bolshyness

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pixiebee

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took my newly arrived yearling in the sandschool today to practise some leading-he decided he was having none of, tried several times to roll and reared up when i wouldnt let him-generally being very bolshy and thew his bum in at me and kicked out narrowly missing my head. i had no choice but to let go and he went fly bucking round the school. he has only been handled by humans since friday and have come so far but he has been lovely up until today. it has made me very wary of him. how do i stop him kicking out/threatening to kick out at me and rearing????
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try using a pressure halter, they are really good things to make them listen, if he's only been handled by humans for less than a week then give it time its still early days!!!

PATIENCE IS A VERTUE!!!!

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT!!!!!
 
hes only a baby, give him a bit more time! most often its two steps forward and one step back with babies, some days they can be perfect others they can be little horrors! also, it could be that he was turned out to play in an arena as a foal so could associate it with playing?
 
he was born in a field somewhere, herded into lorry, then chucked in another filed til i came along-so probably doesnt know what a leadrope is-i guess it scares the hell out of me when a pony actually goes to kick you.!!
 
Mine is bargy and grizzly, especially when he is being groomed (he hates being groomed). I just do "defensive grooming" by habit now. E.g., at the front end, I groom with my hand at the quarters end, and my head end arm up so that if he head butts me, he meets my elbow. I swap around midway to protect my face against his tail.
 
I'd suggest you always, always wear a hat (with the chinstrap secured), gloves, and given that he's kicked out, maybe a back protector. Oh, and steel toe caps if you have them.
I'd try leading him in a control headcollar, or a chifney, and would teach him basic commands - firstly, to halt, by giving him a treat when he does (reprimand any nipping). I'd put it on a lunge line so he can't get away and carry a whip (smacky not schooling).
You've got to teach him that he can't move into your body space, and that you are dominant to him, so insist he moves 'back' and 'over' etc when in the stable/tied and use your elbow on his shoulder if he gets a bit close when led.
I would get him gelded asap if he has his bits still...
But give him time...he'll learn the rules and then you'll have no problems with him. And don't dwell on yesterday's naughtiness....
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so hes not been handled at all as a foal? how big is he? if i were you i would start from scratch as if he were a foal ie in his stable practice putting his head collar on and off and grooming and picking his feet up etc so he gets to know you before trying to lead him in a school
also, what we do with our babies is loop a lunge line through the head collar rather than clipping it on, so that if they do have a paddy (like babies do) and the lunge line gets tangled you can let go and it will just come off, will also give you more distance from him if he rears etc
let him get used to having pressure from the lunge line on his head collar ie get him to move around the stable and give him lots of praise just for one step in the direction you want him to go!
dont be too rough with him, hes only a baby and if hes never been handled before hes not being naughty he doesnt know any better
 
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i dont think you should put a chifney on a yearling

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i certainly agree, i think you need somebody with knoledge of youngsters to help you, not to sound nasty but have you not got much experience? x
 
Chifneys are not active unless your horse rears...and if you know what you are doing, and how to fit them correctly then you shouldn't have any problems.
Much better as a short term measure to gain his respect than having him learn he can disappear at will, kicking you as a parting gesture.
I agree that if you aren't experienced or are now actually scared of him then you should get someone to help you...or sell him as soon as you can.
Good luck either way
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try a ''be-nice-to-me'' halter, try anything before you use a chiffney, something will work, my friend had an Arab Stallion and her ''friend'' worked for her and talked her in to puttig a chiffney in his gob, and a few weeks later my friend who owned him saw the inside of his mouth and it was bruised to hell, chiffneys are horrible contraptions.
 
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try a ''be-nice-to-me'' halter, try anything before you use a chiffney, something will work, my friend had an Arab Stallion and her ''friend'' worked for her and talked her in to puttig a chiffney in his gob, and a few weeks later my friend who owned him saw the inside of his mouth and it was bruised to hell, chiffneys are horrible contraptions.

