New pony

Question
Hello. We just bought a 10H pony. She is very gentle. She seems no be annoyed when I try to clean her hoofs. She will let me pic a little but fights to get me to let her foot down. I have to admit, It makes me a little timid. I  am tring to get to know her.
Thank you.

Answer
Hello Korie,
my sincere apologies for the late reply. I was travelling and did not have access to E-mail. It is common that new horses are not always comfortable letting you pick up their legs and hold them. Horses are prey animals and have the instinct to run away from danger, otherwise they end up as someone's lunch or dinner. So in a new environment and with a new person, horse often are reluctant to give up a leg and hold it up....with this they can't run away from danger. So you just need to take you time teaching your pony to GIVE you the hoof and leg, not to try to TAKE it to let the horse know that you are not going to eat it and that it is ok to only stand on 3 legs! Some great lessons on how to teach you pony this can be found on this website: http://www.downunderhorsemanship.com/articles/legs.html

Hope this helps! Good luck and enjoy your pony!

Christine