Gorgeous new baby... I need help!!

5horses2dogsandacat

5horses2dogsandacat

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Just picked up my gorgeous new girly today, she is just perfect however so so nervous, Im doing my usual of keeping her in a stable and giving her lots of attention in small amounts, I also am a great fan of clicker training however Ive got to find a treat she'll take and build up enough confidence in her to actually take a treat from me, all of that will come in time I know.

Anybody got any other tips to help me build up her confidence?

Here she is :D

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not had much experience with nervous babies but would assume you keep movements slow and calm and be very patient. she looks very sweet, what breeding and what are you going to do with her eventually?
 
Just spend time with her, talking to her and give her a good scratch in her ticklish spot, she will come round in time, always works a treat for me.
 
No advice for confidence building really. Although I recently bought 'Train your young horse' by Richard maxwell & thought it was a really good read. It goes from birth to backing, and talks about some stuff that really makes sense but I wouldnt have necessarily thought of! It puts a focus on desensitising your youngster to things and also teaching them things like how to lead etc and making them respectful of your personal space! If its your first foaly/youngster i would defo recommend a read :). Just wanted to say she looks beautiful :) good luck with her.
 
Sweet, but don't try the clicker just yet, let her get use to you and thinly sliced apples/carrots work a treat, don't rush,take it slowly and talk a lot(croon), just ask her to walk on,back up,move over and lift her feet up. I've found with Lenny I can pick his feet up and pick them out, but he's gone from several thinly sliced apple to a thick slice per foot and he no longer needs the leadrope, still a little headshy, but working on that and I'm asking people to give him the odd slice of carrot, because he doesn't trust people, so friends come and help and they know where the carrot bin is and he is getting slowly better(bad experience when vet did microchip)
 
First cut the rope shorter, then take a bucket and a book into stable turn said bucket over and sit on it, read book and baby's curiosity will get the better of her but do not attempt to touch her, until you are ready to go, then feed her do this for a couple of days and she will soon be following you around, good luck she looks a sweetie.
 
Food is the key and all other suggestions. Take your time/spend time and try to have a little routine and introduce a bit more slowly at a time....I mean whats the rush. looks lovely though . Food /scratch/touch legs etc Agree shorten rope too. Make it all pleasant, good experience.

Good luck
 
Rope wise she came with it on. Your probably right, however, at this moment in time, im keeping it at that length in case she gets out. id rather it be a little long er than it should be and have something to grab on to if she does decide to go jumping fences or stable doors, last time I had a baby that size she jumped over a 5 bar gate. She's had it on well over a week and hasnt done any harm.

im doing the spending time with her, we're at the scratchy stage on the left side, but not the right, right is no go. :p

She is a sweety, doesnt seem to have a nasty bone in her body. Hopefully be my showing star of the future, cant wait till summer 2012 and getting her out in the ring.
 
Oh you'll be surprised how quickly curiosity gets the better of her and she'll start investigating you. Providing you are calm, quiet and consistent around her, she just won't be able to resist checking you out and I'm sure you'll be posting within a few days how good she is. Just give her time to process all the new stuff in her head and let her come to you. When she's more confident, practise putting a headcollar on and off, even if it is over the one she has on at the moment - this is in preparation for when she goes out and you are attempting to catch her again.

Personally I would swap that string for a soft cotton lead rope and leave it on. Providing she is in a safe environment where it can't get hooked onto anything, whilst she is in the stable it is a great chance for her to get used to having ropes around her feet, for stepping on it and learning not to panic if she restricts her head, etc. I bought a Welsh D colt last year from a stud and they do this with all their babies for a couple of weeks... I think it is a really good idea.

I would keep her in for a few days, just to get used to you and to realise that you are fun to be around. When she goes out, get a Fieldsafe headcollar for her and turn her out with a horse or pony who comes to call (even if you have to bribe the older one with a bucket!) You can plait a short length (about a foot) of baler twine onto the bottom noseband ring of the headcollar so you've something to take hold of should you need to, but bear in mind that a Fieldsafe isn't designed to be pulled as it will break, so have a "proper" one handy for using over the top to actually lead her in. You'll probably find that she will just follow the other one to the gate in a kind of "Oh, is this what we do?" way.... babies are very led by the examples of older horses.

