# How can I help this horse?



## AllAboutHorses (Dec 15, 2017)

I'm dealing with a horse used in therapy, my goal for him is to get him used to movement while I'm riding. He hates it when I stretch out my arms and has already made great improvement. He does better when a leader is with him but once he gets nervous or frustrated enough he will bolt and has already had 2 riders fall of him last year. He is 19 years old.

Heres a list of behaviours:

-He's nervous when you approach him, even with brushes and will back off till he pulls at his lead. He's only eager when he sees the bucket coming, haha.
-He's not often relaxed especially in the arena except at walk and doing nothing but that.
-He learns quickly, after riding once a week for three weeks he was okay with arm circles (while riding) when he had started with being scared of just my hand sticking out by my side.

I'm very fond of this horse and I hope I can help him so that he can stay at the therapy lessons, he is extremely sweet when he is in his pen and loves to get a hug and scratch after a ride. He has ran off on me and bucked multiple times and when it seems hes improving he gets worse again.


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## mmshiro (May 3, 2017)

I'd probably try to first do the standard groundwork desensitizing - exposing him to movement all around his body from the ground, using "approach and retreat". Then, to address the nervousness under saddle, I'd expose him to movement above him by standing elevated on a mounting block, fence, etc. He either startles easily or expects to get hurt from experience. Take him to a round pen or arena, and see if you can work him at liberty - being able to move his feet away from a threat may boost his confidence further.

That's what I might try first...of course there is no way of telling how successful it would actually be with your horse. Good luck!


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## horselovinguy (Oct 1, 2013)

Therapy horses take a very special personality...some just don't have it to give.

You're doing all the right things and mmshiro has offered some good ideas too...

Just remember that not all horses are cut out for this kind of rider and riding situation.
Therapy horses _never_ have the best riders in quiet and balanced so if the horse reacts poorly and explosive in nature, unpredictable in the best of times and keeps reverting back .....:|
This horse may just _not_ be a candidate to put the disabled, physically or mentally challenged riders on or in proximity to...
You as a handler or certified trainer are a accomplished knowledgeable horseperson..._what has he done to you? :shock:_
What are the riders like who will have contact with this animal is who you *must* take care to protect...

So far, I read absolutely_ nothing _positive enough to want this horse in any program therapeutic in nature entails.
Every comment you made had a down-side and problem encountered added.
Sadly, he reads a accident waiting to happen...in fact it_ has_ happened while he was being led by a handler and riders were bounced off...
Explain that to a parent/caregiver if their loved one or charge is hurt by a animal known to be unpredictable...:evil: 
If I was your program director, the horse would be returned to who ever did a donation or sold off before someone is hurt. 
The horse has been "in-training" for more than a year and still like this...:eek_color:
_*Gone...*_ past time to be gone before he hurts someone...anyone_, including you!_
_If you ever put my kid on that horse and he was hurt... :evil: just think about that._
:runninghorse2:....
_jmo..._


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## Trinket12 (Oct 27, 2017)

What @horselovinguy said; I also work with therapy horses and am in the process of gaining my instructor certificate, I would not have any students ride a horse that was unpredictable. Students in a therapy program need much more stability and safety than an able-bodied rider and depending on their diagnosis they could be hurt more than someone without a disability should they fall off. On of the purposes of equine therapy, is to build confidence and a horse that can bolt and buck will not do that. 

It sounds like this horse is not suitable for your program, and he doesn't seem to be enjoying it either!


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## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Certified PATH instructor here :grin:

This website might be of interest to you, as you read what a premier center looks for when accepting a horse into their program: https://highhopestr.org/give/horse-donations/ Note how they described the temperament they look for.

I agree with a lot of what's been said above. A horse that bolts unexpectedly may simply never be a candidate for therapeutic riding. As an instructor, I would sure not be willing to put a client on a horse like that unless I saw strong evidence that regular, patient schooling had "cured" him of that behavior. And, beyond just getting him used to irregular, unexpected physical movements on his back, you haven't said much about how he is around "scary" objects like balls being thrown off him or at him, rings, flowers, cones, and other props. Those are often a big part of a therapeutic riding lesson to keep riders engaged and encourage various types of physical movements for the riders.

