On the Comeback Trail - A Story of Triumph against the Odds
by Nicole Tough

Forward by Tracy Mayhew.

This is the story of the heart-warming comeback of Nicole’s wonderful horse, Glencoe Manhattan (Milo) – the horse which, as she puts it, “lost the plot” and blind bolted into the surrounding fence of an indoor arena during the intense heat of the ill-fated Ulla Clinic for State Squad members in January 2005.

Glencoe Manhattan (Milo)

Many of us remember the infamous Ulla clinic which was held in the hottest part of Queensland’s year, mid-summer January, in 2005. With many horses feeling the heat, everyone seemed concerned about welfare issues or perhaps ongoing problems as a consequence of heat exhaustion. Following the clinic there was talk of a horse that died, a horse that was hospitalised and a horse which suffered a horrific injury. There seemed to be a backlash from many who felt that the clinic was ill-fated when the organisers pushed on despite the very horse-unfriendly weather. It was difficult to get any straight answers about the outcome and very little was reported on the EFA’s website.

Successful Queensland FEI rider and Level 2 EFA NCAS Dressage coach, Nicole Tough tells her story about the demise and comeback of her favourite horse and I am sure there are a few lessons in the tale.

“In December 2004, former world number one dressage rider, Ulla Salzgeber, was invited to take on the position as Australia’s National Dressage Coach. It was great news for Australian dressage and the riders were all very excited to have the opportunity to train with this highly successful International trainer. As part of Ulla’s invitational tour, she conducted three clinics throughout Australia with the objective of assessing our most talented combinations, to select a National Dressage Squad that she could develop with a view to making Australia more competitive on an International scale; specifically the 2006 World Equestrian Games and the 2008 Olympic Games.

“Historically, all matters to do with selection seem to be controversial and the pressure felt by the riders at these clinics cannot be underestimated. With the benefit of hindsight, I believe that this pressure affected the judgement of organisers and riders when it came to horse welfare and this normally paramount aspect of the ‘code of conduct’ for the sport, was seriously compromised.

“At the time of the January clinic, Manhattan (aka Milo) had just turned 8 years of age and had four Prix St George starts to his credit. My coach, Traci Manca, and I were planning on an Intermediate 11 start at the completion of the 2005 season, but this was on the proviso that everything was still going smoothly and Milo was coping with the work.

“It was most unfortunate that the scheduled days of the Ulla Clinic saw weather conditions hit the extreme and quite unprecedented – even for the hottest part of the year. Temperatures soared to 44 degrees with 88% humidity, and local non-equestrian club sporting activities were cancelled due to the potential health risks. The timetable had not been planned with any allowances for contingencies and there was no flexibility from the organisers of the Ulla Salzgeber clinic, who steadfastly refused the riders’ requests to break up the lessons, that was having 4 lessons before 10am and 4 lessons after 3pm, therefore avoiding the hottest part of the day.

“There was much concern and confusion amongst the riders and many of us felt torn between our responsibility to our horse and our ambition to make a favourable impression with Ulla. We should have refused to ride to avoid cruelty issues and possible horse health problems, but most of us feared the consequences of not taking part, having been selected to be part of this “closed” clinic. The pressure was on us by all governing forces, and it seemed ‘the show must go on!’

“The fact is that despite the heat, the QLD riders were very excited to be involved in this prestigious selection clinic.

