Difficalt yearling

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*Ruby*

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I have a Welsh section D who recently turned one. Since she was born shes been brilliant, till now. From very young she was well handled, groomed every day and led to and from the field everyday. however now she has just changed. She was weaned at 6 months with went smoothly and from about 2 months ago shes been so difficult and i cant understand why. Shes always trying to run off, bite, sometimes kick, she also bucks and is starting to rear a little. Whats changed? Ive been patient and we get on so well in the stable.
Anyone had simular trouble? I dont know what to do with her

all comments welcome
 
Everything is the same and she is out with 3 others one of which is a playful 2 year old. At first it seemed playful and i just classed that as her being cheeky but its getting worse and soon im worried she going to be dangerous. I walk her often, sometimes in her in hand bridle, sometimes in her headcollar. I just dont know where to go from here.
Thank you for your comments
 
The obvious, it is Spring, she is a filly. They are bound to 'feel' fresh, have their first season and try things on. I have a yearling NF filly, who has been brilliant til the last 2 days, where she has decided not to be caught! I am working on it, and not getting stressed by it.
In the meantime, can yours not be out 24/7? cut down on the mix too. Don't forget to wear gloves and a hat. Be positive, be firm and do your best to be confident, as they know what they can get away with if you are not! They also seek guidence and reasurance.
Spring / Fillies, who'd have 'em!? lol
 
I am absolutely no expert but am the owner of a 2 and a bit yo gelding who did this a year ago. I had never experienced such a young horse and he had been an absolute angel until then.
He is big and managed to scare both me (I am a pushover!) and my daughter who is not easily intimidated. We were not novice owners (16 years of owning mainly TBs that were fiesty) but did not know what to do with him.

We called in a professional who assessed him quickly and did some groundwork with him. She then did some work with us! She now comes once or twice a month to keep us all in line. Within one session he was respectful again and he is back to being a lovely boy. It is worth asking for help early as problems can be nipped in the bud. We had been "too nice" and at the same time "too cross" when he was "bad". She showed us he was just a baby looking for consistant boundaries. He is over 16hh and I am well under 5foot and I am perfectly confident with him even when he is fiesty. Another vote for hat and gloves and a stick as well.
 
Erm, it's not just the girls...

My colt will be a year old on Wednesday. He has been the easiest most laid back sweetest thing since day dot, and trust me, it was relief after having to deal with his older half sister the redhead from hell...

But a couple of weeks ago, he got spooked by something when I was leading him back from the field and got away from me... I'd got sloppy because he'd been sooooo good and wasn't wearing gloves :( :o

Seems to have been a defining moment though... He's now refusing to be caught and when I do catch him, he is a pain to lead. Apparently, I'm hugely scary. All he wants to do is be as far away from me as possible, spook into the next county. He's not aggressive or pushy or nibbly like colts can be, he just wants to flee...

So, this is what I am doing: I am making a point of catching him everyday (he lives out), put head collar on, walk him around the field (armed with training halter, gloves & a lunge line so I don't run out of lead rope if he pulls), sometimes I just run my hands all over him, sometimes I do a bit more work, leading, trotting in hand, walking between scary objects over tarpaulins etc. But I'll just keep at it until he gets over it.

In lots of ways, I preferred dealing with the ones who kept trying to jump on my head, kick, bite, squash and shoulder me out of the way. It's easier to discipline them when they are just bolshy. The redhead from Hell is now an incredibly well mannered and respectful 3 year old... Just long reined her around the country lanes with the dummy on board, first time without another horse with her, and I never had to go to her head to lead her, she didn't even get stuck once... and that's on a busy sunny Saturday afternoon with loads of dog wakers, people mowing lawns... :D

The point is, don't give up, just be firm and consistent. They all go through phases when they will test boundaries and provided they always get the same answers to their questions, they just get over it.

I would insist on her staying out of your space at all times, stepping back when you feed, getting out of your way, so that you don't go around her when you want to go somewhere, you make her move backwards if she is in your way.

Also, with a slightly bolshy animal who is trying to find out how much she can push you around, I would lead from the front... controvertial, I know - BHS shoot me down in flame... Leading at the shoulder very often means the horse is in front of you, effectively leading you, so psychologically not much surprise she might feel like the Alpha mare of the outfit. Insist on her staying behind and slightly to the side of you, with your elbow out, so that any attempts at biting or shouldering you from behind gets met with a firm elbowing - the fact it's not your hand makes it more efficient in lots of ways, because they don't always realise where it's coming from. If she tries to get ahead, stop her sharply, face her, make her rein back and proceed quietly.

With the rearing... I use a training alter, which gives me more control when I lead, and pull down sharply and TO THE SIDE (so they can't use your pulling as a point of resistance to go further up and back, the way they use the resistance of the tie ring when they pull up when tied up). You have to be quick and accurate. Preferably the nanosecond the feet leave the ground. Then when feet are on the ground, carry on walking quietly as if nothing had happened. After being thrown sideway and down a couple of times, they tend to think it is a lot easier to keep feet on the ground... It's better not to wait until they are 16.2hh and 500kg before takling this particular one... in fact, you ought to see this as a blessing ;) the earlier they chuch this particular issue at you, the easier it is to quell!!! Hat's a must with rearers, obviously :rolleyes:

Anyway, don't give up and don't just ignore the issues, because they will be much worse when she is bigger.

Good luck x
 
All good replies and agree with getting help if u can...even just for another set of ideas and to give you a boost :)

I've just been going through all this with my nearly 2 colt, rearing and generally being a boy lol. Had Jason Webb out and after one session at home we are certainly alot better now and he has learnt respect.

Good luck x
 
Our yearling colt is also testing the boundaries. We need to make sure that this stops now as he's already 15hh and he's not quite 1. He's getting a ' Monty Roberts' type lesson tomorrow so we'll see what happens.
 
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