new addition- help and pics

[king2005]

I'm not a horse pro, but I think it has to be 12-14 hands high to be a horse & well she is nowhere near that big, so shes a pony

Chances are she was abused or neglected in her 2 yrs. So in her eyes humans = pain.. Instead of petting her, why not just walk her on a long lead, so she can be away from you, but slowly get to know you. I wouldn't talk to her yet, as your voice might make her think your going to yell & then hit her. Once shes comfy with you walking her at the end of her lead, make the lead a foot shorter & so on.

Mu old friend bought an abused horse & it took us a month to be able to get on him. & then a nother few months to get him to stop bucking & running wild in fear.. We always had a lead on him & 1 person would hold it tight & the other would work with him.

I think you might want to become her friend before brushing her, as getting a kick or 2 is quite painful & ugly!

[chrissycat21]

She is beautiful!

A pony is anything 14.2 hh and under.

Next time you groom her, do not tie her up! Hold her lead rope with one hand and groom with the other. When a horse is tied up and is frightened, they can't get away and they start to panic even more. She could injure herself or you while trying to get away.

Is she kept in a pasture or a stall? What are you planning on doing with her in the future? Is she going to be trained for you to ride or just more of a pet?

She does sound like she wasn't treated right at her old home. Just give her lots of love and carrots! Make sure that you are out there with her not just when its time to groom, etc. Go out and just sit with her, but let her come to you. Get her used to seeing you around and let her always make the first move. The one thing you don't want to do is start to build up trust and than try to rush things and all that trust is gone.

Once she trusts you, you can start to get her used to objects that she was afraid of. Let her come and sniff and touch the object with her nose. I would do that in her pasture so that she can come and see whatever it is when she wants to. If you are going to ride her someday, let her see and touch the saddle, bridle, saddle pad, etc. so she becomes familiar with it.

[jackie]

What a beauty! I am jealous!!!!

[dab_20]

Thanks for the replies. When she is on a lead rope, it's weird because she tries to get as close to you as she can. So much that she almost pushes you over. And when she's off the lead rope she gets as far away as she can. (unless you have food ) She stays in a stall with Jack. (my donkey) And all the other animals can go in the stall. We just gated off half the barn for them. She might become a riding pony, only for me because my dad is too big. But only if she really trusts us, maybe in a year or two.

I only go see her twice a month during the school year because I don't live with my dad. He will spend as much time with her as he can. My dad holds the lead rope and brushes her just so she'll get used to it. We only do her body now, because it will probably scare her if we do her legs or face. She was able to sniff the brush and was pretty ok with it. Thanks again for the advice.

ps Any name suggestions?? I was thinking about Diamond because she's got a diamond on her forhead. But I'm not sure if I like it because it is so common.

[king2005]

She looks like a Rose to me
or
Poka-Butt hehehe, I called my friends horse Poka-Butt hehehe

[lvpets2002]

Aweee the new baby is adorable && **** CONGRATS ON YOUR NEW BABY && HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAY ***

[chrissycat21]

It stinks that you'll only get to see her twice a year. Will you see her more during the summer because summer isn't too far away!

I got so caught up in trying to help you, I forgot to congratulate you on getting her and wish you a happy birthday.

I'm horrible with names...I'll have to think of some suggestions. Diamond is a cute name. If you really like it I wouldn't worry too much about how common it is.

http://www.horses-and-horse-informat...enames/i.shtml

That website has a bunch of horse names that you could look through. Some of them seem more like show names, but you could always shorten the name.