New pony bit my face :( Help / advice needed please.

[Lunah-moonmare]

Far from telling you that you were 'stupid' to get her, unwise perhaps but not much more than that, we have all done some extremely unwise things ourselves on many occasions with horses I am sure, so that is not a biggie IMO anyway, just a normal learning curve - I am still on that learning curve with horse knowledge in my 70s lol!

I do get the sensitive reaction though, I am feeling a bit that way myself today for a dog related issue, so really do understand that

 

[paddy555]

Thank you. It just felt a bit like people were telling me I was stupid to get her. And maybe they are right.. but I am feeling pretty sensitive at the moment

from what you describe she may well have been the wrong choice. The advantage of this forum is that there are a LOT of very wise and very experienced people who can instantly see what is happening so you have the advantage of a lot of reliable knowledge very quickly. The disadvantage of course is that some of the comments do come across as not so nice if you are new to the forum and don't know people or already feeling vulnerable.

You are far from stupid just inexperienced with this situation as you may never have met it before. Now from the replies you have a lot more knowledge on which to base your decisions.
To some extent I would query as to why the breeder was happy to sell this 2yo to you. She seems pretty unsuitable for what you need.

the suggestion by ownedby4horses of rescue centre ponies is a really good one. They will asses what you want and try and make sure an animal fits the bill.

 

[Lunah-moonmare]

from what you describe she may well have been the wrong choice. The advantage of this forum is that there are a LOT of very wise and very experienced people who can instantly see what is happening so you have the advantage of a lot of reliable knowledge very quickly. The disadvantage of course is that some of the comments do come across as not so nice if you are new to the forum and don't know people or already feeling vulnerable.

You are far from stupid just inexperienced with this situation as you may never have met it before. Now from the replies you have a lot more knowledge on which to base your decisions.
To some extent I would query as to why the breeder was happy to sell this 2yo to you. She seems pretty unsuitable for what you need.

the suggestion by ownedby4horses of rescue centre ponies is a really good one. They will asses what you want and try and make sure an animal fits the bill.

Thank you I really appreciate this answer The seller genuinely believed she would be fine for what we were looking for. She would probably be as shocked as I am by the bite

 

[Ambers Echo]

Thanks everyone. I guess I screwed up spectacularly then Feeling very grim now. I was advised to do lots with her in the first few weeks of owning her before she gets comfortable and starts 'testing boundaries'. I guess that was not great advice, and I shouldn't have followed it

You have been badly advised but you are obviously wanting to do the right thing by the pony and are willing to learn which is great.

As others have said, the behaviour was not unprovoked. You need to be able to put yourself in her shoes: horses are prey animals with strong defensive instincts. They will usually run but if they are protecting a resource or if they are/feel trapped they will kick or bite. This is not naughtiness, or boundary testing.. It is straightforward survival instinct. She was in a situation where she was both trapped AND protecting a resource. She warned you by swinging her bum towards you. She did not want to hurt you but you ignored her warning and then threatened her food while she was trapped.

I do want to be able to handle my horses when they are eating but never a new horse, never a young horse and certainly never a new, young horse.

Horses are generally co-operative. You don't need to 'assert your authority' but just behave in a calm, consistent way with them. That's all she needs for now. Routine, predictabiity etc.

She is not really going to be very suitable for your kids for a while. So if the option is there to send back then that's what I would do probably. But if not, then have a read of books like From Birth to Backing so you be more aware of how baby horses think/feel/behave so you can anticipate and avoid problems.

And don't feel bad - you are asking for help immediately and you bought her in good faith from someone who reassured you she was suitable.

 

[Lunah-moonmare]

You have been badly advised but you are obviously wanting to do the right thing by the pony and are willing to learn which is great.

As others have said, the behaviour was not unprovoked. You need to be able to put yourself in her shoes: horses are prey animals with strong defensive instincts. They will usually run but if they are protecting a resource or if they are/feel trapped they will kick or bite. This is not naughtiness, or boundary testing.. It is straightforward survival instinct. She was in a situation where she was both trapped AND protecting a resource. She warned you by swinging her bum towards you. She did not want to hurt you but you ignored her warning and then threatened her food while she was trapped.

I do want to be able to handle my horses when they are eating but never a new horse, never a young horse and certainly never a new, young horse.

Horses are generally co-operative. You don't need to 'assert your authority' but just behave in a calm, consistent way with them. That's all she needs for now. Routine, predictabiity etc.

She is not really going to be very suitable for your kids for a while. So if the option is there to send back then that's what I would do probably. But if not, then have a read of books like From Birth to Backing so you be more aware of how baby horses think/feel/behave so you can anticipate and avoid problems.

Thank you ?

 

[paddy555]

Thanks. I have always been told that food is the way to their hearts -

I live in an area of open moorland and there are lots of semi feral ponies wandering everywhere, often in the tourist car parks and around the road.

We were drinking our coffee on the village green one day holding 2 of our horses. A family came up, 2 small kids. Could they feed our horses. No, I don't allow anyone close to the horses now (too much of a worry they could get hurt)
Next to us were 2 old semi feral mares. They knew what food and kids were all about. The family walked off to feed them. I warned them not to.
The mares greatly appreciated the kids offerings. Then the food was gone. They turned round, booted both kids to the ground and went back to grazing. Totally ignored the poor screaming kids.

That is ponies and food.

 

[Lunah-moonmare]

I live in an area of open moorland and there are lots of semi feral ponies wandering everywhere, often in the tourist car parks and around the road.