“As (bad) luck would have it, Milo and I had the 1pm time slot each day, in quite unbearable and stifling heat. Milo and I tried very hard to do as our iconic coach instructed. Milo obediently piaffed and passaged, and I was very proud of him and keen to show his talent for the difficult work. On the final day, Ulla asked me to “learn the Grand Prix.” I was very worried for my horse, as he felt quite fragile on the second day. When I told Ulla my concerns, she said, “he can do it!” I was faced with a dilemma and didn’t know what to do – question one of the world’s top riders and trainers, or go with my gut feel that it was not fair on my horse and that he must come first? I had witnessed another rider the day before tell Ulla that her horse had done enough, and it seemed quite clear that Ulla didn’t give her the same attention and had lost interest after this incident! My mind was buzzing with conflicting ideas. I rang my husband, Colin, in tears, saying, “I don’t think Milo can do it….” And my husband said, “Nic, she is an international trainer. If she didn’t think you could do it, she wouldn’t ask.” So, I put myself and my horse, in Ulla’s hands. I learnt the test, and I tried to cheat wherever I could. I cut corners and got told to do them again; I pretended to forget the test and put 20 metre circles in long and low wherever I could! I made the test as progressive as I could – but it was all too much for my beautiful boy. He gave and he gave until he couldn’t give any more – and then he just flipped out. It was very scary and really horrible, and I had to live with the result of asking too much and taking advantage of my horse’s generosity.

“Unreasoning fear took over and Milo ‘blind-bolted’ at the surrounding fence of the arena. I thought he was going to flip over the fence, but instead, it just sliced him open. The vet report says, Milo suffered, “severe lacerations in the shoulder and chest region”. There was extensive muscular and skin damage. The wound was repaired with a three layer closure and the patient heavily medicated for 10 days, with a course of antibiotics for a further 10 days.

“It took four hours to stitch Milo up. He then spent the next 3 weeks being cared for at my friend Jenny Gehrke’s property. Jenny lives very close to the Anstead Vet Clinic and this made the regular checks by the vet a little easier to arrange. It was ‘touch and go’ for a while, due to shock and trauma. I had a sleepless week expecting the dreaded phone call. The confusion that I felt on that fateful day now seemed so clear, I should never have gone against what I knew to be the right thing for my horse – it was not for me to act as ‘God’ and put my ambition before the fair treatment of my horse. I was plagued with guilt.

“In the ensuing 3-4 months, Milo recovered physically from the accident, and amazingly, now shows no visible scarring. It was the mental damage that was extreme and insidious, and took many months to find.

“Despite all, Milo was selected to be part of the National Dressage Squad. The next clinic was held in Sydney in May 2005. The mental damage was becoming more apparent as Milo re-gained his fitness and he felt very fragile in the May clinic. Ulla recommended that I “put Milo with a stronger rider who could invite the horse to run away again, but not get away with it.” I am sad to say that at the time - and against my coach’s wishes – this suggestion seemed to make perfect sense. I was convinced it was me. I thought my fear of a re-occurrence would trigger Milo to bolt; I thought I would make the problem worse. So I took Ulla’s recommendation, and put Milo with respected NSW rider, Brett Parbery.

“With Milo’s recent history, Brett was under enormous pressure to “fix” him.

Milo was with Brett from June to October 2005, and in that time, despite the best of care and training, he deteriorated to a shadow of his former self with his blind bolting almost a religious thing. Clearly nothing was working and Brett was just as perplexed and stressed out as me. Milo was dropping weight by the day and, I think, as close to a nervous breakdown that a horse can get. Brett, Colin, and I made the decision to bring Milo home.

“Brett is a highly skilful rider and did the best he could, but the horse was misunderstood by everyone, including me. It took me many months of soul searching to realise that Milo had simply lost his confidence. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to work, and it wasn’t that he was being naughty. The bolting had become a learned response to fear - the classic fear/flight response. Milo had been pushed beyond his ability to comprehend and sustain intense levels of power and collection. He lost confidence in me and was reacting with the horse’s natural instinct for flight. And certainly, no amount of strength could “fix” this problem!

“From this point most people had written Milo off. The speed of which we went from ‘in to out’ was mind-blowing. We were dropped from the QLD State and National Squads, and it seemed that most people thought he would never be heard of again. I certainly had no expectations of getting him back to his best, but I had no choice but to try. I owed it to him to re-build his confidence and his spirit. There was no pressure on us, because nobody expected to see him back (including me!) but I could at least make it fun again! What kept me going was my love of the horse and the sport and maybe one day, we could triumph again?

