# Help my horse doesn't want to work anymore,



## Valentina (Jul 27, 2009)

Start him on a lunge line - at the walk. Wear gloves and drive him forward with a whip. Praise him verbally when he walks forward and swing whip near his butt when he slows or stops.

Idea is for him to stand quietly until you ask him to "WALK ON", reinforcing your verbal cue with the whip (wave whip, if no response pop him on hocks with whip). After you can reliabely get him to walk and halt on verbal command add trot into he mix. Don't make him trot for long periods of time - he doesn't have the muscle for that.

Be certain to lunge him in both directions. After he'll walk and trot on lunge using verbal cures then you can start riding him and use those same verbal cues. If he's OK with it carry a crop and use it as needed.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

How much riding and training experience do you have? Do you have access to a good horse trainer for hire?


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## katysummer (Nov 15, 2011)

I've been riding and handling for 20 years, however my experience is with training youngsters. Hes got me stumped.


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## katysummer (Nov 15, 2011)

And we dont have anybody i can send him to to train him.


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Have you put him in a round pen or on a longe line with a whip and just _made_ him work?


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## katysummer (Nov 15, 2011)

He has been in a round pen, He isn't fazed by the whip at all, nor sounds. hes been on a lunge line whilst led to attempt to start him off, Still reluctant to move forward..


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## bubba13 (Jan 6, 2007)

Have you actually whacked him a few good ones with the whip?


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## katysummer (Nov 15, 2011)

I have and still nothing. I even gave the lunge to the hubby and bashed a bucket behind him, we got a walk but no motivation. however when hes turned out he rockets round the field!


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## OwnedByAlli (Nov 8, 2011)

If he has been used to being worked relatively hard in competitions and riding schools he could be sour to not being worked much. You see it in OTTBs but generally these horses are fit and raring to go so get sulky immediatly after being taken out of work. Your horse is probably only just fit enough and carrying enough condition to be wanting to work again if he was beaten around and was as skinny as you say. Perhaps he is bored with just going in hand to the beach. Maybe try tacking up leading to the beach then mounting once on the beach? Or lunge on the beach- if safe to do so.

Obviously you can't work him physically hard but mentally you could also be giving him a workout. Research some inhand training session to exercise him mentally. This can help him to feel as though he has had a workout but really you have been training his mind. In hand exercises will also help him become more responsive and eger to please you under saddle too.

By the way- how lucky are you to have a beach 10 minutes hack away?!?


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## katysummer (Nov 15, 2011)

Thanks i will try to work him on the beach, He is definatley not fit enough to do much, but im trying to improve this. 
Half of my mind i guess wonders how hard to push a 16yr thats been badly neglected.
Haha yes we are lucky we have a forest with an old greek castle one way and miles of beach the other!


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## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

What an interesting story he has! 

One thought I had was to find a riding buddy and see if he likes the company rather than going out alone?


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## Ray MacDonald (Dec 27, 2009)

Sarah has a good point. It also soundslike he is just being lazy and over-desensitized. 

When you want hi, to move his feet, make him move! And don't quit! People make the horrible mistake of taking the pressure away to soon, that only teaches the horse to stand still and ignore you.

Good luck! Would love to see some pictures too


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## Lexiie (Nov 14, 2011)

All I can say is change up your routine. Instead of riding, go for a walk/graze. Just walk around, groom, etc.


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## Northern (Mar 26, 2010)

OwnedbyAlli, very thoughtful post!

I can't read Lexi's due to pop-up covering it, but first, bless you, OP, for rescuing this poor horse! Didn't think a horse COULD survive 4 yrs on a handful of bread a day!!

You really must be able to discern the reason(s) for his reluctance: physically/mentally run-down still, disbelief that humans have any good suggestions, all that OBA said could certainly be at play. Then there's his innate "horsenality": is he mainly calm & dominant, or instead is he usually timid? You might also see that he flips into a different mode when under duress, & there's an effective way to deal with "the horse that shows up", moment-to-moment. 

The "make him" approach, by escalating pressure, will most likely be ineffective. This horse, like all horses, needs to get interested in what's being asked of him, & once you make things interesting, the horse will in fact offer more than you asked for.


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## katysummer (Nov 15, 2011)

He had only just survived i guess, i could slide my hands almost under his ribs and he had practically no hair, He was genuinley very sad. 

He is very calm but strong, he is very affectionate. 
Yesterday morning feed time he was somewhat more exitable than usual, head up corner of the field with his gaze locked on the sea, usually it takes two of use to encourage him to leave his field but not yesterday, so i took him down to the sea, and asked him to go a diffrent route than normal, this resulted in him rearing, after a couple of hissy fits we managed to go the way i wanted to go.


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## AlexS (Aug 9, 2010)

I have been to Kos a few times, what a beautiful part of the world you live in! 

I agree with Sarah, if it is at all possible, I would try to take him out with another horse. Not to work, just to stroll along the beach.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

bubba13 said:


> Have you actually whacked him a few good ones with the whip?


 
Perhaps I'm reading this the wrong way, but what will whacking a horse that has this history really achieve apart from distancing a bond the OP has worked so hard to achieve?

I like the suggestion of having a riding buddy for him. Do you keep him on his own? Does he have grazing etc? I'm not a big fan of keeping horses on their own, they're herd animals by nature.. if he is on his own have you considered aquiring a pony to keep him company? 

As for working, take it long and slow. You've had 12 months to build him up, and by the sounds of it you've done a very good job. He may be bored himself, or unwilling to work because of bad experience. Having a fall at SJ, and then being in riding schools means he probably hasn't had someone /ride/ him but moreover sat on him.

I would suggest working slowly, you don't have to give him a whack, just vocally praise him, as Valentine said, on the lunge, let him know he can run and have a buck and a fart and have no care in the world. 

