Yearling cow kicking

Stormy13

Stormy13

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Hi all I've just purchased a lovely yearling filly, shes a traditional cob and shes so friendly and calm , just has a lovely personality.
The problem we have is that she doesn't like having her legs or belly touched and will cow kick, I'm willing to put the time in she needs i just wanted some advice on the best way to go about it. I believe getting her used to a glove on a stick is a good way but is there anything else i can do? I just want her to have the best start. Shes great in every other way, leads well, isnt fazed by anything bless her.
Shes my first yearling but we do have two other ponies and I've had some experience with youngsters before.
Any advice appreciated :)
 
glove on a stick but you need to keep it contact until she stops kicking at it then take it off when she stands still, I actually found it easier with the hose as they eventually learn to deal with having a bath too
 
Don't worry about it too much if you've only just got her. Keep handling her on the parts she is happy with you touching and as she builds confidence in you you can begin to work into the areas she's less happy about. Don't make a big issue of it with her, just let her build trust and soon she won't feel that touching her belly is a threat any more.
 
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Repetition, repetition, repetition.

Loads of praise when she lets you touch even for two seconds, a growl and an 'OI!' when she takes it away/cow kicks, then give it a few seconds so you can both collect yourselves, then try again.
 
Thank you all good advice and sort of what we were thinking really :)
Thanks leo walker for the picture , how do you do that as in have the pic show not just the link x
 
My 3 year old was the same - wouldn't let me anywhere near her legs - stuffed a glove with shavings and attached it to the end of a stick - rubbed her all over with it and then down her legs and kept it there until she stopped dancing about. The great thing about a stick is that you can keep away from the cow kicks!!
I have only had my girl for just over a week and she will now let me brush both front and back legs and we are progressing onto picking up feet. She also had her feet trimmed at the weekend, and apart from being a little twitchy, she managed to behave herself, so was very pleased with her. I used the glove on a stick every day over the period of a week, then started brushing when someone was around to stand at her head. She had been pretty much unhandled for 3 years.
 
Shes called stormy , registered name miss allsort . We love her to bits and shes about 13hh already at 1yr and 5mths. Hoping she will be my future ride . We'll get a glove and a stick and I'll keep you updated on our progress :) she really is such a good girl , very honest and whereas the other two are scared of everything lol she doesn't care and follows you around too
 
you need to go to the photo and right click, then select copy image address then type
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so it would look like

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Do it without the spaces, and the photo will embed

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It's all about the timing and setting yourself up to succeed. Wear a hat. Glove on a stick if you like, or a length of pipe insulation will do the job. The key thing is, position yourself out of the way of the kicks but in a position where you can keep contact with her legs with the dummy hand. Work slowly and incrementally, starting with bits she's comfy with, and giving her lots of nice scratches (if she likes them)and rests. If she kicks it's very important that you keep doing what you were doing to make her kick - and the second she stops kicking remove the dummy hand and give her a total rest for a minute - look away, move the "hand" right away. And repeat, lots of short sessions. She'll soon get the idea that standing still is the easiest option.
 
Watching this thread with interest. I have just bought a 14 month old, he is 14.2 already so will be a big lad when he grows up if his hocks and knees are anything to go by! He's only been handled for the last three months by the previous owner who said he was pretty much wild when she got him.

I have been working on being able to touch him all over, he's still a bit iffy over this legs and tummy and towards his back end. Mind you, I can't blame in for the back end as he was gelded just over 10 days ago, so probably still remembering the indignity!
 
Felt we made a bit of progress today, been rubbing her front legs with a whip (triangular shaped leather ended one) and she responded really well, just had one cow kick but before that she had a back leg resting :) she got really relaxed and was enjoying having a rub and a scratch too
 
Did a bit with her today just spending time with her, talking to her, she isn't worried at all about plastic bags and i popped a folded up blanket on her back and she was really good :) shes so good to catch and lead bless her.
I was very proud of her also as i sprayed her legs with the hose, she moved around for a bit then stayed completely still to let me spray her , i stopped, praised her, sprayed again and again she didn't move :) such a good girly . We're still working on the touching/brushing of her legs and i think the cow kicking has almost stopped as she learns to trust us more . So far so good! Oh apart from she jumped out of her stable the other day lol thankfully she was ok and thankfully we have monarch stables and i can shut the top door for now and she has her friend next door who she can see :)
 
Could I have a bit more advice please, we've been using the glove on a stick and telling her off when she kicks, we'd progressed to her back legs and yesterday she let us rub them all over but today she was kicking again, she also doesn't like her belly being touched and will cow kick .
Do i tell her off when she kicks or not? Do we keep touching her with the glove? And reassuring her. We find it difficult to keep the glove on her with the stick as she will kick and move and our natural instinct is to back away, perhaps a longer stick would be better as i could keep it on her until she stops moving. When i used the hose i was able to stay a safe distance away from her while spraying her legs and eventually she stood still beautifully. The water is slightly different to a brush or glove though. I do wonder if she would be ok with us just touching her legs with us near her as the stick itself could be scary but I'm a bit concerned about getting kicked . We've been using a lick to see if that would help and as a reward and i think it definitely helps.
Is it just a case of persevering with her and touching her every day, repetition.
Unfortunately I'm a little bit nervy anyway when it comes to feet but my teenage daughter and son are more confident so they are a big help. We're on a livery yard and i do have lots of help if needed so will ask if we feel a bit out of our depth. I love her to bits already and i feel once we're over this hurdle she'll be fantastic
 
