As for kicking the farrier, did the farrier give the horse a reason to kick him? Be honest too. Some horses are devils, some farriers are devils. You gotta figure out which one was acting poorly. My own mare would plant her feet. I could not pick them up. My farrier showed me a trick of pinching the chestnuts to get her to pick up her feet. That sort of worked, but then did not work anymore. One day i was having a heck of a time trying to pick up her foot so i could clean it. Another girl at the barn saw my issues and asked if she could help. I said sure. Well the girl could not get my mare to pick up her feet either, so she then proceeded to yell at her and bully her. My mare picked up, but that was not the way i wanted to go about it. It was a battle, and at that point the girl just HAD to win. I realized through that encounter that there had to be another way. It came in the form of a little treat pellet. My mare quickly learned she would get a treat if she picked up her foot. Now when she sees the hoof pick, she picks up her foot, even if you dont want it.
I would just work with her on accepting you as boss mare. She has to realize that food comes from you. Some folks might say to let her get a little hungry. This all depends on the situation, weather, condition of the horse etc. Dont let her eat till you allow her too. Of course she is stronger than you, so many times, many battles are all in the mind, not in flesh and muscle. If possible, i would put out her hay, but keep her away fromt he hay till you let her eat. I have guarded my horse's feed tub and hay rack before. I wont let her near it till i say it is ok. I may use my body, or a lead rope or if you need to a lunge whip to keep the horse away. Once they are calm, and show a disinterest in the food, then i allow them to eat. You will have to evaluate the situation as to if this is safe. As your horse may get dangerous if you come between it and its food. (just like a dog, i train them that at any time i can take their food bowl away, and they are not allowed to growl, grumble or show teeth. Then they get their food right back again and lots of praise. But sometimes it has to be in steps. Puppies are easy, but an adult dog can be difficult. I might have to hand feed them each piece of kibble individually to break the food aggression). However, sometimes hand feeding a horse can make them grabby or pushy. Mine will do both of those, but i keep her in line and she knows the line now and she knows if she crosses it she gets in trouble. Trouble can come in the form of a tap on the nose if she is being grabby or starting to get pushy. Also her feet have to be a certain distance from me when i give treats. She has to be stretching with her neck for the most part to get the treat, this keeps the bulk of her body away from me, and gives me some leverage in the form of space in the event the horse gets pushy.
If you do not already have one, a rope halter may also help. It made a difference with my head strong, pushy mare. She was not a bad horse, i was just a bad role model and she walked all over me. Once i learned to be in charge, things totally changed. I also have experience with training dogs (GSDs) and i had no issues with being alpha in that relationship, but i had to sort of relearn it with horses.
Also one of the biggest things was that i actually had to TRUST the horse. i had to trust that my horse was not going to react to something in a negative way. As in, if the trash can tips over, i have to expect her to just keep going, or stand still or whatever, but NOT to react to the noise and action in a fearful or freaked out manner. That took a lot for me to realize that in order to have trust in the horse, i had to trust the horse. This is something i am still working through. i have good days and bad days. Good days i have a great time with the horse, bad days i am a shaking leaf.
If there was a poor reaction, i tried to turn it into a game. Like if the trash can fell over, and she spooked at it, then we would go back and i would proceed to throw the trash can around, making noise and acting like it was a ton of fun, or like it was the most normal thing in the world. Pretty soon my mare would just breath in and out, settle and then look at me like i am the biggest idiot in the world.
Stay safe,
Good luck
Alana
Baltimore, MD
-----Original Message-----
From: susanna_thorne susanna_thorne@yahoo.com
Sent 12/27/2009 6:53:23 PM
To: haflingerfriends@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [haflingerfriends] Discouraged New Haflinger Owner!
I'm writing this email as a way to vent my frustration and discouragement. I'm a full-time student that at age 57 decided to go back to nursing school. At that time, I had a older dead broke brood mare that I was forced to place when the demands of school, family and work became overwhelming. Not surprising, 3 years after giving up my horse, my blood pressure soared, I gained weight and with it cam a bunch of aches and pains. With 1 year left of school, I decided to purchase another horse that could help me cope with the stress of nursing school and give me an outlet. My husband and I talked a great deal about the amount of time I would have with the horse and he agreed to help me out with the feeding and care of my horse. I could not own this animal without his help.
Why I'm discouraged is that I bought a 6 year old mare that has not turned out to be as trained as I was lead to believe. I was told that she had not work out as a competition animal but loved to trail ride. But, until I know this animal better, I'm really hesitant to go anywhere that is out of sight of our home. She is extremely gentle but headstrong. We have a small farm homestead and we raise sheep and chickens. This winter the mare shares a run-in with 5 ewes and a Great Pyr. They all get along amazing well.
I am an advanced beginner rider. This summer I spent time working on ground manners and was making good headway. But, now that the horse is out in the paddock and winter is here I have limited daylight hours to work with her.
She won't willing lift her feet to be cleaned and this week she kicked the farrier. She has become really pushy for hay especially now that she feels she competing with the sheep even though the sheep and the horse are fed in separate areas. Another thing that bothers me is that when I approach her she backs up. If she were a dog, I would consider her behavior as being "hand shy." My barn time is spent grooming her and talking softly and mucking out the run-in. But, doing anything on the ground is difficult with batches of ice, covered with snow.
I'm an avid reader. For Christmas my husband gave me a basic text on riding. I have purchased and read a used Parelli book. My thoughts now are to write out some simple lesson plans and work with her. But, we haven't bonded and that wonderful owner/horse relationship is not there yet. I finally purchased a saddle that fits her to a Tee but until I feel that I can trust this mare, I have not ridden her out of the enclosed paddock area.
What are some of the simple exercises I can do in a limited area that will build trust and rapport between us. Just so that you know - while I have not trained horses, I am a retired agility and obedience dog trainer. I tend to be a "positive trainer" but I also realize that I'm not dealing with a 50 lb dog.
I not ready to throw in the towel. But, I would like to eventually have a well-trained mare. When I graduate in May 2010, I will be in a position to hire a trainer to work with me. But, until then I really would like to have established a solid working relationship with this horse. Any suggestions or shared experiences would be appreciated.
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