This has to be the most frustrating experience possible. Owning a
Horse that has the mental condition known as 'separation anxiety'
and yet it is rife within the domesticated Horse World.
Yes it is a 'mental condition' just as Humans suffer from
schizoid conditions, so the horse that suffers this finds itself in
a similar Mental State, the only difference being perhaps is that
the Horse doesn't have the option of Suicide.
You may have seen in a person or in the Movies then, the Human who
has 'lost it' totally and someone will slap them right across the
face in an attempt to snap them out of it. In a similar way, such a
mechanism offers one of the very few chances of remedial work being
performed upon the horse with an aim to improve their mental
condition. For it is the act of slapping the face and shocking the
Human that can bring them around and out of the state of
helplessness, for that is what it is. When the horse snaps or is
triggered, it is a mental state of helplessness that they descend
into.
CAUSES
So what are the causes? Well, horses are inherently Herd Animals
and even in the Wild, if suddenly separated from their Friends, they
will become frantic as the Herd is the most important thing in their
lives. So here are a couple of things that I find can make horses
more or less predisposed to the fragile state:
The Breeder not being mindful of fostering independence in
the young horse by not 'biting the Bullet' and placing young
stock alone in paddocks and insisting upon it from an early
stage.
Not rotating young stock amongst different friends and
neighbors on a regular basis which fosters more independence in
them.
The inheritance of the lack of independence in the young
horse, passed down from usually the Mare. This then gets down to
Breeding controls of course. If I see a Mare that exhibits any
kind of suspect mental behavior or teaching a Foal bad habits
like not being caught, I will wean as early as 3 months and I
will not allow them in a paddock. I will bond the Foal with a
good quiet Gelding and then start shuffling the young horse
around regularly
Horses becoming people dependent can also start their
process of being a pawing, yelling young horse. Owners who jump
at the slightest movement of a young horse are compounding their
own misfortune down the track and possible building a problem
profile for later. Young horses that want to move from side to
side or paw should be left tied up for how ever it needs until
they shut up and go to sleep. Then release them immediately.
People who run to them, are forever grabbing the lead rope,
yelling at horses, pushing and pulling are often the cause of
the start of separation anxiety in the horse.
And then there was the Racing Industry. The vast majority of
afflicted horses are found amongst the 'Off the Track
Thoroughbred' What is interesting is that prior to the Yearling
Sales, the sample of vulnerable horses is far lower than after
they finish their Racing career and there is no doubt that the
biggest single cause of separation anxiety in Thoroughbreds. One
of the predominant triggers being the 'cross tying' of horses,
which sets up the first head and body movements of the weaver,
just like the Elephant at the Circus.
The Halter Breaking process and the leading style thereafter
can also play a part. Horses can only be relaxed under Halter
when they are not fighting Humans. The act of fighting, pulling,
tearing and pushing heightens their stress levels, makes life
not nice and can compound their propensity to 'lose it'. Another
building block towards the profile of the problem horse. Just as
the Trail Horse that turns into a mental case called 'the jig
jogging horse', so it is that anti training habits such as
hanging off the mouth of a horse at the walk rather than being
on a loose rein where the neck can lower and only then the horse
relax, so it is that archaic teaching to lead horses as you
swing off their head, brings the same result.
RACING INDUSTRY
I often equate the Race Horse with the poor 'Jews' during the
Second World War. Being herded into Trains on the way to their death
and separated from their Families and Friends. They would soon bond
to any other Human being, just as the afflicted Horse attaches
itself to others. Doesn't matter which one or if they haven't even
sniffed or touched them. One look and remove that horse and they are
off on their fence running, pacing, weaving, pawing and all of the
other things that they do. To the Horse, the Racing Industry must be
similar to the Trains to Auschwitz. These Horses do not enjoy the
Sport, they gain a high degree of tension, have their Bodies filled
with Drugs and God knows what else, are fed until they want to jump
out of their skins, are injected with Hormones, whipped violently
for trying their Hearts out over the last 200 metres and the list
goes on. So they lose their natural 'Equine Spirit'. They only have
one thing, their Friends, anyone, known or not known. They cry for
their Herd, their past, their real selves. This makes them most
susceptible to catching all of the various vices that such horses
take up. Prisoners take up Smoking, Drugs, Gay Sex, Violence,
depression or suicide, horses take up weaving, pawing, head
chucking, running, not eating, bolting and so on. All being cries
for help of course.
