3rd November, 2009 Unravelled?

This week I have been out or am going out later to several horses with complicated histories and complex, interlinked issues. For one, she panicked when she was overtaken by a large group of cyclists when she was being long reined. Since then, she has napped along that same piece of road, can't cope with being long reined and is rearing and bargey at home. Another struggles to stay in the stable and sweats copiously, churns up the ground when tied up outside and can't being herself to walk between two parallel poles. She is apparently great to ride, does dressage well but panics over jumping poles. A horse I am due to see tomorrow is devastated when his friend goes out without him, forces his way out of any stable and is spooky and out of control when he is ridden. His friend won't stand still to be mounted, is ear shy and frightened of shiny things. Sometimes, it is hard to know where to start. Whilst I don't believe in systems of horsemanship, I do like to have a structured approach to horses like this - a flow chart almost. It always starts with the physical before going on to groundwork for leadership. If you are not in control on the ground, I wouldn't even want to get on a horse because you just might have to get off and walk home! After that I would look at desensitisation and, if appropriate, long reining. Basically, all I would want to check and then double check that the horse hasn't missed out on any vital aspects of its education or had them so badly knocked that they need to cover it again.

Postcript: After meeting all of these horses and their owners I am optimistic that they will be able to make a significant difference. All of these horses have only just arrived at their new homes and will benefit greatly from some clear and reliable leadership.