The Horse Forum banner
Status
Not open for further replies.

I have a Year old Mare and problems: Please help....

2K views 17 replies 13 participants last post by  ShirtHotTeez 
#1 ·
Hello People I have a question!
So I have a year old mare and 8 cows (no other horses). She was taken from her mother at 6 mouths and was given to me. So far she is used to a halter, picking up her hooves (sort of), light grooming (although she doesn't like it) and leading around. She had a really bad problem with biting, but has sort of stopped, although she is really mean to the cows and some humans. Sometimes I get scared that she is going to do something horrible to me! What should I do with her? My parents say that she is no good and are going to get rid of her! :cry:

I would appreciate any responses but please no bad language or inappropriate things. :D
 
#2 ·
I could be wrong, but I think this horse needs to be in with other horses. She will likely learn some manners if thrown in with other horses. It is not acceptable for a horse this young to be mean to people....and will likely worsen as she ages. I'm not sure on your handling with this youngster, but perhaps she is acting a little spoiled?

If you have the money I would recommend sending her to a well respected trainer. Just to teach her manners and get some groundwork on her....teach her to respect her handler. Is there any chance she can be put in with another horse (cows don't really count). It seems that in addition to her attitude she is probably lacking normal horse 'social skills'.

I am not sure how experienced you are with working with babies; as much as it might be hard to do, they do require a firm hand when acting out. Essentially this filly needs to learn that you are her 'herd leader'.
 
#3 ·
I wouldn't say that the horse is no good, she's just being a horse. A wild horse that is not afraid of people. It's unfortunate that there isnt anyone around you that knows how to train horses and that she has no other horses around to teach her to be a respectable horse. She's probably pretty lost as to what to do with herself and has no way of learning.
 
#4 ·
Replying quickly as I am heading out in a sec here ..apologies if I miss something/didn't read correctly.

What are you doing to correct the behavior? You say she had a biting problem and it has gotten better - what was going on when she decided to bite? Were you leading her, grooming her, did you simply walk up to her in the field, etc. etc.? IMHO, if it is dealt with correctly the first time then it shouldn't happen again.

You (general 'you') cannot just expect any horse, regardless of age, to magically behave itself. A horse needs consistent - correct - training. Even once a horse is 'trained', that training needs to continue on a daily basis.
 
#6 ·
I would appreciate any responses but please no bad language or inappropriate things. :D
Well no one is allowed to use bad language here, so you're good on that count, but now I'm wondering what inappropriate things you are worried about people saying?

SO is the mare no good? that isn't a fair thing to say, but it does sound like she hasn't had a chance yet. As others have said she needs the company of other horses to learn to be a horse, and she needs the experienced hand of someone who knows how to teach young horses, to learn to be a 'broke horse'

If you are already scared of her sometimes it is not a good situation, and certainly not one that you will be able to solve on your own. Do you have anyone around that has experience with horses to help you?



http://www.horseforum.com//www.pinterest.com/pin/create/extension/
 
#8 ·
Oh my gosh! Thank you all soooo much! Most of you have asked how I'm training her, everyday I go out to her and the cows and feed them, my filly is sweet to me now but is greedy with food. When I go out I put her halter on and then lead her around for about a half hour and then lightly groom. When I got her she had been with a group of wild horses. I fixed her biting problem with smacking her on the nose (not too hard) and she got the idea. I do understand horses should be with other horses but I am not rich and it was by chance that I got Trini. When she bit me I had been feeding her, me holding the bucket.
I'm trying to convince my parents to keep her until summer and train her as much as possible!
Thank you all so much for replying to my question!!!! You all are amazing!
 
#9 ·
You need to be actually working on her ground manners, not just leading her around. Look up videos on YouTube by Clinton Anderson, Chris Cox, and similar natural horsemanship trainers. They have good beginner videos on gaining your horse's respect on the ground.
 
#11 ·
Most of his "Gaining Respect on the Ground" stuff is pretty light duty. She can even look up something like "Clinton Anderson groundwork" and stuff like this pops up:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEnACbsHHDM

There's very little lunging happening in that video and it's light stuff on the line when there is.
 
#12 ·
I would try very hard to find someone with decent fences and some horses that I could turn her out with. Horses learn to 'back down' and move away from older horses that 'bully' them. They do more of the work to make them 'trainable' than anything else can do.

