Friendly-ing up a not so friendly horse

[Casey0Lee]

Do any of you have any tips as to get my new girl to have a little interest in people?

A little background:

Shes a 24 yr old mare that was used as a broodmare most of her life. She hasn't been handled much, but she is halter broke and she ties and loads. She doesnt stand that great to be trimmed and doesnt appear ro have ever seen a pair of clippers, but I did grt her trimmed and trimmed up with scissors for now.

She doesnt seem to like being brushed, petted/scratched, or really even show much interest in taking treats from me. I did get her to take a few, but it took much coaching.

I cant catch her in the pasture. She won't come anywhere near me. She will come in the barn to eat, and I can catch her in there, but shes not thrilled. She seems a little nervous and paws and weaves when shes tied, but she's only been here a few days. Hopefully she quiets down as time goes on.

Any ideas or tips? Im hoping she'll come around, but im afraid she might be stuck in her ways.

 

[chandab]

Give her a few days to settle in, a bit more time if you can stand the wait. Don't ignore her, but mostly leave her be to get used to your routine and her new environment. I like to talk to the new ones, I talk to them all, so make sure I talk to the new ones too.

I have a mare, younger than yours, she'd been in a broodmare band her whole life, I bought her and brought her home two and a half years ago. When I brought her home she wanted nothing to do with people, had to corner her in a stall to halter her, once caught she stands decently for hoof trim, haven't tried clippers. It took much of the first two years just to get her used to our routine and realize I'm not horrible. This past summer, we had a nice grooming session, that she actually seemed to enjoy. Last week, was one of the first times I didn't have to run her around to catch her for her hoof trim. Her corral mate had lice, so when he got dusted, so did she, and she stood without halter for her dusting (shaker can). I know 2.5 years might sound like a long time, but these girls that have been hanging with broodmares need to get used to being handled more often and being around people more often.

Good luck with your girl, she's very cute.

 

[shorthorsemom]

Best wishes... It takes time. She will hopefully come around. One thing you might have done is get the vet to check her teeth. Pain in the mouth can cause a horse to be standoffish. Folks put on a halter and lead and on comes pain. Treats hurt too.. I have seen horses with teeth so sharp they could cut paper. Just a thought, but often folks forget about dentals and pain can change any horse. Just thinking... not being critical. I got a full sized horse once that was very spooky. His teeth were horrible. Teeth fixed... temperament really came around. Also... on spooky horses, I do have the vet come and give a tranquilizer for dentals, even for the exam prior to floating... Nobody wrestling the horse to do a dental or exam without proper sedation so they aren't stressed.

You will find her magic button. I had a friend who had a horse that didn't like people at all. We had to put the brush on a pole and stand outside the stall and scratch him from a distance. He eventually got very friendly given time and kindness. If this horse is truly a "weaver", they typically do this more if confined and I have not seen one corrected on weaving but it is lessoned with using a run in shed rather than a stall with a door. If she is just weaving when you are holding the lead to the halter, it might indeed be something related to pain in the mouth. worth checking anyway.

best wishes. thanks for bringing this to the forum for discussion.

ps, she is very pretty

 

[lkblazin]

Once she settles in,use reverse phscology. Follow her around, when she stops moving you stop. Then when she looks at you take one step back. Continue and gradually get closer. If she shows any type of ackoledgemeant that you are there, back up. If she walks towards you, back up. Shell be curious. Let her sniff you, then back up. Its like a game.

 

[Casey0Lee]

Thanks for the recommendations. She was actually a little more friendly today. She let me walk up to her and pet her in the pasture even. I think with time she'll come around.

I do, however, think her teeth are definitely bothering her. I'm sure she's probably never had them done, so I will have that taken care of. My other mare is due too.

Thanks!

 

[7fluffyfriends]

Lots of great advice for you already! Purchased a mare that had not been handled much at all and it was definitely "slow and easy" but she did eventually become more open to human interaction. I did play around with different treat items to tempt her...........apples, carrots, commercial horse treats, peppermints.... you name it, we tried it. She was not very treat oriented but she had never had anything either.

