Wild Pony Turnou issue

[PLAYBOY]

I have recently been given a wild exmoor pony to break he is comming round well excepting to be brushed and tacked up now but when i went to get him i tried for 3 hours and he had had sedaline and we could not get near him in the end local irish bloke heard pony with another horse to cattle crush to get him on trailer the other day he got loose in the indoor and it took me two hours to catch him and this was with the lunge line flying around after him ! He also reared and came down on my head the first day i had him , but now he is settling in and is getting used to stable life EXCEPT! i have not yet turned him out and am dreading not been able to get him back again ther is no cattle crush wher he is now but then he had no head collar on then! Really want him to go out though and not be stuck in !

 

[squiff]

I would leave hi in. I know it's not natural for him, but then you can go and spend time just talking to and stroking him in the stable, so he doesn;t associate every time you go to him with the stress of lunging etc. Why not tske him out in a small paddock (in case he gets loose) on a lunge line and let him graze in hand. I have had several over hte years to break who have never been handled (or very little) before and they never lose their extra 'flightiness'. Be very careful.

 

[PLAYBOY]

I am more awear around him now but i was not made aware that he was wild at first i was told that he had had lots done and had just converted back this way ! Yer he been in for a week and doesnt seem to be to botherd he is been hand grazed daily so surpose this is what i will prob stick with for the time been x Thanks x

 

[trundle]

I am not experienced at all with wild ponies, but I would carry on grazing him in-hand, spending time with him, making a big fuss of him etc, so that he carries on seeing you as his friend. Perhaps you could get a field-safe headcollar for him for when you do go back to turning him out.

 

[RobinHood]

A few years ago my YO bought a very nervous little coloured pony but unlike yours he was already broken and had clearly been knocked about by someone in the past. Every evening I used to go down to his paddock with a bucket of happy hoof, put it on the floor in the middle and then back away from it and sit down about 50m away. After a week he would see me coming with the bucket and come trotting over, and I could stand about 5m from him while he ate. I then progressed to stroking him whilst he ate, and if he stood still I would immediately go away and leave him alone. Then I would fasten the headcollar round his neck with the nose bit undone and slowly slide it up towards his head. Once i had the headcollar on I would remove it and walk away from him before he walked away from me. Within a month I had a pony that came to call and stood happily to have his headcollar on, but to this day you still can't catch him if you try to go up to him in the field instead of letting him come to you.

Sorry for the essay but thought you might find it useful. It really depends on whether you are looking at the long term or short time and how much time you are willing to put in.

 

[Christmas_Kate]

I'm not suprised he didnt want to be caught with a lunge line flying round after him

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TBH I would leave him in for a fornight. Handle him daily, treat him when he does well, and get him VERY used to you. Progress to walks inhand. Get him used to a food bucket rattling (stand in his doorway and rattle feed bucket at breakfast and tea... even if it's justa few fibre nuts) and when you do turn him out he'll know that the feed bucket means food, and will come to you.

With wild ponies it's very much softly softly catchee monkey. treat him with respect, remember he has more natural instincts of fight or flight than anything else you've handled. A rope could be a snake, you waving a lunge line around is terrifying, and a cattle crusher... let's not go there!! He sounds totally traumatised... give him lots of time. If you can't handle him, or havent 100% dedicatio of time to spend with him hand him to someone who knows what they're doing.

 

[PLAYBOY]

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A few years ago my YO bought a very nervous little coloured pony but unlike yours he was already broken and had clearly been knocked about by someone in the past. Every evening I used to go down to his paddock with a bucket of happy hoof, put it on the floor in the middle and then back away from it and sit down about 50m away. After a week he would see me coming with the bucket and come trotting over, and I could stand about 5m from him while he ate. I then progressed to stroking him whilst he ate, and if he stood still I would immediately go away and leave him alone. Then I would fasten the headcollar round his neck with the nose bit undone and slowly slide it up towards his head. Once i had the headcollar on I would remove it and walk away from him before he walked away from me. Within a month I had a pony that came to call and stood happily to have his headcollar on, but to this day you still can't catch him if you try to go up to him in the field instead of letting him come to you.

Sorry for the essay but thought you might find it useful. It really depends on whether you are looking at the long term or short time and how much time you are willing to put in.

