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Discussion on Rearing Under Saddle | |
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 21, 2000 - 4:59 pm: RE: My flippy mare TB/TRAK mare.First Post: Rearing...202 I have been working with my warmblood/tb mare who turned 4 this summer for a year now. Rearing is her complaining behaviour of choice. The last serious bout under saddle happened in March, when I felt she was under too much stress with the training program. I changed her circumstances, and proceeded to very quietly go through all of the John Lyons stuff from the beginning again, spent a ton of time with her 2 or 3 hours at least five days a week, and gently insisted on compliance when she balked. This worked like a charm until this weekend, when I was on her, and she was being loosely led (she tends to be more comfortable with a person on the ground beside her in difficult situations)...We were walking out a road through the hay field, in view of the barn, in good light, when the pasture horses were let out to grass and started running.' The mare froze, and I had a fleeting thought I should get off. The next thing I knew, I was regaining consciousness. She had flipped over backwards on top of me. A young man who has worked with her (quiet strong gentle but uncompromising) took her out while I was being taken to hospital to try to work her through whatever had gone wrong ... she proceeded to purposely flip him 3 more times. This is, to me, extreme unsoundness. she has shown enough other challenges wtih appropriate behavior, and tends to do things she's done before again and again...I feel I'm done with her. Is there any chance she can be rehabilitated and useful for someone else? HOW? ************************************** Followup**2 1/2 weeks later. After serious thought about how to best proceed, I gave the mare to the trainer who worked with her before and after I bought her. I spoke with the two other trainers with whom I am working, and both felt that although she had shown great promise and remarkable compliance over the summer, with the onset of colder weather her idiocy could well resurface. Suggestions regarding her placement included sending her to a cowboy type who'd ride her into the ground, and force her to face her resistance issues. Or sending her to a rehabilitator, with gentler methods. The trainer who took her did so agreeing to put her into at least a month of professional training with a John Lyon's school senior horseman. Under that circumstance, I gave her away.So, (My $8000 horse), with a mutually signed release that she was known to be dangerous, and that I would not be held responsible for any future damage caused to or by her, signed over her papers and saw her off. The stable owner felt that some of her behavior was a feeding problem...she was getting 1/2 scoop of a pellet/sweetfeed/alfalfa pellet combination morning and nite with 2 flecks of hay, and out on spare pasture all day. She'd been fed the same amount for months, the only thing that did change was the cut of hay. Even if she was getting too much protein, which I sincerely question, it seems to me that her willingness to flip all the way over 4 times in the same night, and some of her other bad behavior (like continuously rearing in her stall if in the barn alone) were indications of a basic unsoundness that was more than I could handle. I rode when I was 12-19 many horses and many hours every day, had tons of superior training in jumping, eventing, dressage, won consistently on the show circuit, and could ride anything they put at me. I did not ride for 20 years, but have been back at it for over a year, taking at least a lesson a week, riding horses other than my mare, and felt safe and confident in my abilities. I have not been back on a horse since this happened, but plan to ride a mare with whom I'm familiar this weekend, and take a lesson on another horse I know next week. Losing the horse has been a tremendous loss. And although I'm very fortunate not to have been killed in the accident, and am convinced that this mare has emotional soundness issues, I miss her terribly. I guess I'm looking for ideas why she might have flipped out (over), and if anybody has had a similar experience and how they handled it. Was it ok to give her away, or should I have put her down. Help! |
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 21, 2000 - 6:47 pm: Cindy,What a terrible situation to be in. Rearing is hard work for the horse. Flipping is painful to the horse, and going down is against all their survival instincts. I would guess that something was terribly wrong - whether mental or physical is unknown. Physical pain can cause intermittent, unpredicatable, extreme behavior. I would characterize it as extreme in your mare's case. You are lucky to be alive. If it is any comfort, my own instructor refuses to ride or work with a known rearer, much less a flipper, for reasons of her own safety. I think you've done what is best for your health and well being. Let's hope for the horse's sake, someone can work through her issues. Again, I am sorry you were in the situation at all - and am glad you are here to tell us about it. Try to come back on a safe, laid back horse that will help you build your confidence if you can. And, double check your saddle tree in case it was damaged in the flip/fall. I hope your future riding ventures are much more rewarding. Chris |
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Posted on Thursday, Sep 21, 2000 - 7:10 pm: Thank you for your post! In my opinion, you have done a very courageous thing, allowing your four legged friend to at least get another chance, but also, by doing what is right by YOU! 25 years ago my very dearest friend had a similar accident. She has been in a wheelchair ever since. However, she still owns horses and her children and husband still ride! She teaches diabled children to ride and care for horses! What an amazing woman! And like you, she wanted that horse (who some think..."ruined her life") to have another chance. He turned out to be a national competitor and a truly wonderful partner to his owner, until his death two years ago. For over twenty years my friend watched the progress of that horse with great happiness! It is obvious that you will remain "in the saddle" and pick up where you left off! My hat is off to you! Best of luck with your next horse! |
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Posted on Friday, Sep 22, 2000 - 6:26 pm: Thanks for your support!@I've been trying to figure out how to get another horse, and had a brainstorm....I got this one partly through barter ... stable work and exercising horses, barn-sitting, etc... Mulling over what else might be tradeable, I think I'll place some ads offering a first class web site in exchange for a top flite horse...seems both are equally ridiculously priced... (I'm a web developer by trade). As for whether Morgen was in pain...obviously, yes she was extremely mentally uncomfortable that the horses in the pasture were running, and she was being ridden and led. The last real dangerous incident I had with her was in a very similar situation. My saddle fit fine, she was clean, her back was not sore, she was not in any way uncomfortable, except that there was something she thought it much more important that she do. I truly hope that she develops to her potential, and even more I pray that she does not ever injure anybody AGAIN. At least where she is, her tendency to revolt violently is well understood, the 25 y.o. woman who took her has dealt with rearers extensively...she has two horses both of whom she's had many years, and both of whom occasionally rear. Rearing as an avoidance behavior is way beyond anything I'm willing to work through at 46 y.o. Anyhow...I was just feeling sad yesterday. I don't know that there is any other way the situation could have resolved except if I'd sold her, and I could not, in good faith, make somebody pay for the privelege of putting themselves into a potentially life threatening circumstance. |
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