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To Make the World a Better Place for Horses

Horse with PTSD

By:
eshultz
Date:
Please upload your photo 100 lessons completed

I am sharing this in the event that it will help someone else. It took me a while to put these pieces together and maybe my work will help someone with a similar horse bridge the gap.
I have a very well broke 13 yr. old mare. I have had her for two years and have only ridden her once or twice because she has such a high tension/anxiety level I don't enjoy being around her. I have tried to get her to join up but she is the only horse with whom I have had NO success.
Anyway, I basically leave her alone in the pasture and bring her up to trim her hooves once every couple of months.
I brought her up this week for her hooves to be done and somehow a light bulb went off: She is like a horse with PTSD.
These are the things I know about her: She is the dominant alpha mare. She was cut up horribly by wire when she was a weanling (still has major scars across her chest). She was smacked around and pretty much roughed up as a young horse.
So went the light bulb went off, I put the PTSD symptoms together with her character, her past and her behavior and it all made sense.
She is hyper-vigilant because she is dominant. She doesn't trust people because of her injuries being treated when she was young plus being hit and roughed up by a cowboy owner(so she associates pain and trauma with humans).
Somehow knowing all this makes me approach her with a different set of expectations and a higher level of acceptance and respect for why she is the way she is. I don't know how much healing we will be able to do together -- as Monty says, once a piece of paper has been creased it is creased forever -- but perhaps we can reach a better level of understanding and trust now that I can "meet her where she is at."

Rahni (Sydney, Australia)
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What a wonderful insight eshultz! Sounds like she has finally found someone who understands her :)
Thank you so much for sharing and I look forward to hearing of your progress with her, no matter how small.

vicci - UK (North Wales)
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A lovely story eshultz: we all suffer at times from focusing on the goal instead of enjoying the process amd enjoying the tiny successes along the way. I wish you well.

Debbie Roberts Loucks, USA
Hello! 2014 Cyberhunt winner 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed 350 lessons completed 400 lessons completed 450 lessons completed 500 lessons completed 550 lessons completed 600 lessons completed 650 lessons completed

Good observations eshultz. Certainly PTSD is not exclusively a human injury. Monty says PTSI because he believes that disorder isn't as appropriate as injury. It is wonderful that you have rescued her and now understand her so well too. Horses need more caring owners such as you. Good luck and thank you for sharing.

cherosnowball
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed 350 lessons completed 400 lessons completed 450 lessons completed 500 lessons completed 550 lessons completed 600 lessons completed 650 lessons completed

She must trust you some because you can catch her and her feet can be worked on. Our mare was chased by dogs through a high tensil fence when she was a yearling.They came out of tall grass.So she is always on higher alert when the wind is blowing the grass and trees.She associates the feel of spray with the feel of the medicine they used on her wounds which was painful.So we put the spray on a rag and wipe her with it.
It is interesting she is not afraid of the sprayer or the sound of it. It will take time and you need to spend some time with her each day if possible.Keep her on lead and get to the point where you can rub her all over. Have you watched the lesson with Lauki?

Rahni (Sydney, Australia)
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Local, I have never believed that PTSD was a disorder either. I was so excited to find out Monty thinks it's an injury too :)

Christena
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Thanks for your story. We have a donkey at the rescue that comes from a very bad back ground we still don’t know all the happened to this guy. However When he is in the pasture you can catch him and pet him. HOWEVER when you get him in his stall and run, He is very agitated, very aggressive, untrusting, and hypervigilante (Red Alert). Once we are able to get close to him and able to get a lead rope on him he is just trembling. If we simply try to brush him or pet him in the stall or run he reacts as if we are about to hit him. Like I said once. IF we are in the pasture and away from the barn we can pet him, brush him and all the fun stuff. I was talking with a friend who is a war vet and he has PTSD. He said that what I was describing to him was the same way he feels about a few places after his tour in Iraq. We connected the dots between the human checklist for PTSD and how the donkey was acting and found that he has a Level 3 stage of PTSD witch is the highest level a human can have.
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We are now approaching the donkey the same way we would approach a human with PTSD and it is so far working out well. Step one is cognitive therapy. Understanding what is making him stresses. (Still working on this part)… Step two will be exposure therapy. Desensitization of the item or area.
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I do agree that once we find the issue it does allow us to approach the horse on their level.

Rahni (Sydney, Australia)
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Wow, what a lucky donkey he is to have found you Christena. Reading your post has got me all teary. Love to know how you go with him :)

Christena
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Rahni you can email me at christenaroseaz@gmail.com and I can tell you the story.

Horse addict (From the good old USA)
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Keep working with her she'll get there!

eshultz
Please upload your photo 100 lessons completed

I wanted to update any who might be interested. Two months later, this mare has actually started coming to me, letting me approach her without responding with fear (most of the time) and a few days ago she actually let me rub on her neck and scratch on her cheek and basically just love up on her. It seems like a long time, but two months of consciously building her trust is a small turn-around time when I consider what she has been through.

emlaw
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Eshultz - two months is no time at all. What you are doing is building a solid foundation for her future, as you have found out these things cannot be rushed and every horse is different. Your patience has clearly paid off - well done!

vicci - UK (North Wales)
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What wonderful progress and and inspiration to us all. Thanks for updating us, lovely news. Its a great example of how no matter how old the horse is, things can change. I recently worked with a dogowner who had a twelve year old dog and she was sceptical that things could change. I had a text recently saying "Thankyou so much for teaching me that you can teach old dogs new tricks" - made my day!

g.h.moore
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Eshultz, I have read your comment with interest, I agree with the PTSD and have it my self, the strange thing is its only the strongest minds that suffer from it, i.e most people or horses would have crumbled. Thats why I love what Monty does so much, its helped me cope and come off my medication, calmness, helping horses that are mistreated, and showing each other we care and will not be viloent towards each other. I hope to start a charity here in the UK solely atributed to caring and helping horses, Montys' way! and people with PTSD. It helps me to be complete serean surroundings, god made us to help each other, not kill our minds and souls. Keep up the good work, it does pay off, trust me!!!! x

g.h.moore
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How is she doing now?

