Hi,

My honest opinion? Sounds like your horse is not the right horse for you. Maybe he was before the accident, but I know how a serious accident can knock your 'skill level' along with your confidence. Sounds like you need a calm, unflappable, well trained horse, &/or stick to areas you & the horse feel safe in for a while, before going into 'scarier' environments.

If you are nervous, you're going to project that & make a sensitive horse more nervous & reactive - & therefore dangerous... giving you - and him - further reason to be more afraid. Vicious cycle.

You need to break it & instead practice 'confidence' and being in control. So IMO, don't try to push yourself into situations that make you scared, tight, but practice the very basics enough, in a 'safe' environment, until you're fully comfortable with that, before 'pushing your comfort zone' just a bit more.

I had my trainer took my horse to the pond a few times, always alone and the horse is there and she even trotted my horse back and forth along the fence line to try to get a rise out of the other horse. Nothing.

I wonder if the other horse's behaviour was purely about your horse's emotions/insecurity. If he feels safe & calm with your trainer, he's more relaxed & doesn't 'attract' antagonism from the other horse.

Now a few times I decided to hand walk him past the pond. That white horse did the same thing he did that day. And my horse FREAKED out again. Once he got away from me and ran home he pulled so hard. After that I kept a chain on him and he never got away again. I work on keeping his attention on me the whole time but it is quite the fight.

That's not helpful, may just make matters worse. Sounds like he knows you're already nervous, so taking him into a 'dangerous' situation when you're not confident about it is only going to further reinforce his fears. To add punishment & fighting with him to force him to stay in that dangerous situation is going to confirm the danger to him. Just like yourself, he needs his 'comfort zones' *gradually* stretched in a way that he isn't scared silly.

 

Hi,

My honest opinion? Sounds like your horse is not the right horse for you. Maybe he was before the accident, but I know how a serious accident can knock your 'skill level' along with your confidence. Sounds like you need a calm, unflappable, well trained horse, &/or stick to areas you & the horse feel safe in for a while, before going into 'scarier' environments.

If you are nervous, you're going to project that & make a sensitive horse more nervous & reactive - & therefore dangerous... giving you - and him - further reason to be more afraid. Vicious cycle.

You need to break it & instead practice 'confidence' and being in control. So IMO, don't try to push yourself into situations that make you scared, tight, but practice the very basics enough, in a 'safe' environment, until you're fully comfortable with that, before 'pushing your comfort zone' just a bit more.

I wonder if the other horse's behaviour was purely about your horse's emotions/insecurity. If he feels safe & calm with your trainer, he's more relaxed & doesn't 'attract' antagonism from the other horse.
That's not helpful, may just make matters worse. Sounds like he knows you're already nervous, so taking him into a 'dangerous' situation when you're not confident about it is only going to further reinforce his fears. To add punishment & fighting with him to force him to stay in that dangerous situation is going to confirm the danger to him. Just like yourself, he needs his 'comfort zones' *gradually* stretched in a way that he isn't scared silly.

Thank you for your input!

I've owned him for years now and in the arena he is such a calm, sweet boy and we do really well together. But I do like to get out of the arena every once in awhile. Like I said he is a nervous nilly outside of his comfort zone and I've never had a problem dealing with it and keeping him calm until my accident.

And No - I don't fight with him. (bad choice of words, I didn't want to write more than I already did... And I'm not scared of him or being by the lake when I'm on the ground. Under saddle by that pond is a completely different story now. But what I have been doing recently is walking by the lake, then when the white horse comes to the fence, and when he starts to get nervous. I stop and try to get his attention by making him yield, back up, and do normal ground exercises that he is familiar with (and knows very well). I also talk to him and make casual conversation in the voice I always use when we ride and spend time together. My neighbors were fishing by this pond and must have thought I was crazy standing there for 30 minutes having a casual convo with a horse. Maybe I am crazy but I really feel like talking to him helps him calm and focus a lot better than not. The "fight" I was referring to (for example) I will say back, and he will start backing, then stop and focus on that white horse. It took me a good half hour to get him to calm down and focus on what we were doing somewhat even though you could still see he was nervous. When he is listening to me, I stop and walk home. And the first time I tried this, I had him in a rope halter. The second I asked him to back, he bolted. The second time and every time since then, I used a chain and he has not bolted since. (I am sure to be as gentle as I can with the chain as well)

I'm just not sure if I am getting anywhere with him. Or if I should just give up trail riding with him in general. And even though I am not nervous riding him or taking him to other trails... I'm not sure if Ill ever be able to ride by there again.

