Daft wimpy pony - how to deal with a phobia?

B

bex1984

Well-Known Member
Joined
21 February 2007
Messages
5,745
Location
Leicestershire
Visit site
I am having 'issues' with Murphy's donkey phobia at the moment. In order to get to his field or to the school we have to go past the barn where 2 donks are stabled. We have problems whether they are in there or not - it seems to be the smell that bothers him.

If I'm leading him past he will go past without too much trouble, he just hides behind me and snorts and walks sideways a bit. The real problem is when I am onboard. He gets close to the barn then scoot backwards, plants his feet, scoots backwards a bit more.

We were doing well with a few good smacks on the arse to make him trot past but he has sussed that one now and trots and then suddenly stops dead, then scoots back. Recently I have insisted that he walks past the barn backwards if he won't go forwards, but he is now starting to grumble and paw the ground when asked to do this. Also tried constantly tickling his bum with the whip until he moves, worked once, isn't really working now.

I could just get off and lead him past but I don't want to be beaten ;) so just wondering if anyone has any other ideas I could try? It is getting really tedious having this argument with him everytime I want to ride in the school.

(by the way, he can't be turned out near them to get used to them for various reasons and he won't go near them even with his dinner as bribery).
 
Can't you introduce them? Maybe once he finds out how charming a couple of donnks are, he'll be more than happy to stop by and say hello.
 
He won't go anywhere near them! He also won't go anywhere near their owner since she's had them - he runs to the back of his stable if she comes past! They have been at the yard quite a while now and he is getting steadily more pathetic about it. I think they are lovely!
 
I was going to suggest bringing one of them over to his stable... but if he legs it at the sight of their owner then I dont think it will work and probably just cause him to be more frightened of them, or whatever it is he's got in his head about them lol
 
To solve his phobia you may have to introduce him to the donks. Apparently, horses feel much more confident when they are following the percieved threat e.g donkey in your case. Not sure of the work that comes before this etc but heard a similar story with a cow and horse was following cow round by the end of the session - think it was Monty Roberts demo.

Not much help regards getting him past it - if it is the smell he really dislikes could you perhaps introduce him to the smell away from the donkeys and try and desensitise him to it - e.g. put something that smells of the donkies in his stable or something (?) for a while and see if he learns to accept smell. Total guess but perhaps worth a go.
 
bex1984 said:
He won't go anywhere near them! He also won't go anywhere near their owner since she's had them - he runs to the back of his stable if she comes past! They have been at the yard quite a while now and he is getting steadily more pathetic about it. I think they are lovely!
Click to expand...

If he runs from the owner then perhaps it is just generally the smell. Since he trusts you as the person who he spends the most time with, perhaps try introducing the smell more and more, from rug to something stronger until he becomes more desensitised to it. Maybe on your hands and stroke him and let him sniff it etc. May have to get some super strong handwash after!
 
Has he got any donkey proof horse palls that might be able to show him they are not going to eat him and give him a bit more confidence?
 
hmmm I'm not convinced that introducing them is a good idea, especially as it doesn't matter if they're there or not. He has got progressively more wimpy the more he has seen/smelled them.

The other thing I should mention is that he can walk past the barn on the way back from a ride to his stable....which does make me think that while he is definitely a bit scared, he is also trying it on a bit....
 
he won't come near me if I have touched them either...

He will follow another horse past the barn, or another person on the ground, we have done this regularly but he hasn't improved on his own!

Murphy is not normally scared of anything!
 
Can't you just leave something that smells like them in the stable then? That way, he will have time to get used to it, without you having to sit and wait for ages. Re first point, couldn't you get someone to lead a donkey past barn and you follow with him? Reward etc him if he is good.
 
I'd be a bit worried about leaving him quivering in his stable to be honest. He is mega stubborn and could quite conceivably spend hours in one corner of his stable (probably eating the straw...) refusing to move.

He is napping really - he has walked past that barn 100s of times and although I know he is nervous I also suspect he is trying it on a bit...so need ideas to get him moving ;)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top