Scary arena and young horse

[Gwyneth]

It does make sense that the door/ area closest to other horses becomes the safe spot.

I normally have dealt with getting a horse used to going down to the far/ scary end of the arena by starting on a circle at the end closest to the door, and then slowly leg yielding the circle down or turning it into an oval so that we gradually got closer and closer to the scary end. The way this arena is set up though with the obstacles in it (very heavy trail bridges), it basically splits the arena into 3 sections, so I’m not able to just slowly leg yield over a foot every time we pass the scary end without something being in our way. I’ll try doing a looping/ cloverleaf pattern and see if we get anywhere with that.

[lenapesadie]

Warwick also talks a lot about Destination Addiction. The theory is that it’s not that your horse doesn’t want to go to the scary corner, it’s that he’d rather hang at the gate. That’s the very abbreviated version of course! It sounds like you’re already doing a bit of the cure; work at safe end and rest at spook end. Warwick has quite a few videos on this; they might be helpful to provide some fine details to help your existing strategy be more efficient.

There is also his blue tree ideology; basic summary: We, the humans, can’t help but think about the scary corner and so our thoughts we as are like omg it’s the scary corner, he’s gonna spook, what if I fall, is my helmet a good fit, is anyone going to find me, who’s gonna get the kids from school if I’m in the hospital etc etc etc. This mental state can really impact the horse and basically feed the cycle of “the scary corner”. Not to mention if our brain is occupied by the scary corner, we aren’t focusing as much as we could on our strategies to have a productive ride!

I think with horses there are usually multiple factors at play, so it may take some detective work to get to the very bottom of any given problem.

If you’re interested, I will say that I find the monthly subscription to WS to be a good value at $29.95 per month with no commitment (you can cancel at any time). There is a 7 day free trial as well

[Scribbler]

If no one else uses the ring I would definitely let the horse loose to figure things out. I would feed hay in or around the scary things. I would groom the horse there if she likes grooming. I would develop some trick and treat routines like stepping on tarps or whatever, in hand then under saddle. Make the junk pile your play space. We have a weekly obstacle horse play night in our indoor and my mare gets a huge happy face when she sees the tarps and circus box are out because Treats!! Playtime!!

Change the emotional connotations of the junk.

It’s also possible you have rats or weasels nesting down there. You might want to do a search for evidence of critters. I recall a few spooks indoors (not my horse) the winter we had weasels. And a big rat running over the cross beams is startling.

[PamnReba]

If you can’t move the items out, can you leave them but re-arrange them? And let your horse help you, have her loose when you move things around. Maybe you’ll find out which item causes her the most concern, and help her get over it.

[Against_All_Odds2]

I’d call a good cowboy and see if they can work your horse. A GOOD, honest to goodness cowboy would have this licked in a few short rides (even a weekend). They just don’t muck about. The GOOD ones are like WS. They can just give the horse the confidence they need and you seeing the horse that way gives you the confidence to keep it going.

[Gwyneth]

I turned her out in the arena the other day and let her explore everything by herself. She had a good time bucking and squealing and eventually got to where she was standing by the scary end. The day after I tried long lining her (and focused on doing cloverleaf/ looping patterns). She definitely seemed better and more confident. Today, however, when I brought her into the arena she was back to being super looky and balky. I knew we certainly wouldn’t be able to work on any of our dressage work. I focused on walking up and standing next to the scary stuff, but as soon as we left and then turned to go back to it she was back to being balky.

Any ideas as to why she was so much less confident today? That’s been her pattern for the last 2 months while we’ve been at this barn. She starts to feel like she’s getting comfortable in the arena, and then she goes back to being afraid.

When I got this horse she didn’t have a lot of confidence in her rider The person I got her from had (in my opinion) rushed her training. They were jumping courses with her and trying to teach her flying changes (mostly by offbalancing her into them) when her canter was still very undeveloped and she just felt unsure while cantering. I wanted a dressage prospect and I liked her personality, so I felt I could work through her issues. She improved a ton from when I bought her to when I moved in December, but after moving everything has been more or less downhill.

