rug help

[xxdebbie_ukxx]

i just got a new rug for my 8 month old filly and shes scared off it if i take it anywhere near her she runs i put her in her stable to try and she run at the back and got very scared ive tryed to just leave it on the field fence and she come over to it sniffed it and run away help its gettin cold and she needs it.

[RodeoDreamer33]

Do you lunge or do any ground work? Because that would really help if you did some ground work with her holding the blanket so she would respect you enough to let you put it on her and trust you. Do you have a roundpen available because I have a GREAT idea if you do!
Write Back so I can help!!!

P.S.help its gettin cold and she needs it. Rugs and blankets help, but don't worry its the extra food and hay that will keep her warm not the blanket. A mare I knew was being abandoned by her owner at a rough board barn and there was not much anyone could do. She survived our winter (it got to 20 degrees below) without anything on her and she didn't even have a heavy winter coat, but the other boarders switched off making sure she had plenty of hay! Hope that makes you feel better! Just don't rush it!

[Esther.D]

She will get used to it, don't worry. Just introduce it to her very slowly - after all, as has been said, with plenty of hay inside her she is not going to get any colder over the next couple of days. Just keep with the introducing it slowly and calmly, sometimes it is easiest to start touching her with a small piece of cloth (eg folded towel or something), when she accepts that touching her move up to touching her with your coat folded, then unfolded and then laid over her back, then gradually moved on from there until you intoduce the rug folded touching her and then gradually over her back - all this should just take a couple of days if you are quiet and patient with her. :)

[artemis]

I use the same method as Esther.

I wouldn't take the advice of the person who suggested lunging! :eek: .Could do a lot of damage there to young bones.

[xxdebbie_ukxx]

thanks for the advice i have done it now i did it slow and rolled the rug up first this is the second day and she was realy good :)

[Bay Mare]

That's really good, well done (to you and her :) ).

I agree with Artemis .... DO NOT under any circumstances lunge her, she's FAR too young and you could do untold damage both physically and psychologically :eek: :eek: :eek:

[RodeoDreamer33]

Whoa! You guys really freak out about lunging. I'm sorry I ever answered this thread if I was gunna get all you guys getting all mad at me about my post. It's my own opinion and we lunge are horses all the time!!! We also have a barn chiroparactor and our horses muscles are fine, and they're not sore at all. We've just always lunged and I thought it was fine considering none of my horses are hurt or sore. Jeeze! Maybe I shouldnt post replys.

How do you guys get your respect on the ground with round penning or lungeing???

[entreat]

Ground work is a great idea! (I think the lunging idea was taken out of context). A round yard provides a smaller space to work in, but enough room for the filly to run away from the horse eating rug.

As Esther said - slowly is the way to do it.

Is there another horse available that you can rug infrount of the filly? Maybe turn the rugged horse out with the filly in the round yard?

[Bay Mare]

Whoa! You guys really freak out about lunging. I'm sorry I ever answered this thread if I was gunna get all you guys getting all mad at me about my post.

Who ever said that we were mad at you? Nobody said that, nobody called you.

What we were talking about was lunging an 8 month old foal. I have never come across anyone that has lunged a horse so young, they just aren't 'grown' enough to be lunged because it puts too much strain on their legs. Also they aren't being worked yet so it could be quite traumatic for them.

Groundwork is a great idea. I can't remember which book it was but it was talking about people who send foals away until they're 3/4 and said something to the effect of:

Think about human babies. Do we put them in a room and forget about them apart from feeding them until they're ready to go to school? No, we play with them, we show them shapes and letters, we educate them through play. Why then should it be any different with a foal?

They weren't talking about backing or actually working a horse of this age but getting them used to being handled, accepting a headcollar, leading etc.

[entreat]

But you wouldn't send a foal away without horse company? Without a herd, I can see the analogy, but if you turnout into a herd, then the foal learns lots about horsie behaviour.

Foals handled too much, without lots of herd time, are very difficult to work with because sometimes they haven't had a chance to develop horse-language. So when the trainer tries to use his/her techniques (that have worked on evry other horse) it can fail because the foal isnt speaking the same dialect.

ps: respect from the ground comes from ground work. I don't think lunging promotes any inhand respect in any aged horse.