Can anyone help? Pony refusing to be led in from field

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mirage

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We've had our pony just under 3 months now,she is a 13hh Welsh and a lovely safe ride for my two girls.Recently we moved her to a new field,out of sight of the yard,we'd never had any problems catching and leading her in until about 10 days ago,when something scared her really badly just as we entered the yard.Since then she has been refusing to be lead in from the field,I bring her in for her tea,so she isn't just caught for work.She plants and jerks her head around refusing to budge.I've tried circling her,making her go backwards,reassuring her,but it is not getting any better.Today I had some spare time,so went to move her into a field where she can see the yard and the corner that something scared her,to see if it would help.It took 40 minutes to go 150ft.She was rearing,biting and kicking.I had to fetch the lunge whip and carry it in between us to get her to shift,but for the first time ever I felt scared of her and was shaking.She has done the same thing with an experienced rider who was with me,so I don't think she is taking the micky,but seems generally frightened.

I did get her into the field with a view of the yard,and she charged around all spooky,very unlike her,so I'm hoping that she'll gradually get desensitized when she sees that there is nothing to be afraid of.However,I'm dreading trying to lead her in later and all this messing about is not only dangerous,but taking up valuable riding time.

Thanks for reading and if anyone has any advice I'd be really grateful.
 
Yes, she's had a fright and is scared. No, she can't leap about and act dangerously, so you must impose some discipline and MAKE her listen to you, after which she will gradually start to trust you when you tell her there's nothing to be scared of. I would suggest leading her in a bridle, which will give you more control (take the reins off and attach a leadrope or lunge line), and continue to use your lunge whip or schooling whip to make her lead when you say so. Reassuring her is all very well, but it is silly to pat a horse when it is misbehaving, whatever excuse it may have for doing so.
 
Does she have a field companion? If so, can you get someone to lead that horse in infront of her?

I think that you have done the right thing by moving her where she can be desensitized. It will resolve itself eventually, but these things take time. You could try leading her in with a bucket of feed, allowing her to have a nibble every time she makes some progress.
 
I used a Kemp Controller on my Mare's headcollar when she started pratting around on her way in from the field, it worked a treat.It's cheap enough to buy one and try out to see if it works or not.

Think their website is www.kempcontroller.com if it's wrong just google it.
 
You say at the end of your post that this is taking up valuable riding time. Are you sure she's scared and not just sour? Is she always ridden even when she comes in for a feed? Perhaps she could sometimes just have some down time on the yard ie; feeding , grooming, light groundwork. Mix things up a bit?
 
It's 13hh! You can't be frighted of that.

Put a bridle on her - carry a schooling whip and lead her and tap with the whip behind you if she refused to budge.

Or stick a saddle on her and ride her in.
 
Thank you all,some good suggestions there.

She is not patted unless she does as she's asked,I just reassure her with my voice.Our routine in the week is,caught after school,brought into the yard groomed,tacked up,ridden out on a hack,which is her favourite thing ever,she loves hacking out,brought back into yard,untack,feet checked,into stable for tea,back out to fieldOnce or twice a week we work on flatwork and jumping in the menage.At the weekend we tend to ride in the morning,turn her back out,catch her at 5ish and bring her in for her tea,then turn her back out again.She currently has no equine companion,but has some beast who she likes being with.We are trying to find another pony at present,and the beast will be going in a week or two.She lived with goats and beast in her previous home.

When we first had her,she was tacked up in the paddock,she is very good and will stand there patiently.We only started bringing her into the yard on advice from more experienced people,who said it was good practice.She doesn't like being in the yard or being tied up,but we have persisted.It might be easier to go back to tacking up in the field,but would that be giving in?
 
but would that be giving in?
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Sometimes it's just about an easy life.

In any case, once you return from riding you can still pop her on the yard and in to her stable.

Don't tie her up on the yard (no need) just put her in her stable, untack her and when you're ready feed her. Then turn her back out.

Equine companionship is very important - so why not move her to a field where she has some??
 
OK so she had a fright. Allow her to continue to behave this way and she will continue to allow the 'fear' to manifest in her mind and it will become worse.
So, take a no nonsense approach and when she starts to baulk to come in you get 'cross' with her. You do not loose your temper, get flustered or allow your heart rate to change. When she baulks you give her a darn god jerk on the halter and if you carry a dressage whip, with you facing forward, you use it on her backside with a good strong flick so she feels it.
If she still refuses to move then you get 'very cross' (ditto with your demeanour) and you chase her around you i circles with arm waving, flicking the whip at her and using it hard if she tries to bite or kick.

trying to bite and kick you is an indicator that this is not fear it is just her being boss of you.

