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Training is slow, damage is fast

Hi-

I have been going to horse camp for the last 3 years and every year we have the same english trainer and she is one of the best I have ever had and I know her quite well. This year we had a new trainer and seemed fairly good at first. My horse was in tip-top shape and was doing better than I have ever seen him-being that he was collected, using his haunches, had a lovely head set and relaxed in my hands. It was a sight! The trainer wanted to get on him and (I thought) put him throught his paces, but instead, got on a literally ripped his mouth off! Everyone asked her to get off and she just kept saying that the horse was hanging on the bit! He had a roller bit and if I'm not mistaken that prevents him from hanging. So after about 10 minutes she got off and my horse was in a heavy sweat and his mouth was VERY tender. He is now afraid to put his head down and when he does, he tightens up and becomes very stiff. I'm not sure how to get him to collect anymore. He is refusing to give me his head and it is such a pain to even have him down for a few seconds. I'm all out of ideas! He was coming along so nicely and blew the competition away in training levels. I need some advice, thanks.

Kelly


Hi Kelly! I changed the subject line of your letter: yours was "head-set problems", and that isn't really the problem here. "Bad rider hurts horse" would have been more accurate!

Your horse was doing very well with you -- until you made one simple (and, unfortunately, BIG) mistake: handing him over to an abusive rider. The "trainer" -- and I'm putting the term in quotation marks because she was obviously not a trainer at all, let alone a horsewoman -- may have been on your horse for only ten minutes or so, but she had enough time to do damage that may take you many months to repair.

Good training takes time. Good training is a matter of educating the horse and developing its body and mind, while increasing its confidence and trust in the rider.

Good training can't be done in an instant, or with the help of coercive equipment or harsh methods. But, sad to say, BAD training and abusive riding can have an effect very quickly indeed -- and that's what you got.

Horses don't hang on the bit. Riders hang on to horses' mouths, causing horses to push against the pain (it's just part of their natural instinct to run away), and it sounds as if that's exactly what happened her. Abusive riders can pull and haul and rip away at horses' mouths until the horses drop their backs and twist their necks, sometimes damaging muscles in the process, in an effort to escape the pain. When a horse finally can't bear ANY contact with the bit, and puts its head straight up in the air (or tucks it into his chest) to avoid the contact, the abusive rider who caused this will often say "Oh look how light the horse is now, he's not hanging on the bit anymore." But the horse never WAS hanging on the bit... and he hasn't become "light", but hurt and frightened.

It sounds as though your horse is not only sore in the mouth, but has probably sustained neck and back damage as a result of that charming little episode. If you like this horse and plan to keep him, I think you'd better forget about collection for the foreseeable future, and also forget about showing until you've restored your horse's body to health and soundness, and restored its mental relaxation and its confidence in the rider. To do this, you'll need to go back several steps, and work the horse very gently on a long rein, with the softest possible contact. You may not be able to do any of this until the vet (at least) has been called out.

Part of the reason your horse isn't relaxing his back and neck is because he is frightened. Part of the reason is because he is hurt -- and he CAN'T do what you're asking him to do. You'll need to have your vet come out and take a good hard look at your horse. Tell the vet EXACTLY what happened, and let him check the horse closely for both obvious and less obvious injuries. In cases like these, even a month or more of turnout may not be enough without some extra help. Your horse may need help from someone skilled at chiropractic or massage -- or both. Talk to your veterinarian; perhaps he can recommend someone. Sudden violent traumas like this can cause such muscle tension and cramping that bones are pulled out of alignment. When that happens, the horse won't be physically able to relax and carry himself the way he did before, at least not until he's had some help. Once he's capable of normal movement and carriage, you'll be able to start over at a much lower level, working on relaxation and rhythm and NOTHING ELSE for weeks (or months, depending on the severity of the injuries). And even after that, you'll need to pay regular attention to the horse's tight muscles and trigger points.

You've had a very hard lesson in why to be careful about whom you allow to ride your horse, and in why to be careful about what you allow someone to DO with your horse. The person who caused this should be ashamed of herself, but (a) she probably isn't, and (b) even if she is, it won't make any difference to your horse. The other part of the lesson is this: If you choose to allow someone to ride your horse, YOU are still responsible for that horse's welfare and well-being. If the person is a bad or abusive rider, your responsibility is to get that person OFF your horse immediately.

And "immediately" doesn't mean "ten minutes later." Horses can be badly damaged, physically and mentally, in that amount of time.

I'm truly sorry that this happened, and I hope that this "trainer" has been dismissed. You can't control that, I know, but you CAN register a formal complaint with whomever hired this person, and you ought to do that soon, before someone else's horse gets hurt. There's every chance that the owners/managers of the camp don't actually condone or accept abuse, and would be horrified to know what their employee is doing.

In the meantime, though, your first concern has to be your horse. Get help and advice from your veterinarian, get additional help if you can, and take the time it takes to get your horse back. You may not be able to show this season, but horses live a long time, and if you take the time needed to restore your horse to health and comfort, you'll be able to show him for many more years to come. And, although it was a very hard lesson to learn, it's one you're never going to forget.

Good luck!

Jessica

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