5 Tips For Horse Abuse Rehab

Brave

This is Brave. He’s blind and was headed to slaughter when he was rescued from the feedlot. Brave is now safely homed at the Golden Carrot Rescue Sanctuary but he needs a sponsor as of this writing. Please help him or one of the other rescues at the sanctuary.

An abused horse may not just be physically in poor shape. Certainly this is something that is seen. We see the long or cracked feet, the ribs and hips showing and the bad coat. What we can’t see right away is the mental effect this has on the horse.

Because of this, rehabilitating a horse that has been abused can be a tricky affair.

1. Gaining weight without overloading the system is a finely tuned balancing act. It cannot be overstated to have a good equine veterinarian on the ‘team’. This can direct you in getting enough feed, and the right kind of feed, to provide weight gain without causing colic or founder from a sudden increase to the system. Plenty of hay is needed more than grains. The horse that has been starved can sometimes be food aggressive when they get feed. This is especially true if they were in a group situation where they perhaps had to fight for what they got.
2. Feet are often one of the last things considered unless long or cracked. Keeping feet in good condition really does help the rest of the horse. Problems can show up here first, from founder to abscesses and thrush. Pain in the feet can also affect the horse’s attitude.
3. Mental issues may not immediately present themselves. This can vary from nervous habits to aggression to fearful behavior in particular situations. Even horses that face the same situation can react differently. Two that clearly showed this came from not getting enough to eat. As they began to physically change the one colt became aggressive – as if never going to do without again. The other one was so afraid that merely hitting a fence would send him running for an exit or, if pressed, trying to create one.
4. Pay special attention to balancing discipline with praise. Horses don’t give much importance to words but do to body language. The lack of discipline can be seen by some horses as weakness. In a horse’s world this is not only NOT someone to follow as leader but is also not worthy of respect. This can create aggression and training issues and is definitely something to prevent rather than try to fix.
5. Young horses can be even more difficult if they’ve never had consistent handling. Those that have been turned out on pasture and not handled can see humans as unworthy leaders, making a tricky situation in being firm on discipline without destroying their confidence. For the novice it’s worth the money to get a good trainer to put the basics on such horses. Remember training is for life – without being able to handle the horse he’s much more apt to end up in the same situation again.

It’s obvious to see the physical, but don’t overlook the “mental fallout” of mistreatment. These issues may not show right away and some resilient horses may bounce back unaffected. For others it can challenge the understanding of the horse’s language.

“A good horseman can hear a horse talk, a great horseman can hear a horse whisper”.  Monty Roberts (the horse whisperer)