New owners send posts like this all the time- there was one fairly recently
that may have had the title " Amish Broke 3 yr old?"
There are some better experts about this topic on this list for sure. My
Haflingers were both coming four when I bought them, 18 months apart. I have
gone through all sorts of growing pains with them myself!
Some things to keep in mind
Haflingers may take some time to bond with their new owners, but once they
do, things just keep getting better and better! The two of you probably
still need to bond, and anything you can do to show her that you are a
dependable, fearless leader will help a lot. For mine, taking them camping
even a few times helped a lot, and going in clinics. Also being consistant
in day to day things.
6 is still considered young, and she may still be working things out. She
may have holes in her training that the trainer can fix when you graduate.
You are held hostage by the weather to a certain extent, but do what you can
to expose her to new things so she can build confidence. I am currently
renting Clinton Anderson's DVD series for building respect and control on
the ground, from www.yourhorsematters.com. I own the book, too. I am working
with my 4 plus and 6 plus yr old haffies, as well as my cousin' s fat
Haflinger who has gotten pushy and lazy / out of shape while my cousin is in
grad school/ working full time. The horses are all making changes and our
relationships are changing for the better, too.
I audited a Chris Irwin clinic, and he brought up the horse body language
concept that when a horse looks another horse in the eyes, it is meant to
drive the other horse away. My mare used to back away from my glance and shy
at my touch, though we have worked past these things, just by bonding over
time. I honestly forgot what chris Irwin said to do to deal with the body
language issue.
My mare also had issues w/ her feet. It was as if she was not taught to lift
them, more than a flat out contol issue. I worked with her patiently,
setting up a routine for being consistant and helping her relax. She is
still antsy if the Austrailina SHepherds are right behind her when we do her
feet. She does well when I support her lower leg ( horse anatomy??) on my
forearm while cleaning her back feet. She feels more secure that way, where
my older horse just picks up his feet.
I know you will get a lot of supportive feedback here. Some say that Hafie
are so smart and willing, that things get left out of their training- the
trainer thinks, " oh the horse knows that already."
Also, I was practing homebirth midwifery as much as 60 hours a week when my
Haffies were still new to me. ( Actually, I nearly died of entitis/ sepsis
about 2 weeks after I bought my first Haffie, and my health issues were a
major setback.) Anyway, when I was working and on call all the time, my mind
wandered a lot. I ALWAYS had things on my mind,and that made it hard to be
present with the horses. They probably thought I was thinking about the
tiger that was just about to jump out of the bushes and kill them! Now that
I am on sabbatical, I am doing much, much better with the horses. Things
will likely ease up for you when you finish school and settle into a new
routine!
Mary LD
Texas
On Sun, Dec 27, 2009 at 5:53 PM, susanna_thorne <susanna_thorne@yahoo.com>wrote:
>
>
> 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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