Pony Update

Pony update…I feel like I have made some real progress with the ponies in the last few days (their names are Bonnie and Holly by the way). Holly is the easier of the 2 to work with. She is still quite head-shy but she has come around fairly quickly. She was very nervous about anything around her legs and feet and flinched whenever she was touched. Handling their feet was a real priority as the previous owner had drugged them, put them in stocks and had 4 shoes put on each of them. They really needed to have those shoes pulled so getting them to let me touch them has been what I have been working on every day since Dec.

I started by hand feeding them small amounts of grain while I stroked their necks (I usually try to avoid using food as a training aid but I really needed a way to get these girls to associate me with good stuff and it has worked really well). I moved on to running my hands over their bodies, always trying to stay in their comfort zone and gradually working my way towards other parts of their bodies. Once they were fairly comfortable with me rubbing my hands on them, I started to add brushes and finally a soft cotton rope. Once they accepted the rope I began working it farther down their legs and eventually was able to use it to pick up their feet. Once they felt comfortable with the rope I gradually replaced it with my hands. It took me about 6 weeks to get to where I was able to pull Holly’s shoes off and about 8 weeks for Bonnie.

Holly is more skittish of things in her environment but is no longer quite so afraid of people. Bonnie is definitely the more traumatized of the pair. She is more afraid of people than of things.

Bonnie is still a little nervous about being handled but she has relaxed a great deal in the last few days. They are both shedding a lot at the moment and they are very itchy from all of the loose hair. Bonnie has decided that the rubber curry comb is a wonderful thing and she is actually enjoying being groomed. This is a huge step for her. I was really worried about whether I would be able to reach this mare. When I first started working with her she would turn her head as far away as she could, her body would quiver with tension and she flinched with every contact. It was the most profound form of avoidance that I have ever seen a horse do. I have been working with horses for nearly 30 years and I have rehabilitated a number of abused horses and I have never seen this level of avoidance and tension before. It made me feel like I was working on top of a powder keg with a lit torch in hand…very disconcerting. So, this afternoon when I was grooming her and she stayed completely relaxed and actually turned her head TOWARD me for additional scratching…well I really feel like we passed a major hurdle.

I will try to post some pictures in the next few days. If nothing else they are very colorful.