Building Trust

[AceyHorse]

Hi, I have yet another questions for all you talented and clever forum members out there.

I have had my mini Ace ( he is a 4 year old gelding) for 15 months now and I feel I still haven't connected with him.

He is a very sensitive, wary horse, but I would have thought by this time he would have built SOME trust in me.

Ever since I got him all I have to do is raise my voice ( even just to call out to someone across the paddock) and he completely freaks out, his eyes go huge and he just wants to run away from me, needless to say of course I have never raised my hand to my horse apart from a snap if he nips which I have had to do only a couple of times. He is a generally very quiet horse, he isn't bothered by cars or noisy tractors, he is broken to harness and going very happily even though he is green. I just get the feeling he doesn't trust people. He won't let anyone catch him apart from me and even then I can't make any sudden moves. He is especially wary of men.

Getting to my question.... Are there any exercises or ways I can connect with him and work on building the trust between us, I dearly love this wee horse and I want to let him know he can trust me and feel safe with me.

Thanks

 

[The Simple Life Farm]

I noticed that I have the closest bond with the horse I do halter obstacle with. Many hours of training, bonding and trust goes in to it. You might want to try that.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

Yes, your horse will respond better to you if he has a job and he knows he does a good job. Also, the TTouch book might help--can't remember who wrote it, as I have passed mine on. I have a horse sort of like this. I've had him over 2 years now. He drives, and that has helped him the most to have confidence in himself and trust in me.

It is frustrating, I know. Many times I almost moved him along to another owner, but something made me keep trying with him. I think 2 years was the time-line when I saw the big change in mine. Can you give him a little more time? It's true, you notice the change in his eyes.

 

[Charlene]

years ago, i was given a newly gelded 6 year old arabian. he was barely halter broke, had not been handled except to breed mares.

i was determined to gentle this horse and i found the best way was for me to simply put a chair out in the pasture, take along a good book, set a bucket of sweet feed at my feet and wait it out. it took many days before he would approach me and many more before he would let me touch him. i spent an entire summer just talking to him and eventually, he learned to trust me enough so that i could handle him.

i had this horse for 9 years and never even got close to saddling him. he was sweet animal, very loving, but he was never going to be safe under tack although he loved to be groomed and fussed with. he ended up, of all places, at a petting zoo where he lived into his 20's.

it just takes a lot of time and dedication and above all, patience.

 

[Jill]

Rather than trying to train him to "do" something at this stage, I feel you could make very good progress bonding with him and building trust just by doing daily, or every other day, grooming sessions (brush him and talk soothingly to him, hug him, etc.).

 

[AceyHorse]

Thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply to me. He was my halter horse last year and I have done quite a bit of training with him for that, obsticle, jumping, harness. He really is so eager to please and intelligent. He gets really stressed out if he doesn't understand what I'm trying to teach him so everything is taken slowly and gently. Trust is such a difficult thing, it feels like I'm going 1 step forward and 2 steps back sometimes. You are right Jill, I do need to spend more time just quietly grooming and talking to him. With 4 horses in training ( I know that doesn't sound like alot but I don't have much time around work) He does tend to get worked and groomed then back in the stable without the time really taken to connect with him. Thanks to everyone for helping me realise I'm not actually giving him as much of my attention as I thought I was. I don't want to part with this guy as he was my first mini and I really do love him to pieces. I hope with time and lots of attention and care he will come around.

 

[MiniHunterHorseFan]

When I first bought my horse Bodie he was terrified of humans touching him. Now he is my best friend. He loves to be scratched and he loves shows. He doesn't get scared or jumpy. What I did at first with him is just sit in his pen and pet him and sing to him. (Not very good voice though lol) :bgrin I roundpenned him. When he was used to that I put 'scary objects' tarps, trash cans ect... around the outside and roundpenned him to get him used to them. If you make calm sure movements around flighty horses they like that. One thing I've learned is if you're sacking a horse out with, say a rope, You just rub them calmly with that even if they are a little nervous and when they calm down you stop and turn away. Then repeat. That teaches them if they are scared of something when they are calm the scary thing stops.

 

[Marty]

Here's a different view although I also agree with what has already been said.

