Am I right to be wary or should I grow more balls?

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chrissy2014

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Nearly 2 weeks ago bought a companion pony and also a little project. Completely unhandled 3 year old. She would run as soon as you were near.

Anyway I finally got her to want to come to me to be caught (without food) will happily follow me around the field. Slightest hand movement used to scare her.. now i can rub all her face and neck with my hand and a face brush and also been desensitising her with ropes, brushes etc which is coming along great....

now this is my first project pony. I have a very well mannered bomb proof tb so I tend to get a little nervy with this pony such as I haven't had the balls to rub her all down the sides of her body as her eyes r still wide and body flickers when stroking new places... am I just being way to slow? Should I just move straight in and stroke her body or am I right looking for pi$$ed of signs and keeping back? She has never gone at me she seems more scared then angry when im doing something new. I dont mind taking my time just feeling silly I may be taking too much time. How do you do it? Any tips?
 
Nervous pony + nervous owner = very bad combo. I would honestly advise you to sell her - if you are nervous about petting her then I just don't see that it's going to be possible for you to make a good horse of her.
 
Take it slowly, be guided by your gut feeling. If you put too much pressure on her all at once, you will lose her trust. You will not upset either of you by taking things steadily put you could ruin your relationship by rushing.

ETA, you are doing fine with her to get her to the stage she is at in 2 weeks, well done!
 
So I am just being silly? I am pretty proud of what I have achieved so far as this pony wouldnt even come near me. so to sell her because I have got a bit wary is silly when I just need to man up.
 
wench said:
If your unsure, perhaps now is the right time to get a suitable instructor in to help you
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Agree with this.
It is not about having balls or being wary - You need to be confident when handling her, and have knowledge of what to do when. How much you do and how fast will depend on the body language of the horse, which can change quickly with a youngster (i.e. it is not possible to just give a 'recipe' that will suit all horses all of the time). There are a number of good books around on training young horses that can give you pointers, but I really think you need someone to help you on a regular basis to make sure that you are doing the right thing at the right time.
Most people usually do not recommend having an inexperienced trainer teach a completely unbroken horse on thier own. Unless you can afford help, consider if this horse may not be too much of a project for you and whether something that has done a bit more but maybe just has one or two issues would be better to start with as a project horse?
 
Just keep going as you are and it will be okay. All you really need is patience and a calm temper. It's a pony she's dealing with, not a racehorse, it's not that hard to gain their confidence and bring them round with a bit of quiet, bringing in other people at this stage wouldn't be my choice at all, get her used to you first.
 
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Gloi said:
Just keep going as you are and it will be okay. All you really need is patience and a calm temper.
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Sorry, disagree. Patience and a calm temperament are indeed essential, but i think knowledge is also important for a horse this green. The associations the horse makes at this stage can affect it for the rest of its life.
This is just my personal opinion though.
 
I think you are doing fine- whats the rush to touch her body? Have you got a headcollar on her yet? Just work your way an inch or 2 further back every day, you will get there.Keep your left hand on the headcollar when you are using your right hand to touch further back on her bodys left side, you will be quite safe if you do it with her head slightly turned towards you. Then vice versa- right hand on headcollar anduse left hand to touch her right side....
 
chrissy2014 said:
So I am just being silly? I am pretty proud of what I have achieved so far as this pony wouldnt even come near me. so to sell her because I have got a bit wary is silly when I just need to man up.
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Definitely not!
You are doing very well. We bought a 3 yr old who had been left more or less feral by her breeder until about 2 months before we bought her, when the breeder had backed her in about 6 weeks. She had obviously been forced into complying by being tied up etc (I'm not saying she had been mistreated) and was very wary. We left her to grow on with daily handling and she has never been anything but easy to catch (apparently the breeder couldn't catch her) and delightful, wanting to learn. We have taken everything slowly and calmly, letting her think that she has a choice.
 
I was planning on bringing some one in when the time comes to backing her. I know that and schooling I wouldn't have a clue but the handling I thought I was doing pretty well... the negative comments has shocked me if im being honest. I haven't once rushed her and been using pressure and release which has been going very well. And yes to the head collar. Started off with just her mouth in it and now I can do it up completely.
 
Take all the time that you need, both for yourself and the little mare as she is the one relying on you to guide and give her confidence in the human race, don't let her down now.
 
chrissy2014 said:
I was planning on bringing some one in when the time comes to backing her. I know that and schooling I wouldn't have a clue but the handling I thought I was doing pretty well... the negative comments has shocked me if im being honest. I haven't once rushed her and been using pressure and release which has been going very well. And yes to the head collar. Started off with just her mouth in it and now I can do it up completely.
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I think you're doing fine! I bought a foal 18 years ago. I was a novice, with just a couple of years riding under my belt and absolutely clueless about foals. He'd been in a field of cows with his mum, tucked away from civilisation and came to me truly untouched. It took days to get a head collar on him and weeks and weeks to gain his trust. But I was determined not to frighten the living daylights out of myself by reading manuals that would make me feel inadequate and it was in the days before the internet explosion, so I only had my instinct to guide me. I'm so proud of what we achieved:-)

My little £250 gypsy foal turned out to be my horse of a lifetime - admired and coveted by others as a strapping 16hh+ 'drum horse'. He trusted me, I trusted him because we'd grown together over the years.

