loonylittlethings
New User
So I bought I project mare knowing full well that she was going to need a hell of a lot of work putting into her but I guess I wasnt quite prepared for how . . . interesting she would prove to be!
Im basically just interested in hearing what you would do if you were in my boots (training wise giving up on her is not an option!).
Background 17h 8 year old Gelderlander, owned her for around 5 months, have been told she has a background with driving, hunting and various other things, although how much of that is true Ill never know. Theres also a possibility of abuse/neglect again how true this is, Im not sure.
Now where to start with the issues!
She is very standoffish with people. Its safe to say I am her favourite human! My Mum who sees her everyday is still considered a stranger.
When it comes to catching, she will occasionally play up and trot around me in a circle when I try to catch her, but 90% of the time shes fine.
She doesnt like having her head touched mouth, nose and lips shes fine with. She instantly turns into a giraffe if attempt to go near her ears (have figured out that this is likely because shes realized it gets her out of doing work because no one can reach her!).
She seems to struggle understanding you are still the same person if you stand on one side and walk round to the other side you have to re-introduce yourself all over again. She gets very anxious in general if you stand on her offside in the paddock she will reposition herself so that you are on her other side, or if possible head-on, which is where she is most relaxed with people standing.
Picking feet out shes pretty damn rubbish with although the farrier has said its likely to be a combination of not trusting people, and he noticed her balance is quite bad. She will give up eventually, and the get the job done approach works a lot better than, gently stroking down each leg, which just results in annoying the hell out of her, and lots of spinning around. She is extremely respectful of space, and during any outbursts, not once has she ever kicked or stepped on anyones toes.
She spooks quite easily mostly to sights rather than sounds. But she calms herself down very quickly.
Well I think thats groundwork covered!!
Now . . . riding! I am by no means a brilliant rider Im more of a get on and go person, and Im sure most instructors would shudder to watch me ride! But anyway once Im up there, shes fine brilliant even. She relishes being in work, and her usual spooking demeanor softens massively!
But getting up there is the issue. Ive tried mounting both in an open area, and penned in. The most successful Ive found with her is penned in. While this is less than ideal, as I realise it increases the chance of accident, it helps to eliminate her favourite habit of swinging her backend away from me.
Thats not her only mounting habit though, she will just move around constantly, and Ive read what feels like hundreds of threads of people experience with the same issues, and Ive tried everything Ive read! In most other cases, it seems like boredom is the key to making them compliant. However the more bored she gets, the more stubborn she becomes. Ive tried seeing if its just a wall she has to break through, but after spending 3 hours circling a mounting block its pretty safe to say short, sweet and successful sessions are likely to be more successful.
She is very food orientated, but as soon as she gets over that 15-20 minute barrier in the school where her focus starts to slip, she couldnt care less about her favourite treats anymore.
CONGRATULATIONS IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR!
Theres probably a massive amount of info that Ive left out as well. Dont get me wrong Im not sat here twiddling my thumbs expecting everything to sort itself out, Im putting in a hell of a lot of work. Im just interested to see if its along the same sort of route as what other people would do.
Im basically just interested in hearing what you would do if you were in my boots (training wise giving up on her is not an option!).
Background 17h 8 year old Gelderlander, owned her for around 5 months, have been told she has a background with driving, hunting and various other things, although how much of that is true Ill never know. Theres also a possibility of abuse/neglect again how true this is, Im not sure.
Now where to start with the issues!
She is very standoffish with people. Its safe to say I am her favourite human! My Mum who sees her everyday is still considered a stranger.
When it comes to catching, she will occasionally play up and trot around me in a circle when I try to catch her, but 90% of the time shes fine.
She doesnt like having her head touched mouth, nose and lips shes fine with. She instantly turns into a giraffe if attempt to go near her ears (have figured out that this is likely because shes realized it gets her out of doing work because no one can reach her!).
She seems to struggle understanding you are still the same person if you stand on one side and walk round to the other side you have to re-introduce yourself all over again. She gets very anxious in general if you stand on her offside in the paddock she will reposition herself so that you are on her other side, or if possible head-on, which is where she is most relaxed with people standing.
Picking feet out shes pretty damn rubbish with although the farrier has said its likely to be a combination of not trusting people, and he noticed her balance is quite bad. She will give up eventually, and the get the job done approach works a lot better than, gently stroking down each leg, which just results in annoying the hell out of her, and lots of spinning around. She is extremely respectful of space, and during any outbursts, not once has she ever kicked or stepped on anyones toes.
She spooks quite easily mostly to sights rather than sounds. But she calms herself down very quickly.
Well I think thats groundwork covered!!
Now . . . riding! I am by no means a brilliant rider Im more of a get on and go person, and Im sure most instructors would shudder to watch me ride! But anyway once Im up there, shes fine brilliant even. She relishes being in work, and her usual spooking demeanor softens massively!
But getting up there is the issue. Ive tried mounting both in an open area, and penned in. The most successful Ive found with her is penned in. While this is less than ideal, as I realise it increases the chance of accident, it helps to eliminate her favourite habit of swinging her backend away from me.
Thats not her only mounting habit though, she will just move around constantly, and Ive read what feels like hundreds of threads of people experience with the same issues, and Ive tried everything Ive read! In most other cases, it seems like boredom is the key to making them compliant. However the more bored she gets, the more stubborn she becomes. Ive tried seeing if its just a wall she has to break through, but after spending 3 hours circling a mounting block its pretty safe to say short, sweet and successful sessions are likely to be more successful.
She is very food orientated, but as soon as she gets over that 15-20 minute barrier in the school where her focus starts to slip, she couldnt care less about her favourite treats anymore.
CONGRATULATIONS IF YOU MADE IT THIS FAR!
Theres probably a massive amount of info that Ive left out as well. Dont get me wrong Im not sat here twiddling my thumbs expecting everything to sort itself out, Im putting in a hell of a lot of work. Im just interested to see if its along the same sort of route as what other people would do.
