Youngster tantrum advice please!

Holly Hocks

Holly Hocks

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My three year old is very hormonal - she has been for a few months - vets came out to scan her the other day to check nothing untoward with her ovaries etc and nothing seen. They are sending bloods off for hormone levels.

She has gone from being a lovely 2 year old into child of the devil. She used to enjoy going for walks, is now bargey and shoves me across the road. This I can deal with, quite firmly and she is never ever allowed to go home until I choose to. Very tiring, but I am determined she will not get away with being devil pony.

She is only just 14hh and is a NF X who was born on the forest. She has no fear of anything. She does a bit of long-reining, lunges lovely and the other day we tried her over a few very small jumps free lunging in the school and she loved it. So it's not like she isn't getting any work. I dont want to break her in until next year as she is still quite immature in her appearance and significantly bum high.

When I take my other horse out of the stable for a hack she normally knocks the water bucket over and makes a complete mess while I'm out, but nothing really bad Today she was sweating up when we got back from our hack, had obviously had a complete tantrum and then to top it all, when I took my other horse out to the field, she jumped over the stable door.

Will an anti weave grill stop her getting over, or do I need a full grill? Will she eventually grow out of these tantrums? Do I leave her with something like a feed ball when I go out to keep her distracted? (she is very influenced by her stomach!)
She is a lovely pony and I have no doubt that when she is broken in she is going to be a star, but until then, she is making my stressy TB look like a dream!

Any advice greatly received. Thanks
 
Can you put her out 24.7? She's young and full of energy, having a young companion would also help.

Is your groundwork up to scratch? Sounds like she's pushing the boundaries at the moment.
 
She is getting clingy to your other horse, not having a tantrum more of a panic when left alone, if she only has the one other horse for company she is likely to get more attached to him as time goes on, a weaving grid may prevent her jumping out but not the cause of her stressy behaviour.

A mirror may be a good idea, a feed ball may help but really its the fact that she is so bonded with your other horse that is at the root of her behaviour and unless you can get another into the equation she may continue to get worse before she gets better.
 
FfionWinnie said:
I would go for a full grill. The consequences of her trying to jump an anti weave grill don't bear thinking about.
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That's what I was thinking - I'm starting to regret putting her over a few small jumps the other day! It would seem she is a quick learner! Better safe than sorry.

She can't see any other horses where she is in her stable, once I take mine out riding, but I really do feel that ANY horse should be able to be stabled alone for an hour or two. She has all day every day out in the field, so she isn't stabled 24/7 and as already said, does a bit of work to keep her occupied!
 
be positive said:
She is getting clingy to your other horse, not having a tantrum more of a panic when left alone, if she only has the one other horse for company she is likely to get more attached to him as time goes on, a weaving grid may prevent her jumping out but not the cause of her stressy behaviour.

A mirror may be a good idea, a feed ball may help but really its the fact that she is so bonded with your other horse that is at the root of her behaviour and unless you can get another into the equation she may continue to get worse before she gets better.
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I don't think she is clingy to the other horse - she spends her days out in the field with the other mares and very rarely is seen with my other horse when she is out - it is only when stabled that she is with my other horse...I really do feel that leaving her for an hour or two while I'm riding should not be an issue - she should be able to cope for a short period of time.
 
I agree she needs to learn to stay in the stable (and field) by herself. I expect if she is wild born she is just struggling to accept your leadership. She will have to tho.

Are you leading her out in a head collar or something else?
 
Welcome to 3 year olds :)
Mine is having a Keving the teenager period and yours obviously a Kevina :)
My best advice......is up your 'doing things' and if possible take her to a show. Ponies SO grow up at shows.....
She is probably up for 'more stuff' as she is very bright. Get on her if you need to...she is a pony and they do mature mentally very early....I think this has something to do with being nearer the ground...and thinking they are taller in their minds....:)
My Kevin has learned that ANYTHING that annoys me...is best repeated...'cos then he gets to see more of me! He is out 24/7... in for work.....and just feeling a teenager....
Re the grill...defo a full one so she can still see out....but not jump out. I had a horse in for backing once who jumped over the door when any horse left the yard......even if there was someone next to him.....so the grill is a very good idea.
And remember....she now believes she has read the book and is a complete expert.....she can sho jump now and is probably telling everyone she is off to Brazil 2016:)......
Enjoy her as she SO sounds like she is gonna be fun...
Best wishes
Bryndu
 
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I'd put her in a field and leave her to be a horse til next year! My boy went through a similar stage, I didn't make an issue out of it and he grew up and out of it the following year :-) some ponies take ages to mature in their head! Lol Good Luck x
 
Agree with be positive, its not a tantrum, its stressing. A grill will stop her jumping the door, but won't actually solve the cause of her problem. I'd build up slowly to leaving her alone in a stable. So bringing her in alone for 5mins for a quick brush, building up when she's happy for longer. And then get her used to the idea of other horses going out while she's still in. You can go the route of grills etc & force her to stay alone, but long term you just create different problems. If you actually get her to be content alone, it forms a good base for the rest of her life & every other situation she'll be alone in.
As to the handling/barging, its usually that they give small signs first they are pushing the boundaries, rather than one day having a tantrum out of the blue. So I'd just handle her fairly but firmly, so the ground rules are established.
 