I have a mare that is very goofy. Trust issues? Holy cow........and I've had her for years.

She is as strange as they come. She has heard motors and mowers, and tractors and firecracker and gun shots go off to no avail around here, raised with them but she still insists her world is caving in every time someone cranks something up. She gets all stupid and bug eyed and looks like she never heard it before when a lot of it occurs daily. She's just noise sensitive. The horse is just plain goofy for lack of a better word. She is what she is and what you see is what I got and she ain't a gonna change.

They all have their different kinks such as us humans do. With me it's fingers on a blackboard that send me nutty, or closed spaces, or someone biting their fingernails in front of me. Those things make me cringe and I'm not going to change my reaction to it.

See where this is heading?

 

[angel_cowgirl]

I think everyone has given you good advice. I was, too, going to say just working with them on a daily basis seems to really help.

When I got my gelding as a yearling he was "wild as a march hair", and now that horse is the most people-horse anyone could ask for. Just so sweet and willing to please, completely different from the horse I got that was difficult to catch, not really halter broken, and had to live in a very small pen for a couple months just so he could be caught.

I had another horse, a mare that we showed as a yearling, I did all the training on that one myself. She was born here too and she was wild as could be as a weanling, you could not catch that horse. But I just worked with her about every day and I think it took almost all season to finaly come around and realize no one was going to hurt her.

We have a couple broodmares that are skittish. All our mares that go out in the pasture know that we usually catch them and put a halter on them to put them back in their dry lots are night but theres a couple that you have to go very slowly with. Especially one that you can ONLY approach her from her left side, it has to be slow, and I think my mother and I are probably about the only ones that can catch her. And shes been here for years.

So I guess the lesson is there are probably just some horses that are like that and might not ever get over it or only build up a slight amount of trust. But most horses seem to learn to come around.

Good luck!

 

[Katiean]

With Princess we worked with her every day. We trained her to drive. She did wonderful on the road. But, in the pasture she was the same. She was so bad that the broker we got her from kept a halter and lead rope on her at all times. Well, we had bought one of those CHINA built carts and the bearings went out and I was having a hard time finding new bearings so we walked both horses. We walked them up in the hills, on the road, over to the local park. Anywhere just to have something to do with the horses. When we walked it was like we were out on a trail ride but we were on foot. We talked to each other. We talked to the horses. Jessie would go across the sage brush at a run so Princess could jump the bushes and try to race me to the other side of the loop of path we were on. Princess now "LOVES"

: Jessie. She will do anything for Jessie at all. She even tolerates me. I don't think just sitting and petting or grooming the horse will do the same thing.

 

[Leeana]

Some horses require a more gentle hand, i think you have one that does! Also, keep in mind horses are just like humans ....not everyone is going to get along so you cant expect yourself to get along with every horse or every horse to get along with you. That is kind of how i look at it, makes sense to me anyhow.

I think he is just a little shy, mixed with a little fear possibly. I think he is also confused, he's not sure if he's in trouble or if he is the one that did bad. I think he does want to make you happy and do well for you, but he's not confident in what he is doing.

My horse, Chief (LTD's White Chief), he very gentle and requires a gentle hand. If you yank the lead, he will panic. A great horse, very loving and smart but he doesnt react well to firmness. You have to ask him to do everything very gently. Then there is other horses like my foundation gelding Royal, who you have to ask a little bit more firmer.

I would work him daily, a few times a day. Everytime he does something right, make sure he KNOWS that he did right. When he does wrong, he seems like he does more punishing on himself then you have to. I would work on building confidence in him on the ground. You need to show him that he is a good boy and you are not going to hurt him.

I'd say, instead of working him everyday, pet and love him and just lead him. Hugs ext work well. Hopefully i gave some advice you could use.

Goodluck

 

[Just Us N Texas]

Now, I hesitated to add this, but once we had a QH who was sensitive to noise. When we discovered this, we stuffed cotton in his ears. Sure did him a world of good. Muffled the sound from Loud to softer. Word of caution, if you do this, please be sure you leave enough cotton exposed that you can get hold of and pull out of his ears when you are finished.