Horse Talk

[abigalerose]

Oh my word that's cute

 

[abigalerose]

Sooo.. You know how I said I had my heart set on rescuing a horse? Well that might not happen. At least, not right now.
Tonight a big portion of my family all went out to eat together, and I was sitting across from my cousin and her husband and we were talking about June, and they were like "well if we woulda known you were looking for a horse we had 3 we could've gave you" and I was like "whoa whoa whoa... You'd give me a horse? Becuase I might still be looking for one." So anyways, they have an Appaloosa gelding with no tail, who is broke to ride but needs a tune up, a sorrel qh mare with no training, and a 10 year old bay qh mare with an attitude who use to be used as a halter show horse in 4h but hasn't been messed with in a while. So naturally, I'm interested in the bay mare

But in all seriousness, me and my grandma have almost got my grandpa talked into a second horse, and I know "a free horse is never free", but I don't know if I can turn down a project that my cousin is willing to just give to me. Plus I know she isn't lying about any info on her. I haven't seen this horse yet, but they're gonna send me pictures tomorrow, they say of the three they have she's built the best and stays fat on air, and I think once I give her a refresher she'll probably have good ground manners, I'll just have to make sure she knows I'm boss.
Now, I've seen a picture of the Appaloosa gelding, and he's kinda cute in an ugly way, but I prefer mares and my grandpa said no way are we getting a horse with no tail, and I said no way to the sorrel because I refuse to get a sorrel horse. So what do you guys think?
Also, this is probably gonna sound dumb, but can you pony a horse to teach it how to lunge?

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

can you pony a horse to teach it how to lunge?

No. They won't put two and two together - going around in a circle being directed by you on a horse vs. going around in a circle with you standing in the middle directing them. Ponying is pretty much leading, but you are horseback.

The easiest way to teach a horse to longe is in a round pen, but they can be taught to longe out in the open. I have started several on the longe line out in the open, and it takes a lot of patience. I use a stiff rope halter, a short line (15'), and a livestock sorting stick to encourage them to stay out on the end of the rope. I like a sorting stick because they are longer than a "carrot stick" or other clinician horse trainer sticks, much cheaper, and easily obtained at most feed stores. It's really important to know how to read the horse and react in time with the right amount of correction, and it is just as important to know when to release that correction. If you just start slow most horses can catch on pretty quickly. Once they have mastered making a circle consistently without arguement on a short line at a walk, jog, and lope, and when I feel like they have a good stop on them I will put them out on a longer longe line. Dealing with a horse who has been proclaimed to "have an attitude" may require a round pen depending upon the severity of the behavioral issues and your experience with such.

Good luck with your project ponies!

 

[abigalerose]

Okay yeah I dont know a thing about ponying, I've never done it and so far I haven't met anyone who's done it, I didn't think it'd work but figured it wouldn't hurt to ask. And thanks for the advice, I have a round pen, a 15' foot rope, and a lunge whip, so which ever way I do it I'm prepared, what I have issues with is that she stops and puts her head over the fence and tries to kick the lunge whip, she seems scared of it so this week I've only been working on desensitizing her to it. And thanks! I'm gonna need all the luck I can get if I get that mare. I think it might happen though, my grandma said I could and said not to worry about what my grandpa thinks

I think they just don't want me going out and paying for a horse, for some reason. But as much as I wanted to rescue I just really want a companion for June.
Oh and I forgot to ask if this mare is registered or not, do you think if she was used for halter shows she is? Or do people show grade horses? I'm not into the whole showing thing so I don't have a clue.

 

[abigalerose]

Woohoo! The grandpa has finally caved which means June will get a companion soon. He said maybe to the free horses, he wants to see them first and I should be getting pictures this evening, or he said if I find a good rescue horse that I can go for it. I think I'd still rather rescue but I won't turn down a free one if it'll make a good horse. I'm so excited! And I bet June will be very happy to have someone to play with

 

[WallabyOfChaos]

Okay yeah I dont know a thing about ponying, I've never done it and so far I haven't met anyone who's done it

Ponying is best left to very experienced handlers, and it takes a really well-broke, reliable, and trusting horse to make a good "pony horse." Pretty much, your pony horse needs to be able to keep a cool head and obey your every command while another horse is going crazy on the end of the rope - or worse, trying to kill him. We use ponying mostly as a time-saver when there is a lot to get done in the day. Colts get ponied off of our good horses so that while the good horses are getting their usual exercise, the colts are doing something a little different and we're working a bit of the edge off before we get on them. And, if the broke horses need some exercise and there isn't enough time to ride each one individually we will pony a string of them to get them out an about for a while.

what I have issues with is that she stops and puts her head over the fence and tries to kick the lunge whip, she seems scared of it so this week I've only been working on desensitizing her to it.