It may be a long slow process for you, or he might just need to go go go for a bit to realise he can. 

Good luck, and keep us updated on a daily basis of how he's going


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## Annnie31 (May 26, 2011)

I think if you have a friend who could ride with you a couple of times he likely would follow along happily. It sounds from your original post he was neglected terribly, but not abused physically so if he is now healthy and well fed do not allow him to stop doing work because you feel sorry for him.

Bubba has an excellent point about giving him a whack. His intention is not to harm, but motivate and that is not a bad thing. 

16 is not too old for him to be ridden, and it sounds like he was well trained so he does know his stuff. It could be that you just are not asking him properly or he is afraid to leave the safety of your barn.

As previously asked how much experience do you have with horses? It would help if we knew. Would it be possible for one of his previous owners with riding stables to come give you a lesson or two?


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

He has figured you out. You need to forget his past because by keeping it forefront in your mind can affect how you deal with him. If he won't go forward, try backing him up, 30 or 40'. Tap his chest with a riding crop or dressage whip when he balks. When he's backed that far, turn and ask him to go forward. Now, be sure you pick a point in the distance to focus on. This will keep your shoulders square and help guide him. Don't hold the lead right under his jaw but give him about 30"-36". As soon as he balks, back him up again. Backing like that is more tiring for him and you may have to do it 3 or 4 times before he realizes it's easier to move forward than backward. If you can get a knotted halter it is more effective that a flat nylon or leather halter. BTW, at 16 he's likely sick of going in circles and shuts down. Next time you take him to the beach take his lunch with you and let him have it there. It will soon give him more reason to go there.


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## katysummer (Nov 15, 2011)

HI thanks for you replies. He is currentley grazing with 5 other young ponies. 
I have 20 years experience, however this is with training and schooling youngsters. I have never owned an older horse, Im more used to teaching for the first time with no history rather than bringing him back to something he seems to have his fears about, hence the ask for help! 
The two riding schools here both passed him on as they couldn't work him, and they do not take horses for schooling. they deal with tourists and children riding, I know both of the ladies who own them and there advise is to just to be pateint with him. 
As for his previous owners, there is the old guy who mistreated him, and his owner in athens is un known people know him here from reputation. 
In my opinion i think he has been pushed to hard and now associates any thing i ask him to do, with something bad.
Ive tried leading him out with the others he will follow loose, i hold a lead rope on him and he doesn't want to go. unless he thinks going somewhere is HIS idea he doesn't want to do it. 
He is slightly better with my husband, a little more willing. 
originally we could not move him unless we carried a bucket of food and moved it along the floor as he didnt want to be near us.
I think he may well be bored, i just need the answer to move him forward so i can do more with him.


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## Annnie31 (May 26, 2011)

Sounds like he has had a bit of a rough go in his life so patience is quite likely going to be the ticket. I think he is a horse that could benefit from treats (in a reward sense) in that if you ask him to do something, and he does it, give him a reward to let him know he has accomplished something good.
Many here will say dont treat but I think there are some horses who benefit from it. Since he does seem to be food motivated (when you used feed to get him to move along the walk way) you will find that if you give him a reward for doing something you have asked of him he will soon realize that if he does something new for you, he will get a small treat. After he does whatever you ask without problem, move on to something new, and slowly withdraw the rewards for what has already been accomplished. We use carrots, apples, horse cookies etc. 
He is one of these cases in my opinion that would not benefit from being pushed too hard, but would benefit from being rewarded for accomplishments.

Since you have said he was very likely abused and he does do things if they are his idea you need to get him to understand that he needs to trust you to do right by him.

His age in many ways will make him quite wise, and therefor more of a challenge. It is because of his age and history I would use treats to see how he responds. 

It is also important that treats only be given for a reason and then slowly withdrawn from his program as his accomplishments happen. We give a small treat at the end of each workout.


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

Annnie31 said:


> I think if you have a friend who could ride with you a couple of times he likely would follow along happily. It sounds from your original post he was neglected terribly, but not abused physically so if he is now healthy and well fed do not allow him to stop doing work because you feel sorry for him.
> 
> Bubba has an excellent point about giving him a whack. His intention is not to harm, but motivate and that is not a bad thing.
> 
> ...


I agree 16yo is not too old to be ridden, but he is older, and in the condition he's come from hacking out and light work to begin with.

The horse hasn't done anything wrong, so why whack it with a crop? Sure, he may not be completely forward going, or want to jump a 1.20m course but you don't know what he associates with work, hence the possible resistance due to bad experience. He does need to move on, but his past still has to be taken in to regard and help work him. 

Send him forward, get him to associate it with good things, but don't smack it because it won't go forwards :/


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## DuffyDuck (Sep 27, 2011)

Annnie31 said:


> Sounds like he has had a bit of a rough go in his life so patience is quite likely going to be the ticket. I think he is a horse that could benefit from treats (in a reward sense) in that if you ask him to do something, and he does it, give him a reward to let him know he has accomplished something good.
> Many here will say dont treat but I think there are some horses who benefit from it. Since he does seem to be food motivated (when you used feed to get him to move along the walk way) you will find that if you give him a reward for doing something you have asked of him he will soon realize that if he does something new for you, he will get a small treat. After he does whatever you ask without problem, move on to something new, and slowly withdraw the rewards for what has already been accomplished. We use carrots, apples, horse cookies etc.
> He is one of these cases in my opinion that would not benefit from being pushed too hard, but would benefit from being rewarded for accomplishments.
> 
> ...



See, I'm not a softy but what we've learnt from the horse I DO agree with this, its a great idea. Build the trust more, start off slow and reward. Positive all the time, vocally, physically, edible!


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