Scared little pony ! Help please

K

Kathleen

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Apr 23, 2017
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Hi , I'm being very cheeky just signed up and already post questions, I've been looking at a few different forums and you people seem the kindest and more moderate - so please help .
We have a lovely little 8 yr old pony , we have had her 4 yrs , she's a pet we don't ride her really , she was a nervous little pony when we got her from a stables , her first owner had been abusive to her .
She took a time to settle to us but always loved our children so much and has been a absolute pleasure to have , never bold never rough , a real gem of a pony . She would gallop to them for a rub like a scene from black beauty .

Until this morning ..
my 8 yr old was hugging her , not unusual, usually started by the pony , I called my daughter mid hug and told her lead the pony up ( I was moving her fence ) as my daughter moved her head back and took her collar , tinkerbelle ( kids picked the name ) bite at her face and then reared up and tried to stomp on my now flattened daughter - I shouted and our dogs barked from their yard and it seemed to make her turn and run .
I ran to my daughter and picked her up ( no injuries) who was heartbroken that her pony had done this .
We went back to the pony 10 mins later I didn't want this to forever ruin the pony for her and also I couldn't understand what had out of the blue happened .
Long story short we found a 2 inch screw lodged in her shoulder under her skin - she must have scratched it on the fencing last night ( it was her first night back out ) .
I'm assuming my daughter hurt her during the hug .
As gently as possible we removed the screw and have disinfectant her cut . But it did really hurt her .
Our problem now is she is terrified of both me , my husband , and my daughter. Is flaring her nostrils and bucking running away with her tail high , Won't let us touch her .
I'm wondering what would be the best way for us to deal with her now , I had thought tomorrow to do a small bit of lunge work with her in a gentle calm tone , I'm very worried I'll do something that will ruin her relationship with people .
On another note Up until this I've always used positive reinforcement with her and never been dominant towards her , I would not like to start having to be forceful with her )
If anyone has any ideas I'd really appreciate them thanks
 
Hi welcome to NR :D

Poor pony and daughter, a screw in tinkerbelles shoulder must have been very sore, glad you were able to take care of it. I think I'd leave any 'work' for now as its likely still painful, I'd just be her friend, give her a good groom (well clear of the injury) and happy fusses, unfortunately you are still going to have to bathe her wound for a few days so she may see you as the devil for a little while but they are resilient and forgiving and I'm sure she'll be your friend again soon :)
 
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I agree with Jessey. Don't try to work her until she is healed and comfortable again, she is obviously a sensitive little soul and you want to avoid any more bad reactions. What does she like best? Scratches, ear rubs, carrots? Offer those.

If she won't come to you, do you have an area without any grass? If you can herd her into it, she will soon be coming to you for a bucket, hay or hand picked grass, and you can start again.

As Jessey says she will forgive you, it will just take a little while because of her past.

Your daughter must have been frightened, I know she wasn't hurt but is she all right? How sweet of you and her to be more concerned about the pony.
 
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I don;t think she is afraid of YOU. I think she is anticipating pain and is therefore just avoiding you as she is afraid of PAIN. When it stops hurting she will feel less in need to protect herself. I am sure you will be fine. Welcome to the forum!
 
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Oh thank you so much Jessie jake and ziggy , I think restricted her to a smaller area with a bucket is a great idea , she tearing away from us now it's a real fight or flight scenario , my daughter is ok , a little nervous and although she understands what happened I think she's a bit gutted that the pony hurt her , there's a huge love
 
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It may help if you explain that her pony was not trying to hurt her but was but defending herself in the only way ponies can. They can't say 'ouch gerrof!'

But it is a real shock when things like this happen. Hope it all settles down soon.
 
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I'm another who wouldn't do any work until she's healed, and if she's that worried I'd not handle her from that side either for a few days. Is she up to date with her tetanus jab? If it shows signs of being infected then you might be better getting a vet to deal with it since they could give her sedation & a local anaesthetic so it's a less stressful procedure for her.

One thing did cross my mind when you said you couldn't get near her afterwards, and that's had she shaken up all of you with her reaction & your body language was inadvertently showing that and worrying her?
 
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Horses soon get over things like that Don;t worry, and don;t try to force it. Just carry on going out and not putting pressure on her to come to you yet. Have you got another pony for her to follow and watch? Horses learn a lot from observing other horses, If you have an older laid back horse that often helps a nervy one
Don;t worry, she will come at. Friend has a very nevrvous abused mare, She was just winning her over when she had a lesson and the instructor got on and as vile to her and set her back. OK we were set back several months, but carrying on as we had before, she soon came back to being kind and trusting again.
 
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Kp yeah she understands it wasn't horses fault , and she will hopefully quickly get over the nerves .
Jane & ziggy I was far from sweet when it happened, there was plenty internal cursing , I just couldn't do it in front of the kids .
Carthouse my husband was very uncomfortable now that you mention it , the pony was always more nervous of men so he really didn't want to frighten her more , that probably didn't help either
 
thanks everyone for all the advise - really appreciate it - I really don't have any knowledge of ponies - its dogs are my thing so I'm always very aware they are very different species , so I find myself doubting myself and overthinking her care
 
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Horses are straightforward creatures in my experience but less eager to please us than dogs are. We are part of a dog's family (I have a pack of 4) but only a small part of a horse's life. My horses like peace and quiet, grass, and their friends, which includes me when I am there but they are fine if I'm not!
 
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oh poor you :( what a lovely family your pony has.

Ive been in this situation many times with ponies - recently a mare of mine who lost her foal. To prevent infection she had to be injected every day and she HATES needles. I was doing it myself and we ended up having to jam her in behind gates. She now wont catch and wont come near me :( she is well in herself but having been here before I know she will come round with time, calmness and patience. Small bucket feeds, no pressure, gentle scratches. Just give her time and she will get over it.
 
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