mystery scar

[krissy3]

Well, we clipped , and everything went ...SO SO , and then we got to the front legs . she would not allow those legs to be clipped.. she has a huge 6 or 7 inch scar on the under side of her chest, raised line , and white hair... the breeders " know nothing about it "

Nope , I dont know anything about an accident ... there was no accident " Ok.. well typical of this breeder, take the money and run, also sold a dwarf as a "champion AMHA" (these horses are new over here , so people dont know what a dwarf is yet) anyway so she is a piece of work breeder ,also is selling off all her oversized horses swearing up and down that they will stay AMHA, and they dont , and we dont have AMHR shows over here...wait . we have 1 and I will be the only one in that class, maybe if I am lucky 1 more, and nothing can be done about it..whole other problem... maybe we need a witch hunt..(different topic) sorry good breeders.

but how can I help my little mare.. what do I do to help her get over her fear of her front legs. when I go to touch them she lifts them up to her chest to avoid any contact... what the heck happend to her??? any guesses, and how do I fix this?

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Well, my colt is exactly the same and he has no scars and no reason to be sacred.

I twitched him the first time, then used a clip (just an ordinary tarpaulin clip) the second time.

The third time I clipped him to start them took it off, although I did put it back on the do the ears as I am afraid of cutting the ear!!

He was fine the third time, I think it is a matter of ignore the fear and get on with it!!

 

[ChrystalPaths]

I respect that dear Jane but I think this horse has a real issue.

Can you post a picture for us, many can do much with a picture.

In the meantime, let it go and concentrate of being with her, talking to softly and firmly,

set with her and just touch..."everything" like it is nothing, sweep thru her...do not stop at the scar and think "OMG",

just flow with your positive energy to generate hers.

 

[Joanne]

Well Krissy, you have me curious where "over here" is? Maybe update your personal information so we can see where you live?

You did not say the age of the horse or how long you have had her.

I learned a long time ago that I had to earn a new horse's respect. It is not just given. I vary my technique on the situation. I know we as humans are geared to get the job done. But really if it takes another day or two and you go slow, but win her trust, that might be the better approach.

My rule of thumb is that if some one else has had this horse for a year or two before you get it and it has learned bad habits or has some fear issues, it will not be cleared up overnight. There will be more bad history than good.

On the other hand, your other horses showing that they trust you and you are friends with them will be excellent teachers to let your new horse know she is safe and you will care for her.

Take your time with her. If you are right that she has had a bad experience, she needs your TLC now, not a hard hand.

She is likely to be your best horse with some time.

 

[Julie/Azariah]

As some of the others have said, it takes time and trust.

I have found that several horses who have never been mishandled are just VERY sensitive with their lower legs especially.

One gelding that I know had been shown a lot before I got him, had issues with all 4 of his legs. I have had him 4 years and this year...after 4 years of patiently working through it I clipped his whole body, all for legs inside his ears and everything with not one bit of fear, sensitivity or resistance.

I think I have clipped him enough now that he knows I am not going to get him in trouble, he has nothing to fear, so he now trusts me.

One thing I KNOW for myself. I need to clip when I am relaxed, when the barn is quiet and often I will put soft relaxing music on and sing to them as I clip.

Now it isn't too pretty to listen too, and I would scare anyone who walks in my barn.

But.... it seems to relax me and my horse.

 

[Keri]

I would go back to natural horsemanship techniques with her. Let her know that you touching there is okay and you won't hurt her. So just work by petting that area. If she doesn't accept it, do it rather quickly and more "by accident". Then after she accepts that, praise her a lot. Going to take lots of praises for her to trust you. Then after she takes the petting in that area, introduce petting with objects in your hand (such as a vibrating toothbrush, brush, etc.). After that, introduce the clippers. Maybe try to find clippers that are quiet with a low vibration (I have some nice Wahls I use, but normal human hair clippers work just fne too). Its just going to take lots of patience, repitition and praise and she'll get over it once she trusts you.

 

[Minimor]

I've had more than one horse that was so ticklish I couldn't clip their front legs--some were even horses that were born here and I KNOW that they were never abused in any way, they were even used to having their legs handled--picked up for hoof cleaning/trimming, brushing, etc--but try to clip their lower legs & they'd snatch the foot up as if the clippers were a sharp knife sticking into the leg. I'd pick up the opposite foot & try to clip the leg that was supporting weight, and the horse would just about fall down while attempting to get that leg away from those horrible clippers.