Amberpony - California, USA
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed

g.h.moore it is so nice that Monty has helped you with the PTSD.
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I also have a horse that suffered from PTSD. It was an Eventful Day when someone who knew about Joeys past told me that he must have PTSD (truly an injury). It really helped in Joeys road to trusting us. We started working with him totally from the off side. The theory being that people taking shortcuts only work on the near side. It worked! Among other things.

beryl
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed

you WILL GET THERE WITH HER, SHE NEEDS A FRIEND MORE THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD!
oops
You are doing it right, taking her at her own pace, she needs to learn that you are worthy of her trust.
The Alpha mares are wonderful, even if challenging, they can become the most loving horses & once they trust you, they are most likely to do anything for you & they will look after you in return!!!
Keep loving her!!!

Missyperry
Hello!

HI All,
I just wanted to add my insight from my weekend. I have a 13 year old TB mare who I bought/adopted/rescued out of a bad spot. She is very much like the Georgia mare and clearly wants to be sweet but gets defensive when frightened. She is the first horse I have owned whose fight instinct is stronger than her flight instinct (I tend to buy forward thinking, hottish types). I have had her for a year and she is now making good progress and WANTS to work with me. This is great as she was completely shut down when I got her. But it struck me this weekend- the bad behaviors that are reactions to past experiences DO NOT go away just from a year of loving care- they MUST be specifically addressed- or they just remain in there hiding. I know- many of you will say "DUH"- but it was a lightbulb for me!

vicci - UK (North Wales)
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Great story, thank you. All our lightbulb moments come from different places and what is blindingly obvious to one is in darkness to another. Only by sharing do we all gain new insight but sometimes people are worried about how others will react.
:
I think it's great that you shared it and it's a necessary lesson to all of us.

PercheronBecca
Hello!
Great post!! Thanks for sharing. I have a rescued Percheron gelding that came from an Amish farm and had horrible training. I don't know any of his background but he is easily bullied by other horses and was very reactionary if I got aggressive in my behavior at all. I could only imagine what he's been through. I've had him for 3 years now and he is doing WONDERFUL! I drive him single and team and we are working at riding...up to a WTC and teaching him how to pick up different leads. I have worked with him to the point that I can snap a whip next to him while talking to him and he will stand there and not react (He used to melt down at the sight of a stick in my hand) but I can tell when he gets upset. I enjoy doing liberty work with my Percherons and will use a medium size driving whip as an extension of my arm, a light tap or poke with the end of it is about all I'll use it for. If Luther and I are not communicating clearly, he will start to get upset and shaky....Fear of "the whip" taking over his thought process. It is, in a way, a PTSD thing! 

I have learned so much working with this guy and have learned to re-think my training methods to suit him, personally. 
a.rumble
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I sure got alot out of what everyone of you had to say about PTSD or should I say PTSI, we really do need to re-think everything before we do it,just to make sure we are helping them to learn in the most humane ways possible. Absolutely NO Violence! So many of these wonderful animals are being damaged due to the unthoughtfulness & uncaring ways of humans! I must commend you all for the ways you are handling your own situations that you have found yourselves in.We all need someone we may look up to,as well as someone who is a true leader,in all the right ways!! I believe Monty is that leader! One who truly cares!! Keep up the good work friends.
pcarvercorso
Hello! 100 lessons completed 150 lessons completed 200 lessons completed 250 lessons completed 300 lessons completed 350 lessons completed 400 lessons completed
Thanks eshultz and christena. I read a horse person's quote the other day...."you only need two emotions when with horses; humor and patience".

Our donkey was rescued at an auction. After trying to start some ground work i  realized he was as shy and spooky as a horse. I didn't know that was possible! I kind of left him alone for awhile. He was so into pressure too. He is better now moving off a light touch. If he needs wormer or salve or his halter, i let him run off if he must, then let him come back to me. Sometimes I feel so helpless like i can't get to the bottom of his trust. Its the same when the horse spooks, just helpless. I can't get to the bottom of all his fear. I suppose like the spouse of a ptsi person. 
mitzeltoes
Hello!
Thank you so much for your post.
This sweetie donkey reminds me of my rescue OTTB. It has been 2 years of patience and love with my big boy. He will walk across the pasture to greet me, never offers to bite or kick, has successfully joined up with me but only if his pasture mates are with him. He is so herd bound, that he panics if he loses sight of them. His body literally shakes into a sweat and he calls and calls for them until he is released. If he is in the round pen he will circle and pace for as long as he is in there and can not be distracted, even with food. It is a trance like state and could almost run over me, like I’m not even there. I always have to make sure he can see the other horses to simply groom him. He is head shy from the track and I’m sure suffers a lot of his anxiety from being mishandled by people and the years that followed
I can not ride him peacefully and hauling him with out a buddy, would probably induce a heart attack. I feel for him and wish I could do more. I’ve never given up on a horse and never will but he certainly has been a challenge.
If I had a magic wand I would wave it over him to ease his fears and comfort him and of course, transport Monty here to work his magic.

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