AGHHHHH what do i do ???

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Peachescream

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Hi guys Im looking for some opinions please. I have just bought a young 3/4TB1/4Clyde filly who is 2 end of may. I picked her in a field out of about 10 young horses. I was aware that they were unhandled and not halter broken. Mine didnt have a name. The people said they would bring her in and stable her get her used to the sights and sounds halter break her and do a small amount of leadwork so we can box her and get her moved to mine. I have a small pony that i bought at 6 months unhandled and he was just herded into box. He was very nervous and now follows me everywhere and leads up and down the road and long reins tacked up etc he is rising 2 also, so i wasnt too concerned about taking on an unhandled youngster as she a nice blank canvas to work with and was looking forward to building a future lifetime partnership with her.

The thing is that was 7 weeks ago they never brought her in for 3 weeks (herded in a quad). They made 2 seperete pens for her and another horse and she has been in there for 4 weeks. The other horse getting headcollar on and off now and being groomed and mine is still very headshy and wont allow a headcollar on. I cant get out as its a good bit away and i dont drive.

When i did go out last fri to see how she was getting on the farm boy was busy telling me how horrible she was not realising she was mine. He said she was a b**ch and no one could get near her face. Im quite upset as i dont see what chance she has when thats his attitude and now feel its causing more harm than good her being there. I got a horse lick and stood facing away from her outside her pen and within 10 mins i was stroking her face and talking to her quietly but she was on high alert and not relaxed. I feel that after 4 weeks if they havnt got her headcollar on and are struggling to touch her face i should just bring her home where i can spend the time needed to build up her trust. The people are saying i need a stable or pen to put her into or i wont get near her. But i just feel she has to go out at sometime she cant just stand in a box for months on end. Surely it would be better to allow her to be a horse and i can sit in a small paddock and allow her to build the trust like i did with my little pony. I also have an older mare and i thought she would learn a lot from them too and see theres nothing to be scared of.

What would you do if this was your horse?? I would of been happy to leave her where she is for as long as it takes if i felt she was progressing but i feel that surely within 7 weeks she should be getting a headcollar on instead i feel the blank canvas i thought i was getting is ending up with more problems!!!
 
Hmmmm.... I dont think I would have parted with any money until the 'work' had been done with the horse. :(

Are you PAYING them for brining her on for you?

From what you've described she certainly isn't going to benefit from staying where she is. What's the point of her remaining there? You've discovered yourself that all she needs is patience and time. She needs to be gentled and handled daily. And it doesn't sound like she's going to be done for you staying where she is, so you need to be working towards getting her home yourself. She'll need somewhere quiet, close by to you where you can see to her yourself. Where ever you take her to, it'll be best to discuss the horse and it's requirements with the YO. No point in moving the horse to a yard without the sympathetic handling and environment the horse will need.

Your main task will be getting her to the stage where she can be travelled safely. Maybe the people she's with now would work with you to get her to that stage at least?
 
Get her out of that place now, sounds like it is doing more harm than good. Trust takes time so just let her find her feet with you and build from there. She must be so miserable penned in 24 hours a day, such a culture shock from her previous existence poor girl.
 
4 weeks without getting a headcollar on is a long time either they are handling her badly or she has a problem in some way, I once had a wild scared 5 year old pony dropped off from the Welsh mountains via a sale, she did have a headcollar on but could only be caught in the stable by using a loop of wire, in 4 weeks she was half way to being broken to ride, easy to handle and relaxed with me.
Time and patience is required, they sound lacking in both so if I were you I would move her ASAP, getting a headcollar on when you do and leaving it on if you have to turn her straight out.
 
Thank you for your quick response guys i feel sick worrying about her. I fortunately have my own land with shelter so dont have a YO. I bought her to bring on as my older mare has been diagnosed with cushings and is on daily tablets and is now reduced to light trekking mostly just to get her a half hour walk out the field.

No im not paying the people to work with her. I have paid her deposit and i have the cash waiting for her but i said i will pay for her the day i come to take her home (I have named her serenity seren for short which means star) I think its fitting for her as they are saying shes wild and i want to give her a sense of peace and shes going to be my star just like the one in the middle of her head :).