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Thants nice but i only have him untill the end of the month and then he is moving to bulgaria! xx

 

[Christmas_Kate]

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A few years ago my YO bought a very nervous little coloured pony but unlike yours he was already broken and had clearly been knocked about by someone in the past. Every evening I used to go down to his paddock with a bucket of happy hoof, put it on the floor in the middle and then back away from it and sit down about 50m away. After a week he would see me coming with the bucket and come trotting over, and I could stand about 5m from him while he ate. I then progressed to stroking him whilst he ate, and if he stood still I would immediately go away and leave him alone. Then I would fasten the headcollar round his neck with the nose bit undone and slowly slide it up towards his head. Once i had the headcollar on I would remove it and walk away from him before he walked away from me. Within a month I had a pony that came to call and stood happily to have his headcollar on, but to this day you still can't catch him if you try to go up to him in the field instead of letting him come to you.

Sorry for the essay but thought you might find it useful. It really depends on whether you are looking at the long term or short time and how much time you are willing to put in.

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Thants nice but i only have him untill the end of the month and then he is moving to bulgaria! xx

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not a chance then mate. Going how you are with the lungeing line... I hope he has a better time in Bulgaria.

 

[SouthWestWhippet]

We had an exmoor like this (pretty wild unbroken when arrived). It lived in for a month or two then would go out with maybe 2 others in a very small T/O paddock wit no grass. To catch him we would just bring everything in first and he would then want to come in (no food or friends to play with)

By the time we turned him in a 'proper' field, he was all but backed. Even so, we still had to bring everything in before we could catch him for the first couple of days. We would never turn him out without a headcollar. However, he gradually got accustomed to being caught and I spent a lot of time just going up to him, giving him a handful of nuts and a scratch and walking off again.

by the time he left us, backed and ridden away, he was fine to catch but it took a bit of time. Dont' forget, off-the-moors exmoors are generally tough little things and when they get their confidence they need firm handling! Ours came round pretty quick to liking people once he realised we were supply of cuddles and polos tho.

 

[PLAYBOY]

[ QUOTE ]
We had an exmoor like this (pretty wild unbroken when arrived). It lived in for a month or two then would go out with maybe 2 others in a very small T/O paddock wit no grass. To catch him we would just bring everything in first and he would then want to come in (no food or friends to play with)

By the time we turned him in a 'proper' field, he was all but backed. Even so, we still had to bring everything in before we could catch him for the first couple of days. We would never turn him out without a headcollar. However, he gradually got accustomed to being caught and I spent a lot of time just going up to him, giving him a handful of nuts and a scratch and walking off again.

by the time he left us, backed and ridden away, he was fine to catch but it took a bit of time. Dont' forget, off-the-moors exmoors are generally tough little things and when they get their confidence they need firm handling! Ours came round pretty quick to liking people once he realised we were supply of cuddles and polos tho.

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WKD info thanks sounds i lot like splodge x Thanks x

 

[PLAYBOY]

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A few years ago my YO bought a very nervous little coloured pony but unlike yours he was already broken and had clearly been knocked about by someone in the past. Every evening I used to go down to his paddock with a bucket of happy hoof, put it on the floor in the middle and then back away from it and sit down about 50m away. After a week he would see me coming with the bucket and come trotting over, and I could stand about 5m from him while he ate. I then progressed to stroking him whilst he ate, and if he stood still I would immediately go away and leave him alone. Then I would fasten the headcollar round his neck with the nose bit undone and slowly slide it up towards his head. Once i had the headcollar on I would remove it and walk away from him before he walked away from me. Within a month I had a pony that came to call and stood happily to have his headcollar on, but to this day you still can't catch him if you try to go up to him in the field instead of letting him come to you.

Sorry for the essay but thought you might find it useful. It really depends on whether you are looking at the long term or short time and how much time you are willing to put in.

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Thants nice but i only have him untill the end of the month and then he is moving to bulgaria! xx

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not a chance then mate. Going how you are with the lungeing line... I hope he has a better time in Bulgaria.

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Excuse me the horse got loose from me and this is the only reason he got loose with a lunging line in tow and i can ganrantee you now with out my help that horse will not have a good life in bulgaria!