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Post by skipka on May 12, 2016 15:21:58 GMT 1
Hi, I'm new on the forum and need some advice on a little rescue pony I got 10 months ago.
Bella is a Welsh mountain pony, about 11hh, and was abandoned in a field up in the Welsh hills, where she spent 6 months by herself. We know very little about her history but she is approximately 10 years old. I re-homed her last year through a charity, as a companion to my two mares, who she gets on with really well. She is the sweetest little thing, never shown any aggression, but is terrified of people. We don't know how much she has been handled in the past (probably not a lot) but the only experience she seems to have had has been negative - she is really frightened if you lift your arm up, which suggests she has been hit.
After 10 months of quiet and careful management she now lets us within a few feet and will follow us in and out of the stable at night. The vet has sedated her a couple of times to trim her very overgrown feet, check her teeth and vaccinate etc. She will never be ridden and I only want her to stand quietly for the vet, farrier and grooming. I have built a round pen and done some Join-Up. I can move her in either direction and she gives all the signs, licking, bowing etc and will turn towards me and follow from a distance, but will not approach me! There seems to be an invisible barrier which she just won't cross!
Has anyone come across this before? I just don't know how to move forward as she frightens so easily and I don't want to undo the progress we have made so far. Any suggestions would be gratefully received.
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Post by alonerawnut on May 12, 2016 20:15:23 GMT 1
Sometimes with the wild / timid ones, join-up is a bit too strong for them: you've spent so long getting them to allow you close, then you send them away! I suggest you look at Sarah Weston's blog: www.sarahweston.org.uk/ and possibly invest in her book No Fear, No Force. She does a lot of work with worried / timid / semi-feral ponies and foals. Her techniques will be just right for your welshie.
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Post by clipclop on May 13, 2016 7:38:19 GMT 1
Ditto above - I was about to recommend Sarah Weston.
Also remember not to presume. Horses are prey animals and if she's not had much handling, it is quite natural to be very wary of people and react to body/arm movement. She may well not have been hit, just simply herded to wherever she needed to go.
Sent from my SM-A300FU using proboards
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Post by skipka on May 13, 2016 7:46:15 GMT 1
Thank you to both of the above posters, I will definitely read up on Sarah Weston's approach. I have never dealt with a semi-wild animal before, so wasn't sure how to proceed. Bella has gradually been learning to trust us so I didn't want to undo the progress we had so far made. I will update as we go along!
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Post by VeronicaF on Jul 14, 2016 10:19:12 GMT 1
I echo all above
This is a very very good video to watch
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Post by Hannah on Jul 14, 2016 19:47:36 GMT 1
Another recommendation for Sarah Weston and her book.
For future reference; wild, untouched and man-handled horses/ponies are on the list of "don't do Join Up with these types of horse" which also includes aggressive, very young and bottle-fed.
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