I have recently acquired a yearling that has had very little positive contact. I have him at the moment living in a 50ft round pen as he's unable to go out in the field at the mo. The first week he progressed really well and I could touch him all over his front end. (He kicks out if you go anywhere near his back end). After the first week I had him booked in to be gelded. This ended up going badly wrong and I nearly lost him. But he's okay now thank goodness. Anyway, after that horrific experience he is totally untrusting again. I have done join up, but that totally freaked him out and he didn't follow up either. (I did watch Monty's films ova and ova again, so I know I didn't do anything major wrong). So now we are at the stage where after 10days I've managed to get the dually halter on and now when caught (by giving him a feed bucket), I can quietly clip on a long line. He now allows me to stroke between his eyes and down his neck. Is this normal for a spooky horse not to join up or follow up? He's even scared of the long line now coz I threw it behind him to move him forwards in join up. HELP!
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Shazza
Is your round pen open or closed. If he cannot see out to look around he is going to feel isolated and lonely. Also remember that his mind is not developed so he is reactionary and much more difficult to teach than a 4 or 5 year old. I would spend time with him just leading him around, stopping and rubbing his head which will make him feel safer to be with you. Don't try to rush his training. The more ground work you do now the easier it will be to break him into a saddle
Cheers
Hi Shazza Your problem is somewhat similar to Daisy's problem with Pluto though Pluto is older. As with my advice for Daisy I would suggest slowly, slowly for your yearling. It is wonderful that you have made so much progress and it is amazing that you have managed to get the dually on him at this early stage. If your attempt at join up has been so scary for him at this stage I would just concentrate on getting his trust back which you seem to be doing. You may care to check my longer response to Daisy. Try not to do too much at any one time - just a short lesson each time with plenty of pats for rewards and if you are prepared to try the carrots I am sure they would help here!!
Thanks Dennis & Maggie for your advise. I've now placed him in a small section of the field with one of my other ponies. He's not alone anymore and I'm leaving him to chill and relax and watch me stroke my other pony. When I feel he's more confident I'll attempt to slowly approach him for a stroke.
Hi Shazza,
I'm Ronda Bergeron. I too bought a very young horse, mare, 2 1/2 years ago it was a long time before I won her trust.
She had never been touched by humans and I took my time to earn her trust.
I agree with Dennis and Maggie, take it very slowly and you will build a solid foundation.
You would never believe my horse, STAR, is the same horse that we brought here.
She is calm, runs to welcome me when I approach whatever pasture she is in or when I arrive home.
She loves her ears rubbed, can be touched everywhere, I mean everywhere and comes to me if something frightens her.
This has taken me 2 years but it has been worth the work.
Love your baby to pieces and be firm but fair and he will respect you so much and most importantly trust you under any circumstances.
Hi again Shazza - sounds good! I am sure that your boy will be so much happier in a field with a friend. I am sure that he will soon be coming up for a stroke too. If you are prepared to try carrot bits these will give him an additional incentive to come up to you and start trusting you more. Feed them to him out of a bowl if you are concerned about him developing a nibbling habit. Good luck with it all - you have made the right adjustments now. Keep us in touch.