She is not a "sweet" horse. She is tolerating you now and will get a lot more obnoxious as time goes on. If she becomes intolerant of you (like she is with the cows now), she will become very difficult to handle and will literally need very rough handling to teach manners to later on.

You can get someone very knowledgeable to help you handle her and teach her to readily back up, move her shoulders to the right and the left and let you 'push' her around or you can let other horses do it for you. Letting the other horses do it is by far the easiest way. Then, teach them easily to back up, move over and around you when asked and obediently stay out of your space. Good manners are an absolute 'must' when you are dealing with an animal that will end up being 6 to 10 times bigger than you. Good luck with her. Cherie
 
#13 ·
You have a big decision here OP. On the face of it to you it is easy, you love your cute filly. But those that have commented here already know you do not have the knowledge or experience to train this horse. Your decision need to take into account what will be best for your horse. And what would be best for you is an older 'been there done that' horse.

She probably started out with little nips, and as it wasn't corrected she got cheekier and bossier. She is starting to believe she is the leader and is trying to make you do what she wants. You need to become the leader very fast, or the very real potential for this horse to become dangerous will become reality. No, I am not just being mean. A young horse is not like a puppy, who wants your love and approval and tries to please. The whole dynamics of a relationship with a horse is totally different. The horse is a herd animal, and you are either above her (leader) or below her (led).

You have been brushing her for months and she 'doesn't like it', most horses like or at least accept grooming in a short time. I suspect you might be brushing too lightly and it just tickles her. A firm stroke with a body brush in the same direction the hair lays, don't use the harder dandy brush on her body.

No one here would like to see you get hurt. I doubt that anyone who has posted here believes it won't happen if you go it alone. Love, is not enough.
 
#14 ·
Thank you all so very much for all your help in my situation! This is truly an AWESOME site. I would like to tell all of you who helped me, that my filly is so much better than before! :D She is leading perfectly, allows me to groom her, listens to my commands (sort of, she isn't perfect yet) and also don't try to bite or kick anymore.
In reply to ShirtHotTeez 's post " Your decision need to take into account what will be best for your horse." I do realize that I need to do what is best for her, so I have decided to find her a better home with other disciplined horses. My father has several people he knows with horses so I think they would be a good choice.
I sincerely thank all of you who have helped me!
I hope you all have a wonderful day!
 
#18 ·
If that is what you are going to do, I think you have made a brave decision. I hope your Dad finds you a good horse to learn with.
@WhattaTroublemaker. I know there are a lot of people like yourself who have made it work, but as a rule I would not be recommending it to a complete novice. I always think of it like this: if I recommended they stick with it, and I give directions which they may/may not understand or carry out properly, and they get hurt, I would feel in part responsible. Especially if they may have decided against keeping the horse without my input. It is in no way meant as a sleight to you or others like you who have done it this way.
 
#16 ·
Okay- my two cents.

I acquired a nine month old stallion with no handling when I turned sixteen for my birthday. Within a month he was leading, backing, picking up feet perfectly, yielding hind quarters, front quarters, side passing. I carried a dressage whip and popped him whenever he got out of line. I had STRICT rules for him.

He got a bit food aggressive, but started kicking instead of biting. I turned him loose in the barn during quarantine for exercise and had his grain bucket and the dressage whip in my hands. He ran by and plowed me one in the thigh. Although I believe he was playing, it was still grain time and a serious offence. I came down HARD on him with the dressage whip, and scared the daylights out of him yelling and flapping around. He started baby mouthing and ran back to his stall.

After that I put the grain bucket in the middle of the floor and turned him loose. I whacked him away with the crop, over and over until I just had to look at him and he let me have his food. That was MY food anyway.

He's now three years old and I'm riding him bitless and bareback. My two year old cousin takes riding lessons on him, I can trust him around children, with them running through his legs and such.

As for grooming- what does she do to tell you she "doesn't like it?" If you want to private message me I can help you as best I can, and you can explain in detail what is happening with your girl. I wish you the best of luck. I was a young girl who had a young horse and I still made it, so I know it's possible.
 
#17 ·
OP...turning her out with other horses is an excellent choice. She will get some lernin' and get it fast. Mature horses don't suffer obnoxious kids well. Give her some time out and then maybe the farm owner where she goes could give you some solid advice on handling.
It's no crime to be a Greenie. We all started out that way. Just be a smart greenie. : )
Keep us posted on her progress.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
You have insufficient privileges to reply here.
Top