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I don't under-estimate the sheer fear, worry and devastation caused by a sink-hole that undermines the stability of a house, swallows the car on the drive or opens up in front of your feet. I just thought it was useful analogy and I live my life looking for useful analogies.
If you horse has literally fallen down a sink hole then of course you are going to call the Fire Service and ask for the Animal Rescue Team first as well as your vet.. We are so fortunate to have expert lie this with all the right kit and expertise to bring a horse alive and viable if it is at all possible.
Sometimes though you can buy a new horse or be in the middle of training one and a yawning great sink-hole appears and the horse you once had seems to disappear out of sight with a rapidity you didn't imagine he possessed; from being sane and sensible he suddenly becomes incapable of reason or sense. Sink holes in the ground are caused by masses of water suddenly dissolving the underlying rock which may have been there for millions of years but suddenly gives up the ghost. It is the same bedrock that can suddenly dissolve under your horse.
What causes a sink hole to swallow your horse?
There can be a variety of reasons, often inter-linked, that can cause a horse to suddenly go backwards a very long way in his training or confidence. Here are just a few common causes:
1. Environment - when a horse's environment changes, especially if he is suddenly isolated from others or unable to communicate with them through touch, he can be destabilised very quickly. Horses really need company if at all possible. Like elephants they get their inner peace from the close proximity of others, mutual grooming, synchronicity, and the very herd structure of older and younger horses, mares and geldings. They also need room to move and release energy. Every time they are confined they begin to store energy which has to be released somewhere. As soon as these things are compromised we start to alter their natural patterns of behaviour and sometimes this can affect them very badly. Where natural behaviour is further inhibited through the punishment of an electric shock the effect can be even greater, especially where the fence surrounds the entire paddock and is transformed from the mains. Some horses are fine; many are not. I understand that fields may need to be limited in size because of pressure of number, or a horse's weight, and horses kept apart because of the risk of injury,. We cannot escape the inconvenient truth that horses in mixed herds in large areas are able to express their feelings and natural desires whereas horses in small, electric fenced individual paddocks are not.
2. Pain - any pain will cause a horse to become more nervous and to search for ways to postpone or ease that pain.
3. Training - where there is a sudden change in training style or the training itself is incongruent this can become very frustrating and confusing for a horse. If the way the trainer is feeling and acting are incompatible this can have the same effect. Consistency and internal consistency of principles and emotions are essential. Dabbling in bits and pieces of inconsistent or worse, conflicting, training methods is difficult for the owner never mind the horse.
Underlying all of this is an emotional reaction from the horse who let's face it is a horse-shaped bag of emotions. These may be expressed as high energy anger, fear and flight.
What to do if your horse falls down a sink hole.
It can only be done from the bottom, not the top - below ground level in other words. So if you were at an advanced stage of work - hacking out happily and on your own, or competing, travelling here and there, then don't be surprised if you need to go back to basics and look at your environment, any physical issues and then groundwork, desensitisation, long reining, leading out and so on. Don't lament the past if you can help it, or at least leave those emotions at the gate, and work with what you've got. Try to limit your ambitions - have a quiet aim, even a dream, but take small steps all the way.
If your horse suddenly appears to go down a 'sink hole' it is always worth trying to work out what has changed for him - spring grass or switching to another make or type of food can have a massive impact on their equilibrium.
