LittleWildOne
Well-Known Member
Hi elsiecat 
I've just had a look at the photos you posted of her. She's gorgeous
.
How old is she, and although I see that she has been ridden in the past, do you know whether she ever lived in the New Forest, like the "wild" ponies ?
It sounds like she might be lacking in confidence after just moving to a new home.
PLUS, you said in your photo thread, that she had previously had a ligament injury. Do you know if she was on box rest at all with her injury ?
So, with a possible loss of confidence with her move, and a previous injury which might have needed box rest, she could be wary of being caught incase she is cooped up in a stable or moved to a strange place again. Some horses/ponies take a while to build up a trust in their new owner. They can take a knock to their confidence after being sold and losing their old owners/fieldmates.
With regards to catching her, my own New Forest filly lived "wild" on the forest from birth until 2 years old. The commoners who bred her do go out regularly to check on their forest running ponies....and take FEED with them. Their ponies know "this person has food in a bag", and so recognise and walk up to their breeder. My pony was used to seeing her dam getting a handful of feed on the ground, and after weaning, she too was given a handful of feed on the ground while running on the forest, whenever her breeder wanted to check her. She had never been "caught" though with a headcollar and leadrope.
I bought my filly 5 days before her second birthday. Her breeder had brought her in off the forest 3 weeks before that. They would have used feed and a rope halter, and a few helpers to catch my pony, then lead/herd her into their stock trailer. She then had a headcollar put on, and left on to begin with, once she was in her breeder's securely fenced (6 foot high solid fencing) pen within their fields. Callie was then handled daily until I went down to buy her.
Once I got her home, I kept her in for the first few days, taking time to handle her and take her for walks. Once I turned her out, I left a fieldsafe headcollar on her in the field for the first month.
I still can't catch her in the "conventional" way, i.e. walk up to pony, stand by her side and put her headcollar on. If I try to do it this way, she gets scared and runs off, even if I just try puting the rope around her neck first !
I take feed (high fibre cubes) out with me, in my pocket. I started at first by puting the cubes in a rustly bag and puting some on the ground for her (as her breeder did). I'd get her to follow me to the gate by puting food down in a trail. Once at the gate, I was able to catch her.
To get a headcollar on her, I have to stand in front of her (facing her), give her a few cubes, then gently slip the headcollar on NOSE FIRST. Slowly moving my hands up the sides of her face, I can then put the headpiece behind her ears and fasten it.
She comes to call in the field (100 acres !), and won't leave my side, but I can't put a headcollar on in the normal way.
I hope any of this helps.
I've just had a look at the photos you posted of her. She's gorgeous
.How old is she, and although I see that she has been ridden in the past, do you know whether she ever lived in the New Forest, like the "wild" ponies ?
It sounds like she might be lacking in confidence after just moving to a new home.
PLUS, you said in your photo thread, that she had previously had a ligament injury. Do you know if she was on box rest at all with her injury ?
So, with a possible loss of confidence with her move, and a previous injury which might have needed box rest, she could be wary of being caught incase she is cooped up in a stable or moved to a strange place again. Some horses/ponies take a while to build up a trust in their new owner. They can take a knock to their confidence after being sold and losing their old owners/fieldmates.
With regards to catching her, my own New Forest filly lived "wild" on the forest from birth until 2 years old. The commoners who bred her do go out regularly to check on their forest running ponies....and take FEED with them. Their ponies know "this person has food in a bag", and so recognise and walk up to their breeder. My pony was used to seeing her dam getting a handful of feed on the ground, and after weaning, she too was given a handful of feed on the ground while running on the forest, whenever her breeder wanted to check her. She had never been "caught" though with a headcollar and leadrope.
I bought my filly 5 days before her second birthday. Her breeder had brought her in off the forest 3 weeks before that. They would have used feed and a rope halter, and a few helpers to catch my pony, then lead/herd her into their stock trailer. She then had a headcollar put on, and left on to begin with, once she was in her breeder's securely fenced (6 foot high solid fencing) pen within their fields. Callie was then handled daily until I went down to buy her.
Once I got her home, I kept her in for the first few days, taking time to handle her and take her for walks. Once I turned her out, I left a fieldsafe headcollar on her in the field for the first month.
I still can't catch her in the "conventional" way, i.e. walk up to pony, stand by her side and put her headcollar on. If I try to do it this way, she gets scared and runs off, even if I just try puting the rope around her neck first !
I take feed (high fibre cubes) out with me, in my pocket. I started at first by puting the cubes in a rustly bag and puting some on the ground for her (as her breeder did). I'd get her to follow me to the gate by puting food down in a trail. Once at the gate, I was able to catch her.
To get a headcollar on her, I have to stand in front of her (facing her), give her a few cubes, then gently slip the headcollar on NOSE FIRST. Slowly moving my hands up the sides of her face, I can then put the headpiece behind her ears and fasten it.
She comes to call in the field (100 acres !), and won't leave my side, but I can't put a headcollar on in the normal way.
I hope any of this helps
.
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I wouldn't like either of them getting their fly mask off in an 100 acre field!! You'd never ever ever find it!
