Need HORSE HELP- <<UPDATED - PICS pg 3>>

[greeneggsandham]

She's a pretty girl and you both will learn things together. I have owned horses for all my life, but never had any younger than 10 and untrained. Three years ago my sil talked my into taking her 3 year old saddlebred. This horse was afraid of everything and would walk right over you. She had no manners or training what so ever. Except for bathing her in the summer I can do anything with her now. Her ground manners are almost perfect. I can stand with her for hours and she will just doze off. I have even started saddle training her with some help and everything is going smoothly. My advice is to take things slow and repeat things when necessary. Even pick up some books on basic training. Best of luck.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Trailering is a tough thing...and can also be a very dangerous thing as well! Asking a horse to load a trailer is an extremely unnatural thing for a horse to do and naturally many will have a fear of doing so.

We've been lucky with our horses for the most part. However, the horse we got from Mexico had a few bad trailering experiences and would not load after we brought him home. My dad did some reading and research and worked with that horse for an hour or two every day for a week. He didn't hit the horse, force him, yell at him, or scare him. It took time, but eventually the horse got used to putting his front feet on the trailer, then more and more until he was completely inside. Once he was inside, my dad would feed him hay and just let him relax. Once he was completely relaxed, my dad would back him off and start again. After about a week we were able to take Stetson trail riding and we have never had a problem ever again. The most important thing was to have the horse associate trailering as a pleasant thing, rather than something scary. It also helped to end every training session on a good note.

Horses can be trained to do just about anything, but it takes time, patience, and a willingness to learn on your own and from others. Too many accidents happen when people rush with animals. Now my dad has been volunteering to trailer other people's horses short distances around town so that he can practice training. He learns something new every time, but I don't think there has been a horse yet he hasn't been able to trailer.

I do recommend finding a good, down to earth trainer to help you out. I have had a lot of trainers over the years and they have each taught me many valuable lessons. It would be best to find one who will work with you AND the horse at the same time. That way you are learning what the horse is learning.

 

[Florida chick]

I am just not going to comment on this thread any longer.. You never EVER hit a horse on the face or in their nose with a lead rope/
For goodnes sakes find a trainer!

needmorechickens! :

Quote:
Thanks for the tips CountryMom -
We did already establish the "no treats by hand rule". We have a special place where we lay her treat for her to pick it up.
The lady who helped us give her shots helped us with her rushing us during the walk, we haven't got her fixed yet, but we are working on it.

Also everytime we would walk her and stop, Tessie thought she should eat grass and it was hard to pull her up. We bought a rope halter for a little more control, and if that didn't help we popped her nose with the end of the rope when she went down for grass without permission. That pretty much stopped the unauthorized grass eating.
As for the trainer, we would LOVE to have one and I am trying to find someone I can afford. It's hard to get a word of mouth recommendation around here because so many people here are just good ol' country people that have always had horses and don't use trainers....but I have found a couple of possibilities that I am working on.
Thanks everyone!
~Rebecca​

 

[iajewel]

Find a horse buddy in your area that can help you learn to halter, saddle and just get used to the horse.. horse freinds are a fun part of horse ownership anyway.

As for the care.. stay away from moldy hay, and don't over grain.. for the most part horses are allot easier then people try to make them. I showed, bred and trained horses for over 35yrs.. and only had 3 EM vet calls.. pasture is the best.. sand is bad, causes sand colic.. Just remember there are thousands of wild horses that never get any care and live long lives out in BLM land..
Im sure you will do fine.
J

 

[patandchickens]

needmorechickens! :

Also everytime we would walk her and stop, Tessie thought she should eat grass and it was hard to pull her up. We bought a rope halter for a little more control, and if that didn't help we popped her nose with the end of the rope when she went down for grass without permission.

SHOULDER. Pop her on the *shoulder* (or body, depending on how she's standing relative to you) to get her to put her head up, NOT THE NOSE, NOT ANYWHERE NEAR THE FACE OR HEAD. Actually it would be best not to do that either, but to just get her to walk on.

Please. First because horses only come with two eyes, you can't get replacment parts, and don't tell me you'll never miss because that isn't how life works, and more importantly becayse do you know what happens when you start smackin' horses with a rope on the nose, face or head region? No matter what the reason? I do. I've had a bunch of those horses for retraining over the years. Some of 'em while their owners were in the hospital, the rest because their owners just couldn't handle 'em any more. Not all of them can be converted back into general-purpose userfriendly horses.

Been there, done that, seen the horses ruined and sent to slaughter because there is a lot more to horse handling than Trying Hard and Meaning Well,

Pat​

 

[NancyDz]

Rebecca,

Congrats on your beautiful horse! Wow this thread has my head spinning.
I am a former horse owner, much like you I knew nothing.

