Bit of a concern about the climbing through barbed wire, but if he's not yours, not your place, then one thing is to request that either he or your horse be moved. If he were yours, or you're allowed & want to make the effort to reduce the poor guys stress & danger, I'd suggest first replacing the barbed wire with a safe fence, supping him with Mg and gradually desensitising him to your horse leaving. He may be extra 'buddy SWEET' on your guy despite other horses there because yours is retired & doesnt(hardly) leave him.

Oh and I wouldn't be doing much if any 'round pen work with him. You could take him for walks or lead him from your horse if you want to give him more exercise.

As for 'mouthy & pushy', no that's not about him bring a pony, they're not innately any more likely to do that. It's about what works for a horse & what doesn't. What consequences to their actions have taught them 'manners' or lack of.

If you want to teach him, without rewards, to quit being mouthy/pushy then you need to punish every instance *effectively*, negatively reinforce(remove all 'pressure') him for 'respectful' behaviour & ensure the Wrong behaviour never, ever works for him. (& ensure no one else allows it either). As he may have had a long history being inadvertently trained to do that, be prepared that it will take a lot of consistant repetition & likely strong punishment to 'retrain' him otherwise.

If however, you included rewards into your 'tool box' then you'll 'need' a lot less punishment(even none) & he will learn alternate behaviour far quicker & stronger. Rewarding him for Right behaviour is far better & more effective than punishing Wrong IME.

Oh & I wouldn't be doing much 'round penning' with him. If you feel the need to give him more exercise, take him for a long walk or pony him from your horse.

 

Since he is hardly being used, maybe he needs a permanent friend who won't leave him, like a mini horse. And much better fencing!

 

I agree let barn owner find pony a buddy who won't be taken away. Have your horse moved into a different pasture problem fixed. Sorry I wouldn't put time and effort into someone else's horse training it....not for free. Really not your pony not your problem let BO worry about it.

 

A pony that climbs a barbwire fence? That's not going to end well.

 

Ditto on the fencing!

As for buddy-sour: I guess one thing you can do is to desensitize little guy to separation by making it short, and returning your horse before pony goes into panic mode. Then take pony out for grazing and see if "buddy sour" doesn't just equal "attention envy". Would pony resist going grazing if your horse stays put? I mean, separation is separation.

Here's a great little video about your "space" issue, and it uses rewards to great effect. No need to punch the little dude in the nose - just teach him what he needs to do to get what he wants.

As for tricks: teach him an obstacle course (pole or cone weaving and a teeter-totter if you have it), at first on the lead rope, then by jogging next to him. Once he masters the course, only reward him when he arrives at the finish exactly as you are, then speed up and slow down during the course and watch him match speed with you. It should be fun to watch the little ****** figure it out.

Thank you so much for working with the little devil. It is always sad to see a horse that wants to be part of the action, but is confined to watching the sun rise and set all day. You are doing a good thing, and I wish you a lot of fun with it.

 

Question-do you have a basic knowledge of how to do ground work? Sorry, but your post doesnt' make it at all clear if you are a total 'newbie' to ground work, or if you have lots and lots of knowledge and experience. It would be helpful to know where you're starting from to give you suggestions. Since your'e asking for 'training ideas and activities to do on the ground', I'm guessing you are somewhat new at it. Anyway, I'd strongly suggest that you study/follow a well known clinician's theory and methods.....Pat Parelli, Chris Cox, Julie Goodnight, Craig Cameron, etc. You will be outsmarted by this cheeky little guy until you know how to read him and how to respond appropriately.

Being a student of Parelli Natural Horsemanship myself, Id first teach him the 7 games which would begin to establish respect and leadership, plus develop a basis for communication. I'd keep the sessions short and as sweet as possible, and especially focus on ending each session on a good note, leaving him feeling confident and successful. Recognize and reward the slightest try, for example if he even leans back Vs stepping back, release the pressure to give a reward, advance and expect more as you go. I also like to give treats sometimes as a reward. Next session, I'd start with the games that were the most difficult for him the last time, and hopefully gain ground (make a bit of progress) each session. Nothing wrong with using a roundpen , but not to just run him in mindless circles. Not at all necessary to be in a roundpen, either.
Parelli says ' backing cures biting' , so the better he learns to back up on cue (game #4-yo-yo), the better you can 'send' him back. I've seen it work...no slapping him for 'punishment', no bonking his nose which is just another game to a horse,and risks him upping HIS game. LOL.

Good luck and have fun while staying safe.
Fay

 

Thanks for the responses, y'all!