I didnt really want them to work with her i wanted to get her home ASAP to start bonding with her and to slowly introduce her to her field mates.

Although the people wanted to get her halter broken and handled before i went away with her, which made sense and i thought that would be the best thing but as it goes on i dont think it is as its just becoming routine for her to avoid and i dont think thats right.

I know its now going to be twice as hard to work with her as she has been stuck inside i think when she loose she will be worried about being put back in. I just really wanted some more advice from other people to see if they felt it was the right thing to do to get her away from there and put back to pasture and try and start from scratch again. I know she has it in her to be brilliant i dont care what they say maybe im just being naieve but i think every horse has it in them to be good they just need to learn trust and confidence and at not even 2 she should certainly not be written off. Some of my friends i should take one of the other youngsters or a different horse altogether from somewhere else, but Im not leaving her there. Im as stubborn as she is i think we will make a good team lol.


http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2464020740446&set=a.2427539708443.89122.1850097210&type=3&theater
 
ISHmad said:
Get her out of that place now, sounds like it is doing more harm than good. Trust takes time so just let her find her feet with you and build from there. She must be so miserable penned in 24 hours a day, such a culture shock from her previous existence poor girl.
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This ^

Get a lorry or box, take it down and collect her.
 
Peachescream said:
Although the people wanted to get her halter broken and handled before i went away with her, which made sense and i thought that would be the best thing but as it goes on i dont think it is as its just becoming routine for her to avoid and i dont think thats right.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=2464020740446&set=a.2427539708443.89122.1850097210&type=3&theater
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Mine was unhandled when I collected her, I was told a headcollar would be done and she'd have the trailer in and played with daily to get used to it. A week later without anything having happened (not even been down to look at her), I went down and played for the day... headcollar on and walking up ramp and half into box on her own. Took two evenings to get her all the way up and was well worth it.

Take her home!! You will be worrying, she won't be getting anywhere. If they don't like her already she will pick up on that. She will learn far better with someone who wants to be teaching her :)

(Would be very interested in a photo when you have her back, sounds a brilliant cross :) )

Pan
 
cally6008 said:
This ^

Get a lorry or box, take it down and collect her.
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Don't buy her, YET!!!!!!
mmm, explain , in diplomatic terms , that you feel you would like to take her home on loan with a view to buy, as she is not yet handled, so you want her at your place, and when you have got her halter broken you will pay the rest of the money. They retain ownership until you have paid up. The deposit can be used to pay for her transport [unlikely you will get it back]
Tell them you are looking around at other horses as you really don't want to be landed with a load of trouble. You can back out, she is proving to be difficult, this is not what you want
I am sure you now realise these people are not traditional breeders.
But you should insure her, you have an interest [as it is a loan horse]
They have nothing to lose, only you will lose as you won't see the deposit back. But be firm, they made a verbal contract and have not fulfilled it, only if they see you are at a tipping point and they won't be seeing the rest of the cash, will they consider your views.
here is a mantra........ "there are other mares, and other days, other mares, other days....................."
Please don't give the vendors the benefit of the doubt, decide what to do, and be prepared to walk away, only by making this decision will things move forward.
PS I would be calling her quite a few names, but Serenity is not one of them!
 
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difficult one - Do you trust them not to manhandle your horse and make her frightened of the headcollar - I can see them forcing her due to lack of time rather than taking it steady. Could you take a day off and spend the day up there with her and get her accustomed to it and being led?
 
I would bring her home. Is there some way you can convert the shelter into a makeshift stable? One of mine came straight of the moors totally unhandled
 
I would bring her home. Is there some way you can convert the shelter into a makeshift stable? One of mine came straight of the moors totally unhandled, I kept him in a stable until he could be handled enough to be gelded then he went out into the field, it took 3 weeks but now a year on he's like a puppy, he follows us everywhere and we've just started to back him (he's 3) our other youngster is a forest bred Newfie, he had a head collar on before he came to us but was a sod to catch. He was put straight out but it took longer for him to come round. He is also not as trusting as our other pony.At the end of the day you wanted a blank canvas if Seren stays there you won't get that, you will get a horse whose view of people has been tainted but the people who are tried to halter break her.
 