I went to get a manx cat and ended up adopting a horse! His name was Duke
and he was majorly undernourished. The woman with the cat had him, she
boarded and told me this horse was left there and she couldnt afford to
feed it. He was VERY skinny. THere was no way I was leaving him there.
I went home, checked around and rented a 3 acre pasture for him. The woman
delivered him two days later and there I was with a horse , a pasture and
no experience whatsoever. I had the vet come out, Duke got his shots, and teeth
floated, the vet told me what to feed and the rest I just winged by talking to people at the
feed store and reading online. Duke fattened up nicely , loved his pasture ( he was in
a small corral when I got him) And was very patient with me while I cleaned out his
hoofs and learned how to halter him and lead him around. I'm sure I got lucky but
so did Duke as his weight got to normal, he started running around like a colt, even
though the vet says he was in his late 20's. He had horse buddies in the pasture next to him.
And that year I had him was probably the best in his life. I never tried riding him as he was
so skinny when I got him I figured I'd wait until he was healthy again. Well he got to that
point and I worked him with a lunge but then one day I came out to feed him and his head was hanging and he couldnt drink very well. So I called the vet and he came out and discovered a large tumor near his stomach. So unfortunately I had to put my beloved Duke down. It was still a great experience and I know Duke's last days were spent healthy , happy and with a beautiful view in his pasture. It's not an experience I would trade for anything. I applaud you for taking on a horse , everyone has to start somewhere and it looks like you are doing the right things so far. good luck!


Nancy

 

[rjv_piper]

Quote:
SHOULDER. Pop her on the *shoulder* (or body, depending on how she's standing relative to you) to get her to put her head up, NOT THE NOSE, NOT ANYWHERE NEAR THE FACE OR HEAD. Actually it would be best not to do that either, but to just get her to walk on.

Please. First because horses only come with two eyes, you can't get replacment parts, and don't tell me you'll never miss because that isn't how life works, and more importantly becayse do you know what happens when you start smackin' horses with a rope on the nose, face or head region? No matter what the reason? I do. I've had a bunch of those horses for retraining over the years. Some of 'em while their owners were in the hospital, the rest because their owners just couldn't handle 'em any more. Not all of them can be converted back into general-purpose userfriendly horses.

Been there, done that, seen the horses ruined and sent to slaughter because there is a lot more to horse handling than Trying Hard and Meaning Well,

Pat

All I'm going to say on this matter, is don't make your horse your enemy. Sure, I'll kick the horse in the nose once in a while to get his head up, but what it sounds like needmorechickies is doing is exactly right. You kick the horse's nose up, and leave it. Nothing else. End of subject. Then if the horse goes to do it again, kick it again, and then you're done. No hard feelings. It takes persistance, or else your horse will never learn.
YOU CAN'T HURT A HORSE WITH YOUR FOOT. You also can't break it's nose using a chain, or hackamore. You can't hurt your horse with spurs. You can't hurt a horse with a twitch, or lip chain. If you do, better the horse than you. I get tired of people telling me that what I do is wrong because I've been around horses all my life. Sure, I've been hurt loads of times because of my horses, but they were all accidents. Some horses need to get in trouble. If you can't discipline your horse right, you have no right to own one. If your horse gets away with stuff it shouldn't, then you have no right to own a horse. If you are afraid of your horse, you have no right to own one.
One other thing I HAVE to bring up although nobody else has, horses have short term memory, and are animals of habbit. If your horse messes up once you have to deal with the problem right away. Whatever you do DON'T stop feeding it, tie plastic bags in the mane (heard that one many times), tie it up and leave it, or anything else of that sort. A horse isn't going to remember what it did if you stop feeding it. If you tie a bag in it's mane, it's going to freak the horse out, and you will get hurt.
Like I said in the beginning: don't make your horse your enemy, but don't let it boss you around. You are the trainer, and where would you be without your horse? You wouldn't be able to train anything. You are the ultimate friend to that horse, and you are very privlaged to be able to ride it.

 

[MrsCountryChick]

needmorechickens! :

Also everytime we would walk her and stop, Tessie thought she should eat grass and it was hard to pull her up. We bought a rope halter for a little more control, and if that didn't help

we popped her nose with the end of the rope

when she went down for grass without permission. That pretty much stopped the unauthorized grass eating.
Thanks everyone!
~Rebecca

Quote:​

 

[Florida chick]

Poor horses!
Please find a John Lyons trainer or look at his videos for a start.

 

[verthandi]

I think fugal horse has taken over the world. How many of you have never been new to a situation? and trying to learn? I was so lucky to have an experienced horse person take me under their wing when I was a child. To this day I still try to "pass it on" in his honor. I would not know what I know today without his careful guidence. I don't remember one time when he berated me for not knowing what to do. He kindly showed me how. I will never stop learning how to work with horses and I have been doing it for a long time, but everyday I work with them I learn a better or easier way to make that connection for both of us. (at least I hope it is true for my horses too.)

How about cutting this new horse owner some slack? She is having the joy of owning a horse sucked right away from her. All you horse owners know we are never going to agree on how things should be done. We just have to choose what works best for us and makes the most sense. Imagine being new to it, and every move you made was wrong.

Might be more helpful if we told her some of the foolish things we did when we first owned horses, instead of dumping on her. Not what she shouldn't do....but what we did when we didn't know it would cause a problem.

Someone mentioned earlier about not tying a horse to something. Well I did that as a new horse owner. Stopped at my sister-in-laws, needed to use the bathroom, tied my trusty steed to her railing of her steps. Presto......steps removed 10 feet from house with horse standing with just the one ear part of his bridle still on his head. He was not injured, but I learned that only cowboys in old western movies should do that.