With regard to my point above, re causes, it is little doubt that
the vast majority of affected horses come out of this Industry for
their style of leading horses and the resultant constant fight and
confusion, sure makes sure they are headed down that path.
Anyhow, lot's of the Thoroughbred Horses come out of the Industry
with a heightened fear of being alone as they carry the memories of
their mental anguish with them forever.
Regardless of the cause however, the fact is that these horses
present one 'fistful' of a challenge to Owners' and I can assure you
that I would never entertain ownership of such a horse. A quick
perusal of my site will also show that I won't entertain owning an
Ex Racehorse either. I like good odds, not bad ones.
Read this:
So what can we possible do with these horses. I get the letters
almost daily from plaintiff owners'.
OPTIONS
The first then must obviously be that the owner of the
Horse, if trained by the Pony Club, British Horse Society,
TA.F.E. Colleges or the Racing Industry, has to go through a
conscious and physical process of taking responsibility for the
welfare of their horse and to change the old habits of handling
and Riding that compound stress in already fragile horses. For
if they don't, there is no point reading on any further.
Top on my list would simply be to get rid of the horse and
hopefully not to have purchased it in the first place. Which
brings me to the Purchase of Horses and that it is almost
impossible to test at purchase. Here is one such that was sold
to a 12 year old first horse owner on my property last year. Go
buy a Thoroughbred and you have a high chance of buying such
troubles.
Secondly, just don't try to mend their minds. Just give them
a mate and work around their condition. Even if is a mini Pony,
a Sheep or a Goat.
or try giving them a slap in the face.
SEVERITY
Different horses have different degrees of separation anxiety and
some respond to intervention better than others. That is influenced
by the degree of severity of their condition or the strength or
weakness of their character, largely influenced by their parentage
or upbringing.
I find therefore that some horses respond much more positively to
proactive training mechanisms than others and that you will never
know the profile until you try various things.
FORMATIVE YEARS WITH THE OWNER
I meet horses regularly and have one here right now, that
exhibits early signs of the problem and there is little doubt the
Breeder is somewhat to blame. Sooked, moddy coddled, spoilt rotten,
no rules, horse out of control on the ground to the point where the
horse was locked up in a yard and the Stud couldn't even lead the
horse around competently. They took the 'horse out of the horse' and
turned it into a 'human' and one with little respect for the rest of
us. That type of up bringing sets a young horse up to be a possible
candidate for 'separation anxiety'.
ON THE GROUND OR UNDER SADDLE
SADDLE: I have almost total
success with these horses when I am riding them but that is not
gained easily. The one thing that I have learnt is that you have to
lift your demand as a Rider and even shake a horse up, (slap them in
the face) to shake them out of their thoughts and to focus them onto
you. The degree of the strength of riding depends upon their profile
of course and sophisticated and investigatory methods should be used
by carefully following of the my theory of 'Riding with Justice'. In
other words, working on a scale of zero to ten whilst carefully
observing the reactions and deciding how far you have to go with
strength in order to make them forget their Mate and concentrate on
you.
The one sure thing and probably the greatest reason why the
Amateur can fail with this is their reticence to shake a horse up
for the good of the horse, bearing in mind that you could be saving
their life. If you don't go there, you will never know what the
limit of the horse was or how successful you could have been.
Imagine being 30 seconds from total ridden success and you never
knew it because you whimped?
