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I posted this on the 'new lounge' and someone suggested I post it here also to get advice. Since posting this we have decided to give Frieda the rest she deserves on advice since the posting but am now looking a) what sort of groundwork to do with her to gain trust and bonding as well as exercise and b) the best way to get her back to riding after her break.
Hi, I am looking for advice please (apologies for the long story but all will become clear) :-
I purchased a mare in May which had the ideal temperament, very docile, willing to please, excellent out hacking, in fact everything me and my two daughters were looking for. I had a pre-purchase examination and the vet confirmed all okay (he also stated that she had had a foal in the past but couldn't say when). Well, it our dismay, we had a phone call two weeks ago to say that she had given birth to a stillborn foal. It was a terrable situation to go through but the only good news for us was that she was okay (by the way she is a haflinger and loves her food and was round or so we thought due to this!). She was excactly as advertised and more - a real real sweetie nothing phasing her at all in any circumstance.
She seems to have recovered well from this upset except that her temperament is not what is was before the birth. I am a nervous rider and she instiled confidence in me because of her laid back attitude. Now two weeks after her stillborn birth she has changed on the roads and when out hacking and I wondererd if anyone knows why or could suggest maybe why she is now like this.
An example is that yesterday out hacking with three other horses (my daughter of 15 who is a good rider was riding her). She just backed out onto the road and wouldn't got forward. She was the third horse from the front and they were riding on the pavement as it was a fairly busy road (my daughter had done this hack once before with no problems about a month before the stillbirth) She did this while traffic was trying to pass by and fortunately no accident occurred due to a switched on motorist. We all even said it was unlike her and couldn't see that anything bought it on. On the way back we went down a narrow road she began slipping on the road and being very flighty and we even had to lead her along as she seemed to dangerous to ride, spooking at nothing and becoming very nervious. Again before the stillbirth she was fine even if horses walked off and left her or if we overtook them etc. Once back on the bridle path my daughter got back on while the other horses waited but she was just as bad, even prancing on the spot. I told my daughter to get off as it looked like she was going to rear.
About three days before this she did the same on a different road with one other horse in front and narrowly missed colliding with a bus, I blamed the bus at the time because we knew she wasn't like that but looking back now realise this was the start of it. The vet had said to us that she will be back to normal after about 7-12 days of the birth, is this the normal pony now?
As said above, I wanted a pony that would help with my confidence but since this unexpected birth she had changed completely. I have the option of giving her back to the seller as she had said when we first purchased her that she will take her back if anything happened (I think she would have to even more so now due to the circumstances!). The problem I have is do I give her back or spend time/money on a more expereniced person sorting this behaviour out. If they sort it out I still feel that she may not do it with them but with us, I have lost the trust we had in her before the birth.
Any opinion or views would be greatly appreciated.
Hi, I am looking for advice please (apologies for the long story but all will become clear) :-
I purchased a mare in May which had the ideal temperament, very docile, willing to please, excellent out hacking, in fact everything me and my two daughters were looking for. I had a pre-purchase examination and the vet confirmed all okay (he also stated that she had had a foal in the past but couldn't say when). Well, it our dismay, we had a phone call two weeks ago to say that she had given birth to a stillborn foal. It was a terrable situation to go through but the only good news for us was that she was okay (by the way she is a haflinger and loves her food and was round or so we thought due to this!). She was excactly as advertised and more - a real real sweetie nothing phasing her at all in any circumstance.
She seems to have recovered well from this upset except that her temperament is not what is was before the birth. I am a nervous rider and she instiled confidence in me because of her laid back attitude. Now two weeks after her stillborn birth she has changed on the roads and when out hacking and I wondererd if anyone knows why or could suggest maybe why she is now like this.
An example is that yesterday out hacking with three other horses (my daughter of 15 who is a good rider was riding her). She just backed out onto the road and wouldn't got forward. She was the third horse from the front and they were riding on the pavement as it was a fairly busy road (my daughter had done this hack once before with no problems about a month before the stillbirth) She did this while traffic was trying to pass by and fortunately no accident occurred due to a switched on motorist. We all even said it was unlike her and couldn't see that anything bought it on. On the way back we went down a narrow road she began slipping on the road and being very flighty and we even had to lead her along as she seemed to dangerous to ride, spooking at nothing and becoming very nervious. Again before the stillbirth she was fine even if horses walked off and left her or if we overtook them etc. Once back on the bridle path my daughter got back on while the other horses waited but she was just as bad, even prancing on the spot. I told my daughter to get off as it looked like she was going to rear.
About three days before this she did the same on a different road with one other horse in front and narrowly missed colliding with a bus, I blamed the bus at the time because we knew she wasn't like that but looking back now realise this was the start of it. The vet had said to us that she will be back to normal after about 7-12 days of the birth, is this the normal pony now?
As said above, I wanted a pony that would help with my confidence but since this unexpected birth she had changed completely. I have the option of giving her back to the seller as she had said when we first purchased her that she will take her back if anything happened (I think she would have to even more so now due to the circumstances!). The problem I have is do I give her back or spend time/money on a more expereniced person sorting this behaviour out. If they sort it out I still feel that she may not do it with them but with us, I have lost the trust we had in her before the birth.
Any opinion or views would be greatly appreciated.