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forgot to say she then sacked the so called friend and put him in a ''be-nice-to-me'' and within a month he was in a normal headcollar and lunge line as he reared, and then in the end just a normal leadrope! he had more respect for people when she stopped using the chiffney, i think id make a fuss if i had that in my mouth!
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a chifney on a yearling of 11hh is crazy, all you will end up doing is scaring the poor thing to death. after all she only had this pony 4 days and it was totally unhandled up until friday, let him settle
 
I guess if you don't know what you're doing, Chifneys can e harsh. But it is also really easy to damage the head with a so called 'Be nice' or 'Control' headcollar which concentrate the pressure on one or two sensitive areas of the head e.g. poll, chin groove, nasal crest...all of which are thinly covered by skin so prone to injury. Same with the 'commanche' types which go along the upper lip...
It's the hands using the tools that do the damage....
But if you don't know what you're doing, you wouldn't buy a yearling colt, now, would you?
Sorry your friend had problems with her arab, sophie221
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lip..
It's the hands using the tools that do the damage....
But if you don't know what you're doing, you wouldn't buy a yearling colt, now, would you?

i think thats the problem!

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Sorry your friend had problems with her arab, sophie221
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that was about 7 years ago, since then he has been gelded unfortunatly he was a golden palamino!! he has his moody moments! but he's a sweetie!
 
Rosie_and_Jim
How do you know its 11hh? Is there some secret code in the original post
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? And you can think using a chifney is crazy...but I think letting a yearling know it can run away is a dangerous precedent, particularly when it is entire.
Sophie221
I see where you're coming from....glad your Araby boy is good (lopping bits off is always helpful
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Rachel_the_Great
If you find the incident has knocked your confidence, get someone else to work with him...or he'll sense your hesitancy and be worried/naughty. Good luck.
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Shilasdair rachel has put on about 4 posts about this ponyand said he's about 11hh, if you look on page 3 at ''guess the breed'' that will tell you all u need to know!!

xxx
 
because rachel-the-great has been posting about him for over a week, one minute it a colt next a gelding then a colt again, meant to be registered section a then un reg more like a moor pony. i just think the whole thing is crazy she obvousily(sp) hasn't got the experience to handle him let alone putting him a chifney
 
Oh dear.
Don't worry, Rosie_and_Jim, as it sounds as though RacheltheGreat will be sensible enough to get help with him when needed...real physical help, I mean...not forum advice from us. LOL!
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in a nutshell... sell it to someone who knows what they're doing. I'm sorry but this 2yr old grey registered sec A gelding has turned into a unregistered colt yearling of mysterious breeding, and I think the romance of a cheap pony got the better of you.

I certainally wouldnt be getting an unhandled colt out and trying to walk it round a menage with no hat and no idea of what i was doing.

I'd like to give you some advice re this little fella but TBH really couldnt forgive myself if I thought I was encouraging you. FGS get someone who knows what they're doing. This is a pony who will probably grow no bigger than 12.2hh, will be meant for children. In reality, with the wrong handling, he'll be good for nothing and sadly, like thousands of others end up being passed pillar to post.
You stated before you wanted to keep him entire as you like the way stallions look.... says it all really...
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He's 11.2hh, he's a colt, he's unhandled.......leave him be for the moment. I wouldn't be leading him around just yet. I would let him have a week or two to settle in and I would be out in the field with him just grooming him loose so that you can build up some trust with him. Right now, all you are going to succeed in is to frighten him and have him fight you.

I personally agree with some of the others; if you don't know what you are doing (and this behaviour of his is perfectly normal from unhandled ponies) then sell him on to someone who does. I really dislike seeing small ponies being incorrectly handled - don't forget who they are destined for; little children, so if you make a mistake then the future consequences may be dire.
 
LOL!! I've just finished reading this thread and I think your comments deserve compliments too
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. I was nodding my head along to your words.
 
Sorry this pony is 11hh and you are worried about him kicking out and rearing. Hmmm, sounds as though you need some assistance from someone that is a) used to handling colts b) used to training youngsters to lead in hand.

Obviously I know nothing of your background in dealing with horses and I apologise if you do indeed have the experience required to bring on this young animal.
 
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