Who Took My Carrot? Handling the Once Starved Horse at Feeding …

Have you got a horse who is impatient for his feed? One who will attack others if they come close to his feed bin? Even sometimes his owner? In my experience, such aggressive horse has turned like this because he has been starved in his life. So you might reply, but he has all the feed he needs now! The word “now” does not mean much to the horse. He remembers that in the past, he did not receive enough food, and this is enough for him to remember it, even years later.

During an intuitive communication session, it is possible to find out more about it and to reassure the horse that he is now fine and he can trust his feed will come everyday. Now, please, make sure it does!

However, there are things the owner can do to help the healing process. I have to warn you that it is a very slow process though. The horse needs to understand and remember that he will get his feed everyday, no matter what, and no one will ever steal it from him. Seems simple, but for a horse, it is not.

The once starved horse will wait for his feed maybe hours before it is time. He will pace up and down, neigh, stomp, charge others away, kick etc. As humans, one might think that to show the horse not to be impatient, one will make him wait even longer. This worsens the horse’s attitude and it is not teaching him anything good. On the contrary, it is reinforcing his knowledge that his feed is not coming, and maybe will not come at all and he will go hungry. Bad memories come back and get imprinted even more in his mind.

So what can you do?
First of all, it is a good thing to remind ourselves that horses are creatures of habit. So once you have set a time to feed your pony, the first thing is to stick to the timetable. Of course, we also need a bit of slack for ourselves, so within an half an hour either way (at least at the beginning), it is acceptable to your horse. It is also useful to note that braking their habits bring up stress in horses, which may cause physical ailments, in particular Equine Gastric Ulcer. Once starved horses are very likely to have some form of ulcers so reducing any risk is wise.

Try to use the same feeding spot if you can. Your horse will know when and where and will wait for you there. It makes him feel safe.

These emotionally damaged horses usually need to be separated from the others at feeding time. It is best to find a spot where he cannot see the others and they cannot come near him.

To avoid any more impatient comportment and to show your horse that he will be fed, one should give him his food first, before any other horses.

Now, a very important thing to do is to talk to your horse like you were talking to a person. Tell him everything is all right now. Tell him you love him and you will take good care of him. Tell him no one sill steal his food and he will always get plenty. If your horse does not mind being touched while eating, gently and lovingly stroke his neck whilst talking to him. Let your true love for him flow from your heart, through your fingers and into him. And if you listen carefully, you might “hear” him talking back to you!

You can use Flower Essences remedies to help him regain the trust that he will be fed.

Over time, your horse will start changing his thoughts and will not be as aggressive and  demanding as he realises that yes, he can now trust his feed will be provided for him. He might never entirely forget his ordeal and will always have it in the back of his mind, but it will surely improve his attitude.