Head shy mini...vicious!!

[mini horse mania]

I have a 2 yr old pinto filly that is absolutely a brat.i have had her for 6 months and she just goes berserk on you all of a sudden when you brush her or put,hands on..she wasnt like this until a few weeks ago,she has always been standoffish,but not killer acting.now when I pet her or try to trim her bridle path,i get reared at...almost run over,dragged or else.i am 6 months pregnant,and if I wasnt.i could work her more.she just despises you to touch her.she will come up for treats and I can catch her,then she runs into me pushing me or trying to kick me.she has even started biting again...i love her so,but I cant have a horse that I am scared to let my 2 yr old aroumd...any advice ?

 

[chandab]

Could she have come into her first heat? And, being its early in the year, its still transitional, so lasting longer than normal.

I know they can have their first heat younger, but perhaps this is her first. Just an idea. I honestly don't know. The worst reaction to a heat cycle I ever saw was in an Arabian filly at a horse show, she locked up in the ring and it was all they could do to get her back to her stall (she was fine once her cycle was over, and I can't remember if she reacted like that again).

 

[Miniv]

Chandra has made a good suggestion........hormones. The only other thing I can think of is that you have accidentally given her some indications of vulnerablilty.....It could be a combination of both. In either case, it comes down to tying her and showing you are the alpha. And with your situation, I'd do it with someone in attendance. But YOU have to be the lead person.

 

[disneyhorse]

It sounds like she's gotten away with it and isn't being put in her place. I've known a few youngsters that sound exactly like that.

Animals shouldn't get "treats" unless you're rewarding them for something.... Sounds like you've created a monster!

Since you're expecting, I'd find someone capable of working with her for you. It may only get more difficult.

Good luck,

Andrea

 

[mini horse mania]

Thanks..i have tried tying her tightly...then its a kick war...she will tear everything up if you are close to her..she leads fine and ties if you walk away. It may be hormones...but man!! I think this all started a month or so ago.my hubby had to hold her still for me to trim her bridle path...maybe that scared her? .she has been a butthole since.

 

[Minimor]

It sounds to me like she has figured out that she can get the best of you and so she is going to do it any time she wants things her own way. She lets you give her treats and catch her, and then she gets pushy or tries to kick....that indicates a total lack of respect. I'd tie her up and sack her out. If she flips out and fights too hard back off a bit--don't expect her to accept having a blanket flapped all over her head & body on the first go round--just get her to accept having it touch some part of her body. Then progress to more the next time around. If you're wanting to clip her again--don't force her into letting you clip her--instead, force her to accept your rubbing her poll with your hand. If you cannot rub your hand over her poll, don't even think about trying to clip her--simply work on touching her in that area. I've done that--clipping the horse might be worth my life but by golly, that horse IS going to let me rub her poll with my hand! I'll stand back so that if the horse throws her head she cannot hit me in the face--reach out at arm's length & put my hand on the poll, and then I keep it there no matter what the horse does. Once the horse realizes I mean business, he soon gives it up & lets me rub his poll and ears--and only then do I progress to clipping. Usually they give it up fairly quickly--but you cannot let them see that they are intimidating you.

 

[MountainWoman]

Can you find someone else to handle her for the time being? I think I'd start with a physical to rule out any underlying cause. I'm jumping on my clicker bandwagon here and say that could help you. I'm prejudiced though.

 

[shorthorsemom]

My advice is for you to get some help with the training. Too much risk to your baby to take on this training yourself in pregnancy. These are horses, they can hurt you in a flash and unborn baby and two year old baby must come first no matter what. Can only take a minute for you to get hurt, your baby hurt or your 2 year old child hurt. Two year old baby should stay away until you get the situation under control. I love my horses very much, but would not hesitate to find another home if I thought my children would be in danger around one of them. She just sounds like she needs training and I agree about the hormones probably not helping matters. Two year old miniatures can be a real handful. Best wishes, I am a mom and I worried when you said you were getting bumped and reared at. Set up so you can feed from outside the fence. Wouldn't take much of a bump to hurt your unborn baby and two year old children don't know any better to stay back when told. Keep us posted and thanks for sharing your story with us. Sorry for the rambling here... just re-read... but I want you to know that I am not suggesting you are putting your babies in harm for the sake of a horse.... Just know too many stories where things went wrong real fast. I don't want to share the stories, pregnant moms shouldn't be told scary stories. Best wishes ...

and happy baby delivery

 

[madmax]

I am a follower of the 'tie her up' school. By that statement, I mean tying her to a sturdy post where she cannot get into trouble, do not tie her extremely short, her head must be able to turn. Keep her tied for about 2 hours, always someone in the area to keep watch, maybe while doing chores, etc. She must be standing quietly and have given in to the tying for a while. Then go 'save' her with a cheerful voice and calmness on your part and put her up. Do this every day. Any biting must be dealt with your strongest 'mare domination screech'.

By the way, could she have something bothering her inside her ears? These horses that get head shy and hate their poll touched is maddening, eh? I would not force her to accept that just yet, just work on her attitude for now.

Good luck, and be safe!

