daughters new pony shooing her away!

[vicky2525]

My daughter has a first new pony, she's 10, only 3 weeks in. He's lovely but when she goes into the field to give him a cuddle pat etc he shoos (sp?) her away?? he doesn't do it to me or my husband so i presume its a dominance thing...how should she react?, at the moment she just backs off and its making her nervous.
thanks

 

[Barnacle]

What do you mean exactly? Does he turn his rear, flatten his ears and walk off? Or is it more pro-active, walking towards her with ears back?

Either way, she should carry a whip and smack the ground if she feels threatened. She needs to be sure she's not within range of a kick at all times (which I know is tricky to communicate to a child) and have her wear a hat. She needs to stop this immediately or she could get very seriously injured. If possible, she needs to not back up and instead step forward and smack the ground. What she is currently doing is only reinforcing the behaviour, which may lead to it escalating.

Of course the other side of this is why does the pony not want her near it? Some children have a tendency to really smother pets... Can you supervise a more hands-off approach where she brings the horse in, grooms, tacks up etc but isn't all over it? She can give treats but ONLY as a reward for something she has specifically asked of the pony. Maybe teach her to do groundwork - free schooling maybe - that should make a world of difference. Also trick training... It's very easy to teach the Spanish walk or a bow - don't teach rears or anything like that because it's dangerous from the saddle but check out ways to teach things like bowing on YouTube. There's loads of things you can teach a horse that will make both child and horse focus and interact in a more productive way.

 

[vicky2525]

Thanks for you reply, yes, he puts ears back and walks, sometimes trots towards her. It's quite menacing!

 

[Barnacle]

Ok so it's on the more aggressive side - definitely needs to be addressed immediately as the pony may start really going for her. It's basically the same behaviour as you'll see them display with each other. It's not meant to really hurt her - it's getting her to move away, as you say. But obviously she's a small person, not a big horse - so it can be very dangerous.

 

[wren123]

As Barnacle said I would address this immediately, do not let her approach the pony at all in the field unless with you or your husband and I would get an experienced and recommended professional to help her, who knows exactly what to do. Don't panic I'm sure it can be sorted but I would get professional help to nip this behaviour in the bud.

 

[Shay]

Our first pony did this for a while with our daughter. She would have been 8 or 9 at the time I think. (She's 16 now)

Safety first - we didn't allow our daughter to go and catch him for a while. Children can find it hard to accurately estimate range and speed so it is harder for them to really know if they are at risk. Plus they are smaller and so it is always going to be harder to project a larger physical presence. And it scares them so of course they move away which actually re-enforces the behaviour. Come winter when he is a bit keener to come in it might get easier. We progressed to her going to catch him but with an adult standing behind her. Partly so she can hide behind the adult if she needed to but also to re-enforce the larger physical presence. I'm not a fan of whips in the field; but swinging the lead rope in front of you creates a bigger physical space - and stings if the pony walks into it which is like a nip from a more dominant horse.

The lots of good ground work. He has to respect her space. Books like "Think like a pony" are aimed at kids and are a good basis for building mutual respect. If you or your OH are horsey and can cope then this is relatively easily fixed - most kid's ponies try it on a few times. And if they get away with it then it can become dangerous. If you are not sure then ask her instructor or Pony Club DC for recommendations for someone to help.

 

[fburton]

Books like "Think like a pony" are aimed at kids and are a good basis for building mutual respect.

Does anyone know if Lynn Henry has broken away from Parelli and doing her own thing now? Looking at her website (http://www.lynnhenry.co.uk), it doesn't mention Parelli at all, so I would guess that is the case.

 

[Shay]

If "Think Like a Pony" had anything to do with Parelli I would not have had it even in the house let alone recommended it! I had no idea the author was even associated with it. As you say her website makes no mention. We came across them originally on an Intelligent Horsemanship stand at Your Horse Live - although that was a good 8 years or so ago! I wouldn't have thought IH would have been recommending what is effectively a competitor - but you never know!

I'm actually really shocked now to think I might have been recommending something Parelli - I have very strong views about that particular group. Not about natural horsemanship by whatever commercial identifier - but that specific one.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thanks for you reply, yes, he puts ears back and walks, sometimes trots towards her. It's quite menacing!

If he is in the field with other horses and hasn't done anything worse than this (which I can understand is frightening for her). I guess, he is shepherding her out of the field to keep her safe from his companions. I have known more than one child's pony which took on this kind of responsibility, treating the child as a foal. If your daughter stands at the gate and calls, will he come to her? If he does, I would encourage her to foster this approach.
Certainly I would never suggest that a 10 yr old be allowed to go alone into a field full of horses.