 

So should I just stop hand walking him by the lake all together? I work on a lot of stuff with him already and I'm not sure how else to fix this problem besides going to the lake. And I know I will never ride by that lake again until I can get him focused there on the ground. He does so good in the arena, and I ride 3-4 times a week. We walk around the property, go down the street, through the small trails. Sometimes I trailer him to my trainers. I have not trailered him to a big trail in a very long time, and probably will not be any time soon. Until I figure this out.

I spend time with him and groom and talk to him. And I really love him, and I think we do really well together. It's just like something about that little strip of land throws everything out the window. It's really frustrating. And I hate to say, "I can't ride over there because my horse will freak." I want to fix this! I've been so scared until recently and now I'm not sure if what I am doing will even help.

 

If he is very outwardly focused, like on the white horse, then just talking calmly and waiting for him to calm and give you his attention might not be really helping him. You are, in effect saying , "when you've had enough of that more important thing, maybe I'll be important enough for you to look at". Why wait? Give him a reason to consider you more important than the white horse , right away.

 

So I should just get him to move his feet?

 

Get him to do whatever you want. Moving his feet may be what you need.

Meanwhile, YOUR fear is likely a form of PTSD. You would be VERY well served to ride a very calm "seen it all" horse on trails for awhile. I also (gently) recommend talking to a counselor who is versed in dealing with PTSD to see if there are things you can do to help yourself.

Thankfully you have recovered physically. The outcome could have been very different!

 

My sister has a horse that is experienced on the trails. I do ride her occasionally and she is actually the horse I first started riding when I finally recovered. And I never really thought of myself of having a form of PTSD, but Thank You! I will start to work more on myself before helping my horse.

 

Honey, honestly, I think you are focusing on the wrong animal at the moment. YOU need to get over the trauma you experienced. Go back to the pond by yourself. Get yourself relaxed there. You need to be able to control YOUR tension in that area. Your horse (and others) can read your body language better than you realize. It is not uncommon for us humans to relive the bad experiences and have a hard time getting past them. This is not an overnight fix. But, be honest with yourself so you can work through it. Keep working on your horsemanship, but don't worry about taking your horse back to that spot until you have dealt with the trauma that YOU have experienced. Then, and only then, can you help your horse deal with it.

 

Thank you... and yes my sister has an experienced trail horse and I take her out occasionally.

I will do that! I never really thought to take a step back and worry about myself. I have always have that "get back on and get over it attitude." I am just so worried about my horse. Like when I fell off and he jumped over me the only thing I could think was "I hope my horse doesn't get hurt".

 

I have had the following happen to me on two occasions which might give a different look on things.

The girl that worked with me was out riding, I suddenly saw the two weaners galloping up the road. Naturally I grabbed alters and headed after them.

Fortunately they turned into a field and stopped and I was able to catch them and lead them back. Both were soaked with sweat and had hearts thumping away when I got to them.

The girl came running to me having put the horse away. She told me that she was coming back across the fields, the foals took one look at her and just took off, one jumped and cleared the rails, the other hit the top rail and fell.

The horse she was riding was a white grey and it was her that frightened them.

I put a foal either side of the mare in stables and they soon settled but there was no doubt in my mind that it was the colour that frightened them.

Another time I was riding a young mare and met up with someone riding a white grey coming towards us and she took fright, best part was that she was a grey herself but still an iron grey at that point.

That mare would shake and shiver every time she saw that white horse approaching us.

Once they realise they are still a horse and white doesn't mean ghost horse, they are fine.

