I have a 2 y.o mare. She’s ridiculously small and we couldn’t send to training. I can take her on a lead. Back her. Pick up her front legs. She doesn’t stand tied well, hates her back legs being touched and is afraid of, well everything. Won’t go in trailer or be sprayed with water. How to i get the mare ready for training next year. I’ve never raised a horse before and am looking for any tips i can get,
Your best bet is to either buy a book on ground training…or search one area at a time on the net…For example…halter breaking. There is loads of information and it would take a long time and a lot of space to try and address these one at a time.
For standing tied…does she paw, rear, or just move around alot? Or fight like crazy? If she doesn’t fight real bad…the best advice is to tie her and ignore her…but watching her in case you need to release her. But don’t speak to her, or correct her. And it can take days. And we tie for about 2 hours or more.
For a fight…you need to put a truck innertube attached to a post. And tie the lead rope to the innertube. That way…she fights and the innertube will ‘give.’ She will expend more energy ‘fighting’ the tube, but can’t break it. Like they can when they are tied to a solid object. They can break the halter or lead and learn that if they fight hard enough…they can get free.
I would begin using a whip to touch her back legs. Not to hit…just to stroke. Even if she kicks at the whip, she won’t hurt it…and you just keep petting and stroking her with it…until she accepts it. When she stands still for it…you pet her and praise her. You ‘desensitize’ her to it.
Same with water…start at the feet and work your way up the body. Doing a little more each day. When she accepts it…you praise her. Even if she kicks at water…it won’t her or the water. Just keep it on her hooves and lower legs…until she accepts it…and praise her when she does.
Whatever you are working with…NEVER lose your temper…even if you are severely aggravated. And always end your lessons when the horse has done something right…or even if it was CLOSE to right. If she stands still for 5 seconds with the water on her feet…STOP. That’s a good place to end the lesson until next time.
Getting a book or searching online will give you a lot more details and help you quite a bit…Hope all goes well with your mare…
If you feel you can’t do the ground training…invest in a trainer or someone who is experienced with doing this. It’s worth the money. It’s very easy to teach wrong things accidentally if you are not sure of what you are doing…and then it’s even harder to train them…they have to be ‘untrained’ of bad habits or responses.
I REALLY recommend you get the Clinton Anderson colt starting DVD. I have been to his tour stops, in one of his hands-on clinics with my horse and own his DVD’s. I’ve even gotten my cowboy husband to adopt some of his training techniques and my husband starts colts all the time. He also has a trailering DVD that shows you how to get a horse that won’t go in the trailer into the trailer! If you can’t afford the DVD’s, he has a membership club that you can join online (www.noworriesclub.com) for $19.99/mo that gives you access to all of his TV shows which will include colt starting, tying trailering etc etc etc. His methods really work and have turned my barrel horse into a completely different horse. As for the tying problem, get a tie ring and that will cure it.(http://downunderhorsemanship.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=38&osCsid=5be9f333a413ea00a240652b97c22049) Also, biggest mistake ever made with colts is sneaking around them (because we’re afraid of them). Everything they get scared of, amplify it until they relax!! (cock a leg, blink, sigh, lick their lips, stand for 15 seconds) Sounds like the horse needs to see more and get used to it. Please please please get those DVD’s or watch his shows if you’ve never raised a horse you will need to see these!
Well for her feet, what I did with my fillly is:
Step 1: Go down to grab her feet and say "lift" and click at her, if she doesnt pick it up, lean into her and throw her off balance (a little) and pick her foot up.
Step 2: When she tries to take it away from you, keep holding it. Let her paw and try to swing you around but HOLD ON and say "hoe" or "stand" (whatever your word is).
She will understand after a few tries that you will not let go and she just has to stand. My horse was the same way and my trainer had me do this and it worked like a charm.
At two years old, she isn’t going to stand tied well. She’s a baby, this should be expected. What you do is put her in cross ties (or however you tie her) and everytime she moves around, you just move her back. For example: if she moves her rear a few steps to the left, go over there and apply pressure back to where she was standing and say "over". Moving her around will also gain more respect from her.
With the water thing, have someone hold her and spray her feet, and slowly move up. Not all at once though. I mean, for a few days just go to her and spray her hooves and lower leg and tell her what a good girl she is being.
