Terrified pony

[MummyEms]

We have rescued a little 13hh 4 year old gelding. We've had horses all our lives. My daughters and I and also I have rehabbed / started and gained trust of many youngsters / abused ponies. This little pony is absolutely terrified. We would absolutely love to hear any of your tips and experiences of gaining a very fearful ponies trust. He doesn't kick he just goes into a blind panic and tries everything to stay away from all humans. If you do get him pm the lead rope he's flinch, jumpy, so very very tense and petrified. I spend hours and he improves ever so slightly but then next time (later that same day even) he's back to square one and petrified again.

Any ideas and suggestions so welcome. He's an adorable little pony who deserves a decent life xx

 

[Beausmate]

Time and more time. How long have you had him and do you know any of his background?

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

He would probably benefit from a people friendly ponyas a companion to show him that there are benefits from letting people close

 

[scats]

Time and baby steps. I turned a semi-feral pony round very quickly in spring and she’s now an absolute gem. Believe me when I say she was terrified of humans on arrival.

I fashioned a glove on the end of a long whip and started slowly touching her with it, then retreating.
It took 2 weeks in the stable before I could get hold of her to get her out, but I just trusted the process and didn’t push her beyond what I felt she could tolerate. Patience and knowing when to back off is key.

 

[SantaVera]

Time and baby steps. I turned a semi-feral pony round very quickly in spring and she’s now an absolute gem. Believe me when I say she was terrified of humans on arrival.

I fashioned a glove on the end of a long whip and started slowly touching her with it, then retreating.
It took 2 weeks in the stable before I could get hold of her to get her out, but I just trusted the process and didn’t push her beyond what I felt she could tolerate. Patience and knowing when to back off is key.

This

 

[stangs]

If you're spending hours at a time working such a panicked horse, I'd be concerned that you've been flooding him and that's why there's been no progress.

What scats says - build up with little and often and start very small. Definitely don't be grabbing his lead rope at this stage as he's not going to be able to learn anything if he's in a blind panic.

 

[Dave's Mam]

No Fear No Force by Sarah Weston is always highly recommended for handling ferals.

 

[Ceifer]

He would probably benefit from a people friendly ponyas a companion to show him that there are benefits from letting people close

This. It was a great help when we had a semi feral NF pony. He wasn’t petrified but he was wary and did watch our interactions and it definitely made life a lot easier.

 

[paddi22]

we get those in a lot in the rescue. best thing to do is leave him alone and pair him with a very confident friendly pony or companion. i find doing one on one way too much for them, let them just come at their own pace. I just let them loose around the yard with a friendly mini pony we have. the mini just follows us around when we are mucking out/haying etc, and the ferals just kind of stick behind them and gradually get used to stuff. i start with giving the odd treats, and working to scratches and finding favourite scratching points on them. then just gradually increase the scratching around the body as they get more comfortable. I find if you put too much focus or intensity on them it makes them more worried. I just leave them be and they come around in their own time. time and letting them get comfortable at their own pace seems to be the key. and treats

 

[Lucky Snowball]

I second getting a quiet companion and only spend 10 mins several times a day. How about a photo?

 

[MummyEms]

Yes he's with our very friendly little gelding who loves us all!

 

[MummyEms]

Trying to upload his pic but says too large on both I've tried?

 

[fredflop]

Is he out in an enourmous field, or a more contained area

 

[MummyEms]

He's now in a little outside stable within the paddock we have the other pony in

 

[Barton Bounty]

I agree with others, time and patience

 

[winnie]

Yes, plenty of time and patience. I took a semi feral pony on this last January who was terrified of people. I keep her in a small paddock with a big open stable and a friendly companion. In my case the big plus was she is very food orientated so that helped. It took me 3 months before I could happily get a headcollar on and off her her. 4 months before I could pick up a front foot. She is tons better now but still a long way to go. I didn't want to use any form of force but spent around 15/20 minutes with her every day doing whatever seemed right that day. It is a long slow process to create trust and a true bond but so rewarding.

 

[scats]

Mine was quite aggressive through fear- she would spin her bum and kick out and come at you with her teeth barred so my main focus was to get her to realise I was no threat.
I spent the first few days just bringing her hay/water/feed in her stable but not attempting any contact, just chatted calmly to her while I did it so she got used to my voice.

Then I progressed to sitting in her stable on a little low stool and just flicked through my phone. Eventually she was happy to eat near me rather than cower in the corner and turn her bum.

Then I progressed to the hand on a stick, but this was for very short periods once a day, building up to twice a day after about a week. It’s important not to flood them, because you just undo your hard work. The first few times, if she let me touch her with the hand on a stick and didn’t move off, I removed the hand from her and left her in peace. Pushing it further would have been counter productive.
When they do start to come round, they tend to progress quickly, so don’t get too hung up on the early stages being slow and feeling like you aren’t getting anywhere because these are the crucial building blocks to the relationship.

Meg is the most affectionate, willing little pony now who will let me do anything, lives a completely normal life with my others, has the farrier every 6 weeks and cuddles with anyone who walks past her stable. She’s been here for 5 months.

 

[rabatsa]

I had a terrified mule. It took 5 years before I could walk up to her in a field. She did however become a great lead rein animal for small children.

Time, more time, patience and knowing when to walk away and yet more time. She was a super animal in her own environment and with her people.

 

[scats]

Trying to upload his pic but says too large on both I've tried?

Are you using an iPhone? Before you select your image from the grid, in the bottom left hand corner there is the option and you click on that and choose your size (I tend to go with medium).

 

[maya2008]

Clicker training to start with, with long fingers of carrot so they don’t have to get too close to you to get the treat. Multiple short sessions a day. Get some progress and reward by stopping the session. Eventually they decide they aren’t scared and don’t want to, and you can then walk them down to get to the point of easy catching - but clicker removes the fear, changing their negative perception of humans touching them to a positive one.

More bad experiences they have had, the more time it takes. We had one that took 9 months to be reliable and unafraid, although 4 months from terrified to first sit has been more usual.