After an Accident

[2DogsFarm]

Reading this, I suggest contacting the seller if possible. They may be able to provide the training or direct you to someone who can, while you recover.
Drafts are different, they know their size & can be very pushy if not taught respect for the humans who work with them.
I say this as a neighbor has 3 Belgians - one 19H, the other two 18H+ - all with Show Hitch backgrounds. This is the use he intends for them. Ages are 9 to 13.
But all were working when bought.
The 19H was a Wheeler in a 10-horse pickaxe, as was another. All were driven single, team & in the larger hitches.
And all have ground manners firmly installed.
I have handled the biggest & he never put a hoof wrong, with all 5’2" of me on the end of the lead. This when he had to go to a clinic & owner was busy with entry paperwork & consulting with the vet. Students also complimented his manners when we picked him up a week later.
Sunday I drove one of the others to a breaking cart.
Neighbor was in the cart with me, but I never felt like I needed to give him back the lines. W/T/Whoa all listened to. As well as standing while I got myself into the cart - that alone was no small feat!

That your mare was left untrained - due to size - IMO, does not speak highly of the seller.

[CBoylen]

Did she run around with the lungeline on? I’m trying to figure out what was so traumatizing about this accident for her. Obviously it was traumatic for you, for good reason!
I concur on the older horses being started. I do a lot of them training for a rescue. They are easiest at 2, fine at 3, harder at 4, and anything over 7 is like trying to teach a feral human to speak. They might eventually get it, but it will never come naturally and it’s very, very difficult.

[IthinkIcan]

Sorry yes the lunge line was on her when she was loose, she also ran into a gate cutting her face on something, and yesterday I found a large swelling just behind the girth area. I don’t know what that was from but very sore to touch. So she has a few wounds I am treating from the line around her legs and her face.

[CBoylen]

Ok, that makes more sense. Anything that the tack might touch needs to heal completely. After that, to be honest, you are going to have to start back at the beginning. Tacking, leading. Everything from step one all over again.
If you want to do it at all. If this was a one off accident it happens, but if this is a general example of the reaction level of this horse, you can’t really train “who they are” out of them. You can just control it until it inevitably happens again. Some people are really good at controlling the circumstances so it never happens again to them, but then someone else gets the horse and doesn’t and that’s where these horses fail.

[endlessclimb]

I don’t 100% agree with this.

Some horses just need guidance on what is acceptable and unacceptable as far as behavior when frightened or otherwise stressed. Obviously trampling a handler falls into the “no, never” category. Toeing the line of “I’m not correcting your fear, I’m correcting your fearful behavior” is extremely tricky though.

Some horses are going to be blowy or screwy no matter how hard you try to fix it.

For example, my young horse would run you over when scared when I started with her - she could give a crap less about you when the poo hit the fan. Carrying a dressage whip at all times and enforcing that my space is MINE and that she’s not to encroach even when frightened had the issue resolved in a month or so - took longer because I didn’t want to scare her all the time, every time!

It’s hard to say which horse this one is without putting hands on her. The “8 year old unbroke” gives me great pause though. I’ve done my time with the unhandled 7-8 year olds, and I wouldn’t repeat it if given the choice. They’re a different monster.

[Scribbler]

So I have a nice big good natured Paint mare that l’ve been riding for 12 years. Done all kinds of liberty and ground work and ride through anything on trails. But a couple times a year especially in winter she gets bottled up and can get very very sproingy walking the trail to turnout to have a good buck n run session.

A few years back I had her and a green OTTB one in each hand, going through a gate, they were hyped and losing their minds because of a legitimate machine noise situation. Maresy barrelled through, bolted, pushed me under the TB who stepped on my foot, knocked me down, trampled me and bolted too into the twilight winter fog. Cast and nonweight bearing for 6 weeks. Horses were fine.

Obviously I did a bunch of risky stuff there. But the lesson to me is every horse is capable of blowing up and hurting you under the wrong circumstances and it doesn’t always say anything profound about the nature of the horse. The OTTB is now a sweet lesson horse.

Every horse can bolt or blow up or knock you over or rear up and gallop back to the barn. So you need to make sure you are attune to small cues and that you are handling the horse in a way that you are never pulling it on top of you.

Obviously it’s hard with a new project horse to know if this is regular behavior or once a year blowup.

[IthinkIcan]

Bit of an update, I am having the vet out to do a once over. And I spoke with someone with many more years experience than me, he doesn’t believe Jinx is mean in nature or untrainable but he does think she is a challenge due to a few factors.

Because my confidence was trampled into the dirt temporarily so he is going to come back a few times a week to help me confirm my mares ground work/training before I move on to really starting her under saddle once we are both healed up.

I thought a black eye would be blue or purple, mine is a very unflattering yellow and looks like blood is running down my cheek. Probably a good thing I can’t drive right now, scare people, with my shocking good looks.

[sweetsalute]

@Scribbler

A few years back I had her and a green OTTB one in each hand, going through a gate, they were hyped and losing their minds because of a legitimate machine noise situation. Maresy barrelled through, bolted, pushed me under the TB who stepped on my foot, knocked me down, trampled me and bolted too into the twilight winter fog. Cast and nonweight bearing for 6 weeks. Horses were fine.

Not dissimilar to how I broke my foot last year. Leading 4yo I’d had for 6 months and the 20yo in together, 4yo spooked at something, went sideways into me and I hit the ground. Luckily 20yo is the type to never ever get in your space and she went away from me, else I suspect my injuries would have been far worse. Foot broke in 3 places, I was lucky to avoid surgery and just had to wear a moonboot for 5 weeks.

