advice please ............

[shiatsudales]

If she was put in foal at 2yrs of age and had her foal when only 3yrs old herself she may have some pelvic stuff going on. If she's safe I'd be tempted to get a good, reputable, qualified and registered chiropractor (or shiatsu person out to her. I've worked on a few young broodmares and they've all improved.

At the moment she probably has NO idea how to stand balanced on just three feet so if you stroke down her hind leg and she lifts it up and hovers even for just a couple of second I'd give her lots of praise. Don't go for lift leg, hold up and keep holding up all in one go, take it slowly.

If she's funny about having her back legs handled at all I'd start with a long pole with a stuffed glove firmly secured to the end. It's a Monty Roberts thing. Stroker down her hind legs with the glove and keep stroking until she can keep her legs on the floor.

I'd also agree with the tying up. Use a lunge line through a tie up ring with you on the other end. if she goes to pull away give her some rope but 'play' the rope so she learns she can move around if she feels she needs to but that she can't get away.

I've also seen some rather barbaric methods used on Dales. I was lucky enough to be allowed to ride an older mare for a while and she had permanent poll issues caused by someone tying her to a tractor and dragging her across the field when she lay down during a leading lesson as a foal.

[angie]

Thanks everyone for your advice

ShiatsuDales - What a terrible thing to do to the mare

Good idea regarding the chiropractor or shiatsu - I will look into getting one out to her

[ponydreamersmum]

I have to agree with all those against swinging. Eeyore was a wild from the herd 2 yearold and was swung by the dealer we bought him from, one of the horses being done broke its neck in panic. Had I known they were going to do this to Eeyore I would have insisted he wasnt done because I thought the practese had died out years ago. Eeyore was delivered to our field in the dark by the dealer, when we saw him in daylight the next morning I was so shocked. I thought he had strangles because he was all ripped open and bleeding under his throat but then noticed he was the same at the back of his ears, this damage was done by the headcollar when they tied him up and left him to it. When he was handed to me on a bit of baler band the dealer told me he had been swung and would never pull against the headcollar, it was rubbish, he did and still react badly to being tied. I would suggest the long rope and teach her to tie up calmly and gently, there is no reason to make it a big issue. We also spent hours grooming ours all over especially around the legs, moving down gradually towards the hoof. I have to say that we didnt have much success with training them to pick up their feet and have Shaklana to thank for Gypsy and her brilliant use of a leadrope to hold the leg , and Annette (our trimmer) and her patient handling and experience for Eeyore. We did lift the fronts and progressed to lifting the hinds forward slightly for just a few seconds. Kindness and patience and then some more patience are definitely the way to go.

[angie]

Just a quick update - I am now able to pick up all Dolly's feet and she is happy to stand and let me hold them. I can brush her legs and run my hands down them - so I am really pleased ;D She even nuzzles me now while I'am doing it, instead of standing looking all tense! She is a quick learner - I say 'dolly up' while running my hand down her leg and she lifts it up. The farrier is coming on Saturday morning so fingers crossed she doesn't panic and get nervous - wish me luck!

[shirlnjazz]

Excellent news, see a wee bit of time and patience is all it needs, Im having the same issues with Jazz but since he hasnt had much handling Im not overly worried, he will come too

[khristyne]

On the subject of feet. We had to teach bridget from scratch. I always do it in the same order so she knows what is coming next and i always keep a close eye on wether it would be easy for her to pick it. Occasionally she doesnt consentrate and tries to pick it up and then has to snap down again or fall over. She has learned to 'organise' herself better now, but i still try and avoid her failing if i can. She will now (after 6mths) pick all feet up in rotation if I tap her hoof.

We trained her to tie up with a haynet and a piece of twine, but even now we never leave her unattended, but I can now risk keeping an eye from the otherside of the yard whilst doing something with Dorothy. I have had two horses with serious poll injuries in the past, both attributed to tying up or something similar as neither had falls. Poor Robyn is unrideable because of it.

[greydales]

I think that you are right to go about things in a sympathetic manner, you will achieve much more trust that way! There is a big difference between being firm and being too forceful - in situations such as swinging you will only make the horse fearful and defensive, not to mention the physical risks. Some may cope with it but if the horse or pony has a nervous or sensitive disposition anyway, it will be made much worse. If a pony like my Olivia was 'swung' - she would probably never trust a human again!

I think you just need to treat her like you would any other pony who has never been handled, just do things a little at a time until the pony is comfortable with what you are doing then move on a bit.

With legs and feet they find it hard to balance at first, Cherry and Olivia used to try and lie down when you picked up their front legs! Once she is happy for you to touch all four hooves, I would try not to do the same routine all the time as they can then get used to their feet being picked up in a certain order which may make things difficult for a farrier or anyone else who needs to tend to them. I found a very useful tool was the clicker!