5 month old filly

Question
QUESTION: You have been so helpful but have one more question. Your last answer seemd to assume that while we have a halter on her we also have attached a lead and have some control. Not true. We are getting ready to try, but expect it will be met with great anxiety.  When we put our hand on the halter she immediately bolts away.  Any suggestions?

Thanks, Roger

ANSWER: I hope you have more than just one question!  Ask as many as you like, it's why I'm here!  

Don't try and grab your filly's halter.  She just can't stay with you yet.  Go right back to rubbing her all over until she is so comfortable with you that she can stay.  The halter should come off every day.  I never leave babies haltered, too many things can go wrong and they can get hung up on so much stuff.

Roger, this is kind of trust building can take a long time.  It sounds like you have a very sensitive filly and you will have to go slow with her.  It may take weeks to get her to trust you to the point that you can comfortably take the halter off and on and then begin leading her.  Horses don't wear watches or use calendars and we can't either when working with them.

Ray Hunt told me,  you have to ride your horse where they are today.  This goes for starting a foal also.  On Sunday she may be calm and trusting but on Tuesday, she may be flighty and scared.  Handle her where she is, don't have any expectations.  When folks are riding here at my place, they always ask what are we doing today.  My answer is always, the horse will let us know.  

You don't have any deadlines when working with horses.  If you are lucky, your filly will live a good 25 years.  I'm pretty sure she will develop into a very nice saddle horse in that time.  Just slow down, go back to the beginning, keep building the trust and your FILLY will let you know when things are right and you can move on.  When you can rub her all over, take the halter on and off and have your filly help you in the process, THEN it is time to attach a lead rope and start leading her.  I like rope halters best, they don't have any large heavy snaps that can whack your filly under the jaw.  That could really scare her.  Go to Houlihan Horse Gear.  They carry good rope halters with tree line leads.  Also, have I had you check out Ray Hunt's website as well as Buck Brannaman?  They both have great ground work and colt starting DVD's that I would like you to see.  The ground work will help you so much.  Also, if Buck, Ray or Ricky are in your area, please go and see them.  Your filly is too young for the colt starting, you won't start her until she is at least 2.  However what you can learn from watching these men at a clinic is worth a million bucks!

Take this next week and just work on building trust with your filly. When you are haltering her, rub her all over with your halter, then standing on her left side, put your right arm, as you are rubbing her, on her neck and rub her over top to her right side.  The halter will be in your left hand rubbing her under her neck and on the left side of her neck.  With your left hand going under her neck and your right hand over top, take the crown piece of the halter in your right hand, lift your right hand up, keep rubbing, then use your left hand by her left cheek, now the nose piece should be open and hanging in front of her nose.  This is where you can use your right hand with the halter to tip her nose toward you, the nose piece can then just slip on.  Eventually, I would want her to reach down and put her nose in the halter for you.  This approach keeps the horse close to you and you can support her.  It also makes her become part of the process.  Haltering is not forced on her, she is learning to pick up the halter just like someday she will pick up the bit.  Make sense?!

Let me know if you need to see some photos of this and I will post them on my website. Then let me know how it is going and I'll give you some more things to do.  Sometimes the slower you go the faster you get there...Ray Hunt, again!

Smiles and Miles!  Denise



---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Denise, you are fantastic. Here is another one. When we ride the mare my wife always wants to let the filly out to follow us and run around. She is afraid the filly will get too upset if separated from her mother.

Answer
Hi Roger!

I hope you guys understand how much this helps me as well!  I consider every chance to answer questions, or be around new horses a gift.  All good stuff!

Instincts are great!  Always trust your gut, you will never go wrong.  Your wife is a smart lady!  I have seen sensitive babies do some wild stuff.  Horses are herd animals, your baby knows how vulnerable she is without her mother.  She would do what it takes to get to her even if it meant going through a stout fence.  Your mare sounds like a solid old soul who  has had a baby or two in her time so she is not as worried.  However, when baby really starts yelling, mares respond, no matter how well schooled.   

Your filly is just sensitive.  She is a little thinker.  In the wild, she would live.  My last colt would have been cougar food!  I have had foals that were shy and sensitive and others that were bold as brass.  If you are lucky the mare will help you wean.  Mom will get tired of babies constant demands.  Caveat here again, some mares will need a little help especially with a baby that is shy.  

Trust and getting your filly to consider you a good deal will be very important in the weaning process.  She will need to rely on you for support and not be so dependent on her mother.  You may not get this filly weaned until 7 months old.  I usually start weaning at 6 months.  A lot depends on the pair.  If you have a pest for a baby, mom may want him gone sooner, this was the case with my last colt.  You could see how thankful the mare was by the look in her eyes!  With some horses the bond is deep and you have to be very careful.  Weaning can be a dangerous time for mares and foals.  

I use a series of small paddocks to wean my babies.  I have four small paddocks, and I keep moving mom down as I move through the process.  Baby can spend time right next to mom and nurse if need be.  After a week or so, mom moves down one paddock with another trusted horse in between.  Baby is secure in comfortable surroundings with mom close for support.  As mom gets further away, baby starts looking to other horses for support.  It is perfect to have more than one baby, then all the kids go into the same paddock and weaning is much faster with fewer problems.  I have had only one foal some years, my brown colt was an only child but he was an exception to every rule.  He was bold and a pest!  You can wean your baby with quality, so don't worry.  I don't like the cold turkey approach to weaning where the mare or baby are abruptly separated.  I have seen many nice babies seriously injured or worse when people to this.  

Let baby tag along for now.  Keep working on trust, haltering, and soon leading.  When you start leading go for walks with the mare.  Use mom all you can, she will help you.  Once you start leading baby you can pony her from the mare. If things fall apart, drop the lead, reorganize, catch up baby, and carry on!  I love to ride one and lead one.  Baby learns so much.  Heck, the baby gets out on the trails and is half finished as a saddle horse before she is even weaned.

You are on the right path now with your filly.  Keep asking questions, I'll keep helping.  Have fun.  You are on your way to making a wonderful equine partner!  Nothing beats a baby you raise yourself.

Smiles and Miles!  Denise

Oh, I'm supposed to remind people to rate my answer.  You are rating me and not the site.  I guess if my ratings are bad they kick me off or something...Thank You!  Smiles, Denise ;)