I have had misty a month. She was never handled before I got her.
For a month's worth of work, you are doing a really amazing job! Just keep taking things slow and think outside of the box for ways to train your horse. There are plenty of knowledgeable helpful people on here that can give you tips and help you out as much as the internet can muster!
I am in no hurry to ride her. I want to make sure she is ready before I do that.
Bravo, you're already a very sensible smart owner!
Honestly I have no training experiance I am learning right along with misty. My brother in law is the one that broke her right before I got her from him.
He has worked with horses off and on his whole life but recently started it again after several years. Since he broke Katie and his own 2 horses I thought he could break misty no problem.
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Your brother in law seems like he could be helpful, but I'm thinking you need to do most of the training without him since I've read the thread and some things just don't seem ...right I guess? Not sure of the word to use.
Sky (the horse in my avatar) is my first horse. He was a mess... and I'm doing as you are doing. I'm learning with him. It's possible to do, just BE CAREFUL!
Misty is no where near calm yet. She is a lot better than she was when I got her but she is still scared of everything. There has to be a way to get their attention without causing fear right?
Yes.. do what people on the forums have said to you. Desensitize her, meaning touch her, poke her, rub her, push her, bump her, etc.
Then sack her out to stuff. Get her familiar with tarps, blankets, towels, bells, whistles, keys, flags, ropes, etc. Until she is confident. Always stop on a good note. You can do this.. breathe!
To get her attention, whistle, snap, say her name, scuff the ground, wave your hand until she responds.
But keep her thinking. Put her mind to work. That will keep her out of trouble from scaring herself or whatnot.
Granted, if she's turning 10 and you still havent gotten past a walk with her thats a bit extreme.
You can't be judgmental.. you don't know the whole story. Age doesn't matter in regards to level of training.
And this is not an attack on you at all