I imagine also that you were worried about the actual act of getting her home w/o risking the both of you & your transport. So much as you'd prob love to get her home its prob not that easy!
 
Nosey said:
I imagine also that you were worried about the actual act of getting her home w/o risking the both of you & your transport. So much as you'd prob love to get her home its prob not that easy!
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Thank God you said this - obviously someone else on here realises that it's just not that easy with unhandled youngsters. I doubt you'll find a professional transporter who will take him. The only thing I can suggest is that you either go there daily (not sure if you can) and sort it yourself, or rather harshly you don't pay the balance till delivery.
 
When I got my dhp x I rang several transporters for quotes, they were willing to take him but would not allow a shared load, he was travelling quite a distance. An unhandled horse, once loaded, is no worse than a bad traveller and professional transporters should understand that.
 
Spiritedly said:
When I got my dhp x I rang several transporters for quotes, they were willing to take him but would not allow a shared load, he was travelling quite a distance. An unhandled horse, once loaded, is no worse than a bad traveller and professional transporters should understand that.
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The worst bit with my youngster was getting her off the other end. She realised that there was plenty of hay left and that we could make a song and dance as much as we wanted but she was not getting off until she'd finished every last scrap!

Pan
 
What's your gut instinct? Is she a problem because they have handled her badly or have they handled her badly because she is a problem? If the latter are you ready to cope with this? Yes, fine, but don't pay them anymore until she arrives with you & is transported as soon as safe to do so, no, walk away (& put it down to experience) or ask them to put deposit towards another of their horses.

It's your choice as you have to live with the repercussions. Just don't pay a penny more until you get her home. Yes, Seren is welsh for star.
 
If you REALLY want this horse I would INVEST a few days, going there yourself to work on her... It really shouldnt take too long... just a long weekend. Go there and do two sessions a day- one in the morning, go for lunch or a walk or something and come back a couple of hours later and do it again. She sounds like a very intelligent girl and it sounds like you have already made more progress than them, which I'm sure would continue to improve once she gets to know you. I wouldn't attempt to travel her given her size (I'd imagine shes pretty big!) until she is somewhere near halter broken... although being confined in a stable isn't pleasant, it can be a necessity at times and it is quite good for her long term education anyway so try not to look at that too negatively.
 
ISHmad said:
Get her out of that place now, sounds like it is doing more harm than good. Trust takes time so just let her find her feet with you and build from there. She must be so miserable penned in 24 hours a day, such a culture shock from her previous existence poor girl.
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This!

I imagine the longer she is cooped up the worse she will get.
 
Firstly....don't panic!! :)

I bought 2 big unhandled geldings at a sale. They were supposed to be halter broken but weren't and I had to get them home that day. Long story...one for another time! :D

Anyway, my advice would be just get her out of there, obviously no good is happening and the longer it goes on the more any avoidance behaviour around her head will be imprinted.

Worst case scenario, get a trailer, take the partition out and put down a nice straw bed, remove anything she can catch herself on and travel her loose. Keep the top door shut too. Once you are travelling, nine times out of ten they will settle. Particularly if you stick a nice big pile of hay on the floor...no nets, don't want her getting caught. You would have to 'gently' run her onto the trailer so you would need to make a sort of funnel and make sure she keeps moving forward.....a bucket of feed and patience will be your friend here!.

If you can spend some time with her before hand and get a halter on then all the better....just remember, she won't have learnt to tie up yet so I may still be inclined to travel her loose as per my suggestion above.

Can you stick a gate across the front of the field shelter and keep her in that. You'll find once you have a halter on her, have a bit of control of her head and give her lots of love and praise she will come round really quickly. You do need that halter on asap though!

Good luck, I'm sure she will turn into a little 'seren' when you get her home! :)
 
Agreed with starbar on travelling loose. Mine was loose and no nets etc. I did a fair amount of research and the overal recommendation was to always remove partitions if travelling one.

Pulled up halfway to check on trailer and popped our head in to see the calmest little thing, couldn't believe how well she travelled considering we were told her only previous experience was being herded on with 2 others and towed to a local field. Moving to work on her myself was the best thing I could've done.

