Services > Starting > Starting case study : Daheil
{images of Daheil}
Train Equus - Re-Starter case study : Daheil
Daheil’s owner initially contacted us to help her handle him. She had purchased him a year earlier as a horse with ridden “problems”. She soon discovered he was neurotic when stabled and anxious when handled. After several months of improved nutrition and handling they began the process of re-starting him. They used a dummy jockey and a mounting block and ran into some serious problems. When he was asked to approach anything higher than his shoulder height he panicked and fled. They tried using small and large people and even got on him by legging up only to be bucked off very quickly.
Out of desperation I was called in. This lovely horse was lunged for me in a sand school on a tight circle and in full flight. He was beautiful, and much loved, but in a yard with limited facilities and an owner out of her depth. We worked on getting Daheil’ s attention, walking on a long line, lowering his head and beginning to focus his energy in a positive way. We discussed introducing him to long lines and to objects around and above him and I suggested they not mount him or look at riding him until he could think and rationalise this fear. As with all my clients I offered phone support and further help if needed.
I heard no more but rang a month later as part of my routine of checking on past clients progress. They had made very little progress but had asked for no further help. They really were stuck as Daheil was a seriously remedial horse and his owner had neither time nor spare money. We came to an arrangement and Daheil came to us for two weeks.
He made rapid progress with groundwork, which his owner had begun, to great effect and long lining, something he had been unwilling to accept previously. We addressed his fears of seeing a rider above him by turning him into our now familiar round pen and have a mounted horse approach and circle him on the outside of the pen. This went well so our rider and horse entered the pen and carried out a similar route, Daheil went to investigate and then followed, finally allowing the rider to handle him and lead him around the pen.
We were buoyed up with our progress, in just a few days we were out and about on long lines helping him enjoy the farm environment. Quite a change from his inner city life style.
Week two, and time to introduce mounted work. We began with a “flag” - a device Grant Bazin introduced me to when I attended his advanced riders course at Hartsop Farm. We then introduced a rider, me. All was fine until I moved my head and we were off, deathwalling around the pen and I hadn’t even sat up! We managed to stop and get me down safely, time to regroup.
We started by establishing what triggered his flight response. Why did he go faster when I tried to get off or change direction? The answer came when I dismounted with my head on his nearside rather than the more usual off side, he stood. It was clearly to do with my head! A breakthrough. We took him through a mounting process slowly with our dummy dismembered. The answer - a riding hat anywhere near his head, shoulder or saddle was the biggest trigger, especially if above his head and this was just a hat on a pole. He was terrified and so frightened he did not look, simply fled. The nearside was as bad as the offside so the work was painstaking. Hours of work in short sessions got us to the point of placing a headless dummy jockey on him in a chute with no panic, then in the pen and we began to introduce a head and finally a hat. We also worked on him walking about the round pen at liberty whilst I walked around on top of straw bales holding a hat on a pole. All very bizarre to watch but vital to help this troubled horse.
Unfortunately with such a short amount of time in which to help him we could only do so much and after three weeks he was better but far from safe to mount. His owners had taken on quite a challenge with the best of intentions. He returned home more attentive and content and much safer to work with as he was rationalising his responses. Unfortunately in some cases time and love are not enough it takes training and expertise combined with facilities and assistance. Daheil is at the extreme end of horses we see where their behaviours have become ingrained through pain, fear or months of repetition of unwanted behaviour until it is deeply in place. We helped Daheil and who knows with more time we may have done more.
August 2008
I lost touch with Daheil for three years and suddenly out of the blue a lady rang me to say she now owned Daheil.He has remained a loving calm horse to handle on the ground but as his new owner's daughter Vicky explained he seems terrifed of a rider sitting up. She had read this story when her mother accessed my web site and they were shocked to find more details of Daheil's life story. They rescued him in a very poor state about eighteen months on from him leaving our yard. He was intended as a companion horse and after nursing him back to health they began to wonder how he would feel about being worked. They have done a lot of great work and fittened and strengthened him on long lines, led him out from another hores and even begun introducing a rider.They then encountered some serious behavioural problems. Some horses are so damaged by their past experiences it is best for them and their handlers to accept the situation.It would seem the vision of this beautiful horse interacting with his young companion in their field at home is more than enough for both Vicky and Daheil. These thoughtful owners have decided to accept Dahiel as he is and I feel this is the perfect end to his journey.
