Horse is Crazy?

Question

I have this horse who's nuts and you cant ride her undersaddle only bareback she was abused and ive spent two summers now working with her she wont change very spooky even with drugs ... my dad wont let me sell her bc "she's part of the family"
what are my options

.... You can ride the horse with or w/o saddle shes been trained just very spooky and ive taken her through programs such as clinton anderson and trainers she wont fix up theres nothing wrong with the horse shes a show paint reg. with papers shes just physco she thinks the worlds out to get her .....
Now do you ppl have any ideas??

Answer 1

Is a horse only useful if you can ride it? Can't you just appreciate her and enjoy her companionship? Maybe she never will be a riding horse again. Does that mean that she's useless and deserves to be passed around like a dollar bill? Drugs are NOT the answer. You should never drug your horse to try to make her accept things. This horse has been abused. God only knows what the poor thing went through. Give her time and be more patient with her. Spend time grooming her and talking to her. Make her feel special and let her just be a horse. Make sure she is getting plenty of turn out time. Also, you need to have a vet look at her back. She might have a medical problem that the saddle is just magnifying and making even worse. Talk to a respectable trainer who has experience with abused horses. If you sell her, she runs a good chance of ending up in the wrong hands again, or even worse....the slaughterhouse. Show some compassion, after all she's been through, don't give up so easily. It really upsets me when people go through horses like underwear just because some require more work than others. If you absolutely cannot keep her, donate her to a rescue group or equine retirement facility, where you can be sure she will never face abuse again.

Answer 2

Horses that are victims of abuse often take years before they, if ever, really start recovering from what they suffered. It takes enormous amounts of time, patience, careful retraining and reconditioning and isn't always successful.

First of all, you must never drug a horse. Unless a vet is prescribing the medications, they can be extremely dangerous and do not do any good in the long term. A horse needs to enjoy being riden to be a good riding horse and it's obvious that this mare is extremely frightened and distressed at the prospect.

Give up on riding her for a time. Just be with her so that she stops associating you with something negative. Take her out for walks, hang out with her in the pasture. Talk to her softly when grooming her and give her treats when her behavior is good. When she stops showing fear, you can try to reintroducing her to being backed. First just with a blanket, then with a girth. Only when she accepts both of these should you try a saddle, but be prepared for her to act negatively.

Let her get used to a saddle again before attempting to ride her. It is going to take a very long time. Consider working with a trainer who has a lot of experience dealing with problem horses. As good a rider as you might be, trainers have a strong understanding of horse behavior and will be able to see solutions that most of us could not.

I agree with your father against selling the horse. He clearly loves her even if she can't be ridden. And selling a horse than cannot be ridden usually means a trip on a cattle truck to a slaughter house. That would be a pretty horrific fate for a horse who has already been through so much.

Answer 3

Horse may not be crazy if he /she has something wrong/hurt where the saddle lays... did you check it out with a vet? I had a horse with similar problem....... vet found problem.....able to ride with saddle after treatments! Good Luck! How are you placing the saddle on her/his back? Don't just throw it up over the horse.... gather up the stirrups, cinch etc and gently place the saddle there and don't forget to use real good padding under -neath........ Good Luck and that horse is so lucky to have you!!!

p.s. Have you spent adequate time gentling the horse? Just spending time with it?
P.S.S.... Has any professional trainer just hobbled the horse and lay it down? Then, while hobbled,and protect the head with blanket underneath in case the horse thrashes around, subject the horse to spooky things like an umbrella opening and closing etc etc and then I had a very spooky horse until we did that.....he was rattled about everything until we did that.....it did help Good luck again......

Answer 4

Do you have a bareback pad? Not quite a saddle, but still has stirrups. Try using it and see if she reacts to it. If so, it may be a stirrup issue. Then you could try riding in a saddle with the stirrups removed (in a safe supervised area for sure).

If that wasn't it, try adding a saddle blanket under the pad. Maybe she will realize more than 1 thing is on her and it is not scary.

Try to confine her during feeding and make her have to wear a saddle in order to eat. One bad thing + one good thing = Neutral thing?

Then have your dad hold her while you get in saddle and let her eat like that some days.

