To sell or not to sell....

[lunanightwolf]

Okay everyone knows my spooky mare, Magic. 10 year old spotted saddle horse only has had one foal her whole life and is a boogie hunter. I'm starting to fall in love with this girl, but she's so spooky. I don't even think I'm despooking her right. So far she, the bag thing is making her spooker than ever. She watches everytime i get near her. Sometimes she'll spook and ran off and won't come back to eat until I move away from her feed trough, but I love her. She stubborn and hot headed like me. She's there for me to cry on when i get upset. And her gait it just heaven! My cousins even love her, I can put my cousins on her and she just walks the whole time until they tell her to go faster. even leading them on her with the lead rope she won't trot no matter how fast I move. What should I do? Should I take her ad down or keep it up and hope someone will be nice and trade with me or some buy her...

[shepp01]

You really don't need a horse it sounds like you are doing more harm then good to that horse sell and let some that knows horse try fix what You have messed up. You don;'t know enough about horses to have one like her You will just make it harder for her next owner!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[BUDDYSGIRL]

Originally Posted by lunanightwolf

Okay everyone knows my spooky mare, Magic. 10 year old spotted saddle horse only has had one foal her whole life and is a boogie hunter. I'm starting to fall in love with this girl, but she's so spooky. I don't even think I'm despooking her right. So far she, the bag thing is making her spooker than ever. She watches everytime i get near her. Sometimes she'll spook and ran off and won't come back to eat until I move away from her feed trough, but I love her. She stubborn and hot headed like me. She's there for me to cry on when i get upset. And her gait it just heaven! My cousins even love her, I can put my cousins on her and she just walks the whole time until they tell her to go faster. even leading them on her with the lead rope she won't trot no matter how fast I move. What should I do? Should I take her ad down or keep it up and hope someone will be nice and trade with me or some buy her...

shepp01, where in this post does she sound like she is doing harm to the horse? It takes time and patience to de spook a horse. They have to get though the despooking together. Build trust...

Luna, if your heart feels right with this horse, take the time to work with her, be patient and easy. Show her you are her friend and companion. It takes time. If your willing to take the time she may be worth it. If she doesn't come back to eat oh well, she will not starve to death missing a meal or 2. She just has to understand and it's up to you to help her do that. Just my opinion.

[My Ladyhawke]

shepp01, nothing like slamming somebody when they are asking for help. Lighten up and offer advise as she asked. Luna, you need to do alot of ground work moving her feet until understands you are the boss/leader. Do not have alot time to go into it. I hope you have a round pen, if not lunge line 20 FT, will work and you will probably get dragged around. Just remember one thing, "DO NOT STOP WORKING WITH HER WHEN SHE IS DOING THE WRONG THING, ALWAYS STOP ON A POSITIVE NOTE AND WORK ON BOTH SIDES." You have to sensitize her and desensitize on each session. You may have to run her butt into the ground, to truly get her attention. Don't ever give up. Good luck.

[lunanightwolf]

My mare has never been lunged. Never! we got on the end of the lunge line when we first got her and she looked at us like we are nuts. if we pop the wipe, she just moves and then stands there she won't go in a circle. And Magic has this thing that if she gets spooked enough she'll turn on us and charge us.

[mart]

If you have a horse on a line and she charges you,, you have a whip,,,use it !! Either you teach her,, or you will be allowing her to eventually hurt someone !! This is not something to take lightly !! She charges because you are asking her to do something she doesn`t want to do !! And thats how she gets out of it !! She is pushing you and you are backing down !! Not a good scenario for someone trying to train a horse !! Horses do not respect weakness !! Horses follow a strong leader,,not a weak one !! And that leader will make them do what they are supposed to or they get tough with them !! Thats what you are going to have to do as well !! Make her do what you want !! Not the other way around !!

[4jpainthorses]

Mart is right. If she charges you, use that whip. She has no respect for you on the ground. Put her on that line and make her lunge. None of them know what to do to start to lunge them, you just have to make them do it. Use that whip and make her go.
As for spooky, they don't come any spooker that my gelding was, he was literaly scared of his own shadow. Everytime we would go by his stall we did something, either ran a broom handle down the bars, waved a bag, jumped and shouted boo, something everytime we passed. When we would take him to the indoor riding area he was scared of the tarp over the door. So we made him spend several nights in the indoor pen with the wind flapping the tarp. It took him about a week until the tarp didn't bother him anymore but it took several months of waving bags, broomhandles, etc before he got to where he would just stand there and look at you like you were crazy when you would try to spook him.
Just keep at it and don't give up. She will evently get used to all of it. We can take him anywhere now and nothing bothers him.

[lunanightwolf]

UPDATE: The bags have her spooker than ever XD but she's getting better. now when she hears it she doesn't run off as far from me. But if she sees it, i'll never catch her XD. But now I need to watch her. I was riding this morning and she found some glass and it jammed into her frog. But there was a huge clop of mud protecting it so I have to watch her just incase it made it to the frog I cleaned it out and everything she isn't limping...yet. But she's being a big baby about it lol.

[4jpainthorses]

Just keep it up. For the first week, Cowboy(my gelding) was the same way. He acted spooker than ever but he finally figured out that we weren't going to let a booger get him. She will eventually come aroung and not run away.

[Brady]

Luna, my adivice is to keep at it and don't give up i have a 20 yr old rescue morgan that has taken me a year and a half to rehabilitate so he is not spooky a friend was lunging him while i was away and did something and he went back but i redid what i have done and he was fine. I train all my horse to be desenitised but what you are doing is a great way to start. If you need more advice please email me. It sounds as if she is started but if you can't get her under control you can seek the advice of a trainner that has delt with that kind of issue.

Originally Posted by lunanightwolf

Okay everyone knows my spooky mare, Magic. 10 year old spotted saddle horse only has had one foal her whole life and is a boogie hunter. I'm starting to fall in love with this girl, but she's so spooky. I don't even think I'm despooking her right. So far she, the bag thing is making her spooker than ever. She watches everytime i get near her. Sometimes she'll spook and ran off and won't come back to eat until I move away from her feed trough, but I love her. She stubborn and hot headed like me. She's there for me to cry on when i get upset. And her gait it just heaven! My cousins even love her, I can put my cousins on her and she just walks the whole time until they tell her to go faster. even leading them on her with the lead rope she won't trot no matter how fast I move. What should I do? Should I take her ad down or keep it up and hope someone will be nice and trade with me or some buy her...