don't you love it when you get a bug that just drains you. I've had one now for 3 weeks but with having Lupus they don't clear up quickly and it's tiring me out a bit. BamBam (3yrs gelding) seems to be taking advantage of this especially when schooling and is becoming unresponsive to lunging. he's always struggled with the concept of lunging and join up has only happened in the field.
he's very happy with followup and will stay with my every move even if i back up he will back up with me, I can walk circles around him and he'll stay with me, he stops when asked, stands still for minutes at a time,but as soon as I ask him to go away he refuses and just stands there. to try and get into the position to send him away is difficult as he wants to follow with me. to get him to lunge around someone has to run with him, but as soon as they let go he stops.
was wondering if I should hold off on the lunging and any join up whilst I'm not feeling well?
Barney and Pye are fine, it's just Bambam that seems to be taking advantage.
??
oh Bless you Mel. I have energy problems myself so i understand where your coming from!
He is reacting like this simple because you don't have the energy to project towards him; he's only a baby, so my best advise to you would be to REST YOURSELF!
He'll be fine if he has a break, but it'll take you much longer to recover if you push yourself too hard.
I know we horse people look after our horses far more than we do ourselves, but sometimes we must come first - doesn't happen very often!!!
I hope you feel better soon.
lol, thanks Beryl. it is what I was thinking so I won't try this until I feel better again.
He's very good on just following up so I'll keep with that and do a bit of bonding before any riding sessions, he's had his first rider a few times now so he's progressing. :D
Just had a look at a video from the other day that my daughter took at one point he had an itch on his belly whilst following up, so I waited for him to finish itching then invited him to follow again and he did. so maybe no need to join up with him anymore.
Remember to watch your energy levels too!!! x
sounds like he's doing really well, i wouldn't think he needs any more join up, move on with his training.
It never hurts them to have a break, mine has always come back better for it, even when she had to have long breaks, she hadn't forgotten anything & just as Monty said in this weeks lesson, they come back further ahead of where you left off if they've enjoyed their training cos they do think about it.
Yes, i often push myself beyond my tipping point energy wise & then i have to back off & rest - think we both know that, don't we?????
Thank you Beryl, guess we all want to do as much as we can that we overdo it :D Wet and windy here at the moment, so I've gotten them used to going in and out of the shelter again. Pye took his first steps to trust me to come in the shelter, once he was in there though you could see he wasn't happy and that he's had issued with small places. We stayed in the shelter together and he started to relax, gave him a bit of a treat in there too. When he relaxed more and started to eat his hay I opened the shelter door and invited him out, thankfully he walked out. :D
How many horses do you have Beryl?
x
I've got two mares, one i ride - we had many many issues - the other is a rescue pony as a companion. Ebony, the rescue pony was shut in a barn in a group of 8 in 2 feet of muck, all in starving body condition & she had overgrown feet like Turkish slippers, she DID NOT like being in the shelter!! it's a good job i built it out of 1" thick panels or she'd have had it in splinters in a week; she have sweet itch sores, untreated when she came to me from the rescue centre! She was so difficult & i was so weak at the time, i did give up on her, but no other companion came forward, so i had to get on with it & by the time another one did come up, i'd decided i'd give her another try & here we are today, almost 10 years on. Boy were they both a challenge!
Eb still doesn't like being in, but she's free to go in & out of the shelter as she likes, they are only shut in to have their feed & while i groom & ride Libby, Eb goes to sleep now while were out.
The only time i keep them in is if laminitis rears it's ugly head, but thankfully, my managements working & we've been 2 1/2 years laminitis free with both of them.
It's been raining here for days & the ground is sodden - yuk!
Hi Beryl, Poor Ebs and well done for sticking with her.
So are mares more moody than geldings? Where my daughter rides they only have geldings stating mares are more unpredictable. :D
Oh Boy - are they????????
well, the thing to remember is that mares, like stallions are entire, meaning they are both producing sex hormones for breeding, whereas a gelding isn't.
Mares therefore have monthly reproductive cycles & can get very sensitive & can suffer from PMS the same as us humans.
They are also very loving & caring too, so don't get me wrong, they just sometimes need sensitive handling to make allowances. Mine are great characters & keep me on my toes! I love em to bits!
we had a horrible experience yesterday, i had put a comment on another post about her running away with me a few days ago, yesterday, she was so reactive, we'd got about 75 mtrs away from the road on a track & there was a lorry parked halfway across the junction unloading at the pub, Libby started reacting, not wanting to go up towards it, i said to my fried we'd have to change our ride as i was not going on the fast narrow road with her like that, she wanted to go another way, i said ok, we got round the first bend & a car came past us from behind on a wet road with leaves on it, Lib exploded, then a car came towards us, she reverted to as she was as a 5 year old, flinging herself on the verge & spinning round with the car as it went past, adrenalin sky high , she was so naughty! at least i had the guts to try to ride her through it, but it was too dangerous, we had to get off the road & quick, i know from experience, once she gets like that, she doesn't calm down.