Put the stick on the leg, keep it there until she stops moving then immediately remove it. Stop using the lick, its just distracting her and sending the wrong message. I would clicker train her, so when the glove is on her leg and shes still, that would be the time to reward her. If you have a look on Youtube there are videos showing you the basics of clicker training.

Repeat it every day. Do not move your feet unless you are in danger. Build up to leaving the glove on her leg for longer and longer. It might take a couple of day or it might take weeks and weeks, A lot is down to how competent you are.

I dont tend to use the glove and stick, if you get right in close to them in the right place then they cant kick you and i find it easier, but the glove and stick method does work and is safer and probably a better bet.

I'd suggest getting some professional help at this point. Its so easy to get it wrong and cause a huge issue, but an experienced person can keep you right.
 
I would never tell them off at this stage. You are trying to improve confidence with handling and she is kicking because she is not used to having those parts handled. Ignore it as best you can, just keep handling her on the parts she's happy with and move into the areas she isn't gradually. Try and handle her and remove the hand before she kicks then reward her with a scratch on a part she enjoys. Calm and patient will get you there.
 
One success isn’t going to mean she’s cured. With youngsters you’ll have to do it literally for months and years until they’re perfect.
 
Thanks guys i know it takes time and patience and certainly won't happen in one day . I've just seen so much conflicting advice, some say to shout at them, scare them and smack them , when they kick out, some say to ignore it, go for the softly softly approach and i just want to know what to do for the best. She is getting used to us touching her more as we try to do it most days . I do have plenty of people i can call on to help if needed but i think for now we'll keep building up her trust in us and keep working with her slowly and gently
 
ignore any bad behavior but persist in what you want so you are not actually rewarding it if she kicks keep up what you are doing and when she stands quietly stop doing it immediately so you always reward the positive, You cannot train a flight animal by threats shouting smacking or waving your arms about all you will do is encourage the kicking and moving and you may even make her imposssible to catch or touch at all. Praise is a funny thing too the best way is not to say anything just quietly insist on doing what you are and expect her to behave only reward by removing the task quickly when she complies, ignore any dancing and kicking she will soon learn that you are not going to react( by giving up the lesson) in anyway until she does as she is asked. You will get a lot of people who will tell you you are being too soft but actully insisiting on good behaviour is being firm but fair. Yelling and smacking are counter productive and will only lead to a very confused youngster. Best advice I can give is to get a lesson with an Intelligent horseman RA as you will learn the techniques and can carry on the right way with the youngster
 
I wouldn’t tell her off. It’s pointless.

You keep doing whatever it was she didn’t like until she stops reacting. Then you stop. That teaches them that if they stand still, you stop. Anything else teaches them if they kick you stop.

Same for the hose, clippers, sprays. Anything. If they are really reactive then you’re only looking for a very short stand still from the horse, so you can stop then you build up to needing longer periods of stand still before you stop.

Repetition, consistency and calm handling is the way to solve all these problems. Don’t start something you can’t finish either. If you’re short of time don’t do it. Make sure you can always see whatever you start through to a good conclusion.

Oh and I use a soft broom/brush as no fabrication required and it’s long enough to keep you out of the way and firm enough to keep it in place if they are having a real tantrum.
 
Just an update, i found a stick long enough to keep on her when shes moving about and kicking out and it definitely helped, lots of patience and praise and she really improved :) she had the farrier around a week ago and she was so good, she was great with her fronts and her backs were good although a rope was needed for one hind , and she managed to cow kick the farrier on the hand 🙈
All in all she was good and the farrier said we had done wonders with her , he had trimmed her before we had her and said she was wild bless her
:)
 
Thought I'd update this, Stormy is now 2 and a half and is so good now with her feet, we can pick up and groom all four feet /legs, and her belly, she can still get a bit stroppy occasionally but I'm sure this will improve in time 🙂 she's 14hh on her bum and slightly under on her withers and we love her to bits IMG_20180918_221826_499.jpg
 
She is however very itchy! Mites and lice are ruled out but she's rubbed out most of her mane and broken fence rails in the process 🙈
 
What a lovely update, and what a beauty she is growing up to be! :)

Edit: Just saw your post re: itching, have you gone down the sweetitch route? My youngster developed it at 1 1/2yrs, officially tested and confirmed this year via intradermal skin tests.
Is she still itchy now the weather has cooled off a bit?
 
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