Dreamer update

I called my dad today to see how Dreamer was doing. He told me he didn't know why but Dreamer is worse then when she came. She is ALWAYS spooking and he can't even take her out for walks anymore because she darts all around and will get away. So he was talking with his friend and they decided it's because of the chickens and other poultry are scaring her. We can't just get rid of our poultry, but it would be awful to sell her. I can't just give up on her now. We will finish the fencing this weekend if my brother comes so she will be outside most the time. Anyone have anymore suggestions??

Do you have a lead rope with a chain on it? I would suggest getting one if you dont have. Put the chain over OR under their nose when you lead them, if they act up, just jerk a little bit. If Dreamer gets mad about this, just keep doing it, she'll get over it. If you dont have a lunge line, get one, asap. Lunge her a lot. Dont make her lope all the time, just walk/ trot/ lope whatever you want, teach her some disipline. I don't know if you've read this in books or not, but when a horse gets trustworthy of you, and is calm, when you are lunging them, they will lick there lips. I never believed this, but if you watch, they do. Sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes it takes 3 min. but they will. I suggest maybe sending her to a trainer or having someone come out, just to straighten her up a bit. If I lived closer, I'd be glad too. ;) :p If you have any questions about anything to do with your horse or whatever, feel free to pm me! :)

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Originally Posted by Toby's my baby

Do you have a lead rope with a chain on it? I would suggest getting one if you dont have. Put the chain over OR under their nose when you lead them, if they act up, just jerk a little bit. If Dreamer gets mad about this, just keep doing it, she'll get over it. If you dont have a lunge line, get one, asap. Lunge her a lot. Dont make her lope all the time, just walk/ trot/ lope whatever you want, teach her some disipline. I don't know if you've read this in books or not, but when a horse gets trustworthy of you, and is calm, when you are lunging them, they will lick there lips. I never believed this, but if you watch, they do. Sometimes it takes an hour, sometimes it takes 3 min. but they will. I suggest maybe sending her to a trainer or having someone come out, just to straighten her up a bit. If I lived closer, I'd be glad too. ;) :p If you have any questions about anything to do with your horse or whatever, feel free to pm me! :)

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I would think training her right now would only make things worse? She does not trust people at all. And lunging would be nearly impossible. Having a trainer right now would only stress her... that's what I've been told. She acts this way out of fear, as we are guessing she was abused in her previous homes.

I will definatly do this when she begins to trust us. Thanks. :)

Sometimes, the best way to beat these fears is to kind of solve it backwards to start with. First, figure out exactly what she does when she sees poultry, like side-step, stop, half rear etc so you know what to expect. Then, just lead her around the school or field by yourself with nobody or anything else there apart from you and her. Practice getting her to halt, walk and trot quietly and obediently with you, and only settle for perfection otherwise the later steps may not work, so it may take a couple of sessions with her. Praise her loads when she does it right.

Next, put an object, such as a bike or chair, in the school/field that she has never seen before. She will be nervous at first, but pretend that you haven't even realised that the object is there. Just practice everything you did before, and she will eventually calm down. Once she's settled with this object, try another the next day, not on the same day as you might overload her and make her stressed. You will notice that each day it takes her less time to fret about the object, and soon she'll hopefully only glance at it and move on.

Once you're satisfied with that, you might want to try having an object that moves or makes sound. You could use a radio, or if not another smaller animal or a person. Hopefully she'll be much more confident now so this might not make much difference, but some horses can freak at sound and movement so it's best to try anyway.

Then she should be ready for the big one. Very gently and calmly, lead her through just a few poultry. Once she's done it, make a huge fuss of her and maybe even give her a treat. Tell her she's a good girl, horses respond a lot to vocal sounds and then she'll know that she's doing good. You could then try leading her back through the poultry, even making her stop in the midst of them, but don't overdo it too much in one day.

Hopefully she'll then be ready to walk through any number of poultry and anything else scary with confidence. Remember PPR for this kind of thing: Patience, Praise, Result.

Edit- just thought of another method if the above is too time consuming:rolleyes:

I'm guessing that Dreamer is young and unbroken? From your siggie, she looks quite young. Young horses are nervous and spook a lot more than adult horses. This is because horses are naturally herd animals, and young horses are very used to a mothering figure in their lives. Young horses can find it very difficult to adapt to being the only horse around, and therefore are very wary of their surroundings, as there is no other horse to keep guard in case a 'predator' comes. Young domesticated horses have no real picture of this 'predator' inside their minds, but instinct tells them that it's something that moves or makes noise suddenly, so they must get away fast! In time, a horse will learn that these things to don't hurt them, but it can take a while for that to happen naturally.

I would try taking her for walks with your donkey. She will recognise him as a 'horse' figure and will therefore be a little more calm. When you walk through the poultry, Dreamer will realise that they are not bothering Jack, and will learn that chickens are not to be feared. I still think that the first method would be a better way to tutor her, but it is time consuming and if you don't have that time then this is a second option:)

It wont make her worse it will make her better. She will be having lots of contact with you in training. Doing training dosent make them fearful of you it teaches them that your boss. Like taking a puppy the obedience class.