It turns out she was in love with the obvious - alfalfa cubes. So simple! The treat was a nice end/beginning to our time together even though she also received some as part of her feed portion. When it came to grooming her favorite brush was also the softest -

Good luck - she looks like a really neat pony. By the way, we have two that are thirty and going strong!

 

[Rocklone Miniature Horses]

At 24 i would not be worrying much..

 

[Casey0Lee]

At 24 i would not be worrying much..

what do you mean?

 

[Ryan Johnson]

I have a little mare that is much like yours. I have only had her for around 3 months & purchased her off a lovely lady that had spent the last 3 years as her owner. For the previous 5 years She had very limited handling. It took nearly three weeks before she would come anywhere near me. I started with treats, but didn't want that to be the only reason she came anywhere near me so I tried to think of different ways to gain her trust.

After a couple of weeks I could catch her on the lead and was able to start working a little closer with her. I spent half an hour a day minimum with her and was able to introduce some desensitising exercises with her, which I believe have been extremely beneficial in gaining her trust.

Shes a lovely mare , she will just need time to adapt to you, your farm, other horses ect.

best of luck , keep us posted with her progress

 

[weerunner]

I have one I've had for two years now. She acts like I might kill her at any moment but if I get a halter on her and pat her she seems to like it. She's a funny one. I'll just keep at her until she realizes I haven't killed anyone yet.

 

[Casey0Lee]

She was much better today and I can now walk up to her outside. Thankfully, she's settling in just fine.

She is still a bit of a nervous type, but i think it's mostly bc she's always been with her buddies. She's more nervous when she can't see her barn mate. But, she's coming around. I'll keep working with her daily.

Thanks!

 

[amysue]

I have 3 mares like this. They have been broodmares their entire lives and most of the handling that they have had has been received as negative handling: drawing blood for coggins, vaccinating and hoof trimming. Its not like they have ever been abused, they just have limited experience with people and it leaves them uneasy. They panic whenever someone wants to do something to them because they were only handled for necessity, not pleasure. Its not uncommon for range horses and every one of them is different and comes around on their own terms. The important thing is to remain patient and consistent with them. I bought a little old milk stool so I could sit with them so they could get acclimated to me being in their space. Two of them are coming around, I can gently walk up to them, run my hands on their back then the neck then I can touch their halters. As they got quieter, I gave them more space in a bigger turnout. I just hung a gate that swings out so I can slowly walk them up against it and catch them. They lead better now as we practice every day. Every interaction has to be positive and end on a good note so they feel safe and encouraged to want to trust you to do it again. I have tried treats to no avail but they like grain, so I bought a bag of hay pellet to reward with so I dont over do the grain but I have something they like. The third mare is taking longer to come around. She is more difficult for me because while the other two just back away, this mare lunges forward and bites if you come too close. If you approach her, she turns and kicks. I still have to coax her to walk to the wall so I can close a gait between her and I so I can safely touch her without getting kicked. She seems to feel safe in between the gate and the wall because that is the only time her ears are forward and she is willing to let me touch her. I do everything in her stall with her to get her to be comfortable with me in her space. Stall cleaning and bedding, grooming, etc i make her respect me in her space. It just takes time. I just want mine tame enough so I can care for them properly, it is frustrating to me when they are not handled as foals, but many people raise them this way and I knew what I was getting into when I bought them for the purpose of breeding. I do not know what your plans are for your mare but I understand your desire to tame her for both of your benefit. At this time, I give the dangerous mare a bit of oral dormosedan gel when I need to trim her hooves and I have the vet tranquilize her to do her teeth. I would not drug every day, I personally do not think that is safe or any kind of life for a horse. However, I have found with many of the unhandled horses that I've brought home, not letting them get upset or over stressed over handling makes the experience positive. Sure they're apprehensive at first but with horses that panicked, i found that giving a little something to keep them calm (only works if they are not already worked up) everyone has a good experience and no body gets hurt. I only had to do this once for one of the Shetland mares and the stallion I got and now I can trim the feet and groom with no worries. It just helped them take the edge off so they could see it would be okay.