Same young horse has had a few come to jesus moments since about personal space…when shite hits the fan, she has no concern for you! She’s getting better but I have to be on top of her about it.

[Alex_and_Bodie_s_Mom]

Hugs and jingles to you, and a hope for speedy healing!

Make sure the vet tests for EPM when he does his physical.

But if nothing physical is found - I honestly would send her back to the seller. I’ve been around a horse that had zero respect for humans. I get that she spooked, but surely she had a place to go other than over the top of you?

[2DogsFarm]

Good news you found someone to help you sort out your mare.
I hope he has Draft experience.

Re: your colorful bruise
I was bitten on the thigh once & carried a perfect impression of a horse mouth - complete with teeth - for weeks. It went through a rainbow of colors before turning the yellow that indicated healing.

[colorfan]

Yikes, that could have been worse! Glad you are healing, I don’t think you did anything wrong. My experience with older horses is they can be agreeable to get along with but inside they don’t always have much respect for their person. It is just something to be aware of. It is something you can address with training.
It is really good you are having someone else come and help. Some years ago I observed a horse that kept shoulder checking her person, the person interpreted it as 'she wants to be close to me", in reality it was the horse moving/shoving her person around. no respect there.

There are challenges at every horse age,
Love Clydesdales!

[Janet]

Since people are posting anecdotes (data set of 1), I have a couple of my own.

I started a (previously minimally handled) 10 yo race-bred TB, and he was a LOT easier than the 6 or so other horses I have started at more “normal” ages. So advanced age in itself is not, IMHO, an issue.

I have been run down by a horse (luckily I only got a cut on my face, did not need stitches). He was a reliable, teenaged, former school horse. but he panicked when he saw a loose donkey trotting toward him. It had NOTHING to do with “respecting my space” and everything to do with panic. (it is written up in a relatively recent thread here)
Here
https://forum.chronofhorse.com/t/something-anything-cheery/754206/2850

Your horse is probably as traumatized by the accident as you are.

Jingles to both of you for rapid healing, both physical and mental.

[trubandloki]

How are you doing @IthinkIcan? I hope you are healing up well.

[IthinkIcan]

I ended up back at the hospital for another CT scan after having bad mirgraines unfortunately but now on the mend. Stitches come out tomorrow.

Jinx and I have been staying in a comfort zone as far as basic handling, grooming, leading etc. Vet check went okay she’s healthy, he did find soreness over her withers/neck/poll areas which we discussed. And the gentleman I have that is going to help me will be starting once I get a medical thumbs up.

[modifiedequitation]

I have no horse training advice but here’s some helpful tips to reduce swelling.
When I got lawn-darted last week, I hurt my shoulder very very badly to the point where I couldn’t move it. Obviously, take some Tylenol, and take a damp rag, heat it up in the microwave and put it wherever you are swelling. It works well. Jingles for your healthy recovery!

[Posting_Trot]

One thing I’ll suggest is that, if you’re working with a green horse that is prone to spooks, you should wear a protective vest. It’s definitely worth it.

Any horse can spook, but when a draft does it, the results can be a lot more destructive. I also think that draft horses often mature (mentally) somewhat later than TBs or QHs. Not an excuse for what happened by any stretch, just an observation.

It’s a great idea to have someone else help to re-start the horse and perhaps also work with you as you gain your confidence back.

Good luck!

[endlessclimb]

That may be true, but you see countless Amish horses on the hitch at 3-4 years old. Not that I’m condoning Amish-type training, I will say that them keeping those horses TIRED helps alleviate a lot of the young horse stupidity.

Wet saddle blankets won’t magically cure everything, but they sure don’t hurt. You don’t have to nitpick to get them tired, just move them around on somewhat your terms.

Again, for my 15 minutes of burnout, my only criteria is that they go the direction I intend, and faster than a walk. You want to run around like a psycho for the full 15, be my guest. But you will do 15 minutes of work in the direction of my choice before we get any “real” work started - even if you pooped yourself out zooming around.

[Angela_Freda]

@IthinkIcan

Vet check went okay she’s healthy, he did find soreness over her withers/neck/poll areas

So what’s the treatment plan for that?

[IthinkIcan]

I appreciate all the stories, well wishes and advice.

Treatment is time off, reassessment and probably get chiropractor out, don’t worry he is registered for humans and horses, saved my back more than once.

She did go through a fence about a week before the accident and snapped a 14g wire. So we are thinking that was the cause of this, because it was the first time I had tacked her up since she went through the fence. If she strained something and I tightly up the girth, it hurt, I asked her to walk to the arena to lunge and spooked knocking me off my feet.

[MapleBreeze]

When horses do silly things out of fear you have 2 options to fix it - food/r+ or consequence. Pleasure or threat of pain. So youre going to have to pick a route to fix it…
If a horse bolts from the mounting block = food
If they bolt from the lunge =siderein

I am not a fan of parelli but if your horse ran on top of you it needs more “prorcupine game” cause she was in your space. Thats when you tap nose or neck and she should move away from you instantly. No different that running a young horse on a triangle and having it key off your wip and hand. If i raise my hand my horses hella know they are to be out of the space.

The fact that she came ino your space means she is frightened scared on top of you.

Your groundwork shouldnt be chasing running, it should be to make her think. Move her shoulders and feet.