MORNINGSTAR MISTY
The Story of a Horse in New England
I thought I might tell you all a story about a horse who was reputed to be a "killer" mare and how she was rehabilitated.
Misty was 4 years old when she arrived in Cape Coral, FL at the Cape Coral 4-H Equestrian Center. She jumped off the trailer and immediately began "hopping" to the barn on her hind feet. When she came down on all fours, she pushed and shoved her way through the handler who was at that point repeatedly batting Misty about the head and neck while screaming obscenities to her. Putting Misty immediately into a stall which was readied for her with fresh water, shavings and hay, I then tried to get some background on this mare. At this point, Misty was not noted for being "dangerous". ... just green. In fact, after deeming that she was just too much horse for the beginner 4-H kids, I purchased her from the club for our daughter who was then 11 years old and had been working with and riding horses since she was 6 years old. Our daughter did take on this mare and within 90 days had her gentled to saddle and showed her in her first show in N. Ft. Myers. Receiving a first place in Equitation that day and a third place in pleasure, I felt confident that our daughter had done a wonderful job of starting this horse and would go on successfully showing and eventing her. Unfortunately, the events that were to follow, did not enhance these possibilities.
Just a few short months after this, our family was transferred back to New England. Arriving from 80+ degree weather to single digit temperatures was definitely not condusive to a happy transition for Misty and Bub, our then 18 yo QH Gelding (aka the Ole Man). Nor was it a comfortable transition for us, either. It was C-O-L-D!!! Snowy, wet, cold and miserable. But, we had our horses in our own backyard and were ready to begin anew. It was yet another "adventure".
Misty and Bub had never seen such tall, horse-eating trees or huge rocks before. Nor had they encountered any wet, white stuff on the ground prior to this move. They were horrified. Not only were they panic stricken when a tree swayed in the cold New England wind, but Misty had no idea of how to go down-hill. She would amble to the top of the hill we had in the backyard, then gingerly sit down and slide back down on her rump. This continued for 3 full months until she finally either got a sore rump or smartly conceived of the idea of staying on her feet and slowly "walking" down the hill. Separating the two was absolutely out of the question. The mere thought of taking Bubba for a walk up the dirt road without Misty would set the mare to insane screaming and barging at the stall walls and doors. At one point, Misty decided to jump the stall door; measuring 5 feet tall on the inside and 6 feet on the outside of the stall, this was no minor feat. Especially from a stand-still in a 12' X 12' stall. Our daughter wished that day that she had never taught Misty to jump from a standstill! This precipitated a move to a larger facility around the corner from our rented house. This seemingly worked out well for the time being. Then, I found a 10 stall facility to lease and the two moved again. The poor horses had yet become familiar with the New England terrain. Misty was still relatively uncoordinated when maneuvering over hills and un-even ground; she became just a wee-bit testy. She was then 5 years old and the hormones were beginning to kick in.
One day, Misty decided she no longer wanted to be a "saddle horse" and began bucking. Since our daughter has one of those "to die for" seats, she never did get dumped off her back. However, Misty would try like the devil, all four hooves off the ground, body contorting and twisted, nostrils wrinkled and flared with the eyes squinting and ears flat back on the head. Then, she began charging at us while on the lunge line. To further complicate and endanger whomever was handling her, she started to rear in a split second with no forewarning while being lead on a lead line. There were a few times her hooves came perilously close to our heads. After having a clean bill of health, I decided to get in touch with the best trainer I could find in the area to see what could be done with her as she was getting increasingly dangerous to handle, never mind ride.
The day the trainer came out to the barn was cold and there was sludge and ice in the paddocks. She took Misty out to the side ring where the footing was secure and began to ask her to lunge. Misty went calm for a few rounds then without warning, lunged at the trainer who fended her off with a whip. After trying to keep this horse from cutting her life short, the trainer advised me to get rid of the horse or have her put down. I was ready at this point, to do just that. However, I couldn't think of selling her with the fact that she might kill someone. I just couldn't live with that. What kept me from putting her down was a combination of things. ...
At this time we had a 15 yo. mare in the barn as a lease horse for our 4-H club. The owner would tell us stories of how unmanageable this horse was when she was much younger, just about the same age Misty was then. It was rather unbelieveable since this horse was noted as the "lady" of the barn. She was the most well-behaved horse there. My feeling was that perhaps Misty, too, would someday be a "lady". After forbidding our daughter to have anything more to do with Misty for awhile and prohibiting anyone else from handling this horse, I set out a "game plan". Hearing of a "natural" estrogen replacement to help with the hormonal changes, I began feeding Misty "Black Cohosh" with her grain, replaced her sweet feed with pelleted grain, turned her out 24 hours a day and I began to treat this horse as if she had never been handled by humans before. We set out on barn manners, respecting human space, haltering while standing quietly, leading without shoving, pushing, rearing and went onto more ground manners of all sorts. It was done in a gentle, kind yet firm manner using TTOUCH and TTEAM exercises, Clicker training and working WITH the mare's personality; not with force. I set the horse up in exercises and gave her plenty of room, both physically and mentally, to choose what she wanted to do. If she chose the wrong way, she encountered exercises that consumed more energy and thought than she liked. The instant, and I do mean INSTANT, she even THOUGHT to chose the "right" way, she was rewarded. Rewards in the way of a click, treat or praise as well as instantaneous release of pressure from any lead or body cues.