Out of desperation I was called in. This lovely horse was lunged for me in a sand school on a tight circle and in full flight. He was beautiful, and much loved, but in a yard with limited facilities and an owner out of her depth. We worked on getting Daheil’ s attention, walking on a long line, lowering his head and beginning to focus his energy in a positive way. We discussed introducing him to long lines and to objects around and above him and I suggested they not mount him or look at riding him until he could think and rationalise this fear. As with all my clients I offered phone support and further help if needed.
I heard no more but rang a month later as part of my routine of checking on past clients progress. They had made very little progress but had asked for no further help. They really were stuck as Daheil was a seriously remedial horse and his owner had neither time nor spare money. We came to an arrangement and Daheil came to us for two weeks.
He made rapid progress with groundwork, which his owner had begun, to great effect and long lining, something he had been unwilling to accept previously. We addressed his fears of seeing a rider above him by turning him into our now familiar round pen and have a mounted horse approach and circle him on the outside of the pen. This went well so our rider and horse entered the pen and carried out a similar route, Daheil went to investigate and then followed, finally allowing the rider to handle him and lead him around the pen.
We were buoyed up with our progress, in just a few days we were out and about on long lines helping him enjoy the farm environment. Quite a change from his inner city life style.
Week two, and time to introduce mounted work. We began with a “flag” - a device Grant Bazin introduced me to when I attended his advanced riders course at Hartsop Farm. We then introduced a rider, me. All was fine until I moved my head and we were off, deathwalling around the pen and I hadn’t even sat up! We managed to stop and get me down safely, time to regroup.
We started by establishing what triggered his flight response. Why did he go faster when I tried to get off or change direction? The answer came when I dismounted with my head on his nearside rather than the more usual off side, he stood. It was clearly to do with my head! A breakthrough. We took him through a mounting process slowly with our dummy dismembered. The answer - a riding hat anywhere near his head, shoulder or saddle was the biggest trigger, especially if above his head and this was just a hat on a pole. He was terrified and so frightened he did not look, simply fled. The nearside was as bad as the offside so the work was painstaking. Hours of work in short sessions got us to the point of placing a headless dummy jockey on him in a chute with no panic, then in the pen and we began to introduce a head and finally a hat. We also worked on him walking about the round pen at liberty whilst I walked around on top of straw bales holding a hat on a pole. All very bizarre to watch but vital to help this troubled horse.
Unfortunately with such a short amount of time in which to help him we could only do so much and after three weeks he was better but far from safe to mount. His owners had taken on quite a challenge with the best of intentions. He returned home more attentive and content and much safer to work with as he was rationalising his responses. Unfortunately in some cases time and love are not enough it takes training and expertise combined with facilities and assistance. Daheil is at the extreme end of horses we see where their behaviours have become ingrained through pain, fear or months of repetition of unwanted behaviour until it is deeply in place. We helped Daheil and who knows with more time we may have done more.
August 2008
I lost touch with Daheil for three years and suddenly out of the blue a lady rang me to say she now owned Daheil.He has remained a loving calm horse to handle on the ground but as his new owner's daughter Vicky explained he seems terrifed of a rider sitting up. She had read this story when her mother accessed my web site and they were shocked to find more details of Daheil's life story. They rescued him in a very poor state about eighteen months on from him leaving our yard. He was intended as a companion horse and after nursing him back to health they began to wonder how he would feel about being worked. They have done a lot of great work and fittened and strengthened him on long lines, led him out from another hores and even begun introducing a rider.They then encountered some serious behavioural problems. Some horses are so damaged by their past experiences it is best for them and their handlers to accept the situation.It would seem the vision of this beautiful horse interacting with his young companion in their field at home is more than enough for both Vicky and Daheil. These thoughtful owners have decided to accept Dahiel as he is and I feel this is the perfect end to his journey.
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