I've also bought horses that were never abused, just not handled a lot, and they've been very twitchy about having their legs touched at all--not just front legs, but hind ones too. Try to pick up a hind leg or even just touch it below the stifle & the horse twists the leg under himself trying to keep me away from it--horse ends up almost sitting on me--with a front leg the leg gets snatched away and if I persist the horse ends up almost down on the ground...been there done that a few times! Like I said, all have been just lack of handling--I just spend some extra time with these horses, rubbing their chests and shoulders and then down the forearm, retreating when they get upset & pull away, and then resume--it doesn't take very long, in my experience, to get them over this. The last ones I got that were this way was able to pick up and trim all four feet less than a week after I started working with them.

In view of how many horses are that way (thank goodness not all of them are like that!!) it's entirely possible that your mare's dislike of having her legs clipped or even touched is totally unrelated to the scar on the lower part of her chest. Who can say for sure. If the scar was caused by an injury in the paddock, not by abuse, and the injury wasn't treated by the owner then it's unlikely that the scar has any relation to the dislike for having her legs touched. It's always possible too that after the injury occurred, if the owner was treating it, the horse may have come to associate human contact with pain to her chest area, and now wants no part of being touched...many reasons besides abuse for why a horse doesn't like to be touched in a certain area.

 

[~Lisa~]

I think often we humans make things very complicated tending to put human emotion and thought processes onto our horses. Many will take that tendency and run with it in fact many make a living off of those that do so.

if she were mine and she was that tramuatized I would have the vet give her a mild sedation the next time. She will be awake enough to understand and know what is going on around her and yet desensitized enough to not have a bad fearful reaction eventually you should be able to ease up on the sedation and go to a twitch and then onto nothing- although some horses never seem to get over clipping legs or ears.

It is pretty common and I am not sure I would assume it has anything to do with her scar it might and it very well might just be a horse who is not used to being clipped a lot.

 

[Katiean]

Our first mare was abused before we got her. Most likely from a farrier. When we first got her I had a male farrier. To me he seemed quiet and gentle. Well, about the 2nd time he was out she turned her head and took a BIG hunk out of this guys arm

. He hit her with his rasp.

Well, I think this is just what had happened before. I didn't have him back. I got a lady farrier and all was well but, some times she did a good job and sometimes a not so good job. So, I started trimming this mare myself and she handles it well now. I guess to make a long story short, This mare with all of her fears of a farrier is now doing well and accepts what ever we do with her and she is also now an easy catch in the pen. It has only taken 3 years to get her over all of the fears she had when we got her.

 

[disneyhorse]

Our first mare was abused before we got her. Most likely from a farrier. When we first got her I had a male farrier. To me he seemed quiet and gentle. Well, about the 2nd time he was out she turned her head and took a BIG hunk out of this guys arm

. He hit her with his rasp.

Well, I think this is just what had happened before. I didn't have him back. I got a lady farrier and all was well but, some times she did a good job and sometimes a not so good job. So, I started trimming this mare myself and she handles it well now. I guess to make a long story short, This mare with all of her fears of a farrier is now doing well and accepts what ever we do with her and she is also now an easy catch in the pen. It has only taken 3 years to get her over all of the fears she had when we got her.

I have seen quite a few fearful horses around the farrier, but for a horse to bite is just plain disrespectful. I haven't seen a horse bite out of fear??? I TELL my farriers to spank my horses if they are bad, they should not be biting or pulling their feet away. My farriers don't usually get after my horses, so I hold them while they are trimmed or shod and make sure they pay attention. My colt likes having his tongue held when he gets his shoes nailed on, it keeps him quieter.

Just my opinion.

Andrea

 

[susanne]

My mare, Scarlet, is very sensitive and was extremely jumpy about having her legs and ears -- even her bridle path -- trimmed.

I did pretty much what Keri has suggested here, combined with clicker training. I desensitized her with brush, comb, rag, hands, then "combed" the hair with the clippers. I then turned them on and just let her feel the vibration. I also began with areas where she was comfortable and worked my way slowly into the areas that upset her.

With each step, when she remained quiet and still, I clicked, praised her and gave her a treat. As we went along, the treats were saved for when we were done, but the profuse praise continued. She learned that remaining calm meant positive rewards and quickly came to know what I expected.