She's very pretty - have fun :)
 
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aaaawwwwwwwwwww very cute I am with others a different rope softer she might chew that and get it caught somewhere.

congratz on your new addition:)
 
What a beautiful baby, I'm very jealous.

Agree with everyone else. One thing I would add, once our youngster would be touched the best thing I every bought was one of the rubber massaging things (I dont actually know what they are called) it only cost £1.99 but our girl would spend hours letting us give her a good scratch with it.
 
Thanks for everyone's replies!

She has come on loads from yesterday already. So let her out in the yard to have a wander as she really wasnt enjoying being in the stable and its so nice today its good to let them have a little bit of sun whilst its here!

My other youngster when I got him last year was the same, I did the general theme of what people have been saying spending time with him etc, Im sure she will be the same she'll get used to me round the yard, wheelbarrows, wheelie-bins and general life... Looking forward to next summers adventures in the ring :)
 
broke_but_happy said:
I would take a good foot off the bottom of that blue rope personally :)
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Id go one further, you can get flat lead ropes, they are a bit more rigid than lunge line material and being flat they tend not to tangle, I have seen a pony get the rope tied around its legs! No harm was done but it was very scary, flat ropes are far safer.

She looks very sweet bless her, just keep doing the general low key things, grooming, will help her trust you. That is what I would start with and for the time being I would groom the front half of her. Sit in the stable and read a book, just become something that is totally normal to her :D

Good luck
 
ladyt25 said:
She looks lovely - what's her story and how big will she get? I love dun and whites!
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I got her from Pembrokeshire in Wales, off a lady who breeds dilute colours, generally Welsh Sec A's and now she has a 3/4 Arab stallion who she crosses with welsh. I bought my little Sec A off her last year, and to be honest, id rather go to someone I know and trust, even if it was over a 5 hour drive to get there, than be mugged off by another horsey trade crook. If you find someone you can trust in the trade, I do my utmost to stick beside them.

She should get to 15hh, however looking at the length of her legs, i feel she may be bigger, im not an expert though, but my other mare I have I bought 6 years ago at 11 months and was older than she is (shes around 7-8 months) was smaller and reached 15hh.

I think also initially she was going to be a dun and white, but will actually turn out blue and white. Im not hugely fussed however I do now have 2 pallys, one with white stockings and face and now Bunty with all her white, will be a cleaning nightmare before the shows next summer!! lol

xxx
 
sharon1959 said:
Shes lovely.Do you intend to keep her for many years or will you bring her on and sell?
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Hopefully keep for many years, I have 5 horses and I cant sell sell any :rolleyes: Im terrible, Im ok to loan i've got an ex racer and my appy out on loan at the minute, but selling is so final!

Totally soft in the heart and in the head!! hehe :p
 
hippomaniac said:
First cut the rope shorter, then take a bucket and a book into stable turn said bucket over and sit on it, read book and baby's curiosity will get the better of her but do not attempt to touch her, until you are ready to go, then feed her do this for a couple of days and she will soon be following you around, good luck she looks a sweetie.
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This ^^

If she treads on that rope whilst feeding and then moves she will give herself a hefty burn or bruise across her poll and you will have a sore and possibly headshy baby for a long time.
 
I've got a off the forest 4 yr old new forest mare that I 'accidently' bought at the sales :P

She was very sharp when I first had her and I found the best thing to do was to stroke her gently with a Lunge whip (lash tied up around it so it doesn't scare her). At first she ran away from it but as she was in a stable she couldn't go anywhere so I let it sit gently on her back whilst she did a couple laps of her stable. Eventually she stopped and stood still and I withdrew the whip and gave her a couple minutes to chill. I then repeated this a couple more times before giving her a feed and leaving her be.

I did this twice a day for 3 days, by the third day I could slowly decrease the distance between myself and her and eventually reach out and scratch her whither. The next few days I continued the above and also moved the lunge whip up her neck and scratched behind her ears, and down along her back too. By the end of the week she was letting my scratch her head and I got a halter on her.

I have since been running the whip down her legs, along her belly ect. and now she is happy for me to pick her feet up and brush her all over.

The whip is great because if they do freak you're at a safe distance and you don't get squished!
 
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