We were drinking our coffee on the village green one day holding 2 of our horses. A family came up, 2 small kids. Could they feed our horses. No, I don't allow anyone close to the horses now (too much of a worry they could get hurt)
Next to us were 2 old semi feral mares. They knew what food and kids were all about. The family walked off to feed them. I warned them not to.
The mares greatly appreciated the kids offerings. Then the food was gone. They turned round, booted both kids to the ground and went back to grazing. Totally ignored the poor screaming kids.

That is ponies and food.

Wow that is shocking indeed! I personally wouldn't feed wild ponies especially with kids but this one isn't completely wild.. just a bit nervous (or so I thought ?) so that's why I was so shocked by the bite especially being my face. But I guess it makes sense now how it happened and I have learned an important lesson, for which I am grateful for, regardless of being sore in more ways than one.

 

[honetpot]

If its makes you feel any better I will tell you about my two year old mistake.
Bought as a pony to do LR on in the future, very pretty, very well bred, chosen out of a breeders field of about twenty. It was so sharp, that it took two adults, plus all the gear to try and lunge it, and to turn it out it had to have a bridle and lunge line on it. It could reverse and kick out quicker than you could blink, and the rest of the time it appeared half a sleep.
Since then, I have tried never to buy a pony that hasn't been sat on, preferably from someone with less knowledge than me. The rational being if it hasn't injured them or their children, I have enough time and knowledge to work on it.
My old pony who guards his food was bought for LR, he is not nasty but very intelligent, and my friend who bought it couldn't cope with him, he is just not the sort of pony you want around very small children, and mine were that bit older. He hates showing, but loves doing things like hacking, hunting, ducking under or jumping over the electric fence, and once you're on him, he will jump any ditch, swim a river or climb a bank.

 

[HeyMich]

I would also worry that the pony is used to being turned out and now it's stabled. If I were you I would turn it out again, with plenty of sensible company, and try to desensitize it that way, little and often.

Good luck, and let us know how you get on.

 

[Apercrumbie]

Food can be a useful way to get a feral horse to realise you mean no harm, but you have found out the hard way how not to do it - be thankful it wasn't worse.

If you do feel the need to give any hard feed, please only make it a handful of unmolassed chaff - I hope you're aware that the kind of pony you have will be very prone to laminitis and therefore it is absolutely crucial that you keep a firm handle on her food intake. Once she's had it, she will always be more prone - this is not a horse you can allow to become even slightly overweight.

Is she getting any turnout at all? If so, what company does she have? With a pony that young, I would want as much turnout as possible in a herd, preferably with another youngster. Stabling 24/7 is tough for any horse, yet alone one so young - she needs proper social interaction and to be able to relax, this is only possible with other horses.

You have now learnt not to fuss a horse while they eat. I would actually discourage too much faffing in her stable altogether as it is very easy for her to turn on you and you might not be able to get away. Has she learnt to tie up yet? You'll be safer with her secured.

I'd have another think about whether you can manage training a youngster, but if you decide to keep her, please get lots of help. It's far harder to undo bad training than to get it right the first time.

 

[asmp]

Re: the biting - don’t be too hard on yourself. It happened to me with my second horse. Instead of leaving him alone while he was eating, I fiddled with his rug and was bitten hard on the back of my leg. No, he shouldn’t have done it but I didn’t know him well enough at that stage so shouldn’t have put myself in that position.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Thank you. It just felt a bit like people were telling me I was stupid to get her. And maybe they are right.. but I am feeling pretty sensitive at the moment

Actually, I blame the breeder for selling her to you, when any experienced horse person should ahve realised that she would not be suitable for your/your children's needs.

 

[Upthecreek]

I think you are expecting a lot of a two year old pony that is used to being turned out (presumably with other horses) to leave their home, be confined to a stable and possibly be alone for the first time in her life and be completely fine straight away. You’ve only had the pony for two days. I understand you are feeling sensitive and I don’t mean to be harsh at all, but the fact you did what you did and seem to be surprised by how the pony is behaving suggests you don’t have the experience and knowledge required to bring on a pony from scratch that is pretty much unhandled. I really think you should contact the breeder and see if they will take her back and then buy an established lead rein pony for your daughters to enjoy.

 

[Gloi]

Op buy and read this book
https://www.amazon.co.uk/No-Fear-Force-Handling-Semi-feral/dp/1870192893

 

[motherof2beasts!]

Op I would either a) sell her or b) don’t keep her in let her out to be a baby, you have 2 years before she can be broken anyway , she’ll be depressed stuck in. If your other pony is good to catch she’ll learn from her, take it slowly give her space then gradually give her a treat in field get some good associations and just take it slow. Her whole world has changed and she will be unsettled and I’m sure with kindness , patience and turnout she’ll trust you .

 

[Quigleyandme]

You made an error of judgment by stroking your pony whilst it was eating. You simply took the advice you had been given and unwittingly applied it in the wrong situation. We’ve all done it and we all have the battle scars to prove it. I have two RID two year olds which I’ve had since they were nine months old. When I got them I would ensure there was a gate or fence between us when I gave them their feeds as one in particular would threaten to double barrel me. Within a few weeks I could muck out around their feet whilst they ate their feeds. Time to learn to trust was all it took so please don’t lose heart.

 

[Sandstone1]

Think about how you would feel if you were starving hungry. Just tucking in to your fish and chips and some complete stranger comes in and starts messing with your hair. How would you feel? Just leave her alone when shes eating.