It sounds like basic work on the ground, like grooming, is also stressful for him, which limits your options for using him in unmounted therapeutic settings, like equine facilitated learning. 

One thing you didn't mention is his physical well-being. Many people have the misperception that therapeutic riding is a suitable "retirement job" for an unsound or pasture sound horse. I can't stress enough how far from the truth that is. The kind of unbalanced, herky jerky movements you describe your gelding disliking may in fact be related to pain. Has he been examined by a vet? Attended to by a massage therapist or chiropractor? How does his saddle fit? Even our sound, healthy horses get cranky when their backs have had enough of working under unbalanced riders, and the chiropractor is key for them.

If I were asked to work with this horse, I'd first want the physical stuff assessed and cleared. Then, I'd want to do lots of low-stress, easy hacking around the property (if you have access to riding outside) and then schooling in the indoor so that I was confident he could be relaxed at the walk/trot with a rider. If that went well. I'd start to add in some of the unexpected physical movements he'd experience from the saddle- I would want a leader at his head to simulate a typical lesson, and I would be in the saddle, shifting my weight around, doing arm circles, kicking around with my legs, going "around the world," riding backwards, etc. At the same time, I'd break up the riding with "playing" with props on the ground...rolling/throwing balls towards him and over him, letting them hit the wall of the arena, waving tarps and fake flowers around him, having him step over and around poles and hoola hoops, opening and closing a mailbox, getting used to the flash of a camera. If that went well, I'd repeat while I was on his back with someone leading me around as well as off lead. It's hard to say how long that would take or how I would change the order of things, as that depends on the horse and what he's doing. But if I couldn't progress past the stage of having him riding w/t inside an arena and out on the property without bucking or bolting, I would find him a new job.

My older mare is herself a therapeutic riding program dropout. She adores children and will stand quietly for hours being groomed and told she's beautiful. She even likes horse camps and teaching little girls walk/trot. However, she despised being handled by so many different horse leaders and didn't like sidewalkers hovering around her during lessons. It really soured her temperament, and while she was mindful of the safety of her rider, she started getting nasty with horse handlers. Worrying about whether she would bite or kick out at one of the volunteers simply wasn't safe, nor was it fair to sour a perfectly kind, willing horse who just wasn't right for the job. When it was clear she wasn't going to work out for the therapy program, she was used a bit for adult independent riding lessons, and eventually I took her as it was clear she was a one-person horse kind of mare.

My therapy-horse dropout making a new friend :grin:


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## Yogiwick (Sep 30, 2013)

Its bad enough he gets nervous, but how he reacts to getting nervous (bucking/bolting etc) is not ok.

I like the point that it's not fair to the horse either. He DOES sound like a nice guy, not a problem horse at all, just one (like MOST horses) that's not cut out for the extreme demands of a therapy horse.

I mean he's nervous before you even get to him.... a therapy horse needs to not only be bombproof but also needs to be happy doing what they do.

It's not always a bad thing to say "this one won't work".

You've had him at least a year...he's thrown riders (hoping these aren't therapy people!) and still isn't in the program. He gets better then gets worse again. Sounds pretty miserable for HIM no? Not only do you need to get him past the issues but you also need to teach him to react differently (if he does get nervous he doesn't need to bolt) etc. This is often easier said than done and he will never be trustworthy the way he needs to be.


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## AllAboutHorses (Dec 15, 2017)

Thanks for all the input everyone!

For everyone who is concerned about our therapy riders:

We keep most of them on the lead line and the horse behaves much better then, we also fit our riders to our horses so that if this horse does not like having stretches done on him we do not put a rider who will be doing that on him. As for our non-therapy riding, he does well until his rider clamps on or screams.
Also, our therapy riders are rarely in a stall with a horse. And our other riders do go in the stall but the horse seems to be content there.

As for the horse:
He does have athritis and is a bit cob footed. He also itches his knee very during and after every single ride.

My thoughts:
I think this horse has lots of potential since he learns so fast, however if he stays unsuitable for our riders we may very well have to get rid of him. I will continue working with him for now, on the ground when possible and riding at least once a week as lessons are starting again.


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