 

I had a white grey who didn't like other greys either. I think they don't want to share the beauty.:wink:

 

The White mare went to stud - to another white grey stallion. He wouldn't cover any grey mares so, they would tease him with another mare, cover the grey mare with a blanket and neck cover swap at the last moment and get him to cover her that way!

 

I have had horses that did not like white horses and had one that was petrified of black and white paint horses. I finally took him to a practice roping where I knew a couple of guys roped off of paints. He tried to up-root a tree and tear down a pipe arena fence (he failed miserably) nd finally gave it up -- almost. He still got pretty scared when a paint was ridden toward him.

Another horse I had also did not like paints and was scared to death of Holstein cattle. He never would work spotted cattle as well as he worked solid red or black cattle. Later, I ran into cutting trainers that said they had also had horses that did not work spotted cattle. Oddly enough, Herefords and black baldies were OK. White faces did not count. Who knows what goes through some of their heads.

 

I have had horses that did not like white horses and had one that was petrified of black and white paint horses.

Interesting that you say that. Aires is a black and white pinto. He has gotten along with every horse he has been around...with the exception of one. There is a black and white paint mare at the barn who he absolutely HATES. Now, he usually LOVES mares of any form, but until this mare, he'd never seen another black and white paint (that I'm aware of). When the BO was redoing the turnouts, she temporarily stalled the horses who were in turnout, including Aires. He was stalled next to this black and white mare. He completely destroyed a heavy-duty 16ft welded steel stall panel trying to get to her. People who saw him going after said he was rearing up and slamming his chest into the panel with his ears pinned. This is the horse who lets a little 14.2hh appy push him around in turnout. I saw the panel he destroyed...it was completely mangled. Looked like it had been run over by a bulldozer. :shock:

 

Yes, horses do have a fear of something they perceive as 'different'
Charlie is white (maximum expression of grey ), but none of my horses mind her

Now the first time Charlie saw mini driving horses, that was another matter! It was at an open show. She was petrified when they came up behind her outside , where the warm up area was at that show.
I asked one of the mini drivers if I could just follow behind her cart, and that worked, as in any other situation, when the horse sees it can make that cow, calf, or int his case, mini horse and cart, move away from her
Far as that white horse and that reaction by the Op's horse, several things are at play. In that initial incident , where the OP was badly hurt, it was just a situation where a horse might panic, riding out, having cattle come bucking adn running up to that fenceline, a braying donkey, as once in my case, or in this case a loose horse that happened to be white.
The Op did not have the body control on her horse to prevent that flight response, and got badly hurt
NOw, of course, when she takes her horse by that pond and that horse, she can't help but be tense, and her horse thus believes that white horse is something to fear.
The fact that her friend can take the horse past there, no problem, under scores this point
Expect a horse to spook, bolt, and he won't disappoint you!

 

When I rode my reining mare down that road, complete with slide plates, coming to a pasture that had a stud donkey in it, I could have had a similar wreak, was my horse not very solid on body control.
She had never seen a donkey, and was at first just curious, but when he came running towards us braying, she was all set to 'leave the country' As that road was paved, first thing I did, since she has slide plates on, was get her into the ditch, and have a 'discussion"
When I was much younger, I rode horses out long before I had them really solid in body control, but now I make sure I have that on them, as you never know as to what you might encounter, and when you do, you have to be able to take their head away and get their mind back on you.

 

OP, have you tried riding by the pond on a calm horse while your trainer rides your horse? If you can both pass the white horse separately a few times, then try switching horses when your trainer thinks you're ready.

It is funny what will spook some horses. When I was in college, I took a class that involved saddle breaking a 2 year old colt. (best class ever! Did I mention I was an engineering major?) That colt had only been around other horses his age. The first time he saw a horse being ridden (from a distance) he freaked out over the two-headed monster. The second time, a girl on a horse came in our arena for a lesson, and my colt spooked again. While our trainer went to explain to her trainer why an arena full of lunging 2 year olds was not the best place for a lesson, I took the opportunity to walk up to the girl and explain to my colt that she was not a two-headed monster. I would have loved to know what was running through his mind!

