traumatised horse

March 10th,  2022

By Karine Vandenborre

Joey’s traumatic experience as a foal

Joey was about 4 months old when he was taken from his mother in a brutal and aggressive way. Three strong men cornered him to grab him, then they forced him to go on a trailer without his mother, while screaming at him and hitting him with a whip.

All the time his mother was shouting in panic in the field nearby and Joey did everything he could to get back to her. However, the brutal men were stronger than him: they managed to force Joey into the trailer and took off with him…

Now, if you think this is a stand-alone story, then I have to disappoint you… I’ve already had quite some clients with a similar kind of story...

Unfortunately, it still happens that foals are taken away from their mother in such an aggressive way.

Anyway, at his new home, Joey was released into the pasture and three years later I was contacted by the owner to help him as this now 3-years old horse was still very difficult to halter. Marc, his owner, couldn't even approach him.

What he did was lure Joey into his stable with a bucket filled with grain, then give him some extra food in the stable from his hand to be able to halter him. And when the hoof trimmer came, they had to give him a calming medicine to trim his hooves.

So the horse was unapproachable, he was anxious, no one could halter him without first luring him into his box, you couldn't touch his body without running the risk of being kicked.

It was a big, big problem. And the reason for this, the cause, was Joey’s traumatic experience as a foal…

The good news is, that a few weeks after Marc started learning about the connection exercises, I received an email saying that an incredible change happened! His previously extremely difficult horse could now be approached and even haltered without problems.

No more luring to his stable, he came all the way to Mark himself now, so Mark could stroke and scratch him.

Not only the halter problem was solved, now Marc and Joey also had a super-strong bond!

To arrive at that point, I taught Marc everything he needed to know about how to connect with a severely traumatized horse.  It's all about bonding in the most natural way, and having respect for the boundaries of the horse.  

Marc also learned how to move with mini-movements and how to trigger curiousity in his horse. This is all done in true Liberty.  True liberty means that you work in a big arena or field, not in a small round pen or picadeiro. 

True Liberty also means that you let the horse have his opinion and his emotions.  We let the horse express himself fully.  So if the horse says "no, I don't want you to get closer", then it's important to respect that.  In the case of Joey this was crucial, so he could feel that he was in charge of when and how someone approached him.

If you also want to learn how to connect with horses in this way, because you might have a horse that lost trust in humans, or just because it sounds interesting to you, then invite you to take a look at the Horsefulness Liberty Connection Program. 

In this online program, I teach you exactly how to communicate with horses in liberty, and create the wonderful and heartfelt relationship you've always envisioned!

With love
--Karine