Good luck with your baby
time is everything with a young horse, the more time you spend with them the better off you are. I have raised 2 and they are both very gentle, I started when they were born but now that yours is 2 you will need to first off start with trust. A horse that does not trust will fight you every step of the way. I always start at the head because that is where they can see me and I don’t run the risk of getting hurt. the first issue I would address is the to tie, get you an inner-tub out of a tire and loop it around a stout tree, tie your horse there start off with short time spans with lots of love and attention. Once the mare calms let her stand alone for 30 min. ( but keep a eye on her so that she does not get hurt) Then go to her rescue, each time you tie her extend the time. The next thing I would do is start working with the trailer there again it is trust. IF your horse trusts you then she will know that you are not going to put her in a dangerous situation. Try giving her treats of if you can feed her in that trailer perty soon you won’t have a problem with her getting in the trailer, this won’t happen over night it will take time just remember that you don’t want to ever get mad or all you will do is upset your horse. If you do start getting up set then it is time for you to take a time out and let her graze till you have calmed down. As far as the back legs go I would save this for last, because the first 2 things have been working on trust and now that you mare trust you she will be less likely to try to kick you, also now you have taught her to tie and she will be easyer to work with . Good luck and I hope this has been some helpful info.
I would start by teaching her patience and desensitizing her.
For patience, make sure you tie her up every day. If she paws, and moves around a lot, just leave her alone, but make sure you are supervising her the whole time. You can leave her tied up until she stands still. I start tying up my young horses as yearlings, and leave them tied while I clean all the stalls, or while I work with another horse, then untie them. Its great to teach them just to be patient. Make her get used to being tied up every day, and build it up to even an hour if you have a place thats in the shade, in her stall, etc that is safe.
After she’s tying well, start with brushing her to desensitize her (especially the legs). If she doesn’t like the back legs, each day work your way a little farther down them with the brush. So on day one, just brush as far down as you can until you see her pin her ears, or try to pull her leg away, and go back up and down to that point. Each day, try to add an inch or two, until she’ll let you work the whole leg.
After she’s comfortable with you just touching her everywhere, then you can start using other objects, like a towel, a saddle blanket, tossing the lead rope over her back and around her legs, etc.
Teach her things like how to work on a longe-line, move her hips and shoulders away from pressure (using your finger tips), etc, and this will make it easier for her to deal with stuff later in training. Just because she’s small doesn’t mean she can’t be worked…maybe she’s always going to be a small horse. After you’ve done a lot of the desensitizing work yourself, ask a trainer you plan to use when they think she’ll be ready for the saddle.
Good luck, and be careful!
Ok, if she is to small at 2, she will be to small later on. First go out and but a long cotton rope, about 5/8 or 3/4 at less 25 Feet long. Take you filly and tie the rope around her girth, with a knot that will not slip. Run the rope through her halter to a big post or tree. Something that she will not pull out of the ground. I would hope that by now, you have been using the words (no) and (whoa). Tie a light rope to a saddle blanket and toss it at the mare, as she start jump around, talk her down using no and whoa, after she has calm down, do it over un till she stand still, with you tossing the blanket all over her. You want to be a trainer, this is the hard part, when you baby is fighting the rope and might hurt her self. This is the first part of a long trip you and the horse will be making together. When the horse will stand still no matter what you do, you can say your horse has been sacked out, and on the way to spook proofing. Now you can move on to picking up her feet. The next stage is to put the lead, in the halter over her nose, to have some pressure on her, were you can work on her hind legs and still be able to jerk her nose with the lead. If she needs more, you can make a war bridle. Which is a sliding loop, over the head and in the mouth, pulling on the bars? If she move while you are working on her jerk on her mouth, she will get right. By now you have a horse that will stand still on command while you work on her? A lot of horses do not like being spray with cold water. And it is not the recommended way to wash one. If you leave water hose lying in the sun the first water is very hot, and after it run a little it get cold. I do not like either, so why expect a horse to. For washing put out some bucket or a tub and fill with water, leave in the sun until to chill is off the water, then wash the horse, and leave some to rinse her off. Next is biting the horse, use a snaffle bit to start, you will not rune her mouth while you are trainer her. Put on a saddle and start lunging her in a circle using walk, stop, as she learn these to new command, you can pick up the pace. After you have good control of your mare. Go to two long lines, like you are driving her, because that is the next steep. You work her one way, and then turn her away from you and go the other ways. You now have a horse that is ready for a rider. It may sound tough at times, and yes it is, but the end product is worth it. I did not mean to be writhing a book; we have not even got to mounting and riding. Best of luck to you and your baby.