New (terrified) colt - join up or sit it out and bore him?

Op, read the thread about Ted. You have little to no chance of achieving anything without a barn or stable if the colt is truly terrified. A few things that worked for me..

Never ever look him in the eye, keep your eyes to the floor.
Never square your shoulders to him.
Keep food to a minimum in terms of treats or bribery.
There is no quick fix, everything is likely to take longer than you think, never start something you don't have the time to finish.
 
You guys have boosted my confidence in where to go here so much, I really am grateful for all of you taking the time and care to reply :) just been up to say goodnight and sat in his field for 20 mins, will spend more time each day, he definitely responds well to being ignored :) the nodding head almost completely stopped and the swishing tail didn't happen once, he came right up to me instantly and ad a good sniff about a foot away, then walked off right to the other end of the field and then ,calmly came back again and started grazing nearby, he came over a total of 3 times in the time I was there each time just browsing the bare grass where I was sat, he also found a little piece of carrot I had dropped earlier and munched that right down so he's now had his first taste of carrot too which might make things earlier when I wish to treat him - certainly he seemed relatively at ease, must get myself a little fold up chair - maybe I should change his name to patience :):) thanks for the mention of Hannah Dawson too, she is wonderful. I really love her stuff, have watched some things on catching hard to catch horses and will bare this in mind for future occasions once he is a bit more used to being caught through trust and hopefully used to treats too. Have you seen the online 'course' which you can sign up for? I've signed up, can't wait, am very excited about that!

It is very interesting this tonto came along the way he did, I've been doing a huge amount of work on self recently, I have suffered with anxiety for a long long time, and generally manage it but do get carried away without realising it, its the last stage i have struggled to really change no matter how hard I try... I wasn't even looking for a horse or pony for myself, we recently got a little shetland for my son and I thought I might get another next year sometime and would get someone I could ride etc, but I was flicking through some adverts for horses and ponies like I've done about 4 times a day everyday since as long as I remember and this image struck me, there was this beautiful, unicorn like soul staring out from a photo, I've been obsessed with cremello horses since I was tiny, a dream horse - and here was one that was for sale, I found myself suddenly calling to enquire and then next thing I know he arrived! I think this partnership could be something which will be great for us both, my health will get no better unit I manage to wait and overcome the need to always get things perfectly right all the time, and here is the fella who is already teaching me such a thing - I am, and always have been a better person with horses in my life - :)

The book reading sessions will continue, watch this space! I'll definitely take a look at Ellen's videos too! Thanks for being part of the journey with myself and tonto, am very grateful :) xx
 
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