Pan
 
if you're sure you want to go ahead with buying her, get her home! she's not learning anything useful there, infact she's probably learning far too many evasion techniques!
friend of mine bought an unhandled 2 yr old from a stud, they travelled him from shropshire to wiltshire in their trailer and he was fine, having a front unload made it easier to tempt him out at the other end;)
 
Thank you all so much for your advice, Im going up to spend time with her today and with a stroke of luck get her headcollar on as its going to be her last day there. Im taking her home tomorrow Im going with the tunnel idea and herd her into box and travel her lose. My stomach is in knots i hope all goes well. Im borrowing my friends box so didnt need to worry about someone agreeing to transport her. Its all happening so quick now after 7 weeks of waiting. I will let you all know how i get on and will try and upload some pics when i figure out how to do it. Think i must be crazy with all this hard work ahead of me, think horselyx are gonna be my new best friend lol :).
 
All the best.

I travelled a 2 month old foal & her dam loose in a trailer with everything removed. The journey was 200 miles (obviously we stopped reguarly so foal & dam could feed/drink), & went smoothly. My girl never tried to turn around & was a rock for her baby.
 
starbar said:
Firstly....don't panic!! :)

I bought 2 big unhandled geldings at a sale. They were supposed to be halter broken but weren't and I had to get them home that day. Long story...one for another time! :D

Anyway, my advice would be just get her out of there, obviously no good is happening and the longer it goes on the more any avoidance behaviour around her head will be imprinted.

Worst case scenario, get a trailer, take the partition out and put down a nice straw bed, remove anything she can catch herself on and travel her loose. Keep the top door shut too. Once you are travelling, nine times out of ten they will settle. Particularly if you stick a nice big pile of hay on the floor...no nets, don't want her getting caught. You would have to 'gently' run her onto the trailer so you would need to make a sort of funnel and make sure she keeps moving forward.....a bucket of feed and patience will be your friend here!.

If you can spend some time with her before hand and get a halter on then all the better....just remember, she won't have learnt to tie up yet so I may still be inclined to travel her loose as per my suggestion above.

Can you stick a gate across the front of the field shelter and keep her in that. You'll find once you have a halter on her, have a bit of control of her head and give her lots of love and praise she will come round really quickly. You do need that halter on asap though!

Good luck, I'm sure she will turn into a little 'seren' when you get her home! :)
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This definitely regarding travel, just ask them not to feed or hay her before you collect so that she is more interested in the hay in the transport. They generally travel better loose anyway and it is unlikely that she would be ready to tie up anyway. I would definitely think twice before turning her out immediately! We have experience with several wildies in the past, all of which have been able to be groomed all over and have headcollar on and off within a day of arrival. The last one we bought was kept in for a month but not making any progress whatsoever so I turned him out, thinking the other 13 would quickly bring him around. That was 2 years ago and we still cannot do any more than occasionally touch his face for about a second, although he will eat from your hand. He is now a stallion so is in with the other boys but we have to deal with his 'shyness' this spring so that he can be gelded. The boys are handled daily and fed twice a day so it isn't lack of interaction that is the problem, he isn't afraid but just chooses not to be touched.

If you can confine her just for long enough to be able to get a headcollar on safely, and get her to accept it going on and off, then I would do that, I just wouldn't take the risk and it sounds as though you have made progress quickly when you have seen her. I would definitely get her out of there asap.
 
Not read all replies but I would say that I would ask to collect ASAP. Make it clear that you will pay the balance once she is safely loaded into the lorry/trailer by you (turn up if necessary at crack of dawn and allow the whole day to get her in. Once home I would just take it slowly - sounds like you have the patience that the sellers are lacking.
 
I bought my mare as an un halter broken rising 5 year old. She had a headcollar on, and had been stabled, but he just used to open the door and let her run out to the field following another one, and they all brought themselves in in the evening. I used to go down and handle her occasionally prior to bringing her home.
When arranging transport I used someone I had known a while.
In response to the I've bought an unhalterbroken rising five arab mare, the response was is it chestnut? I'll leave all afternoon!
I'd turn the shelter into a stable, herd it onto to the box if you have to but get it home, and worry about the rest later.
 
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