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Originally Posted by buttercup132

It wont make her worse it will make her better. She will be having lots of contact with you in training. Doing training dosent make them fearful of you it teaches them that your boss. Like taking a puppy the obedience class.

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I know what you mean, but I have to gain trust first, before I start any training with a trainer.

Miss Z... Thanks SO much for the info. Yes, Dreamer is unbroken and she is 2yrs old. We can't walk her with Jack yet because she is acctually worse when he's around for some reason. They don't get along and buck at each other, but I think that's just a matter of time. I will show my dad and I will tell you what we plan to do. Thanks again everyone!

Heres an idea, What if you lock her in her stall & leave a TV on? about 5-10 feet infront of her stall.

I remember watching the discovery channel & farmers were installing tvs for their horses & cows to watch & listen to. I would put it on a calm channel like the weather network.

I did this for Axle my snapping turtle, as everyone knows they can be VERY agressive when scared. So with all the TV & radio I played hes NOT scared of any noise & has never tried to hurt me. I can even give him a nose to nose kiss & touch his face & anything else.

You guys are expecting way too much out of a young green baby who has probably hardly ever been handled in her lifetime. You have to start small and work your way up. A lead shank with a chain will NOT solve this. Working with her and training her will not make her worse, it's the only thing that will help. Actually Miss Z is spot on with what will help. She needs to be worked with daily, if not by you then by your dad. She doesn't know what is going on, she has to learn what things are and that they won't hurt her. You need to maybe read Parelli Natural Horsemanship, you can get it from the library and even rent it on DVD/VHS. It will help you learn how to get your horse to trust you and give you "games" to play with her that will help train her and have her trust you so that anything you ask of her later she is willing to accept. Horses don't come knowing everything, just like puppies, they have to learn. Up until now she is learning worse an worse behavior by getting away with acting how she wants to be left alone. Really really look into the Parelli stuff and if that doesn't work there are others, John Lyons, Clinton Anderson, etc. You can read about their techniques and learn how to use them, or your dad can. You can hire a professional trainer but you will do better to learn how to apply it yourself.

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Originally Posted by Vela

You guys are expecting way too much out of a young green baby who has probably hardly ever been handled in her lifetime. You have to start small and work your way up. A lead shank with a chain will NOT solve this. Working with her and training her will not make her worse, it's the only thing that will help. She doesn't know what is going on, she has to learn what things are and that they won't hurt her. Horses don't come knowing everything, just like puppies, they have to learn. Up until now she is learning worse an worse behavior by getting away with acting how she wants to be left alone.

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Exactly what I was getting at Vela, thanks:)

Maybe Jack and Dreamer just got started off on the wrong foot (or hoof, in their case:p ). Perhaps when Dreamer calms down Jack will accept her and then Dreamer will build some confidence on him. I wish you all the best with Dreamer and hope everything works out. Glad to be of help:)

Thank you sooo much!! I will tell my dad. It's true, if Dreamer won't cooperate, my dad will leave her alone. I will print off this page.

king2005... She lives at my house. If you look in my bio, every single one of those animals lives in the same barn. So if I put a tv in there, it would be covered in bird poop and smashed by the goats.

Aww, Good Luck Danielle! I dont have any advice, but good Luck with Dreamer, she is gorgeous! :)

Thanks Briana. I'm at my dad's house right now. Dreamer ate oats out of my hand 3 times today. I took Jack out of the barn to take a walk and be groomed and Dreamer started neighing... she might acctually like Jack a little. Maybe she's just playing hard-to-get? ;) We decided to get my dad's friend to build one of those outside horse shed things for Jack and Dreamer so she doesn't have to be with the chickens. I'm afraid they will get too cold in the winter, though. We will figure something out for the winter, it's quite a ways away. Maybe she will be better when she's away from the poultry. We are building the fence tomorrow, then we have to get the acorns out of the pasture and they can be outside. :)

what a bummer Danielle. :( i hope you can get all her tiffs worked out.

Horses do fine outside as long as they have a lean to shed. You have to remember that wild horses survive in much harsher conditions and as long as you provide some extra hay and grain in the winter, and a windbreak, such as lean to, they will do fine outside. They will grow longer furry haircoats and it really shouldn't be a problem to keep them outside even in the winter and you can bring them in if the weathr gets really extra bad.

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Originally Posted by Vela

Horses do fine outside as long as they have a lean to shed. You have to remember that wild horses survive in much harsher conditions and as long as you provide some extra hay and grain in the winter, and a windbreak, such as lean to, they will do fine outside. They will grow longer furry haircoats and it really shouldn't be a problem to keep them outside even in the winter and you can bring them in if the weathr gets really extra bad.

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Is that the same with donkeys too? Yeah, that horse shed thing I said we are getting is a lean to. hehe I forgot the name.

Anyone know how much grain I should be feeding her daily right now? We feed her oats and corn mixed. I give her a little less then half a bucket (normal horse feeding bucket) of grain a day. Jack gets a couple hand fulls as a treat.

Thanks again!