Take no nonsense and I know a lot of pussy footers will disagree but you need to make her think that if she disobeys you then she is going to get far, far worse than whatever frightened her in the first place. (Doubt that there was really anything anyway, unless a herd of pigs or elephants galloped through the field!)

it is all a matter of respect and she has little or none for you behaving this way.
 
If you have the room (which it sounds as though you do) I would make it top priority to find her a companion fast. Many horses become very anxious when starved of equine company even if they have been kept that way for years. Having goats and cattle is better than nothing, but not ideal. Once she has equine company, she will become much more balanced in her temperament and her confidence and feeling of security will improve. The only exception to this is a very small percent of horses that are anti social towards others. Of course, once you find a friend you may also find you have to tackle separation anxiety. This usually improves greatly with time.
 
When she baulks you give her a darn god jerk on the halter
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OP, please don't do this. If she's inclined to go up, this will just encourage it.

And in any event it's a practice that does more harm that good - always...........
 
Foxhunter49 said:
trying to bite and kick you is an indicator that this is not fear it is just her being boss of you.
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Whilst I often agree with your no nonsense approach when it is warranted, I disagree with this statement. I think horses are even MORE likely to bite and kick when they are frightened.
 
I presume if she is a 13hh pony her feed is not a very big one, so would it be possible to feed her as soon as she is brought in, before grooming and riding, so she comes to associate being brought in with something rewarding. Whilst you don't want to ride straight after a big grain-filled feed, the standard small pony dinner of a handful of nuts and a handful of chaff isn't going to cause a problem.

As to whether to tack up in the field, or continue bringing her into the yard, I would do a bit of both, depending on how much time you have. If you are in a hurry then tack up straight from the field, but when you have plenty of time, practice bringing her into the yard - you will be calmer and less flustered when time isn't short so more likely to get good results. But always lead her in with her bridle and a schooling whip until she learns to behave herself.
 
Does the new field have more grass than her previous field? (you say she was moved to that field recently, and the problem started about 10 days ago).

As well as going back to tacking up in the field, if you can get down there in the mornings, I'd have a few sessions in the week of catch, bring in, feed a handful of pony nuts, then take back to field. Might be a case of newish pony saying 'hang on a minute I don't want to work, I want to stay in field and eat' as pony has learnt bringing in to yard = tacked up and ridden.
 
Gosh,my head is spinning now.I've just been down again,luckily we are 2 minutes walk away.I caught her,walked her out into the bottom of the yard,tied her up,did her feet,groomed her,apart from a slight stop which I growled at her for,no problem.Tried to lead her back into new paddock,baulked,jerked head around,threatened to rear,so I fetched the schooling whip.With that in between us,she moved pronto.I then walked her in and out,up and down,halting and walking her on,with the whip between us.She was eyerolling and jumpy but no mucking about.

I don't mind being tough,it's just that I'm relatively inexperienced and don't want to do more harm than good and make things worse.Its the rearing that really worries me.She is 20 so has learnt a few tricks in her time,but I can't have a bad mannered pony around.I'd happily ride her in if I had the confidence-I had my first lesson at the weekend,after 32 years of not riding,and intend to exercise her when the girls can't ride once I'm up to speed.

The thing that frightened her was my neighbour coming around the corner of the yard wearing a WW2 gas mask-he was creosoting the stables.She screeched to a halt looking petrefied and it is since then that we've had problems.
 
Reading your last post - I can't imagine that this pony is frightened in the slightest. At her age she knows every trick in the book - and has you pegged as inexperienced.

Well done for today. Absolutely brilliant effort. Growling is a brilliant communicator.

Let us know how you get on.
 
Yes,the field does have more grass than the previous one,good point.She only has 2 mugs of pony nuts and a scoop of devils claw a day,plus an apple or bit of bread.I wonder if feeding her where the problem was will help? Or I could split her feed and bring her in twice a day.more work but worth it if it gets us over this problem.Lots to think about-thankyou all for your help.
 
Thankyou amymaythat is kind of you,to be honest I feel like the most useless pony owner on the planet and feel like crying.We were meant to be going on a 2nd viewing of a little pony for my youngest this week,but if I can't manage one properly,perhaps I shouldn't.