The reason is she has very strong food tolerances to alfalfa & soya oil, the feed merchant I've used for years has moved & won't deliver to me so I've had to try another chaff which has both in it, now the accumulative effect has come out, it's like a switch being thrown in her head, it makes her nuts!!!!!
She's been fine on antilam, speedibeet & pure oat chaff with nothing added, but it's the oat chaff thats very hard to got hold of. When she was young, the very last thing i took out of her diet was Dengie HiFi Lite which still has alfalfa in it & molasses of course, another no no!
We did make it home in one piece even though i nearly ended up in a puddle upside down when Zeus snorted & Libby flipped out!!!
She's not having any more chaff if i can't get the oat chaff - she's only been having a handful in the morning & it has that extreme effect on her!
anyone reading this - if you're having behavioural problems, think about the feed you're putting in them, seriously!
Oh bless ya and really glad none of you were hurt. Makes you wonder what goes through their minds when they revert back to things of the past. Well done for missing the puddle :D
Have you tried contacting the manufacture of the oat chaff to see where else they supply? Should be a website or something on their packaging?
Thankfully so far, my 3 are happy with pasture mix and garlic chaff, in the summer I up the garlic intake to help keep the flies off them.
I searched half the day yesterday, but the cost of getting it delivered is more than the stuff costs, think they'll just have their Antilam, speedibeet & salt & a tiny bit of hay in the morning, they don't have chaff for tea as they've been out grazing in the afternoon so it's too much in the feed.
I did track down a few oat chaff's but my nearest feed merchant has it on their website, but no longer do it & they won't get anything in for you, whereas, my old one got it in specially for me.
We're going out today with my friend, so we'll see if this stuff has passed through her system yet. It's not her being naughty, it literally blows her brain.
We've a few feed shops that work together, so if one hasn't got isomething, they ohone around to see who does have.
did she explode today?
x
Thursday She was still VERY tense & worried, Zeus knew she was & actually followed her about 2 feet away from her tail, normally he won't go anywhere near that close to her. she just wanted to go home, she wasn't coping well at all.
Fri i rode her quietly in the field only after having a lovely groom & cuddle in the sun, i wanted to try to relax her & Sat & again rode in the field & led Ebony round with us.
I've ordered her some Agnus Castus seeds as i had her on hormonise when she was a baby & it worked like a magic calmer on her - much better than an actual calmer i might add!
I don't know how long it'll take to clear her system of the oil & alfalfa, so i don't want to intensify her fear a we've now got to go back to square one.
I've decided the chaff is going out of their diets altogether, i'll just give them a handful of hay with their speedibeet & antilam.
Sunday, took her up the track where we had the first problem with the cyclists IN WALK ONLY!!! Her energy is now much more forwards now & her mind was in a much better place today, being cuddly, bright eyed & a happy expression.She didn't react at the junction when 3 cars went past, but She did do a triple shuddering take when she suddenly saw 2 people & a dog, so the reactive energy is only just under the surface, but we're heading in the right direction again - PHEW!!!
I don't want to put her in a situation where she's likely to explode again, so we'll stay where we're safe!
Hi Beryl
I did a search to see how long it takes for something to pass though a horses system and couldn't find any information on it. you would have thought if a horse has an allergic reaction that piece of advice would be of value. Have you though about writing down her daily behaviour so you can see on paper when the changes start?
why not make your own chaff? I was thinking about you doing this when I'd run out of chaff and it was too late to get to the shop so I cut up some hay and straw into chaff size and mixed it in with their feed. You could add your own herbs in too so you know exactly what you're feeding. i've just had a brainwave how this could be done quickly, but will test it out tomorrow to see if it works lol.
In the summer I use the cycle to train our guys, whilst I walk around in hand Darrell cycles around crossing their path, coming up behind etc... then I ride with them in hand with me so they have to come with the cycle :-) makes me laugh when their trotting fast and. i'm still keeping up with them lol.
have you got some friends who have dogs that could help you practice with her? was she far away from the people when she shuddered? Just trying to imagine what two people and a dog look like to her, plus were they walking fast or ambling? if fast their arm movement would have appeared aggressive?
x
Dear Mel
You have a common problem that needs a lot of patience. Your horse is still young. My general idea is the following: if you expose the horse to too frightening things on a trail she will become sensitized. Your horse may now think: trail, that means frightening things. A way to get out of the problem: start working the horse at home to lower the energy, then go for a walk, only a small lap, next time ride the small lap. Then gradually extend the distance.
Going out with another calm horse is also a good idea, you did already. By the way: you should not allow the horse to take the decision in which direction to go.
Any ideas of the community about this common problem?
Rudi
Actually, i have kept notes since she was a baby as we had so many problems, it would be impossible to remember everything even if my memory was good LOL. She's not usually that reactive with dogs, although she doesn't much like loose dogs, but she will stop & we wait until they come past us; it's not that they did anything to scare her, it was just an adrenalin reaction. I think probably whats happened is that her hormones were a bit unbalanced & the excess energy in the feed which blew her brain, has triggered more fear in her & her hormonal levels are wrong especially with the geldings next door. she's on guard all the time. She was a different horse when i gave her Hormonise before, she was lovely. She's been ok without it for a few years now but that was before these other ponies arrived on the scene.
