Naughty pony? Would like advice plz

[Fools Motto]

I'm currently looking after a 12hh riding pony mare. She's quite sharp! She's not the easiest to catch in the field, treats have worked - up until now. The past two days she has been very difficult in the stable, (let alone the field) and will whip around and refuse to be caught. She might be little, but obviously is quick and no-one wants a hoof of any size flying in the direction of your head!! Very snakey at the front end, so neither end is safe.
Would like to honestly know how you would go about catching her in the stable? Took a solid 10 mins today. Once caught (I won't say how yet, in case it influences answers, but plz be assured she wasn't beaten or trapped) she is fine and doesn't mind fuss. She's fully broken, and in full work, so not a baby if that matters.

 

[MagicMelon]

Is she trying to kick you or just turning round? If her ears are back, Id think shes being very defensive over some issue. Is this a totally new issue? If so Id certainly ask the owner first of all. Id personally work with her, Id leave a headcollar on her all the time for a start and just gently try to groom her / stroke her so she wanted to be with me. I dont think many horses are genuinely out to be naughty, there must be a reason shes started it.

 

[Goldenstar]

If its a suitable stable leave the head collar on .
Is the pony used to one to one handling ?

 

[Fools Motto]

She went to pony camp last week, she was fine in the stable before she left. And yes, very defensive over something, and certainly gives the vibes she would kick, although didn't. I would love to spend time with her, but she is one of many. In the meantime, has anyone had a similar issue? Just need some ideas that perhaps I could try to avoid anyone being in danger. And maybe ideas to pass on to vet/chiro and (obviously child/parent)

 

[meleeka]

Hormones? My Welsh mare is very similar. She doesn’t do being bossed around so I have to ask nicely and be patient if she’s not sure what I want. She’ll meet fire with fire every time so there’s no point at all in being stern with her. We do have a lovely relationship though and these days she’ll accept most things without questioning me.

 

[Fools Motto]

Not sure if I've explained it clearly, you can't get near the front end because she whips her bum around. And even if you could, the process of moving fast enough to grab the headcollar, would get you squashed as she spins. She's pretty quick!! lol
However, I've thought about leaving it on, and with a long line attached, but is that a bit a good thing to do?
Thinking about it, the stable is fine, but the door bolt is too dangerous, and I wouldn't.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

What does she do if you go into the stable with a feed- bucket?

 

[Fools Motto]

Feed bucket didn't work today! She'd go to grab a mouthful then spin. Her diet has to be restricted somewhat, so feed is very very limited. I'm not looking forward to tomorrow, I think she is so clever, she'll think of something else to do so todays plan won't work.
Someone on here must have experienced this somehow with a horse/pony, even if it's wild... what did you do??!

 

[DizzyDoughnut]

My welsh pony went through a stage of this last winter, It was always when I went to turn him out, obviously he wanted to go out and he knows very well that turning his bum to me is not acceptable, he was quite handy with his feet in his younger days so its something we worked on a lot. I finally figured out it was when I was running late for work (which is most days) and was rushing, I must have been giving off impatient vibes and he didn't like it, although was completely fine once I'd caught him and obviously the more he turned away from me the more late I was running so the more frustrated I got because he's been with me for years and he knows what to do. I had to just be calm and stand at the door ignoring him, thinking calm thoughts till curiosity got the better of him and he came to see what I was doing, then give him a treat once he had his headcollar on. After a few days of this he was fine again as long as I was calm and not rushing. With him I can't solve anything by getting angry/telling him off because he will match me and escalate things and although he's small, he's quick and strong.

 

[catembi]

My Dartmoor came to me as feral. She will turn her quarters but has never kicked in 3 years. What works for her is draping the lead rope over her back, so that there is something on the other side, then inching it towards her neck & then up her neck. From there, I can just put a head collar on. Nowadays I can mostly put a head collar straight on when she's in the stable, but if she turns away, I do the rope thing.

 

[meleeka]

You have to slow down I think. She may be one of many, but she needs time spent just being around her and not expecting anything from it. If the only time somebody is with her is to catch her and do something she’s not comfortable with, it’s hardly surprising she’s ready to defend herself.

 

[millikins]

She went to pony camp last week, she was fine in the stable before she left. And yes, very defensive over something, and certainly gives the vibes she would kick, although didn't. I would love to spend time with her, but she is one of many. In the meantime, has anyone had a similar issue? Just need some ideas that perhaps I could try to avoid anyone being in danger. And maybe ideas to pass on to vet/chiro and (obviously child/parent)

Does she just need a bit of down time? Our first pony didn't behave in a threatening way as yours is but she did 2 PC camps, both times daughter sent glowing reports until mid week then pony would down tools and refuse to cooperate, she needed home and turnout. She had been fine at mini camp where they came home each day.

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

I have a dartmoor mare and probably 80% of the time she's a dope on a rope, but a significant minority of the time she's exactly as you describe. She's never actually raised a hoof at me, but I take her warnings seriously- like I've said on here before, a 12hh pony might be small compared to a horse, but she's still much bigger and more powerful than me! To be honest, mine lives out 24/7 at home, so if she's in one of these moods I just leave her be, she always gets over it.

Mine doesn't have obvious seasons, but it's quite possibly related (I've never bothered with a diary) She's very weather sensitive, really hates the wind. And she seems to be worst of all at this time of year coming into autumn.

