Love the website. I'm glad you found the "footprint" of her previous training, especially before you ever hooked her to anything. Sorry to hear it's so deep. It saddens me so many people "train" miniatures by bullying them into doing what they want. I'm glad you are going to continue with her and I wish you the best. I do feel you will be successful given enough time.
Thank you! Forgot a link.
https://morningstarfarmdai.wixsite....Zd3FEHwzo_osMfZXZtKFD2DZT-m0bU7FC2RbPQuY4dbuk
Yes, that is why I do so much groundwork, especially with a horse that has had "training." It really helps you and the horse come to know and trust each other and discover any weak or trouble points.
It is so sad. What makes it worse is that she is so sensitive. A more stubborn minded horse can actually be easier as they can "take" improper handling better. Mostly, unless it is extreme, they just do not care as they want to go their own way anyway. What they love is to understand what they are doing. Then they are more than happy to listen to you. Most of mine fall into that category. Sally naturally loves to listen though, she's a follower. She is such a sweet, pretty mare who is perfectly willing to do what you want but she has so much fear now.
I can't wait until I can no longer see any apprehension and timidity. I let her out to play in the barn aisle while I am working around there and she has gotten a lot more comfortable around me. I love when they start to interact with you and be more like playful horses and less like robotic machines who are scared to do anything else but what they are told.
I think she will come along....she is really a very good minded mare.
I am definitely following this with interest - my guy has a "footprint" too so I'll be watching how your beautiful girl comes along and hopefully picking up some knowledge along the way! Thank you for keeping us updated!
If I can be of any help with yours, feel free to PM me with any questions! I'd love to learn more about him in any case. Always remember, never ever be afraid of what triggers them and never avoid it. It is only by working through it that you will overcome whatever it is. Those days are not fun but your roughest training days are always followed by a beautiful breakthrough to the next level.
As an example, this was where I discovered the "footprint." Sally was not relaxed about trotting with me, she was always leaning out as if she was trying to get away from me. The more we worked, the more everything about her screamed fear. I now know she is afraid of sudden movements or someone moving quickly around her. But I had to get her through it. Basic exercises weren't doing it, so I had to drill her and make trotting routine. So one day that is all we did for about 30 minutes, trotting in and out of a row of trees, left and right until she realized that it was not about her and she had something else to focus on. Something else I like to do is not think about the issues while you are doing it. I was just thinking of which tree and which direction I would go for next. Her apprehension dropped as she realized she was fine and she really had to keep thinking to stay balanced and with me. Since then, even straight trotting has been light as a feather with her.
I worked a lot on getting her to soften when she first came because she was very stiff. I now know that is related too. When she is afraid, the first thing she does is stiffen. So all of my training will be focused on keeping her light and soft. I don't have to mention that it is going to be a long process to get her to collect. I can already see how stiff her neck is so I am sure she has a hard mouth. That's quite a ways off though. Hopefully by then she will be more consistently relaxed.
Thanks for sharing!
