work with her, touch her gently, slowly work with her and let her know you wont hurt her. Also a big tip, never yell around her, even if its someone across the barn asking you a question. Good luck, e mail me if you want to know more.

Answer 5

This poor horse. The best thing you can do is let her know you're there 4 her. Then do some exercises like join-up, t-touch, groundwork etc to build up her confidence. never ever force her to do anything but rather let her want to do what you want. Have a kind, passive approach. Try your best to look unthreatening so that she feels more confident. Take it slowly and have patience. Overtime your relationship will grow. Merry Christmas.

Answer 6

If anything, time heals such wounds.
You need loads of patience, patience, patience.
I would start talking to her without demanding ANYTHING else first.
Just be there and try talking to her in soothing tones.
But it is going to take patience!!!
Good luck!

Answer 7

u should feed it and spend time with it... u know.. u should just be there and talk to her and touch her and play with her,... and also sing to her... u know she might trust u again.