Leading a very strong Shetland...!

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Sarah1

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Hi all

Just a quick one - my daughters Shetland, who we've had almost a year, has started to get a bit bolshy to lead out on a walk. I don't know if it's because she's dropped a bit of weight (had to to prevent another bout of lami) and is feeling well or because it's 'that' time of year or because she's gotten a bit attached to our other older shetland mare or because of her season or because she's being a typical *****land or a cumulation of any/all of the above! What I do know is I'm not standing for it! I can't abide bad manners & that's what it is, she's not worried or under any pressure she's just using her strength to try to tow me about.
So, any tips?
I have ordered a cheap rope halter from ebay to try & failing that I will lead her in her bridle although she can get a bit strong even with the bit.
She's quite a nervy little thing so a bit of 'firm' handling may make matters worse - I certainly don't think I could treat her like I do my 17hh gelding (who will lead on a piece of cotton incidentally!) ie giving him a tug or a slap on the shoulder when he forgets his manners but if I give this one an inch she will take 10 mile as she's canny little thing!
Here she is last July after just coming off the trailer
Strawberry1.jpg

and here she is last weekend
Strawberry3_zpsd6032c5f.jpg

I think if you imagine her less hairy in the 2nd pic hopefully you can see she's lost quite a bit of weight (though still has that belly!)
Any advice or comments much appreciated :)
ETA - don't know why the 2nd picture is the wrong way up - edited photobucket & rotated it & it's still put it the wrong way round! :confused::confused: so sorry about that!
 
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My shettie can be a bit strong if he is in a rush to get somewhere, i.e stable or field, but then i am 100 times stronger than your little girl, hmmmm.
 
Who has been handling her more often, you or your daughter? If it's your daughter, then she's probably realised that she is bigger and can do what she wants!
 
Sorry, should have made it more clear - I am the one who's walking her out & leading her, my daughter wouldn't stand a chance :eek:
 
I have a shetland x dartmoor, so similar low level of gravity, and he uses it to get what he wants. I long ago gave up being towed around on the end of the rope in danger of getting double barrelled, and always lead him in a bridle. He changes into a sweetheart with a bit in his mouth and it is just easier and safer all round.

Funny how the little ones are more prone to using their size to win a battle - my non-horsey oh once ended up on the floor doing battle with him, and now treats him with a little more respect!
 
DuckToller said:
I have a shetland x dartmoor, so similar low level of gravity, and he uses it to get what he wants. I long ago gave up being towed around on the end of the rope in danger of getting double barrelled, and always lead him in a bridle. He changes into a sweetheart with a bit in his mouth and it is just easier and safer all round.

Funny how the little ones are more prone to using their size to win a battle - my non-horsey oh once ended up on the floor doing battle with him, and now treats him with a little more respect!
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This little mare was a sweetie-pie to begin with but she's changed over the last 2-3 weeks, I don't know if she's settled in & is finding her feet or if it's the change in season (or her season) but nothing has changed in her management - she's actually being handled more now than she was during the winter so one would assume with more handling she'd get better...?
Maybe she's just starting to feel really good, which is great, but I have a young daughter that adores her 'Strawbee' but, if I'm honest, if the pony hurts her because she's being a brute she'll be sent to Tesco...;)
 
My little stallion was a perfect little g*t when I first had him. Tried to pull me everywhere.

The best solution would be to keep your little lady on a short rein very close to your hip and be very firm with her. If she starts to pull give a quick sharp pull on the rein - either from the headcollar or bridle.

The last thing to do with shetties is think that they are any different from any other larger pony. These guys are really intelligent and it won't take long for her to associate the discomfort of the tug with her efforts at towing you.

One quick sharp pull is much better in the long run than lots of steady pulling that could only teach her to pull against you. If you keep her on a short rein she won't be able to use her low level advantage to be able to pull your upper body/balance forward and so make it easier for her to tow you along.

Best of luck - perserverance will win out in the end - just make sure it's you that is perservering and not her!
 
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3OldPonies said:
My little stallion was a perfect little g*t when I first had him. Tried to pull me everywhere.

The best solution would be to keep your little lady on a short rein very close to your hip and be very firm with her. If she starts to pull give a quick sharp pull on the rein - either from the headcollar or bridle.

The last thing to do with shetties is think that they are any different from any other larger pony. These guys are really intelligent and it won't take long for her to associate the discomfort of the tug with her efforts at towing you.

One quick sharp pull is much better in the long run than lots of steady pulling that could only teach her to pull against you. If you keep her on a short rein she won't be able to use her low level advantage to be able to pull your upper body/balance forward and so make it easier for her to tow you along.

Best of luck - perserverance will win out in the end - just make sure it's you that is perservering and not her!
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Thank you - I'll make sure I keep her very short (I do this now but I will be careful to be mindful of my own position) and I WILL win this one!
I think she has been roughly treated in the past as little things that don't bother our other 5 horses/ponies send her into meltdown but I also thing she was allowed to get away with this behaviour with her last owners and as you've pointed out they're as sharp as a tack (she certainly is!).
I haven't been treating her like my big horse just because she is a more sensitve character but maybe I should start because currently what I'm doing isn't working!
It's very frustrating as 2-3 weeks ago this pony was leading out lovely on a loose rope and really enjoying herself but now she's a demon! We had found that if she was fed before walking out (token feed of handful of lami-light) she was much better behaved, do you think she might be hungry and hurrying to get back to her bucket of hifi?
She's currently on a diet, she suffered a bout of lami a few months backs & we've been trying to get her to drop some weight since - she finally seems to be losing some. She's currently on a bare paddock 24/7 and gets a handful of lami light in the evening and 2 scoop of hifi molasses free per day (one morning & one evening) and that's it, no treats, no hay, nothing else...?
 