The fence is a big concern for me, too. Unfortunately, the owner of the farm is an older couple that doesn't seem too concerned. A lot of boarders think it's funny/cute how attached he is, but for me it gets to be annoying when I want to bathe my horse, and Rainbow is running back and forth for 40 minutes. It kinda takes the relaxing aspect of horses away when I'm trying to get back into the field to calm Rainbow down.

mmshiro- Thanks for the video! I do need to see how he feels as the one being taken away rather the one to always stay. I'm also thinking/hoping the more I take him out (i.e. the more they are separated) and then always returned, he might start to realize that just because they leave each other doesn't mean either is in danger/not coming back. Although I've been separating and returning them for 2 years, and he still hates it! And maybe if he gets a little extra attention, he won't be so apt to push his way into getting it when I get my horse!

mslady254- I would consider myself a newbie to ground work. I've been riding for about 10 years, but haven't been doing much with horses (besides hanging out with my retiree) for the past 3 years. Another reason I'd like to start working with the little guy- I've missed working with horses. Although, I've come to the realization that I don't consider what I have done actually "working" with horses. It's just been riding. I've never actually listened or paid much attention to what the horse has to say. I've just gave them my piece and expected them to comply.

I'll definitely check out the Parelli stuff. I used to watch a ton of videos on it, but don't remember that much from it because I never put it into action. I've also been trying to learn more about understanding body language/facial expressions. I know some stuff, but I definitely still have a lot to learn, especially when it comes to working with and teaching them. I also know my own horse's responses pretty well so learning another horses reactions will be a fun challenge.

 

Re fencing, perhaps it's not beyond you to ask the old couple if you can fix that part of the fence...

Although I've been separating and returning them for 2 years, and he still hates it! And maybe if he gets a little extra attention, he won't be so apt to push his way into getting it when I get my horse!

Yeah horses don't think rationally. They cannot connect stuff abstracted by time or such, so your having been taking your horse away only means his mate goes away. You need to work on it *gradually* in order to desensitised him. You need to prove to him it's ok, by repetition of leaving & returning *before* he gets upset. Every time you take your horse away & he becomes upset, then you're further reinforcing THAT belief/reaction.

So esp as he's had 2 years of 'practice' already, it will take a lot of time & tedium to change this association. You may just start with taking your horse out the gate but not taking him out of eyesight. Then once Pony is fine(as in couldn't care less) about that, you can 'stretch his comfort zone' a little further.

And yeah, you could see how he goes with 'shoe on other foot' & taking him out, but I don't believe it necessarily equals 'attention envy' & not about separation anxiety if he's ok with that.

The other option is, if you never take your horse off property, just let the little guy out too, to come with your horse - at least he wont be frantic & risk climbing thru dangerous fences.

Re 'groundwork', I have personally been off the paella bandwagon for decades - I got on it when I was new to training. There is much about it these days I disagree with, and a lot seems to have changed, but I think most of the original principles are pretty sound, and I too reckon his book & '7 Games' is really valuable. *Just one thing... a 'make' by any other name is still... - he is big on words used & the attitude behind what you do(which is why for eg he has 'carrot-sticks') I get the point, but do remember, in effect, there is a lot of 'making' in his methods, despite him calling it otherwise.

 

I love ground work (Parelli calls it play, it helps the humans attitude to think of it as games), and Liberty Play almost as much as I love riding. If I'm ever unable to ride because me or the horse can't anymore, I'll be happy to stay on the ground. I'm horseless at the moment, not ready to replace Sonny yet, but I'm getting plenty of horse time with OPH's (Other People's horses...LOL). 2 of my friends have invited me to play with and ride their horses, and I'm volunteering as a working student at a barn as well. It's interesting to play with different horses, and I'm enjoying it untill I am ready for my next Equine Partner.

You can go to Parelli.com and find a list of instructors to see if anyone is local. I highly recommend getting lessons with an instructor if possible , although you can and will learn a lot from videos and DVD's, it's just that in person help gives you a big boost in your learning. I wish I'd started with lessons sooner than I did. If you decide to pay to join the 'savvy club', there are tons and tons of free videos and help there. Another option is to look on the savvy club for local members and get together with another student. I've learned a lot from fellow students as well as instructors. Of course, I'll be happy to help in any way that I can, and the Horse Forum has many threads about Natural Horsemanship and Parelli Natural Horsemanship. There are also plenty of members that favor other Clinicians, and you would learn from any of those threads as well.

If you are interested in seeing Pat and Linda in person, they are touring this year, the schedule is on Parelli.com. I think the places left are out west and in Indiana in the fall. I went to see them in Perry , Ga in March,,it was a.w.e.s.o.m.e and very motivating and educational.

Pat has a video dealing with a barn sweet horse, if I remember ...don't know if it's on youtube or not. Best that I remember, he said to take your horse out of the pasture but within sight of the upset horse and when the upset one is calm, put yours back. Then next time (then or later, or next session) tie your horse a little further,,,,build from that untill the pony stays calm even when your horse is out of sight , sound , and hearing. But, my memory might not be exactly right.

Have fun. Stay safe.
Fay