Take a few steps and have him give treat (and thats it).

Walk for a minute and give treat.

Other than that, getting a really bad shape saddle and letting her wear it for the whole day and removing at night might make her more comfortable with it.

Try putting lots of weird stuff on her back in saddle and walk her around. (A pack saddle would be great to use and pony her around). That would make her overcome some issue.

Good luck! My horse that I bought that was previously abused is more comfortable with people now (after 2 years), but I can't ride her. I'm going to get a vet to check out her teeth (head tossing while riding issue with her) before I try riding her again and lots of ground lessons! It can get frustrating, but she probably is too. Thats why we have to back away and try again later!

Answer 5

DRUGS???? thats not cool. shes probably spooky for a reason. get a pad and try to start wit that then work to a saddle. when shes doing somthing right, give her treats instead of drugging it up for doing something wrong. ive had a horse for years that still wont let a saddle on its back. and mabe if you treated it as "part of the family" you might have better luck.

Answer 6

we used to have a trick that we used but it takes a lot of patience.

get a saddle you don't care about. put it on her. leave it on her (not all the time, but for a couple hours at a time) the reason for a saddle you don't care about is because when you let her out to ppasture she may roll around on it and mess it up. anyway, after a while when she's used to the saddle, slowly start adding weight (bags of corn work great) slowly increase the weight until it's something that is similar to what you, or the person riding her, weighs. let her wear this around for awhile. again, out in the pasture is best because she'll get used to being around other animals, distractions, etc. while having the saddle and weight on. after she's used to the weight, get on her, but don't ride her. just get on her. have someone hold her on a short lead and reward her being good (sliced apples are great). after doing this for awhile, have someone lead her around while the rider is in position, again rewarding her for good behavior. eventually, the lead can go away and you should be able to ride her. it's VERY IMPORTANT to NOT CONTINUE to the chain of abuse, but to teach her that you are her friend. good luck.

Answer 7

I had a horse like that. I walked with a saddle several times thinking that would calm her down. Wrong! She threw my brother. I was ready for her and held on when she tired of trying to throw me I rode her at a walk for a while.

No she never did completely calm down but she was manageable and part of the family

Answer 8

I undoubtedly love questions like this, considering the fact that they are such a lot amusing. "You understand you are horse loopy ( or a horse man or woman) while.... - Your tackroom and barn are blank adequate to sleep in, while your condo appears like World War III has been fought and been misplaced in it. -You spend extra money on feed and hay than you do on groceries. -Your suggestion of "film night time" is staying up overdue and looking horse coaching movies -While your peers are busy speakme approximately which get dressed they will put on to the Prom (or the Homecoming Dance), all you'll be able to believe approximately is whether or not or no longer the pass judgement on will like your using outfit. -When a holiday is not a holiday except you'll be able to experience. -Your horse's stall is immaculate, however your bed room appears find it irresistible's able for demolition. -Foaling season is your favourite time of yr. When you'll alternatively breathe the odor of leather-based than every other fragrance on Earth. You uncover your self announcing "whoa" for your puppy, or whilst you name your puppy by means of your horse's title. You by hook or by crook manipulate to uncover the vigour to experience, even if you are unwell with the flu. Horse manure smells well to you. You uncover your self listening for horse sounds in each and every constructing you input. When you seem at your university record card and spot the phrase "English", and believe that they're speakme approximately a using form. You're extra involved approximately your horse than you're approximately your self while the elements will get dangerous or stormy. When you will have memorized the names of the entire Triple Crown winners, however you've got problem remembering your possess mobile quantity. You have fun your horse's birthday, however forget about your possess. I would move on endlessly.

Answer 9

I would advise having a chiropractor take a look at her, this is assuming you've checked and double checked saddle fit. If she's got issues with being ridden under saddle, it may be that the saddle applies pressure differently than you riding bareback.

Answer 10

have you tried making her weat the saddle for even walks... with out riding her.. even feed her with the saddle on till she gets so used to it she almost forgets its there... the other thing is to trya new or differant saddle it may not be sitting just right on her and she is having a fit because of that.. there are still lots of options for her as family member don't give up hope yet