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Post by michellep on Feb 23, 2009 11:00:23 GMT -5
I have had Turtle for a year now, and when we first brought him home he was a mess, scared silly, skinny, etc. Well over that year he & I have bonded pretty well and I feel that he trusts me pretty good to not beat him or put him in a bad place when we are riding. However, he has been around my husband for a year now also, but despite that he is still very jumpy around him and Ken has never even attempted to raise a hand to him. Also on Saturday we went riding to Bridle Trails in Bellevue and while he was very good on the trail and went around other horses fine when we met up with hikers on the trail it just freaked him out. The first couple of times the person would stop and he would stop snort at them and then move on. However, its when they wouldnt just stop that Turtle had more of a problem. There was a jogger that didnt stop and Turtle did move past him but of course spooked and then a family that was just walking down the trail being quiet Turtle just had a problem with them. Not even sure how to go about getting him used to new people, and this could be a serious problem on prize rides/trail rides. Any suggestions would be helpful, especially since I really need to get him used to my hubby working with him.
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Post by pokicowgirl on Feb 23, 2009 11:44:27 GMT -5
What did you ask him to do when you met up with the people on the trail.
What was your response?
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Post by swissgrl on Feb 23, 2009 11:52:09 GMT -5
I ask a lot of my friends to come over and pet Merlin, or any of my horses. I think the more strangers they see and get handled by them the better. Make it a non-event. Have them give him a piece of carrot or something pet him, and then walk away, like it's no big deal to him. Anytime we have friends over, I drag them out to the barn/pasture, and make them pet the horses.
Also what I noticed on the trail, a lot of times when the hikers or bikers are quiet, it spooks the horses more. I always yell "hi, how are you" or something like that to people on the trail, something they have to respond to. They think they have to be quiet to not spook the horse, but I think it makes it worse.
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Post by michellep on Feb 23, 2009 12:02:33 GMT -5
I just clucked him to move forward which he did. The one time he kind of tried to climb up the bank to avoid being by them. I always try to stay calm with him, I find the more relaxed that I am the better he handles scarry situations. It just puzzles me that after a year of beign around my husband he would still be that way though. Maybe bad experiences with a man?
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Post by kellyd on Feb 23, 2009 12:47:05 GMT -5
I have had Turtle for a year now, and when we first brought him home he was a mess, scared silly, skinny, etc. Well over that year he & I have bonded pretty well and I feel that he trusts me pretty good to not beat him or put him in a bad place when we are riding. However, he has been around my husband for a year now also, but despite that he is still very jumpy around him and Ken has never even attempted to raise a hand to him. Also on Saturday we went riding to Bridle Trails in Bellevue and while he was very good on the trail and went around other horses fine when we met up with hikers on the trail it just freaked him out. The first couple of times the person would stop and he would stop snort at them and then move on. However, its when they wouldnt just stop that Turtle had more of a problem. There was a jogger that didnt stop and Turtle did move past him but of course spooked and then a family that was just walking down the trail being quiet Turtle just had a problem with them. Not even sure how to go about getting him used to new people, and this could be a serious problem on prize rides/trail rides. Any suggestions would be helpful, especially since I really need to get him used to my hubby working with him. My first horse, as a child, was scared of men too. Except my dad, who was the one who feed her in the mornings so I wouldn't be late to walk to school. She loved my dad!!! She liked my brothers too, but was terrified of men. Maybe have your hubby feed Turtle for a few months & also have him feed him treats. Do you have any friends who you could 'place' on the trail - joggers, walkers, bikers - also have them give treats & pet Turtle?? |
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Post by michellep on Feb 23, 2009 13:02:50 GMT -5
I feed in the mornings, and Ken feeds at night so turtle should be used to him. And anytime we are out with them Ken loves all over Turtle. I suppose I could recruit some horsey people to be walkers the next time we are out.
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Post by atticus on Feb 24, 2009 9:53:12 GMT -5
Some confidence building on the ground would be good, and have your husband work him on the ground as well. Oslo was always like that with men and my husband. I have my husband doing the Parelli 7 games with him and it has helped totally! There is no more snort there since he has been winning the games with Oslo.
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Post by horsesrkewl on Feb 24, 2009 13:51:00 GMT -5
Can you hike with him?? On several occasions we've worked with horses that were spooky/insecure with a lot of stuff out on trail. So we hiked with them (us on foot, and they followed). It worked well, since sometimes they have a sense or security with you being on the ground with them and leading them.
This way they can look/sniff/snort at all the horse eating rocks, bushes, bikers, hikers. Once they feel comfortable with that, then if you can pony them, (it helps if you have a good steady level headed pony horse, if they don't get upset, neither will the pony horse).
It's a great training technique and it gets you in great shape as well!
I did this with my filly as well, after she was saddle broke our first outing out on trail was no big deal. She'd seen everything the only new experience for her was that I was stride and not in front of her.
Both you and your husband should hike with Turtle. Take turns leading him.
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Post by michellep on Feb 24, 2009 15:45:34 GMT -5
Thanks for the suggestion, I think that would work great for him. Especially if Ken lead him, they might bond more.
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Post by horsesrkewl on Feb 25, 2009 13:00:07 GMT -5
Keep me updated on Turtles progress. If this doesn't work I'll have to dig deeper into my old bag o' tricks. :-)
But just hanging out checking out the scenery in a calm, cool, collected manner with no work (riding) or fear works wonders. If he reacts to something don't make a big deal about it. Be calm and remember to breathe!!!!
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