In short, if you can ride with the assertiveness and strength of
leg, spur, whip, accompanied with rein control and aggression if
needed, at some point, the horse will forget it's mate and listen to
you. That then triggers a switch to psychological dependence on us
and can form the start of a successful and happy ridden career based
on mate ship and the horse being relaxed knowing it is in your good
care. It will revert straight back to it's normal self when put back
in the paddock however. Put yet another way, if you can bulldoze and
baulking, yelling horse, out the gate and give them a 'ride from
Hell' around the District, it will soon forget it's Mate.
GROUND: I often get letters
regarding out of control horses on the ground, being led mainly. "My
horse is running all over me, I have trouble leading it, it won't
concentrate on me" and so on. This is an area where the out of
control ground mannered horses, caused by sudden separation anxiety
because it walked 10 metres away from it's latest friend and thinks
it is never going to see it again, can be sorted out.
Once again however, this is where we must rise up to the occasion
and where every training philosophy that I have ever talked about or
probably anything you have ever read about, must simply go out the
window.
Firstly, if you are not competent in handling a horse on the
end of a lead rope, meaning that you can't get way down a 3.6
metre rope, away from the horse and to be able to utilize the
loop/slack in the rope in order to become al powerful and to be
able to snap a horse around, then forget it. If you are trained
by Pony Club or the British Horse Society with the 'lead them by
the beard', forget it because there is a key here.
No horse that is out of control on the ground, no matter the
reason, can be fixed unless you are proficient with the
principals of Natural Horsemanship and talented in the use of
the rope and rope halter. NOT LEATHER OR WEBBING.
Once again, you must simply take the initiative away from
such horses, instantly and shake them up while you are at it. No
starting low on the scale, do that later. Simply rip them into
gear fast, get their attention, dismiss right out of their head
any thoughts of friends, "slap them in the face" if it were a
Human and then, change the rules right back to sophisticated
Horse Training with all of the levels of pressure and release.
The vast majority of people cannot do this. They don't know
how and certainly, no ex Pony Club system people can. That is
why the vast majority cannot. So here are a few photos of me,
simulating an out of control Horse but showing you the rope
handling and the power of it. If you learn how to use the power
of the loop in the rope to be able to snap a horse's head around
and to put them back behind you and away out of your space as
well, you have captured their mind. That equals relaxation
The reason why no Racing Industry type leading of a horse
can ever assist one of these horses is this. In order to relax a
horse, all fight must be eliminated and removed. They must be
put onto a 'non contact basis' whether on the lead rope or the
bridle. Any fight, struggle via the lead rope to the head of a
horse and you have a compounding of the original problem, caused
by resistance. Resistance that you can never win and therefore
can never gain improvement. Set yourself up for any
push/pull/shove with horses and YOU LOSE!! That is why most
horses that are out of control on the ground, whether caused by
separation anxiety or the failed leading systems in the first
place, are never improved. You have to remove all fight and that
takes away all power. Only then can their mind start to think
about it and to soak up the removal of struggle from their
minds.
AT LIBERTY: Controlling them at liberty is a vastly different matter however and it depends heavily
on total dedication, complete consistency and often thinking outside
the square. The other ingredient is that we must be prepared to keep
lifting the bar as the horse negates each ploy you try and being in
for the long haul. Options that can work are:
The use of 'leg restraints' at the commencement of an attack
but the immediately release from them upon the horse settling.
Carried out each and every time, immediately and with release
based on training so that the horse understands the message we
are trying to send. Making the bad things difficult and the good
things comfortable. The horse starts to run the fence, you go
and put a set of hobbles on it and it is controlled to a
shuffle. If it settles after a time, immediately remove them but
replace the moment the horse goes to start up again. If it
learnt to handle hobbles that well that it starts to canter in
them, (as some can do) put a third on with a sideline. Up the
anti as far as it takes to find the breaking point of the horse,
to win but to remove them just as fast. (leg restraints should
not be used without knowledge and the proper equipment and
facilities)
The use of electric shock therapy. There are now remote
controlled electrical stimulation devices that one can buy, to
aid with training but once again, this depends almost completely
on the 'idiot with the trigger' If you are a good Horse Trainer,
with reading, timing and savvy, you will be highly successful
but all systems are only as good as the handler. I have tested
this system and it is by far the easiest and giving more
control. The horse starts to run the fence. You rush out and
loudly warn it not to, using your training nouse with timing.