Rudi, yes very good advise, thats what I've been doing with Libby, she's usually very brave about things we meet as i did loads of in hand walking out as a baby before i ever rode her, it is going to take a while to get her calm again.
Indeed, i've never let her decide which way to go, i'd very often ride past out field when we got back from a ride just to show that we could & she's never had a problem with that or leaving another horse if separate to go home different ways. She's just in need of time & quiet riding. when she was scared today, i let her know i was there & had her between my hand & leg, talking to her & letting her know "it's alright, i'm here with you, walk on." & she did.
One thing thats very good about her, is she looks to me for guidance if she is worried which is lovely, it's only when the adrenalin has got so high that it all went wrong & thats whats scared her.
Nice reading Beryl, it's a good feeling when they look to you for assurance and well done for providing it. I hope the Hormonise helps balance Libby out again.
I was watching a clip on YouTube about a horse that was blind, but could still do all the things a seeing horse could do because of it's complete trust in it's owner. Interesting watching.
x
I am now positive it's the alfalfa that's caused this, i'm sure she's had hallucinations as she's still so scared to go out of the field & very spooky. I can't take that out of her head, Bless her. I just can't believe how far this has pushed us back, but then hind sight has 20:20 vision!!!!
My beautiful Rocky went blind with old age; my last ride on him was when he was 29 as i used to lead his 11hh companion Sally out with him & i asked him to pop into canter which he did with no hesitation, but Sal was a bit daft that day & pulled & he must have tripped on her hind foot & went down on his poor little knees, taking lumps out of them; i had no idea how blind he was up to that point as i just instinctively guided him round potholes etc & he just loved going out for rides still. Almost all the blood vessels had gone & he only had a tiny bit of sight left in dim light; i made a fluorescent harness for Sally to wear with a goat bell on it so he could find her. He was almost 33 & Sally was approx 39 ish when i lost them both. I was still leading them out as he loved to stretch his legs & felt safe with me, he used his whiskers to feel my arm to know where we both were - i loved my boy to bits, i'd had him since he was 11 months old. Sally was a rescue pony & rocky looked after her when she was terrified of every noise, then the roles got reversed & she looked after him, i had her for 11 years - she was a character & i said i'm never having another mare in my life - i ended up with 2 strapping hormonal mares he he he!!!
Great news Mel - Libby was sooo much better today out with her friend Zeus, she had a few spooks, but after we met one of the builders down our lane & stopped to chat - (he offered her a bit of banana that she spat out after a while, then gave her an extra strong mint, so he's a friend for life)she was much more relaxed, she was good with the very few cars we saw & other building sites with a man folding up a big sheet of plastic, so she's going the right way - Thank Goodness!!!
Oh Beryl, what a lovely story of friendship and trust, I hope with our youngsters get to reach that age.
Really good with Libby, lets hope there are no more setbacks. I wonder if horses do have hallucinations when eating something that doesn't agree with them.
I think I'll stick with geldings :D
Had a good training day with our boys, Barnabay is best with traffic and takes it in his stride whereas BamBam and Pye are still a bit spooky with fast traffic. They're fine if the cars go slow as they have gotten used to me driving in the fields in the summer, but there is a fast road near the end of our fields with bridal way and the cars do not slow down. I think it's because they see this wire fence between us and drivers think horses won't be affected by the sound their cars make when they pass at speed. Perhaps there is an invisible wall I can't see. We got a bit further today, incremental steps to build their confidence up. Good long term training for them. :D
x
Yep, good training, our horses have a hell of a lot to get used to now, there's so much traffic & cars are so powerful & most people don't have any idea how strong & frightened horses can be.
The roads had got so much busier & faster in the time since i last rode my beloved Rocky out & starting to lead Libby out, it was terrifying when i started riding her out.
Keep on with what you're doing with them, you're doing great.x
Hi Beryl - such a moving story re Rocky and Sally. You did so well to keep them to such an age. Sorry to hear that Libby is being so challenging for you. Alfalfa/lucerne can cause some horses to really react and Spring grass doesn't help either. Do hope she has settled down for you again now. Also hope you are better now Mel and that Bambam is back on track. I have enjoyed everyone' s contributions to this thread.
Thanks MaggieF, i had 3 vets say i should be very proud of my lovely Rocky & Sally as they very rarely see ponies of that age in that good "nick".
Lib stated eating the agnus castus seeds, but not much change at all - however, i gave her 1 dose of hormonise in the evening & the following morning, she was getting back to her self & cantered in for her feed that evening, it was the same last time she went on it, yesterday, we had a nice gentle grooming, tidying up day & she enjoyed it.
Thanks Beryl glad the hormonise is working!
Thanks Maggie, yes feeling much better, not 100% yet, but not too bad that BamBam can take advantage. :D
Enjoy a peaceful weekend. xx