yearling buddy sour/pushy

[luvmydutch]

I try to work with my yearling on different stuff 3-4 days/week. we have mastered tying, cross tying, clipping, bathing, trailering, picking up feet, yielding hind quarters, yielding fore-quarters, plastic bags, the list goes on and on. In addition to these things, I have been taking her off the property and out on the trails for short walks since the day i bought her (6 months or so ago). She is TERRIFIED to leave the barn...it doesn't matter how many times she sees the same trail over and over, she is a pushy little witch and she doesn't listen to a word I say...her head is up in the air and she is CONVINCED she is going to die. It has been 6 months with no improvement. I started a new technique today where I make as they say..the right thing easy and the wrong thing hard. Any time we are heading away from her buddies we are taking it easy and I'm not really asking for much of her..if she wants to nibble the grass I let her...but when we turn around to head home we work work work on whoa, back up, turn this way, turn that way, etc. etc. This did seem to help some but I'm at my wit's end trying to get it through her head that she's not going to die just because we're away from the other horses. She's such a perfect perfect angel except for this one silly thing...any advice? I don't own another horse to pony her off of so this isn't an option.

[EqTrainer]

How old is she? A yearling?

Some horses, at a year old, just aren't ready to be alone. If you've been doing this for a long time w/no good results, you have essentially taught her that she is right - it's scary and awful.

So stop. Stop until you have another horse to go with. Can you wait and follow someone who is going out? Can you eventually move her to another farm for this experience if necessary?

You really can overhandle young horses and make them more insecure than they ever would have been if you are not careful. Every experience has to be good. If you cannot set it up to be good, you are better off not doing it at all.

[luvmydutch]

Ah darn I was afraid that was going to be the right answer! Is it impossible to get her comfortable out on the trails alone? If I absolutely HAVE to pony her off an older, more steady horse...I can see if someone would be willing to let me "borrow" their oldie at my boarding barn...I'll give it another week using my technique and if I see no improvement i will just give up on the off property stuff and see if I can figure out a way to get access to a trail horse. Thanks! Anyone else with any ideas feel free to let me know :)

[Sunnydays]

I think some babes (not most) might be happy with trail walks alone, but you must focus on your buddy's temperament and tolerances. Even just "going out for grass" with another boarder and her horse might help. Otherwise, have fun in the barn/paddock, and wait till next year. Try not to overface your foal, which could make her feel she has not succeeded.
Enjoy!

[siegi b.]

I'm totally with EqTrainer on this..... You have managed to reinforce in your filly that going out on a trail is bad news - over and over and over again.

Rather than trying for another couple of weeks, my recommendation is to not take her out on a trail for the next six months and then maybe try with another horse as buddy (leading, not ponying). Ponying takes experience and unless you have that I wouldn't recommend you start learning with a yearling at the end of the rope.

Good luck!

[SilverSpringFarm]

I agree with the others - she needs a break.

I say once you give her some time to relax, start again but take SMALL steps.

I like the buddy idea, but if that is absolutely not an option for you then here is what I suggest. Maybe even do a combo of "buddy walks" and the method below.

Take her out a short ways from the barn. Make sure she is still close enough to the barn that she feels comfortable. Maybe it's 20 feet from the barn, maybe it's 15 feet. While she is calm, pet her, let her eat grass, then walk back to the barn. Don't push it and try to get her to stay quiet for too long. Yearlings have SHORT attention spans!

Do that once or twice a week. Keep the sessions very short. Don't pile on a bunch of other exercises on top of that. See if you can slowly walk her a bit further from the barn each time. Let HER determine how far is far enough. Maybe feed her a treat she likes or a bit of grain while you have her out. Try to make traveling away from the barn a rewarding experience for her.

[luvmydutch]

I think you guys are right...I have definitely reinforced over and over again that trail riding is scary and miserable. I think I will drop it then and try doing what silverspringfarm recommends in the spring. I hope I haven't ruined my baby's future as a trail horse :(

[SilverSpringFarm]

I think you guys are right...I have definitely reinforced over and over again that trail riding is scary and miserable. I think I will drop it then and try doing what silverspringfarm recommends in the spring. I hope I haven't ruined my baby's future as a trail horse :(

Horses are EXTREMELY forgiving creatures. Don't be too hard on yourself. Even the best trainers can get excited about a young horse and push them too far from time to time. Your filly is far from ruined.

Just keep in mind that you'll have good days and bad days with this process. Some days it might seem like she takes a giant step backward, just as things were going well. Don't let that discourage you. Just take it in stride and know that the next session will be better.

[tidy rabbit]

Sounds like a lot for a yearling. I don't do much with mine until they are two. That said, they all clip, crosstie, lead, load, etc.

What I do is this... when I introduce something new I ALWAYS have a second handler available to help. I want the first experience and usually the 2nd, 3rd & 4th to be reinforced by a back up person, bringing up the rear, so to speak. I don't want the young ones to ever learn that they get an opinion on a subject.

Enlist a friend to help you for the next couple weeks and I'm sure you'll get it straightened out.

[stoicfish]

I am not a trainer and have had only a few youngsters, so that is the disclaimer. Now for what it is worth, it sounds like she has your number on the trail. The reason I suggest this is that you describe her as pushy and a witch. Are you a bit nervous taking her out? If so the problem might get worse by continuing the way it is going. Can you take her out a little ways, where you’re both comfortable and stop, graze there, give a treat, and go back. Slowly increase the distance as both of you are comfortable.
She is young, but going for a walk is simply asking for trust. If she doesn’t trust you that you are going to make sure she will be safe, that is a problem, in my limited experience anyway. It sounds like it might be a good thing to work through this problem, as it might re-surface in other forms.

SilverSpringFarm gave some good advice too!

[luvmydutch]

Hmm stoicfish...I see where you might think that but she really mostly just screams for the other horses and then crowds into my space...I have a dressage whip with me which i bump her on the chest with if she crowds me, and have my shoulders square and don't hold her too tightly, make sure I make her do small tasks to keep her focus on me...nothing helps...she is quivering in fear. My initial thought was...the more I expose her to this the more used to it she will get...instead I have reinforced her hating going out on the trails. When I ask her to focus on me she gets "witchy" and will shake her head and bite at me because she thinks if she lets her guard down for a second the monsters that live in the trees will definitely come eat her. I never ever reward bad behavior so she's definitely not getting any pay-offs being afraid..she is definitely legitimately terrified. I'm thinking of free leasing a mini to keep with her as a companion (preferably an alpha mare mini) that I can have my boyfriend take out for walks with us come spring...will that make her more buddy sour?

[stoicfish]

I meant absolutely no offense, and hope you didn't take it that way.
I just know from personal experience that sometimes when a person adores their horse (as I do, and sounds like you do to ;) ) it can lead to some behavior issues. It seems like they know that they are the "apple of our eye" and act accordingly sometimes. I did that with my mare many years ago. I didn't even realize it until a trainer got a different reaction from her. I was "doing" everything right but I think she could read the situation anyway, they are so smart. She trusted him more in two days then she did me, as in did what he asked without being afraid. He suggested that I approach her with a different attitude, more of a matter of fact leader, which it what a young horse will follow and feels more comfortable around. It helped everything! She was my first yearling, my older horses were not as…. insecure?
This may not be your case at all, I just thought I would throw it out in case it helped. Never the less good luck, I am sure it will all work out fine!