i may have taken on too much

[izzy]

i think i may have made a mistake taking on an unhandled dartmoor(Merry 3yo headcoller forced on him(not by me)and feet trimmed at some point) with my shift pattern,extra shifts, weather , trying to ride Izzy etc i only seem to be able to work with merry once maybe 3 times a week we make great progress and then i am back to square one.I have had him 2 months now and was hoping to at least have him coming upto me in the field,granted he doesnt run away anymore when passing him and does come within a meter to see whats going on.

Cost of keeping him isnt an issue( im not loaded dont get me wrong) but i do hire a stable so i have secure area to work in, so do i pay another 2 months rent on stable and just persevere as i am , find him a new home or just let him be a pony and wait till better weather advice and experiences please............

[antares]

Winter isn't a good time for any of us!! I would leave decision making until the spring.

For now you could just try and maintain the 3 days a week, that is currently more than my 3 year old gets as winter is taken up by caring for the horses rather than working with them. Try and take the pressure off yourself a little

[big e]

You have done well with him so far

I'm doing zero with my youngsters at the moment Winter is always the same

Sadly horses are pretty worthless at the moment so i would perservere a bit longer

[specialized]

We don't work our youngsters at all this time of year, just not enough daylight hours. Give him some time to be a pony and let him have contact time with you without having to 'do' anything.

[misty]

As above, I'm sure by you just being around and not asking anything of him will be just as good education.

[medicinepony]

we just leave our youngsters be at this time of year, the basic interaction involved in general routine stuff like putting out hay and saying hi as we pass by is enough to keep them interested and we start fresh when the wind and rain has finally abated

frustrating for us humans who like to keep going but the horses don't care, you may be pleasently suprised at what is going on in that pretty little head of his

[joflo]

Hi Izzy

Join the club lol!

Do you remember me posting on your other thread about our filly Clover? We're in a very similar situation to you. We haven't been able to progress much with her lately - just life getting in the way, bad weather, etc etc. We're just pulling her in 2/3 times a week at the minute, just to keep the contact going. It's very frustrating as we've such a lot of work to get through yet but hey! She's fine (if a little on the hairy haystack side) and we like to do things slowly anyway. Clover isn't aware of our training agenda and we'll crack on again when the elements allow. As Antares said - take the pressure off yourself a bit

[Deleted]

Jan 5, 2012 7:55:42 GMT 1 joflo said:

Clover isn't aware of our training agenda

That's so important to remember!

If Merry is one of those older ones who isn't so straightforwards, it can help to throw your training plan out of the window! You simply cannot work to a fixed agenda of yours, he has to accept and understand at his pace. You can't go too slowly, but you can go too quickly.

Rather than doing anything structured, you might be better off at the moment just being around him but keeping aware that he is learning all the time. Be aware of what he sees as pressure and make sure you release for what you want him to learn.

If you take the pressure of having to achieve off yourself, you will also take it off him. That can help enormously on its own.

And then... as joflo says, welcome to the club. There are these ponies whose trust is so damaged that it can take months, years, if at all, for them to build it up again. Zorelle will now let me catch her and pick up front feet. She will let me stroke all round her face and under her neck (huge point for her). She comes up to me with a nicker... but only if I have food. Otherwise, she really would rather not know me. Will she ever like me for me? Maybe, but probably not. We just have to accept that that's who they are and what men before us have made them.

For the moment, then, just try to be a nice person for him at a distance (and I'm jealous of your metre of curiosity!), and let him just relax in your presence.

[cookie]

Good advice on this thread already. Just wanted to add that at this time of year I think we all have a phase of feeling like we ve taken on too much! Take the pressure off, spring isn't a million miles away

[lroy]

I think all above is great advice and has cheered me up too as I was feeling terrible about not having spent anytime with my youngster. Time is all taken up doing stables etc at this time of year especially if like me you work full time. I just try and give her a groom a few times a week and do some stable work with her like asking her to back up when I put a feed in, asking her to move over in the stable etc.

[troop]

Im with above advice dont worry yourself x

[laurac]

agree with others dont worry about doing much until the longer days and warmer weather, sounds like youve made good progress already and just seeing you putting out hay etc will help him get to know you without any pressure

[2 bays & a grey:D]

Im not doing anything with my 5yr old. Havent the time, hes new to me so i thought the winter would be a good time for him to settle, grow up a bit, put on weight & just be a horse. Obviously i do usual handling, manners work & that had improved loads. Winter is always hard. I keep thinking just a couple more months of real hardship & if i get through the winter with 3 then it can only get easier.

Sent from my GT-I9100 using ProBoards

[laurac]

by the end of march it wont get dark until 7.30pm woo hoo ;D

www.timeanddate.com/worldclock/astronomy.html?n=136&month=3&year=2012&obj=sun&afl=-11&day=1

[izzy]

Thanks everyone make me feel loads better x