Re: RC: Re: Preventing Herd Bound Behavior?

[Vallonelee@aol.com]

Could she have gotten to the limit of her endurance mentally.  When we train 
on separation it is usually for a specific period of time and then the horse 
returns home or back to the comfort zone.  Maybe she was thinking, "okay I 
have been good while all this is going on and staying calm, but I can't can't 
take it anymore".  I know from experience that once they "lose it" it takes a 
long time to regain that composure.  I took my 5 year old horse, Bravo, on a 
25 mile endurance ride planning on just going nice and slow.  This is a foal 
that I raised, imprint trained, hauled around as a companion horse to rides 
for two years, camped with,  etc., etc.  He never acted up at home, blah, 
blah, blah.  Well that rides was the absolutely worst!!!  I was ready to pull 
the saddle and leave him on the trail, alive or dead!  What I decided was to 
go back to the drawing board and spent the next nine months training on his 
responses to me.  I tried again with a 50 when he was just shy of 6 years 
old.  Except for a little minor anxiety at the beginning of the ride his 
training shone through.  The next ride was six weeks later and another 50.  
He was so relaxed that he grazed while waiting for the controlled start.  I 
rode him in a sidepull after the first five miles (hey I hadn't forgotten 
that first ride) and he was wonderful.  He rode alone and in the group, front 
or back,  without problems.  

So again, I believe that training is the key - prepare the horse to fall back 
on the learned responses when they get anxious and build a trusting 
relationship that they can count on.

Lee