I'm a great big tough farmer's daughter for goodness sake-why do I let an elderly pony reduce me to tears?:(
 
I'm a great big tough farmer's daughter for goodness sake-why do I let an elderly pony reduce me to tears?
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Because ponies are the work of the devil, designed to test every inch of our patience............
 
Mirage you did great! :) Don't give up on ponies as I think you do have what it takes. For one you're able to pick up on ideosyncrasies of the pony in question. You were smart enough to ask for advice and you implemented it with immediate effect and you've now made significant progress already. Foxhunter is right IMO when she/he says not to feed the pony's insecurities, you do need to move on and not allow them to dwell and fester over an isolated incident. I think you should go and see this other pony as you are a lot more competent than you are giving yourself credit for!
 
I've recently found Richard Maxwell's 'Training your Young Horse' very very useful when it comes to leading and teaching the technique to a horse. I know your pony is not young, but Maxwell's calm common-sense approach can be used to great effect with older horses, apart from anything else it taught me what is going on in terms of pressure and release for the horse and how to be more effective when my youngster invariably has a 'planted' moment. This young horse, it has to be said, had a very bad reputation for 'going up' when he didn't want to go anywhere..but I have to say he has been relatively fuss free since teaching him this way. I am using a knotted rope halter and a long rope and do find the extra pressure is much more effective than a standard headcollar and leadrope. I think it was a tenner from my local tack shop, so no need for any expensive kit here...;)
You say that you will eventually be riding this pony? Until you can do this, other than doing the leading/feeding/care of her, you could also do some basic groundwork with her to get some basic rapport and respect established - which will also pay dividends when she sees some 'horror' out hacking she is scared of...if she has learned to listen and respect you on the ground, it will help once you are on board. It might also to stop you feeling scared of her...and get her using her mind, rather than reacting from panic. The same book contains plenty of ideas for groundwork you can do.
Good luck!!! :D
 
I think it is question of mindset..yours rather than hers.

If you were taking a small child somewhere they thought was a bit frightening you would hold them firmly by the hand, speak brightly and cheerfully, tell them not to be silly, and walk them briskly past it. You know that if you cooed and reassured they would become convinced that there is definitely something to be scared of.

Treat the pony the same way..you can reward with pats and fuss when you are past it.
 
mirage said:
She currently has no equine companion,but has some beast who she likes being with.We are trying to find another pony at present,and the beast will be going in a week or two.She lived with goats and beast in her previous home.
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Some what?! Sorry but my mind is boggling :p
You have had some great advice and it sounds like you are on the way to getting it sorted :)
 
Just a thought but, you say this all started after you had had your stables creosoted. My lot hate the smell of creosote, so it could be that, and not a fright as you had thought. Perhaps when they are less 'pongey'(?!) she may come round ? ;)
 
i have a youngster who was a nightmare to lead, someone suggested a monty roberts dually halter which i now use if she plays up and she is like a different horse. it applys pressure around the nose and encourages them to walk forward rather than backing up/rearing. they are quite pricey but it will be money well spent:):
 
sorry you are having problems with your new pony, has the field got plenty of grass? the reason i ask is that for a small pony 2 mugs of pony nuts seem quite a bit to me unless she is thin. my 15.2 20 year old gets literally ONE handful of happy hoof ( which is less than a mug,)with a supplement once a day. perhaps your pony is feeling too well and i would cut the pony cubes down to about half of a mug if you need something to put the supplement in. just a thought...
 
Argh,just posted a long reply and lost it.The upshot is that I went back again and tied her up in the yard and gave her her tea in the very place she doesn't like.I had to get the dressage whip to get her to move once in the yard,but didn't have to use it.I left her tied up whilst I poo picked and saw her spook at nothing,but ignored her.I then led her up and down the lane,stopping and starting when I said so.No problem until I tried to get her into her paddock.No go,arsed about and threatened to rear.At that point my expert horseman neighbour arrived and had a go,she tried it on with him,but he whacked her a couple of times with the leadrein until she behaved.He said she seemed agitated about something and lunged her,and she threw a few bucks on the lunge,something she has never done before.

We've put her back in her big paddock and he is meeting me there at 9 tomorrow and we'll bring her in and see how we do.He thinks that something isn't right with her,but can't find anything obvious,and said that she is feeding off my apprehension whatever the root cause is.He says he was just as nervous 45 years ago when he first handled ponies.

Thankyou so much for all the help,advice and kind words.I still feel really rubbish about the whole thing and it has knocked my confidence completely-I've lost my trust in her now which makes me sad.
 
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