Beccy
Well-Known Member
Hi Nila, well two of the problems that we have at the moment, are:
First, since we moved the (large) horses and ponies across to where our new barn is, we only have one fenced area for them. We have not gotten any other pens in yet, so Laddie is not on his own. Crackling wrappers (yes they know what it means, we give ours candy canes at Christmas
) would bring all of them pushing in around us and Laddie being low on the totem pole in the herd, would not come close enough. We have tried before when they were on the house side of the road, with a grain bucket, carrots etc. but he would never fall for it. He really is a smart boy.
Second, we are afraid to put the others in and keep Laddie out to work with him, because he has always gone to great lengths (since long before we had him) to escape people, and my fear is that he will get on the road ( it is a fairly busy one) or that he will damage himself trying to get over the fence. Unfortunately for us he was a great little jumper when he was used by the previous owner's son in the Pony Club. Here he has never had to work at all, and still catch and release has not worked. We could do the reverse and put everyone out and keep him in, but we can always catch him if he is cornered inside, it is outside we have the problem, and want to get him so we can catch him without bringing everyone else in first.
We have put in posts but no fence yet for a larger pasture for the group, and also have cleared an area for a smaller pen, which we will build with good high fences he can't get tangled in trying to get out of.
One thing Jane mentioned, is him needing a "special person", and Jess also mentioned her daughter being the only one who can catch her pony. Just out of curiosity, we had our youngest son, who rarely has anything to do with the ponies other than help feed them but who caught Laddie once before when he escaped, try to pet him this morning. To our astonishment, Laddie stood and Mike was able to touch his rump and move his hand up along his back to his neck, and drape an arm over it, get hold of his halter (yes I know, I am a believer in removing halters too but we need one on this guy in case he gets loose outside the barn) and turn him around. He did this inside the barn, but Laddie did not try to get past him so perhaps he will let Mike approach him outside too. It never dawned on me to have one of the boys try, The place he came from he gave them the runaround every time, but he has not seen his "boy" in two years, perhaps he misses him!! Mike has never been very interested in the large horses (he adores the minis) but I think he is so pleased that Laddie let him get hold of him, that we might have found his special person!
:
We have a couple of mini mares that are hard to get, and a Shetland mare who used to like taking us on a goose chase, but they have all improved. This boy has refused to give in up till now.
First, since we moved the (large) horses and ponies across to where our new barn is, we only have one fenced area for them. We have not gotten any other pens in yet, so Laddie is not on his own. Crackling wrappers (yes they know what it means, we give ours candy canes at Christmas
Second, we are afraid to put the others in and keep Laddie out to work with him, because he has always gone to great lengths (since long before we had him) to escape people, and my fear is that he will get on the road ( it is a fairly busy one) or that he will damage himself trying to get over the fence. Unfortunately for us he was a great little jumper when he was used by the previous owner's son in the Pony Club. Here he has never had to work at all, and still catch and release has not worked. We could do the reverse and put everyone out and keep him in, but we can always catch him if he is cornered inside, it is outside we have the problem, and want to get him so we can catch him without bringing everyone else in first.
We have put in posts but no fence yet for a larger pasture for the group, and also have cleared an area for a smaller pen, which we will build with good high fences he can't get tangled in trying to get out of.
One thing Jane mentioned, is him needing a "special person", and Jess also mentioned her daughter being the only one who can catch her pony. Just out of curiosity, we had our youngest son, who rarely has anything to do with the ponies other than help feed them but who caught Laddie once before when he escaped, try to pet him this morning. To our astonishment, Laddie stood and Mike was able to touch his rump and move his hand up along his back to his neck, and drape an arm over it, get hold of his halter (yes I know, I am a believer in removing halters too but we need one on this guy in case he gets loose outside the barn) and turn him around. He did this inside the barn, but Laddie did not try to get past him so perhaps he will let Mike approach him outside too. It never dawned on me to have one of the boys try, The place he came from he gave them the runaround every time, but he has not seen his "boy" in two years, perhaps he misses him!! Mike has never been very interested in the large horses (he adores the minis) but I think he is so pleased that Laddie let him get hold of him, that we might have found his special person!
We have a couple of mini mares that are hard to get, and a Shetland mare who used to like taking us on a goose chase, but they have all improved. This boy has refused to give in up till now.
. We've had a couple of other hard-to-catch horses that we did the same with, although she was an extreme case. With some horses, its just a game and when they get tired of playing chase they'll walk up to you. For others, its more than likely that they equate being caught with something bad. All I can say, a million words later, is be patient and let him know he's loved. Good luck and I hope he and your son continue to bond. Ponies are great for kids