I can't say that she loves being clipped, but she has learned to be brave and quiet, and this has been such an important lesson. She now stands well for the farrier, and with her abscess, she stood perfectly for the vet and for me, even with injections and cleaning.

Fear is a vicious circle...or as FDR said, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself."

 

[rabbitsfizz]

Not sure how your filly is bred, but if you do not mind a very slight "hi jack" for a moment, I should point out that my colt is Appy and Appy-bred, and I have found that for some unknown (so far) reason my appy bred animals are far more sensitive in the lower legs specifically.

It may just be coincidence, but this colt is different bloodlines to the others I have with appy breeding and still very sensitive.

I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has this experience?

 

[Keri]

Give me my appy any day of the week over some others I've had to trim. He's an angel to clip (and he was a bit of a wild hair when I got him). I do have to twitch for the inside of his ears, but I haven't found a horse that will let me do it willingly.

 

[Little Wolf Ranch]

I have found that with several of my horses - they only let people in their "herd" handle and touch them certain ways such as. . .

Sampson will NOT let my fiance trim his bridle path but will stand there quiet and happy while I do it nor will he stand for anyone to try to give him a bath except for me. 

Allula will NOT let anyone catch her but me. . .mainly because (I think) I am really the main one who worked with her trust issues - when we first got her as a weanling if you walked into the paddock she would try to tear through the fence to get away because she thought you would eat her. . . she later learned that if she wanted breakfast and dinner she had to come to me, let me put on her halter and lead and then she would get her meal. . .be prepared to sit out there anywhere between 5 minutes to 3 hours. 

I would just work with her gently and show her that you deserve her trust and you should be the one she looks to for protection. Some horses only obey one person - some don't give a hoot. 

 

[esty]

Why is it when a horse has a fear or a problem its a bad breeder, past owner or trainer ? We have had several horses both full size and mini that have had issues.Had i not had them since birth i would say o god what happened to this poor thing.But, since i have had them since birth i know what thier treatment has been and its not been bad. Somebody posted about their horse bitting their farrier, I dont blame him one bit for smacking the horse. Horse bits can be real nasty and the horse needs to know its not OK ! We have also had horses with mystry scars, sometimes a blanket rub will cause one and if they are real hairy when it rubs you may not notice. We had a horse come here this spring and when we clipped her found a rub spot behind her front legs caused by an ill fitting blanket, the owner who dropped off the horse had no idea it was their, and they are good responsible owners. Sorry to ramble !

Esty

 

[~Lisa~]

Somebody posted about their horse bitting their farrier, I dont blame him one bit for smacking the horse. Horse bits can be real nasty and the horse needs to know its not OK ! Esty

I agree here if your horse is a biter and you do not want it hit... dont hand me the lead. I am not going to let any horse bite me and think it is ok. And to phrase it took a chunk out of his arm?! What would you expect the farrier to do so oh please do not bite me?

It is our responsiblity as horse owners to ensure our horses are well mannered and safe for farriers and vets to work with.

 

[Minimor]

I have seen quite a few fearful horses around the farrier, but for a horse to bite is just plain disrespectful. I haven't seen a horse bite out of fear???

I'm not sure they really bite out of fear--it's more of a defensive thing. They don't want to be handled, and they will bite to try and avoid it. I know someone that had an unhandled colt she was working with last fall, and he bit her (or bit at her, he didn't necessarily connect) several times when she was trying to handle his front legs. He'd never been mishandled or abused in any way, just wasn't used to being handled & he didn't like it--and no doubt was somewhat nervous about it--because he was tied & couldn't get away, the only defense he had was to bite & so that's what he did. I've since had a pony do the same thing to me, for the same reason--something like that I don't punish, just sort of block it and continue on. Once the pony is used to being handled and touched, she no longer tries to bite. Punishing her for it would only have made her more apprehensive of me and there was no point in that. At the same time, I wouldn't expect someone else, like a farrier, to deal with such a pony--I want my horses trained
I also had an older mare that I bought one time; she'd been shown as a yearling but had probably had no real handling after that--knowing where she came from I really don't believe she'd been abused at all--but when I got her the first time I went to trim her feet she tried to kick me when I went to pick up the first hind foot, and when I moved to the front feet she tried to bite me. Again I just kind of blocked her & carried on with what I was doing--she gave it up then & never did it again.