Horse memory?

[angelsdream]

Wow! What a story. Thanks for posting it. I can totally relate to the losing your own confidence when dealing with your horse's fears. I have been there and it's pretty scary. The older we get, the harder we fall and the longer it takes for us to get better I talk like Im so old..haha Im not, but I still don't fall as graceful as I used to!!

It sounds like that trainer was a blessing for sure for the both of you. What did she do with her to help her thru all that? My very first kiger was that way. He was scared of his own shadow sometimes and his 1st instinct was to bolt and run 1st, then we'll talk about it later - he was a super horse in every other way, had brains beyond this world and lots of try but the more and more I tried with him, like you, I lost more of my own confidence. Which isnt a fun thing, especially when you really enjoy riding horses so much.

Sounds like you have a true partner now in Maddie.

[1Kiger]

Can't say for sure what Jodie did, since I wasn't there but once a week. She is a natural horsemanship trainer as are so many these days, and was taught by the same person who taught Clinton Anderson (she is an Aussie). But I know she had Maddie out, tied and saddled every day. And she remained passive and persistent as she brought her through her fears of ropes and being tied. Because Maddie throws such a huge fit, she can be pretty frightening, even to trainers. Plus she has so much go and stamina, they can't use the technique of making her tired in order to get her to stop and think. In fact when she bolted with her, she was out on the range, so she let her run and then run some more. She didn't bolt with her again, and I think it was not because she tired out, but because Jodie wasn't trying to stop her and all of a sudden they were in an unfamiliar place which worried Maddie more. I think Jodie simply outlasted Maddie's tantrums and continued to ask her to do the right thing. She was very strict and firm and honest with her. And she took it slow, broke things down into little steps and stopped and waited for Maddie to think it through and decide it was ok. This was the most important part actually. The other good thing is that she modified her training to suit Maddie, so if she found that a technique that works with a standard domesticated horse wasn't working for Maddie, she'd look for another creative solution. She admitted that Maddie pushed her to her limits during the training. And in fact after the first month Maddie was still so awful she was suggesting I cut my losses and sell Maddie, but I was determined to give her at least three months. I'm so glad I did.

[stlkigers]

Jan 20, 2009 21:34:20 GMT -5 1Kiger said:

Hi stlkigers,
Just saw your post after writing my "book." And I note your comment about your mare acting like an abused horse and with a fear of ropes. That was Maddie. The trainer who turned her around, in fact said she was one of the smartest horses she has trained, and because of that she would often fool people into being afraid FOR her.

Hi there.....You know I have always contended that the mare I had (now owned by a good friend) just needed to be pushed past her fear and she'd respond. When she was gathered she was taught to halter and lead, and then sold to a breeder who threw her out on a several hundred acre ranch for years and ran her with their Kiger stud. She was only really brought in around humans 2x per year (and one of those was to pull the baby off) so I REALLY believe that she learned the art of human avoidance to a T....Rather than a mustang that has very limited human experience, her 2x/yr human experience wasn't the greatest...When I got her you couldn't halter, lead, or touch her. I got her to the point that she can now be haltered, lead, and touched almost everywhere. We did alot of clicker training to engage her brain. I also got to where she'd finally accept tossing a rope over her back/neck....But I have human kids that do take up alot of time and really believe she needs daily continuous work to break thru to her in a great way so she now belongs to a friend that has more "horse" time than I do. They have made good strides with her as well, and I think she finally realizes that humans aren't too bad.....It was a very bittersweet time for me...This mare would look at you with velvety brown eyes wide with fear and I never got to the point I wanted to with her, though she did teach me lots of lessons.....Glad to hear you have done great with your mare finally and had a real breakthrough....Bless you for sticking with her and bless Jodie for helping you all out.....

Angela

[1Kiger]

Yup, sounds like our mares had some similar experiences.. and I especially relate to the brown eyes wide with fear... that hurt so much. Even though she was raised in a 1/2 acre pen with a Kiger brood mare group, mine wasn't handled until she was over 2 years old. Don't know how she was handled in the year and a half before I got her. I think the young people who worked with her only had the best intentions and I could see that she trusted her young owner, but they couldn't take her far enough to help her past the basic fears. It takes time and someone with lots of experience starting horses. I also did a lot of clicker training with Maddie and it did help.

[fantasykiger]

Wow.. that is an amazing story with Maddie. All my half Kigers were born here on my farm that I own and my daughter's was purchased at 4 mths old, so they have no history but with us.
Of course Fantasy was my first ever foal born on my farm ..so I made every mistake known to horse ownership with that filly, from spoiling her rotten, to making her my best friend and she has had 4 trainers and is 12 yrs old now and we could tell some seriously crazy stories as well.
We still are not the best riding partners, but that will come ..my confidence in riding has grown as well...it helps that I know Fantasy so well now, it used to be her unperdictablity that frightened me and now after 12 yrs she is not so unperdictable....LOL ;D

[angelsdream]

It still amazes me how smart my girls are. Each day I see this but at the same time, they are very forgiving of our mistakes I know I still make mistakes every time I handle them - i'm still learning a lot and they are good teachers and are patient with me but they have good and bad days as well.