Is it possible that (in ideal circumstances) she should develop more confidence in her rider while in a non-stressful environment? I feel like that is the biggest issue - she doesn’t completely trust her rider to not put her in a situation that she can’t handle. She has started head tossing/ shaking at the end of our rides now when we’re cooling out (a habit that she came with but that I thought we had overcome - she only head tosses when she’s upset/ anxious). I find it upsetting that working her in the arena is clearly making her stressed, especially considering she had such a great work ethic at the other barn and loved going to work.

[trubandloki]

@Gwyneth

Any ideas as to why she was so much less confident today?

What is the difference between the two days? Is the wind blowing harder today? Is there sun coming thru some place it was not the other day? Is it raining or was it raining?

[Gwyneth]

No, no difference in the weather. I think this entire situation is so odd, because I can’t figure out any real cause or pattern. I’m beginning to think the arena is possessed

[AnastasiaBeaverhousen]

You may want to have her vision checked if you havent already

From your posts this mare was probably pushed too fast and so even though she appears to be trained, it seems to me that there are huge gaps in her training.

Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to restart her.

Do some in hand work to educate your own eye as to what is going on with your mare. Learn to discern when she is relaxed and accepting i.e. sighing, licking and chewing , listening to you and responding, not reacting .

And dont drill and drill and over work her. Just because a horse may be physically fit, doesnt mean they are ready mentally. And the converse is also true. Just because a horse submits and works quietly, doesnt mean they can physically perform a task.

One of the basic building blocks of dressage is relaxation. So I would work on keeping her sessions short and relaxed. That doesnt mean that she shouldn’t work; it means work smarter and pay attention to her emotional response as well as her physical response.

If you are able to have lessons , talk with your instructor about doing some exercises that will help both your horse and you relax.

Good luck hope this helps

[Spudsmyguy]

I don’t know if this has been mentioned but what I do is lead him over to the scary monster and touch it and pick it up (if possible), put it down, going over each scary piece. Usually their curiosity takes over and since you didn’t get hurt, that gives him confidence. Don’t touch him with it, just handle it so they know it’s harmless. Now, if there is anything different or maybe scary he just goes over and looks at it himself, pokes it with his nose, satisfies himself it’s no big deal and moves off.

[joiedevie99]

@Spudsmyguy

at I do is lead him over to the scary monster and touch it and pick it up (if possible), put it down, going over each scary piece. Usually their curiosity takes over and since you didn’t get hurt, that gives him confidence. Don’t touch him with it, just handle it so they know it’s harmless. Now, if there is anything different or maybe scary he just goes over and looks at it himself, pokes it with his nose, satisfies himself it’s no big deal and moves off.

Tristan Tucker teaches a similar theory. OP might like his videos. The idea is that you can’t de-sensitize your horse to every scary object in the world, but you can teach them how to manage their emotions and cope when faced with a new scary object.

[Gwyneth]

I did have her vision checked in the PPE, but I could get the vet to recheck her when she gets her teeth done.

I did hire a young horse trainer to basically restart her when I bought her, as I quickly discovered she did have a ton of gaps in her training. We started all the way back at the basics, from sacking her out and teaching her how to stand tied without pulling back, to re-educating her about leg and rein aids. The lady I hired did a fantastic foundation on my mare, and for the last couple of months before we moved I was the only one riding her (while still taking lessons from my coach) and everything was going really well. We had even hauled out to a couple of schooling shows.

At this new barn I have tried handling the scary objects and letting my horse see that they’re not going to eat me, and that makes her feel more comfortable for that day, but the next day she acts like she’s never seen the stuff before. It’s very odd.

The BO has just said that she thinks there are weasels living in the arena because she has seen tracks. Maybe that’s what the problem is?

