open fields=nervous horse= scared rider !

[For horse not rider]

Right well.....

Horse does not like open spaces e.g fields and roads with flat either side with nothing to 'block' the openness !

Well this then makes rider nervous ......... and worry about fields stopping going on the best of rides AND worries horse more!!!

This is not just when riding but also in a big grazing field ! Horse will go and stand next to or in the trees or go in the shelter !!! Not all the time but often alot more than the other horses.

Its all very confusing !!!

Would like help for the horse and not so much the rider as when the horse improves so will the rider ... Meaning that want the horses confidence to pick up not that i'm not prepeared to be a better rider !!! Do you see ??

Thank you need help !!! x

[giftgirl]

hey
i dont no whether you have already done this before, but you could try and increase your horses confidence in open spaces by lunging in an open field/ open space (you could take him to a field he does not know and try lunging there as well). You could also build on your bond with your horse so that he completly trusts you when you do try to lunge/take him in open spaces.
there are also bach flower remedies that you could try (i posted a thread on them earlier in this confidence section) for your horse and possibly for you as well.

Hopefully if your horse improves slightly, you will feel better about riding in open spaces, and this confidence will pass back through to your horse
good luck and i hope this helped
xx

[giftgirl]

i looked up the bach flower remedies, just in case you wanted to get one.
here are some that i thought might be good for your horse:
Rock Rose
- For any form of terror and panic
a. After an accident, injury, fire or any terrifying event.
b. For the overly fearful animal that possibly was terrified sometime in their life. Fear does not dissolve naturally.

- Rock Rose is for dauntless courage.
a. For animals that are used in service to mankind such as police work.
- For the courageous animal to accentuate their already innate abilities

Aspen
- For horses that "spook" very easily.

- For use when a horse is anxious for some unknown reason and refuses to enter certain stalls

Mimulus
- For known fears such as thunder and lightning, crossing water, of strange noises, of strange objects

i got this info from the website www.dogstuff.info/bach_flower_remedies_doglogic.html
dont know whether this helps, hope your horse improves soon
good luck xx

[ktk]

I know how it feels. My Bailey horse was most definatly agraphobic when we got him. He had only had an hour or so of turnout a day for over a year, before then it was your typical livery yard set up with small fields and not much turnout. He didnt get hacked out much, just down the road and back again and didnt even get all that much schooling. He didnt know any better, he hated open spaces and would just freeze.

We used to hack up onto the hills and he would just stop dead, and really wouldnt move. In the end we used to have to stick him right behind my older pony and he had to follow like a little lost sheep, eventually we built up to getting further apart and eventually infront. It takes time and patience. If your going into a field, just stick to a corner, you dont have to go any further, and slowly work your way out over days/weeks/months- whatever you feel safest doing. When we were riding straight out the yard onto the hills I would just lead my lovely little arab off him. In some ways in solving one problem I created another, he wasnt happy to hack out by himself for a few months, but it was better than not been able to hack out atall.

I must come across as a harsh owner, but my boy just had to get on with it. It used to scare the life out of me, but it was that or never hacking out. Is it possible for your instructer/trust worthy friend to come with you and offer you advice, or for you to swap horses?

Is he happier hacking with other horses? Is he better with someone on the ground? Just try and find something/somewhere where your both reasonably happy and you can push your boundaries day by day/week by week, a big field with good boundaries would be perfect.

I hope you find something that works for you both xx