I think she might be feeling more settled with you now and because you're feeling more familiar to her she's trying to take the mickey a bit!

Probably the bucket of food at the end of the walk isn't helping as she's kind of doing a napping thing to get back to it quicker. It may be difficult for you during the week if you're working or don't have a lot of spare time, but if and when you can, try walking her at different times of the day so that she doesn't always associate going for a walk with getting fed at the end of it.

Really do wish you the very best of luck - she's a lovely looking little thing and I can quite see why your daughter is so in love with her:)
 
Sarah1 said:
Thank you - I'll make sure I keep her very short (I do this now but I will be careful to be mindful of my own position) and I WILL win this one!
I think she has been roughly treated in the past as little things that don't bother our other 5 horses/ponies send her into meltdown but I also thing she was allowed to get away with this behaviour with her last owners and as you've pointed out they're as sharp as a tack (she certainly is!).
I haven't been treating her like my big horse just because she is a more sensitve character but maybe I should start because currently what I'm doing isn't working!
It's very frustrating as 2-3 weeks ago this pony was leading out lovely on a loose rope and really enjoying herself but now she's a demon! We had found that if she was fed before walking out (token feed of handful of lami-light) she was much better behaved, do you think she might be hungry and hurrying to get back to her bucket of hifi?
She's currently on a diet, she suffered a bout of lami a few months backs & we've been trying to get her to drop some weight since - she finally seems to be losing some. She's currently on a bare paddock 24/7 and gets a handful of lami light in the evening and 2 scoop of hifi molasses free per day (one morning & one evening) and that's it, no treats, no hay, nothing else...?
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Re the feeding.

When you say "bare paddock" do you mean totally bare?

If so, she's standing around not eating anything at all for hours and hours. That's going to make her very hungry and anxious and not good for ulcers.

I think you would be better off giving her soaked hay/oat straw even, to graze on for longer periods of time and cut down the feeds.

Try a trickle net, hay bar?
They are hard wired to eat/graze most of the time.
 
As others have said, Shetlands are just little horses with attitude. They are like terriers, I wonder if they even realise they are short.

I have a little mare here, maybe 34" and she was a horror, if she couldn't run off she'd bite, or strike (and she had had 25 years to perfect her technique)
I treated her the same as I do any other impolite horse that tries to throw their weight around. A nose chain, if they are the sort that prefer to plough a furrow with their nose then the chain goes under their chin to bring the head up. I didn't even have to use it, but if I had, I would have. I prefer a brief, but effective lesson in attention rather than constant, and wearing, tugs and battles. A nose rope would probably do just as well.

The little Madam! She knows exactly what that was about because as soon as it goes on her halter she will lead like a dream, on a loose rein. No chain, and she morphs into an opinionated monster. :mad:

As she often has children handling her the chain is attached from one side of her noseband to the other, like a useless bit of bling, not to the lead rope at all, it is there and that is good enough for her to mind her manners.
 
You say she has changed in the last couple of weeks?
It would be worth getting her blood tested and checked for pregnancy - In my opinion that belly looks awfully like she isn't far off dropping a foal......
 
My pony used to be a pain and still is when I take him out for a walk in the summer and we walk past green fields. He always tries to charge for a snack in the field.

I have always had shetlands and I suppose I'm used to their little quirks... I've found that the best way to prevent being dragged around is learning to predict their behaviour. The second I feel my pony tensing up, I stop him or if I can't do that, I make him go in a circle until he calms down. When he was little he used to rear if I tried to make him go somewhere he didn't want to go but after being rewarded with a slap on the shoulder a few times, he stopped doing that.

They're cheeky little b*ggers and sometimes you need to be strict so that they don't walk all over you.
 
MudMudGloriousMud said:
You say she has changed in the last couple of weeks?
It would be worth getting her blood tested and checked for pregnancy - In my opinion that belly looks awfully like she isn't far off dropping a foal......
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It does a bit but the OP has had her nearly a year... I hope nearer 12months than 11!
 
Have you tried making her circle you every time she pulls. It's what I've learned to do with the full grown variety and they soon get fed up walking in circles. Even with a Shetland you are not going to win a pulling contest and your little one has absolutely no chance. Perhaps also do the same ground work you'd do with a big un so they learn to walk and stop without pressure ad also turn on forehand and back up. It'll make your life easier and safer. :)
Now what's really in that tummy :D
 
We bought a green dually headcollor for the Shetland at the stables and he respects it and the kids are able to lead him much more safely. You can get one from the Intelligent Horsemanship website. Good luck they are an opinionated breed but such characters!
 
Slightly Foxed said:
It does a bit but the OP has had her nearly a year... I hope nearer 12months than 11!
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Ahh, I didn't see/take in that bit of the opening thread! Sorry OP! :o
Can I blame the lurgy on my befuddled brain?

What does she do when in a bridle? I have found with bolshy, pushy ponies that a rope over the nose (or under the jaw) - or a chain as already mentioned - is ideal, as if they are being good they have the pressure and release effect.

She is very cute OP, I would love a little one :)
 
Try putting a roller or saddle, crupper and side reins and/or grass reins on her along with a bridle to give her something to think about. It will give you some more control and she won't be able to dive for the grass either.
 
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