Nicole and Milo preparing for a canter pirouette - June 2007

“I must say how very disappointed I have been in the lack of contact from the EFA considering that my horse was injured in an EFA Squad clinic, and I was told that my “vet and rehabilitation bills would be contributed to.” The EFA failed to honour their promises regarding compensation and at the time of the accident, confirming these discussions in writing was not my most pressing priority – my horse’s recovery seemed like a much more important requirement. Not only did I nearly lose my FEI dressage partner, but I was also out of pocket to the tune of over $10,000 in vet, rehabilitation and training bills; an amount I have found very difficult to cover.

“For the next twelve months, my coach Traci and I worked steadily with Milo and finally took him to a local associate competition in November 2006, where I entered HC at Medium level. I didn’t plait Milo for the event and tried to keep everything as low key and stress-free as possible. I took the precaution of pre-warning the judges that I would probably find it necessary to retire or get eliminated through course errors, due to riding for Milo’s confidence rather than for a ribbon. Traci and I had a strategy; that every time Milo panicked and started to “go” I should soften the rein and push him onto a small circle, until – “his brain came back inside his head!” I did about 8 circles in that first test and experienced a few worrying moments, but I was thrilled with Milo and really appreciated the judges’ patience!

Nicole working on 'long and low' with Milo to gain his confidence - June 2007

“At this point, it was a case of exposing Milo to different stimuli and working through each situation which gave rise to panic. I offered myself and Milo as ‘guinea pigs’ at several Judges workshops throughout the 06/07 summer. These were great opportunities to ride the movements away from home without the pressure of putting a test together.

Milo showing an expressive extended trot - June 2007

“We did another associate HC Medium level test in January 2007 and I was very pleased that it was markedly better than the first outing in our comeback in November. We seemed to be making some progress, and the support from my fellow competitors brought me to tears on many occasions. Horse people obviously know the arduous journey back!

Nicole working on Milo's collected trot - June 2007

“Another judges workshop at Advanced level was a milestone as we were able to ride right through an Advanced test without a panic attack or a fearful reaction to the pressure. Milo and I seemed ready to put this long re-training process to the next test, and I entered an Official competition in April 2007, at Advanced and Prix St George level. The strategy, was just to get through the tests, without tension or panic. When we got over this hurdle – there really were waterworks! I was so happy - I seemed sad!

“Our next hurdle was the recent Toowoomba Championships; big atmosphere, competing in an indoor arena and the next BIG step - Prix St George and Intermediate 1. Milo gave me two great rides and I was thrilled to gain a 7^th placing in the Intermediate 1. It wasn’t the best test, but supporters in the crowd gave Milo a standing ovation. The future looks brighter again.

“I like to think that I can get Milo to Grand Prix, but this is difficult – even without the baggage, so I have no expectations and will just enjoy the journey and be thankful that I have my wonderful horse back again. I’ll just wait and see what Milo can do and take each day as it comes. It has been an incredible journey, and one that has taught me so much! The entire two years that it has taken to get back where we were, has given Milo and I more respect and trust in each other. I have learnt that sometimes, 80% effort is enough. I have learnt to work with him and not demand 100% from him all the time – this is not Dressage, it is slavery! Most horses cannot sustain 100% intensity all the time, and stay sane and/or sound. I think I am a better trainer today for the accident. I obviously had a lot to learn, and I hope I haven’t stopped learning yet!

Milo gets a big pat for trying his best

“Slow and steady does indeed win the race,” – or better yet – “less is more!” This is a very good saying.

"I would like to thank Tracy from Cyberhorse for allowing me to tell this story and I hope that all caring horse and dressage lovers will learn a little from our experience. If this is the outcome – then some good has come from our misfortune. And remember - each day with your feet in the stirrups is a good day!"

Nicole and Milo - a devoted partnership

Nicole would also like to thank her friends and family who have been a tremendous support to her during this amazing comeback.

© Cyberhorse 2007 Tracy Mayhew