Trust and Other Stuff

[selma]

My aunts horse, Princess used to be a really nice horse.She was a nice show horse always behaving and all untill she had a baby.Now Princess hasn't been ridden for like 3-6 years and my aunt has this crazy idea that somehow I can bring her back and start to ride and show her.So, I said "I will ride her if you pay boarding fees and training fees at the local barn were she will be kept" I decided to try and go over to there house and she if I can start to make a bond with her.She threw her head up and tried to kick and rear at me.I can't ride a horse that hates me that much.Any suggestions on things I could do to earn her trust and make her like me more?
Thanks
Selma

[.Rissa.]

Wow, rearing and kicking are serious behaviors that are very dangerous and need to be stopped. Were you just trying to catch her when this happened? Or were you in a round pen trying to do Join-Up?

Does she currently have a suckling baby with her? Or has the baby been weaned, sold?

[Onzyy]

Some mares do act up after having a foal, but maybe this mare is feeling neglected? You say she was a show horse, and from what I know, horses that are competing actively do get a lot of attention because of the whole process that comes with it. Try Join Up with her, and take time to earn her trust.

[selma]

I was trying to gain her trust.I thought she trusted me enough to be able to put a halter on her.It was in the field, because they don't have a round pen.

Her baby should have been weaned, but wasn't the baby is from 4-6 years old now.Never been ridden, barely ever haltered (unless for the farrier).They are normally left alone in the field.

What is join up?I have never heard of it.

[.Rissa.]

Oh wow, the baby is that old? How old is the mare? Sometimes, it's unfair to restart a horse too late in life after she has been given another job, or not expected to do anything for a dormant amount of time. She would be very hard to retrain.

Join-Up is best to do in a round pen, or pretty small corral (up to sixty-five feet in diameter) and you gain trust of the horse by proving you are a reliable, and responsible leader by making the horse move where you tell it too, how fast, etc. There are lots of helpful articles on the internet. If you wish, I can go in all detail on how I do it with my horses.

In horse language, the main concept is, the one who moves the other's feet is in charge. Example, You halter your horse, and they push into you with their nose/shoulder, and you move. Or, you anticipate they will run into you, so you move anyway. So the horse thinks he is in charge. However, if you halter the horse, and if the horse gets too close, you can throw your arms up, or elbows like a chicken, and make him move.Then, you are starting to become more dominant.

I would be very careful, as, she sounds like she hasn't been worked with in a while, and she might still be protective of the baby. Can anyone catch her safely? Like your Aunt? And then you can start to work with her on a halter like lunging her? If anything, expending energy should settle her down enough to work with her.

My main concern is that you, the horse, and everyone else stays safe.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Gaining the trust of a horse is the most wonderful feelings in the world. As Onzy suggested, it sounds like she feels rejected and neglected. And as bother her and Rissa suggested, Join-up would be wonderful to do. However, not so easy without a round yard.

When I first got my horse, Cedar (he's one of Ana's horses), he hated being caught. He was a trekking horse before I found him, so in his mind being caught meant heaps of hard work with riders that were going to pull on his mouth, so catching him was a nightmare.

At first, I tried to trick him into being caught. Then one day I just started trailing him around the paddock - which he hated - and it didn't take me too long to realise that even though I didn't have him on a lead, he was still going where I wanted him to go. If he turned around, I'd turn him back, things were done how I wanted it. At first this takes a while, but sooner or later the horse works out that being with you is better then being away from you (the whole concept of Join-up) as when with you, they can stop working, but while they are away from you, they have to work.

[selma]

The mare is probably 6-8 years old.My aunt can catch her safely.

I think I will try join up, but I will use my corral and I think I would like to for the first time try it on my own horse (he trusts me already, but so what).And I think I will just spend time in the corral.Like pet her and gain some trust that way before bringing her over to home and doing join up.

[selma]

The horse in the front is the horse I need to work with and the horse in the back is her filly.

[Ω-Admin-Cara-Ω]

Thanks for the photo. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and this is even more so with horses. A horse's face will tell you everything you need to know about a horse.

Here is what her face is telling me; she has the ability to learn easily and quickly - which also means she'll learn bad habits as quickly as she will learn good ones, she's sensitive, a little inconsistent and has a stubborn streak as long as the Nile. Getting into fights with with her will only make her more resistant. <--- Is from analyzing her using the Linda TellingtonJones book I have, now here's the thoughts that come naturally from the photo; she's not a complex horse and would love to get close to someone, it just needs to be done on her terms - I don't mean let her walk all over you, but don't pressure her into doing anything she doesn't want to do. She needs to know that it's safe to let you into her personal bubble. She has a very sweet face, which tells me she's not being nasty just to be spiteful.

[selma]

Wow!You can tell that much by looking at her picture!