During this time we did not put the mare under saddle at all. I was treating her as an "un-broken" horse. About a year ago I was working with her on a lunge line again with a gain of respect. This was after a fall and winter of being handled in hand. She had been behaving quite safely on the lunge with no more charging attacks until the day our daughter decided to give it another go. She lunged her to the right then I told her to ask the mare for a reverse of direction. Our daughter immediately said, "but that's her bad way!". I replied that the mare was no longer in the "attacking" mode and would be fine. Well, I should have had a hat on my head to eat for dinner that day. I had no sooner gotten that out of my mouth than the mare turned and charged our daughter. Looking in retrospect, I asked her later on what she was "thinking" and "visualizing" when she asked the mare to change direction. She said she was "picturing" Misty charging her. Well, guess what ... 10 points on that one for proving that animals receive the pictures we visualize in our heads because as the visualization was going on in the handler's head, the mare picked up and acted in the exact manner which was being visualized. It was if our daughter had "asked" Misty to charge her. Well, back to the drawing board after that day.
We continued on with the ground exercises. Respect when being led, coming when called, walking quietly on the lead, trotting quietly on the lead, walking calmly over and through obstacles, through poles and over tarps, through water. We worked on everything I could think of. We started this work in September of 1996. No saddle had been put on her back since then until this January of 1998 when our daughter decided she was ready to try riding again. This was during our New England traditional "January thaw". The mare was saddled without incident and mounted. While I held my breath and told our daughter to remember to breathe, the two walked off in the paddock to the right, to the left, backwards, frontwards, side yields, turn on the haunches, turn on the forehand then into the trot. Never an eyelash blinked with thoughts of bucking. No hair on the mare's nose twitched in anticipation of rearing. Her ears were in classic position ... one forward watching, one backwards listening. For all of a 1/2 hour, the two were united partners. I cried. I whooped. I shouted. I scared Bubba with all my noise! Our daughter beamed from one ear to the other and I believe Misty was grinning too!
Well, the snow came in and the mud with wind and rain making any sort of regular riding program impossible. The ground manners continue to be of the utmost excellence with Misty except for one small glitch we had few months ago. As I was trying to push Misty out of Bubba's feed bucket, she turned her rump and threatened me. Well, THAT was totally un-excuseable. As I was in the paddock with her with nothing to use for enforcement, I left the paddock and went into the barn and grabbed a lead rope. I stormed back into the paddock where Misty still had her head stuck in Bubba's feed. I ltossed the end of the lead towards her rear "drive space" to ask her to move out. I was in shock when she immediately picked up her head and trotted over to the far corner of the paddock where she turned to face me and waited for me to "allow" her to go back to the "dinner table"! My status that day was cemented as the "alpha mare" in this relationship. That response that Misty gave me was better than any Championship ribbon I could win in the show ring.
There have been a few other very slight testings since that day. Something which I should have done on day one but I didn't was to round-pen this mare. I now do so as a reminder and refresher for her to yield to my wishes on the ground which carries right over to the saddle. This summer will be our "dancing" summer where we learn to dance with one another as partners. Unfortunately, at this time our daughter has other agendas in her life which does not prioritize her mare. So, Misty and I are working together and will continue to do so for a long time.
In summary, it has been a long haul from "killer" mare to "partner". I would like to again say that if I were to do this all over again, the FIRST thing I would have done would be to round-pen this mare the day after she came to our barn. It is now the first thing I do with every horse I work with to establish the hierarchy and make sure there are no "authority" questions. Horses live in a very structured society within the herd. A horse and a human make up the herd. There can only be one "leader" ... it must be the human if there is to be any cohesive partnership at all. The human must take the role as "alpha mare" or "head mare" or "leader", whatever the term one wishes to use. It provides clear boundaries and establishes a comfort zone for the horse where it is free to be a horse. Horses are inheritantly gentle and quiet animals. The aggressiveness in horses towards humans is born from fear and human error.
Gwenyth Browning Jones Santagate © June 1998
Just click on Misty and me to go BACK TO TRAINING INTRO page! *S*
This picture above was just taken this month, October 1999. Misty has a VERY special little boy on her back. This little boy is the first child to be on her back in over 6 years and the therapy it provided this child is immeasurable! The therapy it provided *everyone watching* was immeasurable! Misty truly is a gift ... a gift to our family and certainly a gift for this child.