That's not a good thing. Without watching the horse, I can't tell you whether it looks like she is kicking out of fear or if she is just acting sour. Either way, kicking is unacceptable behavior. Be careful, don't get kicked, and if you feel overwhelmed or you can't correct the behavior yourself then consult a qualified professional trainer. You don't want to create a mess. Personally, I don't use longe whips with horses who don't know how to longe. And, desensitizing her to the whip is kind of counter-productive. I mean, you desensitize her to it and prove it's not scary, so then she doesn't care when you wave it at her because it's not scary, so then you crack her with it and oops! it's supposed to be scary again!

Oh and I forgot to ask if this mare is registered or not, do you think if she was used for halter shows she is? Or do people show grade horses? I'm not into the whole showing thing so I don't have a clue.

Grade horses can be shown at halter in 4-H.

 

[abigalerose]

Does anyone know of a good place near Springfield mo to rescue a horse? Preferably mustang?

 

[Bunnylady]

I have a round pen, a 15' foot rope, and a lunge whip, so which ever way I do it I'm prepared, what I have issues with is that she stops and puts her head over the fence and tries to kick the lunge whip, she seems scared of it so this week I've only been working on desensitizing her to it.

As @WallabyOfChaos pointed out, diagnosing horse problems over the internet can be seriously bad news, but I will just make a couple of observations. You said she is acting as if she is afraid, and I will give your powers of observation full credit. This could just be "I don't wanna," but given how green both you and the filly are, I'm guessing that you are not giving her the release of pressure that tells her that she is doing what you want. The head over the fence sounds like "get me outta here!" The whip should be like an extension of your arm, a means of focusing energy and pressure behind the horse to move her forward, away from the pressure (does that make sense?) When you want her to move forward, you give her the voice command, she moves, and you release the pressure - that's how it's supposed to work. If she doesn't move, you increase pressure until she does, then take the pressure off. If the pressure doesn't come off, all she knows is that you are after her, and eventually she is doing whatever she thinks she has to to try to find relief from the pressure - which in this case may mean kicking. You need to remember that she is very young, and young horses need short, pleasant lessons to build their confidence and comfort with you. You ask, she gives, you give, you don't keep pushing - see what I mean? If the whip is too much, you can achieve much of what you want by spinning and flicking the end of the rope, but it can get a bit weird with young horses sometimes because they often want to push into the pressure rather than move away from it.

 

[abigalerose]

Well it's definitely better with the lead rope, she's not fearful of it and doesn't try to kick it, but it's really hard to keep her from coming into me that way. I've been doing a ton of desensitizing to the lunge whip, and she's becoming less jumpy around it now, so next week it's suppose to be super nice out and I'll try to do a couple of very short sessions every day if I can to maybe build up to it slower. Everything else Ive taught her we haven't had any problems with, since I've just been working on desensitizing the past week I've been doing other stuff with her like teaching her voice commands, she's starting to get the hang of walk and back. And her whoa is really good. I sat on her yesterday and flexed her and then told her walk, then I whoad her, then I put slight pressure on her and told her back and she backed up. So I spent 5 minutes, probably less, on her back, and I don't want to exceed that until I get her lunging so I can start long lining and practice with the saddle on and teach her "walk" "trot" "canter" voice commands. So when I finally start riding her in the round pen she's already got a good handle on everything she's suppose to do. I know some people probably think I shouldn't sit on her and flex, walk, and back, but I feel like the short little 3-5 minutes sessions are good for her and will have her use to me being on her back so she's ready when the time comes to ride. Anyways, I would have someone help me with lunging, but I can't find anyone around here that doesn't do it like my friend who trains, which by the way, she came over when I first got June to help me teach her how to lunge and just chased her around like crazy and scared her, which is why I'm almost certain she's afraid of the lunge whip now. So I haven't asked her for help since becuase her way is way too aggressive for my liking, especially since June didn't even understand what was being asked. But everyone trains like this around here and it drives me crazy! It's like all the people in southwest Missouri are stuck in the Wild West times. They all force the horse and don't teach it. But anyways, I'll get it figured out eventually, I'll keep watching videos, talking to people, reading, and maybe my grandpa can help me out.
So now that I got all my rambling about that out of the way, you know the lady who posts horses and tries to find them homes before they're sent to slaughter? Will a kill buyer only stay in contact to someone who does a ton of adoptions like that, or could I go to the feedlot myself and get a horse that's about to be shipped? I do wanna go through her and she posts a lot of horses but I know she doesn't post all of them and there's no way to meet the horse before you adopt.

 

[abigalerose]

Okay so I've been researching all day (I'm obviously too excited) and I found a place just 45 minutes of me that rescues horses from kill pens, trains them, and adopts them out. Mostly mustangs too. So after some thinking I'll probably adopt one of them, or rescue through the original lady I posted about. I'm just torn becuase I really want a mustang, but I know they're safe now and will get adopted out, and I feel like I'd be doing more good saving one of the horses that are headed to slaughter. But at the same time if I adopt a mustang that'll make room for her to bring in more mustangs... Help me!