Has my pony been beaten?

[megs22]

I've had my pony 6 months now, she was extremely difficult to catch to start with but with patience I've overcome this I've just restarted her due to an abscess and have been riding her regularly, all is going well but today I thought i'd take a stick with me(for the first time), well i'd dropped it in seconds as she leapt and reared trying to get away from it, soon as she realised i'd dropped it she settled and off we went for a lovely hack, I know she was sent away to be broken with her previous owners and the girl selling her told me they had problems as she just planted and didn't move. Do you think she's been smacked to get her to move in the past, she lunges beautifully and doesn't show any real fear of the lunge whip.

 

[be positive]

She has possibly been smacked inappropriately or just not been allowed to learn that the stick she can see just behind her eyeline is not something to be scared of, I always teach young horses when I am starting them that the whip is not something to be afraid of and they are usually confident from day one with one being carried, not that it is normally required but it is part of their basic education.

You may decide not to try again but if you want to you can get her desensitised gradually until she is happy with you carrying one and even using it when you need to, spend time on the ground with her just rubbing a short stick over her, she will gradually let you use it everywhere if you go slowly, let her really see it out of the corner of her eye, if she jumps just go back a stage, if she is not scared of the lunge whip she should accept a short jumping whip fairly quickly.

 

[Echo Bravo]

And sometimes people who back youngsters aren't the nicest of people, if she's not frightened of the lunge whip it's never been used on her, just flicked behind her to keep her moving the crop I would say has been used good and proper on her when she planted herself and that is why she flipped when she saw it in your hand.

 

[megs22]

Thank you for your replies, I would like to get her use to one, so I'll start to desensitise her from the ground first, I've never had problems with the horses I have broken but her reaction really concerned me it was pure fear I felt so awful that I had broken her trust in me. I just hope there isn't a permanent damaage as some horses never forget.