Advice needed- VERY scared pony.

[HairyCob]

Don't panic folks, I'm not talking about Prince! As far as I can tell he isn't scared of ANYTHING!

However, having Prince Bombproof around the yard has really highlighted the difficulties my YO's 6yo polo pony is having.

When he arrived at the yard a couple of months ago, we put his 'nervousness' down to new surroundings/people/horses etc, but he isn't improving, if anything he's getting worse.

He is TERRIFIED of people on the ground- it takes forever to catch him, he has no idea about being fussed or 'loved', and will literrally shake if you try to show him affection.

My YO has spoken to some of the members of the polo club who assure him this is 'normal' for polo ponies who were trained in the country he came from (Just been on a diversity and cultural awareness training day, don't want to name names!!) and that it could take up to two years for this pony to start to trust people because of the *probable* appalling way in which he was trained.

He is just plain scared- will run away from humans at any opportunity, and when you do finally manage to catch him he is literally cowering away from any contact.

He doesn't 'attack', although he will just show you the underside of his back feet at times, but once you've caught him he is completely subservient.

I really feel sorry for the little guy, he gives his absolute all when ridden and is a complete dream to ride apparantly, both in polo terms and in day to day hacking terms.

So... any suggestions as to how we can speed his recovery, or make things less traumatic for him? All suggestions gratefully recieved!

N.B. Can I just make it clear that this pony has in NO WAY been abused with his current, or previous owners in this country, we believe the 'damage' was done whilst he was being trained in his 'home' country.

Also, I really don't want to start a debate about training methods, or anything, I know he's been treated badly, as do his owners- what we are interested in is how we can make his experience of humans more pleasant and less scary!

[casey]

What about clicker training? Positive rewardment for little things, like being groomed/touched etc. He will soon learn to enjoy life.:)

[Mehitabel]

poor chap. is there anything he likes? has he gort an itchy spot, is he comfortable being groomed or massaged?

[Pink's lady]

Is he food orientated? Like Casey, I would suggest clicker training, but if he's not interested in food, there's no point. Poor little horse:(

[HairyCob]

Sadly not overly interested in food... he will *just* stretch his nose over the stable door to snatch a carrot from my hand, but won't come back for a second bit.

He stands like a statue when being groomed, doesn't relax at all, and doesn't appear to enjoy it- it's almost like he's waiting to be hurt. he only seems to really relax when turned out. Doesn't even socialise with the other horses, he's a real loner- very strange pony!

[KarinUS]

How is he with other horses? I know your goal is people training but if he could get paired up with a confident horse buddy maybe it would help him feel a bit more confident too?
Does he have to be ridden right now? It obviously requires him being caught and it might be nice for him to interact with people on his own terms. In other words sit with him in the pasture and let him approach rather than chase after him, even if it means that for a couple of weeks he won't be doing much...?

[KarinUS]

Ooops sorry. I guess you just answered that horse buddy question...
I would just try to sit with him. We did that with Minose and it seemed to help her get used to people (kind of a no pressure approach). The volunteers at the PMU place do the same with the new arrivals.
Of course our PMUs are much different in that they haven't had any bad experiences at all- they just haven't had any experiences period.

Good luck with the poor little pony!

[Mehitabel]

if i were handling him, if i had time i'd do as karin says and take a book into the stable, just sit and read it, with carrots scattered round me.

if not, i'd try a gentle massaging thing - go to the withers and crest with something nice and scratchy - a unigroom or plastic curry comb, and see if i coudl get him to relax a bit and find it a bit more positive being touched.
i'd let him see life, and especially make an effort to buddy him with a pony who loved people. we did this with a youngster who'd had a thump or two and not much other experince of people - paired him with our homebred 2 year old who is all over you like a rash, and in about a month the nervy one was friendly too. we never pushed him, just cuddled the other one, itched his itchy bits, fed him, cuddled him, and soon the nervy one wanted in on the action too.

it will come in time, with careful and sympathetic handling.

[HairyCob]

He's not doing much in the way of ridden work at the moment, just enough to keep him 'ticking over' for the winter, and has had a full month break from being ridden at all when he first arrived.

Unfortunately he does have to be caught at least once a day- either that or he is permanently stabled, or permanently out. He gets very bored in the stable, and can't live out 24/7 as he feels the cold, even in a heavy weight rug and is very 'fine' so can't cope with mud!

