Jackobean
Well-Known Member
Was wondering if anyone could give me some advice ......
I bought my youngster as a yearling, he's 3 now. He'd had a horrendous start, he was emaciated when I had him, had lots of health problems and was soo aggresive due to the fact he had been badly beaten and treated very badly.
It's taken 2 years but finally, he is a very, very sweet pony now and is a totally different animal to the one I bought. Sometimes it's hard to believe he is the same pony. I can do almost anything with him and he trusts me finally. However we are still having 1 or 2 issues and I can't work out how to over come these.
In the beginning, he would try & attack me as I entered the stable - attack was his defence and it was understandable given the way he had been treated. He was terrible for striking out but thankfully this has now stopped. That is until I try and do something he hates - like worm him. He hasn't done it for a long time and then bang - out of the blue the other day, he got me good & proper when I was trying to worm him. It worried me that he has still got this streak in him.
He is also still so very spooky - no matter what I try, and believe me - we've done the lot over the 2 years I've had him. He does try bless him, and he really wants to please but I am worried that part of him will never recover from his ordeal and then wonder how suitable he will be for riding. I have had many youngsters over the years, all of which I have broken myself, but I'm really not looking forward do doing him, this upsets me no end as he is my horse of a lifetime.
I know some people will recommend having assistance and I'm all for that usually (makes life so much easier) , but experience tells me that this is not ideal for this horse and can often aggravate the situation, he only really trusts me. Does anyone have any other suggestions how I can stop the random striking out and give him more confidence?
I bought my youngster as a yearling, he's 3 now. He'd had a horrendous start, he was emaciated when I had him, had lots of health problems and was soo aggresive due to the fact he had been badly beaten and treated very badly.
It's taken 2 years but finally, he is a very, very sweet pony now and is a totally different animal to the one I bought. Sometimes it's hard to believe he is the same pony. I can do almost anything with him and he trusts me finally. However we are still having 1 or 2 issues and I can't work out how to over come these.
In the beginning, he would try & attack me as I entered the stable - attack was his defence and it was understandable given the way he had been treated. He was terrible for striking out but thankfully this has now stopped. That is until I try and do something he hates - like worm him. He hasn't done it for a long time and then bang - out of the blue the other day, he got me good & proper when I was trying to worm him. It worried me that he has still got this streak in him.
He is also still so very spooky - no matter what I try, and believe me - we've done the lot over the 2 years I've had him. He does try bless him, and he really wants to please but I am worried that part of him will never recover from his ordeal and then wonder how suitable he will be for riding. I have had many youngsters over the years, all of which I have broken myself, but I'm really not looking forward do doing him, this upsets me no end as he is my horse of a lifetime.
I know some people will recommend having assistance and I'm all for that usually (makes life so much easier) , but experience tells me that this is not ideal for this horse and can often aggravate the situation, he only really trusts me. Does anyone have any other suggestions how I can stop the random striking out and give him more confidence?
