I need a confidence boost fast!

P

Paige

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Apr 17, 2017
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So a few days ago I bought a 3 year old pony and I've been having problems with her. One being that the keeps on rearing all the time on the lead and is becoming quite dangerous with it, today she ended up hitting me and it's put a real dent in my confidence. What can I do to stop her from doing this? Or is there anyone that has experienced anything like this?
I would say prior to this I have been very very confident but now it's put a massive dent in my confidence and I'm worried now when I handle her!
 
Horses have to be taught to be led. And taught to comply with humans leading them. This is often done when they are very young with their mother - I have seen it done by a trainer. Young horses are then often turned away in a herd so they spend their second /third year learning to respect the status of their elders in the herd.
A horse that has been kept on its own or been mostly with people may not have had this early conditioning in a herd. And then may be more difficult for a human to train to comply. With a three year old it probably has more to do with the history of the young horse until now than it does with your confidence. But if you are unable to teach this horse ground manners or lead it safely, you really need professional help. Learning to lead nicely is one of the first lessons a young horse is taught and must learn. Because if you cant lead it safely, you cant start other ground work.
 
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It's hard to answer this without ou giving us any details. It sounds to me like you need to do a great deal of groundwork but would be helpful if you gave everyone a little background - What's your background with horses, how experienced you are, have you owned before, where you keep the horse, is it alone? In a herd? What's the horse's background? I know it's only 3 but good past? bad? What's it done up until now, what's it like in general etc
 
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Horses generally rear, though fear and uncertainty, it the horse who needs a confidence boost and that has to come from a laid back confident handler, if you don;t have the confidence to work with a frightened youngster hand it to someone who does before the horse is completely confused. Sorry if that sounds a bit harsh.
 
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It doesn't sound harsh because it was right. You have to know when a horse is too much for you to deal with alone and either get the help you need, quickly before the horse gets worse or pass it to someone with enough experience to deal with. A nervous person with a horse that's frightened or has issues can be very dangerous. You have to know when you're not experienced enough and get help. That's what I did and I'm a million times more confident now. If I didn't have the help I'd have had to sell my pony though, he was too much for me alone.
 
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