Thanks for the message and your concern. I welcome any advise and wont give up. Today I went out and had carrots in my hands for him and the cows. I got to the cows first so gave Chapelle a carrot and Teddy came up behind me. I knew he was there and turned around gently with a carrot out for him and he literally was shaking in the front legs for a moment. I am not sure if it was a fear response or flight but I just stood there and he didn't run, he just hung around and was a perfect guy after that, like there was no threat at all. I had my hands all over his face and not a problem and then he followed me back to the house. Even when I went over to give Mercedes a carrot he was not pushy or anything but I did feel a dominant air about him. Fickle bloody horse he is!
The only other person I have seen try to catch him was Sam when I first got him and he was stand offish with her too. Not to the extent he is now but he wasn't to this extend for me then either. I do agree that this is probably a dominance thing as I cant see how it could be a fear thing. The only other thing I this is it is from that bridle I brought and used twice. That is the only connection I can make as it happened directly after the first time I used it on him and he was behaving strangely that day as I was riding him - actually both times I used it. My first thought was to have his teeth checked then I realised that when Pol did the assessment on him about two week prior he was completely fine. I used his regular bridle then and always in the past without a problem but when I bought the saddle I realised I had left my bridles in Sam's float so I just brought a $60 one there and used it on him twice (I was too impatient wanting to ride!).
I will spend a couple of weeks to see if i can get him past it before attempting to put his old bridle back on. If he acts strange with that then I know its something else. I know he is a punk and he has attitude, which really isn't that bad, and even after rearing up a few times on me yesterday i then cleaned and oiled his hooves and he was fine. It's just around his face he acts a shit. Otherwise he is doing great with peralli and has been good with me on him. Better than I even expected. But what is with the leg shakes? I wish I knew. It's got be baffled. He's getting fat too with all this spring grass too and I've got heaps of it so I want to be able to exercise him. Ahh well! what's a girl to do?
Maybe it's both - dominance and fear. Most school-yard bullies are really quite unconfident. Being mean or pushy covers up the lack of confidence. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteExcellent point! Thanks Lisa, I hadn't looked at it that way. It is a very interesting perspective. do have any suggestions on how to tackle it?
ReplyDeleteA horse that lacks confidence needs firm, fair, consistent leadership. You need to calmly define your boundaries and expect him to be an equine good citizen. When you ask him to do something, be strong in your focus but soft in your approach (we are going to do "X" but I'll take all the time you need to figure it out). He needs to trust that you have his best interests (as a HORSE, not just a companion, pet or partner) at heart.
ReplyDeleteWhen he acts punky or rude, don't get angry or think he's out to get you. Horses cannot separate the way they feel from the way they act. Just find a way to offer him the leadership he needs to be confident in you.
It's not easy and it's going to be frustrating at times. But when you start to crack through, he'll love you all the more because you're going to be the one who causes him to feel safe and successful.
Your best track is to really control your emotions around him. Calm, cool and collected. He needs to see you as the Rock of Gibraltar.
Make sense?
It really does. I have this as my intent but clearly need to be better and more consistant at it. Thanks so much Lisa, you dont realise just how important this is to me and Teddy. I'm so glad you are taking the time to offer suggestions and sharing your experiences and wisdom. I cant say just how much I appreciate it.
ReplyDeleteThe whole journey is about "being better and more consistent." Just take it one day at a time. Before you know it, you'll be looking back AMAZED at how far you have come.
ReplyDelete