Training Tips

QUESTION: This is not pertaining to any training issue and hope it is not a bother, but I had an incident last nite that was very scary. My horse stepped on a ground hornets nest and we were covered in hornets. I knew from his reaction that this was not a horse fly, because my horse was panicked. I managed to jump off, but was quickly covered in hornets, also. I was not too far from home (although it seemed like miles) and was able to run, with my horse, back to the barn. He had hornets all over his back legs and on his sides. I had hornets in my hair, on my ears, and up my shirt. Luckily I was able to hold on to him, because he was wanting to run, run, run. The hornets followed us back into the barn, stinging all the way. My husband helped me swat them off and I unsaddled my horse and turned him into the corral. I had to sit down because I felt like I was hit with a rock. My horse had welts all over him, and was breathing very hard. I got stung at least ten times. I guess my question is this, what, if anything should I have done? Should I call a vet in this situation? My horse is fine and so am I, but after riding for over forty years, this is something I had not encountered. I knew I should dismount and if nothing else, let the horse go if I could not hold him. Fortunately, he stayed with me. Now I feel like I should take along hornet spray when I'm riding. Has this ever happened to you?

REPLY: Ouch! Sorry to hear this! No, it hasn't happened to me, but it has happened to many other horse owners I hear about all the time, even clients of mine. It's more common than you might think because some of these hornets (as well as yellow jacket wasps) can build massive (and I mean HUGE) nests underground and if/when they feel threatened, they send out their "soldiers" to attack. And when a horse rides over one of these hidden underground nests, the hornets or wasps perceive this as a threat and go on attack mode. You did the right thing in attempting to get the hell out of there as fast as you can. So it's kind of in the life category of you do your best in a bad situation.

I do remember one story I heard from one past client whose horse I'd trained and whose owner then was a follower of my program. Post training, about a year later, she and about 10 others were out riding on trails together and they unfortunately hit one of those underground wasp nests and mayhem ensued. But what was interesting about this story was, while riders were thrown right and left as the horses attempted to escape the attack, her horse allowed her to ride away fast, staying in control, she got him a good safe distance away & then she wound him down to a one-rein stop, then rode him back to the stables calmly. Not until she dismounted back at the barn did she see that her horse had been stung dozens of times, yet he never went ballistic on her; instead he watched out for her and listened to all her commands. And this is my point: good training helps you to handle any emergency situation like that and keeps your horse calm, even in the face of bad attacks like that. One of the things I would recommend you build into your horse's foundation is the one-rein stop because it will serve you well in any emergency. Let me direct you to a link on my web site that goes over the one-rein stop in detail, how to teach it to your horse and why it is so very important to have in your horse's foundation solidly: http://www.naturalhorsetraining.com/TrainingTips94.html

What you need to do if you ever come across a hornets' or wasps' nest like this again, and trigger their attack, is get out of there as fast as you can, remaining mounted, because you can get further away faster. Try not to swat them as swatting can trigger even more to follow. They will follow you for a certain distance, however, then they will retreat. You want to try to get that distance behind you, but with the help of your horse's speed. If you've programmed the one-rein stop into your horse and practiced it repeatedly and in all types of situations, once you're far enough from the nest and they're not following you anymore, you can then wind your horse down to a one-rein stop (he'll do it automatically because you've drilled it into him hundreds of times before), dismount, and then take stock of the damage. What you did wrong there was dismount too early and still in attack range. I understand the concern for your horse at that point, but you both are better served via sticking together and riding out of there fast and at a good enough distance to lose the hornets, even if that means not heading back home/to the barn if the barn is potentially too close. Hornets or wasps have this range they'll travel before they retreat and you can outride that range. If your horse is well trained, he will stick with your instructions and trust your leadership decision.

I was proud of my client's horse, and particularly proud of this one, because when I first took them on to teach them, this horse had previously been a notorious runaway horse, who would take off with a rider dangerously. But post training, the horse understood all requests and the training stuck and it's the training that kept her in saddle, in control, as she exited the wasp area and got her horse a safe distance, even though her horse was stung galore and even though everyone else in her party got thrown from their horses. So...I'm showing you all this because it's good, solid training that gets you thru emergencies like this and gives you a safe game plan to turn to in any emergency.

I don't think taking hornet spray with you is going to do a bit of good in such a situation. The plan needs to be to exit the area as fast as you can, riding your horse out of there, but teaching him well in advance how to listen to you and especially have the one-rein stop well in place in the horse's foundation.

The only concern now re your horse (re calling a vet) is if your horse is showing signs of allergy to the stings (breathing difficulties, etc.). If you have any concerns at all though, don't hesitate to call your vet. They can sometimes prescribe an antihistimine to help with the stings now. And bute might help as well. But consult your vet on this. Never hurts to turn to your vet for any concerns. In the meantime you can treat the stings with any antiseptic that has an analgesic.

So sorry you experienced this. Truly feel for you!! You might up the road call in an exterminator expert to get rid of this nest, if it's on your property. And warn other riders about it in the meantime.

Hope this helps and hope you and your horse recover speedily!