I really am thinking about just moving, even though any barn I go to will be quite a bit further away from my home. There are some other things about this barn that I don’t love (I’d really like to have access to an outdoor as well as an indoor), and I don’t feel like we are making any headway. This mare is also my first young horse (I’ve been fortunate to have schoolmasters up to PSG until now), and I’m definitely still learning how best to work with her. If we did move, we’d be closer to my coach and other trainers who could help me out if I needed it.

[Scribbler]

Weasals! Yup that will do it. I was kind of joking when I mentioned our year of weasals in the indoor, but they did absolutely cause problems. Can you rout them out?

I expect weasals have a distinct odour and they are carnivores (though small ones) so legitimately scary compared to say squirrels, which are startling but not threatening. I would try to move the weasals on. Though I expect they are there for the rats.

[theresak]

@Gwyneth

I did hire a young horse trainer to basically restart her when I bought her, as I quickly discovered she did have a ton of gaps in her training. We started all the way back at the basics, from sacking her out and teaching her how to stand tied without pulling back, to re-educating her about leg and rein aids. The lady I hired did a fantastic foundation on my mare, and for the last couple of months before we moved I was the only one riding her (while still taking lessons from my coach) and everything was going really well. We had even hauled out to a couple of schooling shows.

Can you get that trainer to come out and do an evaluation and some training sessions with you? I did some groundwork lessons with my trainer this winter and it was really all about training me - my 3 year old would do what I asked when I was doing things correctly. I needed some help finding those tiny timing issues, gaps, nagging, etc.

[Gwyneth]

That makes sense about the weasels having a scent! I didn’t think about that. There are a lot of mice at this barn, too (which is annoying when they get into my tack). So that’s probably why there are weasels. The BO doesn’t want to put anything out to get rid of the mice or suspected weasels though (she doesn’t like the thought of hurting any living thing), so they’re probably here to stay.

[Gwyneth]

I would love to get the young horse trainer out, but she unfortunately doesn’t travel as she is always in demand at her facility and is very busy. I could haul out to her, but since the issue is only in this indoor (my mare is fine and back to her normal self when we haul out for lessons), I don’t know if it would help much.

[theresak]

It wouldn’t hurt to call her and ask. Since you already have a training relationship, she might be willing to come help. And if not, you can ask for recommendations for another trainer to help you.

[Gardenhorse]

The more info you provide about the facility, the more I think you should probably move. I know it’s really nice to have a much shorter drive to the barn, but if you’re really not able to accomplish anything, are you actually saving any time? It sounds like the BO isn’t willing to make any changes that might help you out - that’s totally her prerogative, but also a bit frustrating.

Although it is probably worth at least asking the young horse trainer if she’d be willing to travel out to your barn before making a final decision.

[Scribbler]

Unchecked rats or mice in a barn is very poor horse management. You can’t eliminate them but you can knock them back a bit. You can also make sure all grain is locked up tight and storage areas cleaned up to reduce places they will nest. Rodents will shred any cloth or paper they can find out in the open to make nests in walls or the back of unused cupboards. They will chew through grain bags. They will start to chew unattended leather when the population booms enough that they are getting hungry. They will poop and pee on hay and in corners where they settle. They can ruin hay and transmit disease.

You need some barn cats or a barn snake. The weasals will help.

You can still block up mouse holes with steel wool, lock up all your grain, and do a clean up of nesting sites in your tack room.

[candyappy]

@Gwyneth

I find it upsetting that working her in the arena is clearly making her stressed, especially considering she had such a great work ethic at the other barn and loved going to work.

I really think she is feeding off of your anxiety about it. Add to it – moving, Winter, a change in feed, routine, maybe turnout and just everything that she was used to and any anxiety she has is funneled into this one issue.

You know she may/ may not spook in the corner so when riding you are unconsciously preparing for what may be and she can definitely feel that. Then responds accordingly.