You really need to leave her off. Wanting to have the perfect horse in all respects is what ruins them. I've harked on here before how I'd rather get in untouched youngsters rather than so called excellent youngsters for breaking.

If you have a youngster you don't want to break til whenever, make sure basics are established. Make sure they can come in or out on their own. Most can by the way. If you want to do a bit of ground work such as driving, lunging. Great. But have a routine. Then let them off again. They're youngsters. If people worried less about having perfect manners on their horses they might find they have lovely horses.

You can be infuriated with me for stating the obvious. These are observations of the horses that have been sent to me over the years and nearly ruining my own "precious baby". That phrase takes one to know one comes to mind. But pulling up my big girl panties and coping on before it was too late, was a big help. Stop stressing. Horses are smarter than we give them credit for.

Terri
 
FfionWinnie said:
I think I'd probably leave it on a good note and turn her away for a bit.
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Unfortunately we dont' have anywhere round here that I can turn her away - I think due to the nature of the area (the Lake District - constant rain!) nobody does 24/7 turnout through winter, so she will have to come in at night......but maybe I should just stop all work until next year and then restart in Spring?
 
Holly Hocks said:
I don't think she is clingy to the other horse - she spends her days out in the field with the other mares and very rarely is seen with my other horse when she is out - it is only when stabled that she is with my other horse...I really do feel that leaving her for an hour or two while I'm riding should not be an issue - she should be able to cope for a short period of time.
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She's a young herd animal. Some are more herd-orientated than others. She's not clingy to him, she's desperate to still be with another horse! In time she'll be able to cope with it, with careful gradual conditioning to allay her fears. Does she absolutely have to be in alone, even for a few hours?
It's not a tantrum, it's stress because her herd instinct is coming into play. You really can't rationalise it as if she's a child having an unreasonable paddy.
 
I don't do 24/7 turnout with my 2yo either. But coming in and out is hardly work. But for the most part she is left alone. She does everything she needs to at this age with no hassle.

I don't do 24/7 turnout as our weather has been dreadful this year and land has been a swamp.

Overdoing things is a disaster. I wouldn't really be blaming hormones either. Take it with a pinch of salt. I know how I sound! Sort of like all those barefoot people I thought were loopy. Now has all her horses bare. People used to leave youngsters alone. They grew up just fine. But then we had this new wave of things to do with your horses on the ground because horses must be like little robots at all times. Leader, bonding, herd all became words to live by. We had more information and yet more and more young horses are spoiled overweight brats. More diagnostics, more excuses, more I have to get this done with my horse, more they will die if lunged before age 6. And yet I see more and more lame horses that are broken later and later. They live the good life but are way softer. Time will not make them stronger whilst being grossly overweight. But we have more supps and meds and on and on and on.

Nobody just gets on with it anymore. Over analysing every darn thing and horses are no better for it from what I'm seeing. I've just finished my 3rd saddle on my two wide back big rib cage girls. Need another one fitted. In the meantime I will be using the 50 year old, yes that's right, Stubben on the girls. It fits everything and always has but oh no, not good enough for me.

Sorry for the essay. I'm home in the States for a week. I've been up since 4 am, had 3 cups of coffee and 2 cupcakes. LOL!

Terri
 
Equilibrium Ireland said:
I don't do 24/7 turnout with my 2yo either. But coming in and out is hardly work. But for the most part she is left alone. She does everything she needs to at this age with no hassle.

I don't do 24/7 turnout as our weather has been dreadful this year and land has been a swamp.

Overdoing things is a disaster. I wouldn't really be blaming hormones either. Take it with a pinch of salt. I know how I sound! Sort of like all those barefoot people I thought were loopy. Now has all her horses bare. People used to leave youngsters alone. They grew up just fine. But then we had this new wave of things to do with your horses on the ground because horses must be like little robots at all times. Leader, bonding, herd all became words to live by. We had more information and yet more and more young horses are spoiled overweight brats. More diagnostics, more excuses, more I have to get this done with my horse, more they will die if lunged before age 6. And yet I see more and more lame horses that are broken later and later. They live the good life but are way softer. Time will not make them stronger whilst being grossly overweight. But we have more supps and meds and on and on and on.

Nobody just gets on with it anymore. Over analysing every darn thing and horses are no better for it from what I'm seeing. I've just finished my 3rd saddle on my two wide back big rib cage girls. Need another one fitted. In the meantime I will be using the 50 year old, yes that's right, Stubben on the girls. It fits everything and always has but oh no, not good enough for me.

Sorry for the essay. I'm home in the States for a week. I've been up since 4 am, had 3 cups of coffee and 2 cupcakes. LOL!

Terri
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Thanks Terri for your advice as well a everyone else. Terri i do agree with you (I'm also a barefoot convert! :) ) and I think I'm worrying too much - I am a worrier and a stresshead by nature where my horses are concerned. I took her for a walk in hand today. She tried her barging twice. I sorted her out, ignored the behaviour and carried on. I tried to make less of an issue out of it than I normally would. She was much better than usual. Got her back, and chucked her back out.

Kerilli I may be able to borrow my friends miniature shetland to put in my other mare's box when I go out riding. I'll try that and see how that goes.
 
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