I'm trying to spend time in the field or stable with him every day without asking him for anything- just 'being' with him, and have been doing so for the last fortnight- so far there has been absolutely no improvement at all!

I just feel so sorry for the little guy- you can almost see that he has the potential to be a real 'people pony' but is too scared.

I'm hoping that having Prince Charming around is going to help- he is a total people pony and I have noticed the little guy watching us intently as we groom each other and share a carrot or two!

[galadriel]

Well...

We had rescue dogs like this. Paralyzed by interaction with people, not interested in other dogs, would stand stock still if handled but clearly didn't like it.

It helped a lot to have them inside the house, of course. But some of them picked spots in the house to hide, and we only even SAW them a couple of times a day when we insisted that they go outside to potty.

A lot of our methods included NOT forcing human attention on the dogs before they were ready. We did what we had to of course, like taking them outside, feeding them, etc. But we otherwise left them alone EXCEPT for random pleasant interactions--usually tossing them a treat and leaving again. Or walking by, look straight at the dog, make happy noises of one kind or another, and walk on. This gave them a chance to get used to positive interactions with us, without the fear involved in being forcibly handled. And we made sure that WE always obviously ended the interaction; the dog never had a chance or inclination to turn and run away from us. So he gets in the habit of expecting good things from us, and NOT trying to get away.

We had some dogs that showed major improvement after two weeks, some after a month, some took two months. The main thing was to alter the dog's habits so that he did NOT brace to run away when people approached. Being the one to end interactions (by making them so fast that you're gone before he's braced to get away) has so much influence on his attitude.

[Black_Topaz]

Perhaps look into reading " The Body Language of Horses: revealing the nature of equine needs, wishes, and emotions, and how horses communicate them : for owners, breeders, trainers, riders, and all other horse lovers, including handicappers " by Tom Ainslie and Bonnie Ledbetter. I know there is a section in this book about how to help a frightened horse, the knowlege in the book is sound and useful for other situations as well. I would explain, but I am sure I would leave something out, anyways, check it out if you can, it helped me understand horses better any maybe it can help the pony. :)

(Just a note on the book, the entire thing will not apply but I know there is a section with a step-by-step approach to helping a horse that is as frightened of people as yours is. The rest of the book is a little basic, but it's old (1980's) and people thought about horses differently back then :) )

[hackedoff]

HC bless you for taking so much care over this pone. When Wizard came to me he was very similar and can still be a b***er to catch, he doesnt trust anyone, and is not bothered about food. The 'statue' pose when being groomed is also something that breaks my heart :( but slowly slowly he is coming round... he does a couple of rides, a lunge and a de-flight session a week and the rest of the time he is out in the big field with the herd. He has just started (6 months+ on!) to groom you back a bit and doesnt jump in the air when you pat his bum any more. Like you, I always felt he was waiting to be abused in some way....... it might just be a case of time patience and consistency.
Good luck with him x

[becs]

I think a bit factor here is time. It's taken nearly a year for our aged rescue pony to be totally relaxed and confident. With consistent (ish) routines and calm gentle fuss, he's gone from cringing and avoiding us, to cheeky bunting for polos and acceptance of ear-rubbing etc.

[horsecrazychick]

Here's a few ideas:

Maybe try looking up TTouch on the internet and trying it out? I've never tried it myself, but I've heard that it works wonders so maybe it would be worth a shot atleast.

Try finding a small pony that is submissive and calm and see if they get along. Maybe even like a goat. If he had a companion that he trusted, it could build his confidence and have a calming effect on him when he sees that the pony trusts people.

What does he do when you are leading him then you turn him loose(in a pasture)? Does he stand around or take off? You could try turning him loose in a round pen or an arena and VERY gradually try to get closer to him. Just act normal, don't sneak up. If he seems to relax even in a little for a moment, walk away to release the pressure.
No idea if those would work, but good luck!

[HairyCob]

Thanks for all the tips folks, we will be considering/looking into all suggestions!

I'm beginning to think it may just be a matter of giving him time... had a minor breakthrough yesterday when he eagerly looked for his carrot! He also stood with his head over his stable door and allowed me to scratch his mane for him- previously he'd have snatched the carrot and retreated to the back of the stable to eat it!

Progress!:D