Fear Issues - Part 3

I went back to the barn to ride Secret again today. I really had no idea what to expect. I pushed her hard mentally yesterday to get her to overcome her fear. She never broke a sweat but mentally I know she was exhausted. At least the wind was not blowing as hard today so that was an improvement.

Beth was there riding the hills with her two geldings. She told me that her gelding Red has become afraid of the corner in the indoor that Secret hates. Libby's horse Katie is also scared to go in that corner of the indoor. At least my horse is not the only one who is scared!

The first thing I did was hand walk Secret in the indoor around the perimeter both ways. She was still nervous. I turned her loose. She rolled, bucked a few times and then trotted back and forth in front of the door trying to find a way out.

Right. Obviously we need a new answer to the question.

I went and stood in the corner she hates. My plan was to stand there until she got brave enough to walk down there and see what I was doing. I was there about a minute when something kind of cool happened.

A Kings of Leon song came on the radio and since I had nothing to do and I was bored, I started to dance. I was having a great time. Before they hit the first chorus Secret was standing next to me. I stopped and petted her and then kept dancing. She stood there in a relaxed frame the entire time. When the song was over we walked to the door and left. I tacked her up, Beth wished me luck and we headed back inside.

I mounted up and walked her around the indoor both ways. No problem. She walked through the scary corner with a little extra inside leg, but nothing else. She trotted around in a relaxed bent frame both ways. She did transitions and she was light and responsive to the aids. After twenty minutes she went through the scary corner like it was one of the other three, without the whip or any extra leg. My happy horse is back.

Secret needed the tough love session on Wednesday. That extra push (okay, a lot of push, my legs were tired from pushing her over to the rail) to overcome her fear and trust me was vital to any future success we will have this year. If she cannot get around the indoor at home, how will she react at a horse show or on a trail ride? I know I dug myself a pretty deep hole by coddling her at the beginning of the fear issue and then trying to ride indoors Sunday when I was not focused on riding. I will not make those mistakes again.

But I am going to continue dancing with my horses. The tough love session fixed the riding issue but dancing with Secret gave her back the confidence she needed when I was on the ground. When Killarney and I start practicing water crossings this spring, Kings of Leon will certainly be playing.