 

[Caol Ila]

My Dartmoor came to me as feral. She will turn her quarters but has never kicked in 3 years. What works for her is draping the lead rope over her back, so that there is something on the other side, then inching it towards her neck & then up her neck. From there, I can just put a head collar on. Nowadays I can mostly put a head collar straight on when she's in the stable, but if she turns away, I do the rope thing.

This is similar to how I catch Hermosa. She was not the most halter broke creature in the world when I bought her, but she was doing alright until she had the foal, and then she lost her mind and became totally feral and uncatchable for about three/four-ish weeks. We got creative and got her caught and then shifted them into a small pen, where we re-halter-broke her. Once handling had achieved semi-acceptable progress, we turned her back out into the field wearing a field-safe headcollar. That worked well until her foal mastered velcro and could remove aforesaid headcollar, so we had to figure out how to operate without it. We gave her a bucket of high value treats in the field and then put a lead rope over her back, which she didn't mind. You could slide it forwards and loop it around her neck. Once she has the rope around her neck, she will stick her nose into the headcollar, then act like a well-mannered domestic horse. If you go straight for her head or neck, she will leap sideways and run away. My thing works with zero drama. So it's the method. She trotted up to me when I called her today. I'm pretty happy with my method. Not the most conventional, but trotting towards me instead of away from me is a massive f*cking win.

 

[Bonnie Allie]

Teach her to face up - every time. no horse should ever be turning its butt to you, it’s just rude.

Dr Andrew Maclean has a good process for teaching this and it’s steeped in science with the design principle of welfare and safety for horse and handler.

Hubby is a trainer and 80% of the horses that come here for training have poor ground manners. That gets fixed first and is foundational for everything thereafter.

 

[Gloi]

She went to pony camp last week, she was fine in the stable before she left. And yes, very defensive over something, and certainly gives the vibes she would kick, although didn't. I would love to spend time with her, but she is one of many. In the meantime, has anyone had a similar issue? Just need some ideas that perhaps I could try to avoid anyone being in danger. And maybe ideas to pass on to vet/chiro and (obviously child/parent)

If she went to pony camp she probably had an increase in work. This could have shown up issues either with her body or with the saddle that don't normally bother her and it has made her not want to be ridden.

 

[Red-1]

Rigsby became awkward to catch at one point, couldn't work it out initially, but he was due a saddle check. Once the saddle was rebalanced, he stopped. It wasn't dramatic like yours, subtle, but a surprise all the same. The saddle check was happening already, he wasn't apparently sore or anything, but obviously, to him, time with me wasn't enjoyable any more.

 

[J_sarahd]

My boy went through a similar thing to this for a few months. A saddle check and treating his ulcers fixed it.

 

[scruffyponies]

Generally, patience and gentling on the shoulders with a rope (on a stick from a distance at first, if necessary), getting the rope slowly over the neck, then bringing the head collar up under so it isn't looming at her face and giving her something to run back from.

You could keep her in a dry stall, and take her out to water 2-3 times per day. I'd be surprised if she wasn't coming to you nicely within a couple of days.

 

[Tiddlypom]

Something has happened while she has been at camp. This is not likely to be just a naughty pony taking the mick if she's been good previously.

Could be that she was asked to do too much work for a not fit enough pony, she's aggravated a niggle, someone's had a go at her while while at camp, could be any number of things, but I doubt that it's 'naughtiness'.

 

[Maryann]

Mine is a bit precious to catch but greedy with it. I feed him a treat, put the headcollar on then feed him another treat. Then I give him a bit of fuss before doing anything else.

 

[Mudfukkle]

I did know of a pony just like this many years ago, turned out he'd been badly treated and was acting defensively.
Softly, softly approach would be my recommend.

 

[Hallo2012]

i think the owner needs to investigate physical issues, to me this says ouch stay away.

as for catching he in the meantime id go with gtting her used to the rope over back so you inch it up her back and round her neck from afar.

 

[Fools Motto]

Good as gold today! Wouldn't have thought it was the same pony... lol

Did have a chat with the owner, apparently this happens from time to time, they were not surprised. I think it's a combination of hormones and clashing with the yard worker whose having a bad day! (btw, not me - I picked up the pieces yesterday) Sensitive sole this mare.

 

[SusieT]

She sounds really stressed, that's not normal.
Possibly ulcers from camp?
Somebody needs to spend time with her, what is she like in field

 

[Charley657]

We had a horse that would spin to kick you when you went into its stable. You had to be quick to catch its head collar or rush round to its head before the back feet got you because she really would kick if given the chance. We kept the hay net up next to the stable door so her head had to come over the doorway to eat it which helped in catching her. I never gave her treats, she got me a couple of times and I figured she didn't deserve them lol

 

[chocolategirl]

Something has happened while she has been at camp. This is not likely to be just a naughty pony taking the mick if she's been good previously.

Could be that she was asked to do too much work for a not fit enough pony, she's aggravated a niggle, someone's had a go at her while while at camp, could be any number of things, but I doubt that it's 'naughtiness'.

This was my thoughts too. OP says pony is on restricted diet, so could potentially have low grade ulcers, while at camp, these could have possibly been exacerbated, and pony has come home feeling very uncomfortable and probs associates being caught with work/pain. My daughters done pony club camp a few times and the ponies work very very hard for those few days. It’s too much of a coincidence that this has started after camp finished isn’t it??