Friday, March 6, 2009

Crazy Horse Or Crazy People?

I was a one horse wonder for several years. I boarded my Arab mare at a nice barn and all was well. One day my brother mentioned that his neighbor had a piece of fenced pasture for rent. I would have to do my own care, but it was a great opportunity for my horse. When I went out to chekc the place over, there was a ragged-coated black weanling wandering the pasture. I inquired about her. Apparently the owner of the land had been at an auction looking at farm equipment when a rack of bones mare and her filly were brought into the ring. They were owned by some people who had kept them in a drylot with nothing but pinetrees and rocks. When they ran out of money, the lactating mare lost condition and had to feed on the trees. So the owner of the pasture bid on the pair and got them for $100. The mare was docile, but the filly was wild and defensive. The mare was given to a friend to fatten up, but the filly was just put out on the pasture and left to her own devices.
Anyway, I took the filly and with the help of a good roping horse got her passibly halterbroken. She had been teased and tormented by a few kids and some guys who thought it was funny when she snapped at them and chased them. I set about training her to accept hobbles and rear leg restraint in preparation for a visit from the farrier. This training also has a positiveeffect on the psyche of every horse I have used it on. It instills respect and encourages the horse to think about problems instead of struggling. I know it works, because she stood perfectly for her first ever trim the day after I impleminted the training. She is relatively easy for me to handle; she loaded right up in the trailer when it came time to move her and my mare to their current digs.
Anyway, this move was brought about by the antics of the filly who was named Misty when I took over her care. misty didn't like anyone very much. She had this dirty habbit of nipping and running off. (it's not like any other young horse has ever done these things) She was most aggressive over the fence and toward men. She was much easier for me to deal with after I got her trained to lead and stand for the farrier, because I was consistent and tried to be fair. I didn't play games with her or stuff her full of treats to get her to like me. However she became destructive to property. This involved tearing up a Ford Escort that I recommended not be parked in the pasture. The land owner had played with and teased her so much that he couldn't safely go inside the fence anymore.
To b continued.

6 comments:

  1. It gets better. I swear Misty has it out for some people. I don't really have much trouble, but she can't ever be rehomed. Stay tuned!

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  2. Sitting on the edge of my seat.

    WHAT a story, AofG.
    wow.

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  3. I like Misty already! It's the brightest ones that can figure out who to pin the blame on, and they are the ones that really turn into one person horses.

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  4. Is it kind of like a boundry thing that makes them unruly? Is that the issue with the ones they teach to play games?

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  5. Yes, Ncc. When young horses play they do a lot of nipping and dodging. They strike out and swing their butts around and squeal a lot. It's bad enough for people who can see, but try going in the pasture with no awareness of where she's at. It was not safe for me to go in and catch my mare so I had to put some sort of manners on her.

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