Ridecamp: Re: [RC] Help, New Horse... Need Some Hints!

At 03:07 PM 6/17/02, kit kat wrote:
> How do i get her not to be afaid of cows and BIG trucks

Sarah - for openers, pick one problem and focus on that.  Since the cows 
are a problem right away and the trucks can be avoided for a while, start 
there.  If she can see those cows from the round pen, then just turn her 
loose in there every day till she gets used to seeing them at that 
distance.  When she's bored with that (and the cows) you can try moving her 
closer.  Moving her just a teensy bit closer every day - or as soon as she 
is bored with the distance she's at - will take patience but it will 
work.  You can work with her on ground manners at the same time - you don't 
have to just hold her lead line while she grazes, although a bit of that 
would be great too.

One thing though - forcing her to deal with cows and/or trucks is not only 
dangerous to you, but it's kind of cruel to the mare.  It's not her fault 
she's never had a real life before!  Think of it like forcing a person 
who's deathly afraid of spiders to stick a hand into a box full of Daddy 
Longlegs (non-biting) spiders.  Not only would you likely get slugged, 
you'd probably have a hysterical person on your hands, and one that would 
be VERY mad at you for a long time afterwards - maybe forever!  Who would 
blame that person?!  Don't do that to your horse!

So - my advice:  Take it real slow with this horse (if you're going to keep 
trying with her).  Respect the reality of her fear and be sympathetic - 
this is not something the mare can control or you can fix by force.  Reach 
out for her brain and her emotions and you will make progress.  Start with 
basic ground manners and work on the cow thing as you go along.

Lif Strand
Quemado NM  USA
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