 

Yes, horses will spook at something they are not sure as to what it is, and it is how we handle that, which matters, and how our horse comes back to us
When Smilie was about 3, I was riding her in the field next to ours. That field has a hill, going up to where the far fenceline meets the highway
Thus, as we were riding along the bottom half, she could see the tops of those trucks whizzing along that highway, but did not associate that with the traffic she had seen going down our road
When she was along two year old, I took her to a clinic, just to get her used to working around other horses. While we were in that arena, someone's horse, who had been tied saddled to the trailer, got loose and came charging back into the arena, where his buddy was. Was a potential wreak, with a few horses trying to bolt or crop hop. I had some body control on Smilie by then, was able to prevent her from bolting, by taking her head away
Point being, ride enough different places, there is always going to be something that will spook your horse,and then it matters not why that horse might be spooked, but if, you can regain control and get their mind back to you

 

Another though.
Any chance that the white horse is a stud?
That might explain as to why he re acts the way he does towards the OP's horse, esp when led
We hand bred our stallion to outside mares esp, but once in a while put one of our own mares in with him to pasture breed.He knew when that mare was out of heat, and would not bother her, BUT, if we went into that pasture and haltered that mare, he would think he missed something, and that she was in heat, thus would try to breed her, unless we drove him off
Far as getting all fixated on the color-does not really matter, as an elk, a bull moose and those bucking leaping young cattle turned out in spring, that love to come running up to the fenceline that way, when you are riding past them, down the road (our horses don't live with cattle ), can produce the same attempted reaction
The oP;s horse is not being asked to live with that horse, breed it, ect, but merely to ride past it without freaking out. That white horse could be a big logging truck, suddenly coming around the corner of a forestry road, coming suddenly across a group of elk, seeing a horse drawn covered wagon for the first time, coming down the trail at them, having mountain bikes suddenly come up quickly and silently at them, over the crest of a hill, as has happened to us, when riding in K country
People are getting hung up on the color of this horse, which in this case, does not matter, as all that horse has to do, is come back to that rider and go past the 'obstacle'

 

I was born with a serious fear of heights that made my life extremely difficult even in lifts and yup on horseback. Dismounting was a nightmare, I stayed on for so long that instructors got ****** because I sat over time. That's before I went for hypnotherapy. It was a 1-1 60min session. After that session, I bought a few BHS hypnosis audio CDs (Stages 1-3, Nervous Rider/Hacking, Show Jumping). I kept replaying them every day for a few weeks. My confidence and riding improved quite quickly and I can pop over fences, fell off twice but still coming out well, dismount quickly even on moving horses. That's how I got over my phobias, they were deep-rooted and long-lasting, since I had it for over 21 years. Now, I am proud to say I've gotten over it.

 

I was born with a serious fear of heights

I have a bit of a fear of heights, and I can't ride a horse over a narrow bridge or at the edge of a steep drop(altho no prob going up or down steep trails). Depending on the bridge/height, I'm uncomfortable on my own 2 feet. Despite realising it's a 'phobia', that I'm not really in danger, despite 'ignoring' the fear, doing it anyway & trying not to show it, that is one problem my horses & dogs tend to also have... they pick up on our emotions, IME regardless of whether we try not to project them, and well, if She Who Is In Charge is worried, then there must be a cause for concern.

At least my daughter has somehow avoided my spider phobia - she saves me from them & wants to be an arachnologist when she grows up!:shock::think:

 

I am not sure if the horse is a stud. I actually thought the same thing but i am not sure. I do know that he is all alone, there are no horses within sight of his pastures either. He is HUGE, I remember the ground shaking when he was running back and forth along the fence line.

And thank you all for your insight... i've had some pretty bad falls before but none of them have affected me like this. I am not going to give up, on myself or my horse. I am actually going on a trail-ride in a few weeks past the lake with me on my sister's horse, my trainer on her mare. If all goes well, we will go again but my trainer is going to lead my horse. And we're just gonna work up to it little by little. I told my trainer how scared that place really makes me, and that I'm not sure when I'll be comfortable riding past there on my horse for awhile and she said she will work with me on getting past this. So we'll see how it goes.

Thank You again for all your help!!