 

[MountainWoman]

I totally agree with ShortHorseMom. Whatever you decide to do (once you rule out a physical cause) and whatever method you choose, you have to change your relationship. You are locked into a dance at the moment and I'm sure you approach her with either fear or frustration or both. I know I would. And she has established a routine with you where she has the better of you at the moment and you have to flip the relationship where you are the leader and she learns to work with you and for you. How you chose to do that (I'd chose a clicker) is a very personal decision as well. But in this case, I would definitely step back and let someone else handle her if at all possible Anyway, I do hope you keep us updated. I know how frustrating it can be to work with a difficult horse and how scary too and I wasn't even pregnant when I handled my wild girl. Anyway, just think ShortHorseMom is very wise and has great advice. Best wishes to you on your new baby.

 

[Marty]

She acts like she's the one being terrorized and just wants to get away. If there are other horses out there running around she is wanting to go join them not pay attention to you.

Whatever, under these circumstances you are in no position to deal with her issues. Whether she is being an ill mannered bully or a brat or just misunderstood, she's posing a threat. If you can't get a good reputable trainer to work with her I feel you should sell her. A flighty little filly is not a good choice to have around you or your baby. Best wishes.

 

[Carolyn R]

I have witnessed really good horses do some awful things when 1. They think they can get away with being dominant, they are animals and it is natural for them to try to establish this 2. When forced into a situation that does not allow them the space to establish this pecking order (forced to live the majority of their time sharing a 15-20ft space with 2-3 other animals, including feed time) this can cause the best of horses to become an irritable bundle of nerves. 3. They will act out when they need or want extra attention. It does not matter if it is negative or positive, it still makes you interact with them. This is most common in horses that do not have other pasture mates.

I think the first applies to your situation. Don't think for one moment that your state and body language isn't easily interpreted by your horse. Something as simple as backing away so your belly isn't within her striking area is seen as being submissive. Regardless of my condition, I have never allowed one of mine to get the best of me. I had a colt that was almost two, it was a constant knock down drag out with him,constantly coming at me when I was turned. Correct him, worked him, praised for good behavior, twenty minutes later it was back to square one, very hormone driven, he was gelded, it was not worth keeping him intact. All behavior subsided. He went on to be and still is a wonderful youth show/ driving gelding.of course, this is not an option, but the point being, between horsie hormones and our own body language.....we can sometimes end up with a wicked mix. For the time being, it may be best to find someone to work with her. Out of curiosity, did you give her a lot of time off during the winter and are now trying to reestablish the handling schedule?

 

[mini horse mania]

Thanks everyone...i handle them at least every other day. This filly has just gotten into the habit of being hard to.catch. Her dam is a dollbaby...and most of.mine have always been except her and a palo pinto I purchased.she is impossible to touch without a halter on.i think I will try to hire a local trainer to come out to work with her,to see if that will help before I decide to sell her or not.

 

[Carolyn R]

I wanted to ad that sometimes......Some horses like to play the hard to catch game, some horses are just have more of a horse disposition rather than a lap dog. There are some that love humans and interaction when on a lead, but would honestly rather just be a horse if they had a choice. I have noticed pros and cons to both. The horsie horses tend to have more common sense," hey, the ground is buzzing, I better stay away, that's not normal" where as some of the extremely people oriented horses are so curious, their response would be " what an interesting sound, I need to see where it is coming from!" as they begin to dig in the dirt only to discover hornets.

There is nothing wrong with the sort that just prefer to be out and about in the pasture, as long as they know their place. Kudos to you for trying to resolve/ understand your horse rather than just giving up on it.

 

[Norah]

It sounds to me like she has figured out that she can get the best of you and so she is going to do it any time she wants things her own way. She lets you give her treats and catch her, and then she gets pushy or tries to kick....that indicates a total lack of respect. I'd tie her up and sack her out. If she flips out and fights too hard back off a bit--don't expect her to accept having a blanket flapped all over her head & body on the first go round--just get her to accept having it touch some part of her body. Then progress to more the next time around. If you're wanting to clip her again--don't force her into letting you clip her--instead, force her to accept your rubbing her poll with your hand. If you cannot rub your hand over her poll, don't even think about trying to clip her--simply work on touching her in that area. I've done that--clipping the horse might be worth my life but by golly, that horse IS going to let me rub her poll with my hand! I'll stand back so that if the horse throws her head she cannot hit me in the face--reach out at arm's length & put my hand on the poll, and then I keep it there no matter what the horse does. Once the horse realizes I mean business, he soon gives it up & lets me rub his poll and ears--and only then do I progress to clipping. Usually they give it up fairly quickly--but you cannot let them see that they are intimidating you.

I trust Minimore...she knows her stuff, and I will take this advice also , as I have a horse that wont let me touch her head ...I tend to be too sensative .... great for the rescue horses but you DO have to draw the line.

 

[JMS Miniatures]

I'm glad you are going to find a trainer. It just sounds like she just needs to be worked with. Even horses that are frightful will come around once you start working with them, but you can't do it in your condition. All these other issues will solve a lot of those problems on their own once you start moving her feet.