>
> Miss Kitty is noticeably calmer now when I'm riding with someone, but when
> we're alone or end up alone (on a ride; I don't have these problems at home)
> she calls to any other horse in earshot *constantly*! I don't have any
> suggestions, but I'd sure like some, if there's anything that CAN be done.
> Yes, it is quite annoying. I don't know if it's related to being in heat...
> I've started to think Kitty is *always* in heat!
I have a mare with this problem, only MUCH worse. She becomes absolutely
frantic when she discovers she is alone. I literally cannot leave her
alone as she will destroy anything she is tied to (e.g. she broke a
telephone pole pulling back to get loose), confined in (e.g. she ripped
the back door off of an all steel trailer), etc. I suspect that the
reason for this is that she was weaned very young (probably about 3
months, but that is just a guess judging from her birthdate and where she
was bred).
My solution to this is to never leave her alone. She becomes so frantic
that she is loses all common sense and becomes so intent upon curing her
lonliness that she gives no thought to her own well being. It
absolutely rules her.
What I have done is to spend tons of time alone with her myself.
Grooming, out on the trail, in the trailer. To teach her that *I* am
company. This took HOURS of painstaking effort. Constantly chatting to
her (people who can hear me think I am crazy) to let her know that I am
still there and she is not alone. After about 6 months of this (spending
2-3 hours alone with her virtually every day) she has now gotten to the
point that as long as she can hear my voice she will not become too
distressed (although she likes to be able to see me as well).
Out on the trail, she still becomes agitated when she is with other
horses and then is left alone with me, but if I continue to chatter to
her (it doesn't matter what I say, she just needs to hear my voice) she
will calm down after they are out of sight.
I am, however, the only one who can do this. She doesn't consider all
people company enough. Just me. I never leave this mare alone
unattended (she is just too dangerous), and I never leave her with
someone else holding her lead rope while I and/or other horses depart.
There isn't a person born who can hold onto her when she decides she
wants to go. (I was just speaking with her former owner,
who...mostly...sold her to me because he was afraid of her, and rightly
so, and told him that I had NEVER worked with a more difficult horse.)
She has ripped the flesh off of plenty of people's hands who have tried
to hold onto her, and she has dragged plenty of people before they
decided to let go.
Maybe someday I will be able to get this out of her. But I really don't
think so. It is good enough for me that I am company enough for her.
Obviously, I would never consider her as a "Ride 'n' Tie" prospect.
It is not true that any horse can be taught anything. They are not
restricted only by their physical capabilities, but by their mental
capacity as well. Some horses will never make good jumpers because they
don't like to jump. SOme don't make good endurance horses because they
don't like the work. My mare won't make a good...a lot of
things...because she doesn't like to be alone.
In the same way that I would never force a horse that doesn't like it to
jump. I will never force my mare to be alone. It just distresses her
too much (to the extent that she is extremely dangerous). A good
horseman is someone who can work with an understand each individual horse
and develop the latent talent of each horse he works with. To work
together with the horse to develop both the physical and mental capacity
of the horse, with the understanding that there are some horses that are
just not suited to some work.
True expertise in horsemanship comes in knowing which talents can be
developed, which problems can be overcome, and when, if necessary, to
give up.
I am not saying, your horse can never be taught (I said that my horse can
never be taught), but rather to be patient in working with this "I don't
want to be alone" problem...which is a fundamental instinct of all
horses, especially mares (it is worse with mares as wild mares are always
a part of some band, while stallions will actually spend some time alone).
And not wanting to be alone does not disqualify a horse from being an
endurance horse (it does, as I said, pretty much disqualify the horse for
Ride n Tie), just ride with other people. Go to rides with people who
want to ride as the same pace as you, and slow down your pace is the
people you are with want to go slower. It is a hinderence, but not a
disqualifier.
However, what works best for me, is to teach my horses that I am company
(with my stallion, just the slightest twitch on the reins to remind him
that I am still there is enough). I do this by spending HOURS alone on
the trail with them.
So the short of it is, teach your mare that when she is with you she is
not alone, and come up with some method of reminding her that even though
those other horses are running away...she is still with you.
Kat
Orange County, Calif.