Bad morning for stable training

It all went a bit petetong this morning.

Despite my alarm going off at 6.15am I still managed to arrive late to the yard. A longer than normal snooze (despite the cats best attempts to get me up) and faff with putting the washing out meant I didn’t leave the house until 7.15.

When I arrived I thought I would try and save time by cheekily parking my car at the field. Also halves my hobbling distance which is handy when you have only one working leg. Having parked up and hobbled to the horse I came across the game keeper who said he needed access to the gate way I just parked across. He said it was fine to park there until 10am but my conscience was nagging at me all the way whilst I brought Sofie in. I know I am not meant to park there and today I was in the way. I’m not much of a rebel and so hastily through Sofie in the stable and rushed to retrieve my car.

I just broke one of Sofie and Is ground rules. You do not leave Sofie.

Sofie hates stables. She frets and paces and calls when you leave her in one. She becomes a shit factory which is delightful when you have to clean up the aftermath. 10 minutes in a stable with Sof feels like a lifetime. You get knocked about and shat on whilst she screams in your ears. Again I think this is a separation thing (see separation anxiety post). Whilst she was out of work she would be left in the stable whilst all of her field buddies were being ridden. This must have been really stressful for her.

Over the last few weeks I have been trying to overcome her stable phobia. We spend ten minutes before our ride every morning in one. I choose the mornings as this is when she is at her calmest and the yard is quietest. She gets hay and her lick which she loves and I talk gently to her whilst grooming. At first this was speed grooming. I would get a brush stroke in whilst she span circles around me. After a few sessions she started to settle a bit, realising I wasn’t leaving her, and now mainly stands and eats her lick.

A miracle: two stable haters
Not freaking out

I am not new to stable phobia. Tonto, like with most things, was a terror in a stable. Bit like Sof but add in some aggression, and occasional door climbing. It took me years to get T to stay calmly in a stable. Normally with him the trick is to leave the door open so he doesn’t feel too trapped. Anyway Sof and I had only done stable training for a fortnight. It was def too soon to leave her on her own in there.

But I wasn’t thinking about this when I ran off to get my car. I left her alone in the dark stable. She could not see any other horse and she could not see me. The look of relief on her face and the pathetic little whinny she gave me when I came back was heart breaking. The stable was a shit storm. She had clearly panicked.

I had little time to console her or even groom her. A quick cuddle and brush (which did sooth her somewhat) and straight on with tack. I would have to make it up to her later.

After the ride (which she was lovely on) it was back in the stable. My plan was to make her remember nice things happen here. Unfortunately she was still wound up from her abandonment earlier and was pacing. I needed to pick out her feet and whilst pinned against a wall holding her back foot she kicked out. Nothing nasty, just wanted her foot back to she could pace again, but when you are against a wall with no-where to go it is unpleasant. The unfortunate think about me is if I feel threatened by a horse (which is fairly rare) I tend to get aggressive and assertive. This worked for Tonto because he needs a firm hand at times, but it was precisely the wrong thing to do to Sofie when trying to teach her stables are where nice things happen. I used my boss horse pose (tits out, arms slightly away from sides and arched, and a death stare straight to the eye) and bellowed at her sending her cowering into the corner. She then gave me her back leg to pick out, clearly terrified. Poor little Sofie. First I abandon her now I am shouting at her.

I wonder how many weeks it will take us to be calm in the stable again. I feel awful. I let my own stress (at being short on time) undo all of our training. I felt so guilty I turned her out without her muzzle on, so she will probably come in with sore feet. Another fail. I am not a good horse woman today.