Gift Pony

[alfi-social]

A very experienced showing lady from our village who has seen me and my daughter rehabilitate/back a few ponies has donated us one of her 3 year olds which she has so far been unable to handle. She has had this black Section C Welsh gelding since he was a 7 month old foal. She has only managed to catch him a few times one of which times he was gelded but then had a bad infection which he nearly died from as they couldn't catch him to treat him. He recovered on his own and is now looking quite fit. Another occasion when he was caught when younger they tried putting him in a stable and  sitting with him but apparantly he remained terrified. Anyway after being a beautiful looking foal he turned into a spectacularly odd and ugly 2 year old so was not popular on this yard and after having 3 illnesses and refusing to be tamed , they reckon they are well rid of him. She swears he has never been illtreated in anyway by them but blames his mum who was also apparantly quite wild.
I think he is settling down with us ok, he has found his place in our herd and is ok with the other 3 members now, he doesn't mind being left with any one of them if the other two go out. He will follow my daughter and I around but ensures his nose is by us all the time and flinches away from being stroked except on the nose which he will tolerate for a second. He is very greedy over food and eager for his dinner. I tried clicker training him to a target and he was very very keen, caught on very fast and even got a bit pushy. I am sure he is learning a lot just from being in the field and watching us poo pick and see to the other 3 horses everyday and take them in and out and groom them and tie them up at the shelter.
I feel I need to get a headcollar on him and teach him to lead but first he need to accept being stroked. I don't have a stable,only a very large open fronted shelter so I was thinking of fencing off the front and herding him into this with another of our horses and then doing advance retreat with a false arm thingy and clickering him when he accepts the touch. Does anyone have any advice/comments? Many thanks, Fiona

[Cabruze]

What a lucky pony! 

Really interesting story - and easy to see why the pony couldn't be handled by his previous owners (the only time he was resulted in pain and/or stress!)

What you're doing right now sounds right and already you are seeing positive changes.  Just keep up the good work and show this little boy that humans are quite nice really and can be trusted! 

Personally, I would just carry on as you are - it will take time to build up his trust and I personally wouldn't shut him in the shelter just yet.  I think if you show him that you mean him no harm, that you just want to make friends, then he will gradually allow you to get closer to him and stroke him all over.  Don't rush to catch him though until he's really comfortable with you and I reckon before long you'll be able to put a headcollar on him without too much fuss.  If you can be patient now and win his trust then handling him will become much much easier.

[Wendy]

What an intersting story! I would echo exactly what Jane has said.

Do keep us posted.

[mrsmurchin]

Would it be possible to fence off a little area with electric tape and posts with a gate?  That way he's contained but not feeling claustrophobic and can see all of the other horses?

Also echo what Jane has said, sounds like the softly softly catchee monkey approach is working well for him.

Good luck, he sounds like he's landed on his feet finding you  .

Elaine.

[toni]

Sounds like you are doing wonders with him already!

With regards to putting him in the shelter, do you have a quiet or food orientated horse who could go in with him? Just put them in there for some grub for a few days and then gradually do more and more with him. I did this with my little rescue shetlands and it worked wonders.

Good Luck, please keep us updated, he sounds like a lucky pone!

Anyway after being a beautiful looking foal he turned into a spectacularly odd and ugly 2 year old so was not popular on this yard

Awwwwwwwwwwww  :( :(

[varkie]

Is he at all defensive/aggressive over food?  If not, that may be a way forward for you.  We sometimes use this method.  It works best if the food is raised up tho, not on the floor.  We put a bucket on a stable door/fence.  Start by giving a feed - make sure it's got a fair amount of bulk so it isn't over too quickly.  Then stand as close as he is comfortable with, while still eating.  Then, each day you feed him, move half a step or an inch closer - as much as he will cope with & still eat.  If you move an inch, and he goes away, stand still & let him come back, don't move away, or you've taught him that he can make you go away.

The arm on the stick does work well if you need to make contact happen fast, and we do use that method, but it undoubtedly isn't as pleasant for them as the slower method.  Plus, realistically, doing it in a stable, unless a really big stable is a bit unsafe with a larger animal - we do it in the stable with shetlands, but these are horse sized stables, so there is plenty of space.  If space is limited, you are risking your own safety, as sometimes this method can cause them to kick or buck in the early stages.  It is much safer to do it in a small round pen, where they are more likely to go round rather than stick in a corner, and you can use a longer stick to keep you safe.

[cassiejane]

Nothing to add to all the good advice, just wanted to say good luck with him and it sounds like he has struck lucky with you, please keep us posted, maybe a few photos?

[alfi-social]

Hi everyone, thank you all very much for your kind and encouraging words and advice. I'll tell you a bit more about him and when my daughter comes home in a few days to help me with the technology  : : I'll add a photo or two!
He is very greedy over food and quite bargyish now. and also starting to make some ugly faces which I am taking as a good sign as two weeks ago he was too nervous to make an ugly face,  or swing his bum.
The reason I thought of the shelter and false arm was that one of the intelligent horsemanship people I was talking to about him said that she has known some horses that have stayed at the stage this one is at for literally years.
We have started to give him his feed in the shelter and he will eat it with me/daughter holding the bowl.
But somehow I feel he is a long long way from being stroked/headcollared willingly.
I don't want to rush things unduly but its in the back of my mind that he may need the vet/farrier at some point :(

I have a big aged sensible Highland pony(the leader in the herd) who would be ideal to go in the shelter with him- its in their field and their salt licks are in there -its 24 feet long, 12 feet deep, very solid and completely openfronted so I have to try and find some gates, or a slip rail system to make it into a temp enclosure. I could use elec tape and fenceposts but feel a bit less happy about that as he hadn't met it before he came to us and charged thro' a couple of times (with it off)
scattering posts willy nilly . He's got the hang of the elec tape now but I don't know for certain if he wouldn't go through. I'd put the two of them in there with hay for an odd half hour when we are doing stuff up there before I approached with false arm (or real arms )   

[ek]

Good luck and well done for taking on this pony.

Just remember one thing if a flight animal can't run and is scared it will fight.  So please stay safe.

Talk to him and just work normally (obviously keeping your distance from him at first) with the others.  He'll start to take his que's from them realising your not going to hurt him.  If he's in an enclosed area give him time to get used to the enclosed area first. 

I think your doing all the right things by him.  Follow your instincts too.

Look forward to seeing the pictures!

[Romany]

Well done for taking him on and for the bond you have created so far. I have delt with several ponies which would fit your description, when you do decide to catch him, the best place is a confined one with a friend for you to leap over, under and all around, and then keep a trailing rope, we always use a rope halter to catch them initially then put a headcoller on over the top and take the rope one off, reward then before leavin him to think about it, leave him on a positive note.