The horse stops and looks at you. It walks off, fine, it trots,
give it an electric shock and yell out 'no'. Repeat many times
and the horse will soon learn that running, weaving or digging
may not be the desired behavior and your voice will then do the
trick.
I have used a stock whip. Horse starts walking fence, I warn
it verbally, it ignores me, I give it a flick in the rear or
even crack the whip. Warning it with voice. Repeat, repeat. I
have got them so far with this that I could open up the Dining
Room window and yell out to stop a horse. That particular horse
had a day paddock off a yard and stable. It started up in the
paddock I would immediately chase it in, give it one over the
rump on the way out, horse settled, I let it out. Repeat for
months :)
A good shot with a catapult and small pebbles does the trick
nicely and horses can be easily programmed not to run fences
with this system.
With any of these systems and others, vigilance and consistency
are the key and if you are not a committed person, forget it. It is
hard work, it is emotionally draining which is why you couldn't give
me one and I will never own another. The principal of making their
negative behavior uncomfortable and the relaxed behavior
comfortable. If by accident I did, it would
be gone the next day and probably to the Abattoirs because many of
them would be better off dead than alive. Sad but true. They can end
up looking like skeletons, you can't keep weight on them and they
drive the owner nuts, often ruining their quality of life.
THE TRAIL
Pony Club, Tafe Colleges, Racing Industry and British Horse
Society. They all have one thing in common. The Military Training
systems.
I make these comments for those dealing with a Separation A Horse
that you are wanting to trail ride.
One of the contributing or at least compounding factors regarding
stressed horses is the manner in which they are handled. Go to any
Western Show in the Land and find a stressed horse on the ground! I
bet you can't find one. Go to any English Show in the Land and will
find them and the difference is in the ground handling. Horses have
an increased level of heart rate and stress when they are fighting
with an owner. The mere fact of pulling or pushing against an owner,
whether it be by the Body as they move the feet of the owner or via
the head as they take the contact against the hand of the owner and
then move it, increased their level of stress. Not only that of
course but it increases the level of evasion, ignorance and
attitude. So how can I find some proof of this?
Go find a Western Horse that 'jig jogs' uncontrollably and will not
walk. You won't. In fact you can jog them on command, cool as you
like and come back to a slow walk on no rein any time you like and
with the minimum of fuss. All of the 'mental headed' and 'jig
jogging' horses are found in the English World and are caused by
people hanging off their mouths at the walk, just the same as the
Race Horse Trainer hangs off their head whilst leading. Same result
exactly. 'jig jogging' on the lead. A mental condition from learned
evasions, caused by out dated and archaic systems that are still
handed down from the ages via the institutions named above.
Show me a Western Horse at a Show that moves it's head or neck in
line up???? You can't. Now go watch the Queens Cavalry and see them
flinging their heads from knee to Riders face as their go through
their torment, desperately trying to communicate to the Geese on
top, that they are actually not running off and so pleeeeeeeeaaaase
take the hand brake off. Go to any Hack Show and watch them do their
little cunning 'walkies' in circles behind the line up in an effort
to con the judge that the horse really does stand but in reality,
turns into an idiot if a point is made of it. Again, stressed horses
that are in turmoil, caused by the systems. BHS to PC to Hacking.
Same World.
So before anyone starts tackling their problem horses, go have a
look in the mirror. If you are locked in the dark ages with your
leather and webbing halters, your multi colored ropes and like to
hold the horse in a vice like grip, don't bother reading any further
as you won't have played your part.
The difference in styles. If you are not the Rider in the centre,
'Hacking out', it will be highly likely that you will not have
a relaxed horse!!
A pleasure Rein.
Remember, fight and turmoil caused by a lack of knowledge or
technique of an owner can never solve these problems!
Caused by Man in the main and the horse pays the price.......