Enjoy it OP!!! In years to come you will reap the rewards for the steady progress and patience you are showing so far and the relationship formed now will stand you in good stead in the years to come. And don't be put off if you have to go back a stage or two when something is a little step too far. By doing things gradually you won't need to go all the way back to square one, if square 12 is too daunting. It takes as long as it takes, be that weeks, months, whatever. You've all the time in the world.
 
Sounds like you're doing a great job! There's no rush, so just work together inch by inch. You'll earn her trust, she'll earn yours.

Good on you, and good luck!
 
Also have a look at Richard Maxwell's books which explains how to handle foals and youngsters. You're doing well but please get an instructor to help you as well, as youngsters can be unpredictable. Good luck! X
 
I too think you are too worried, there is no need to hurry, just do as much as she can cope with and over time this should increase without you actually forcing things. I don't think I ever thought about "handling" other than just the normal.
I did not have a scary foal just one that would not let me near it for three solid months, I had to worm twice in that time, and got a big man to catch it for me, that only re-enforced its idea of "humans are bad".
Eventually I got hold of it over the stable door [foal slip loop] and we went on to form a great relationship. she could tie up at an early age, I did this by having mum alongside while I trained her. I did not lift feet, the first time this occurred I held with lead rope through ring, and farrier lifted legs.
Two weeks is nothing, relax and just do pretty much the same thing every day rather than forcing the issue, you will automatically increase your handling as at first you have to do everything very slowly.
To give you an idea, when I tack up well handled ponies for breaking, I allow for sessions of about 40 minutes, this includes all the things already familiar, brushing and tie up or stand untied when groomed, it is never hurried and they will accept things done as they are use to the preparations. If you handle for a short time every day things will improve. If you really feel out of your depth best get an instructor in but pony knows you and will probably be just as happy with you. Don't feed treats or try to play games, just be consistent and make sure you have control of the front and, using a halter before you try to work on the rear end.
 
My little companion mare is also an unbroken project, and was pretty nervous to begin with. She was perhaps not as nervy as yours, but she was very wary around her back legs. We used a schooling whip, allowing her to smell and nibble at it to start with, progressing to rubbing her neck with it, and then rubbing all over her body with it while standing at her head, holding her, well out of range of flying feet. We did have a headcollar on her to do this though, and I was having groundwork lessons from an instructor with my big, (formerly) bargey boy, at the same time, so my instructor demonstrated what to do with the mare on my gelding for me.
It takes time, but I would really recommend taking that time, doing everything you can to stay safe, and getting expert help in person. If you have a plan in place, and a good helper, you may well find that you feel more confident as a result.
 
i think you're doing fine tbh, its not the rocket science some people make out!

for just basic handling, if you arent having problems as such just that you are both a little jumpy then just carry on slowly, an inch at a time, carefully exposing her to new stuff, feet picking up, baths, being trimmed, trotted up in hand etc and when the time comes to back her then you will need someone more experienced and naturally confident but i think for what needs doing NOW, you are more than capable :)

my boy was very rarely handled, when we got him as a 2yo he had been running in a herd with several other colts and although you could get a headcollar on and pull him in a vague direction he had NO idea about grooming,rugging etc and touching him anywhere except his neck made him freak.

8 months later he is really confident and happy, you can walk up to him in the field and adjust rug/boots etc without anyone holding him, can bath him, run clippers over him, trim up legs/face etc. hes lunging in tack and im leaning over him.

we just did 10mins, little chunks of handling, every day, as many new things as we could think of.
 
I made a 'hand on a stick' to help get started on the trickier areas with my youngster - a rubber glove stuffed and then tied onto a bamboo cane. It meant I could touch all over while still being at her head and obviously diminished the probability of getting kicked. She was very good anyway, but it made me much more confident.
I have also had many negative comments about having a youngster with little experience of them (though lots with adult horses) - so far it seems to be going fine though!
 
Gloi said:
Just keep going as you are and it will be okay. All you really need is patience and a calm temper. It's a pony she's dealing with, not a racehorse, it's not that hard to gain their confidence and bring them round with a bit of quiet, bringing in other people at this stage wouldn't be my choice at all, get her used to you first.
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stormox said:
I think you are doing fine- whats the rush to touch her body? Have you got a headcollar on her yet? Just work your way an inch or 2 further back every day, you will get there.Keep your left hand on the headcollar when you are using your right hand to touch further back on her bodys left side, you will be quite safe if you do it with her head slightly turned towards you. Then vice versa- right hand on headcollar anduse left hand to touch her right side....
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Echo Bravo said:
Take all the time that you need, both for yourself and the little mare as she is the one relying on you to guide and give her confidence in the human race, don't let her down now.
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^^^^ These.

You're finding trust in each other, it's fine for you both to be a bit wary, if you come on too strong you could scare her even more than she is already, which is why I wouldn't be getting anyone else in just yet. You're obviously experienced around horses or you wouldn't have started with her. You're doing well so far, just keep it up, one baby step at a time and before you know where you are you'll have achieved so much more than you realise!
 
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