QuestionWe recently purchased a six year old mare with a 4 month old colt. She is still very skiddish, despite all of our efforts. Once catching her she seems very content to be curried but she is still very head shy. Does this mean she has been abused in the past? What is the best way to overcome this? Does having the colt by her side make this more of a problem? Please help we love her and only want her to learn to trust us.
AnswerHi Mandy-
Thanks for your question. How long have you had her? It does sound as if she has had something make her head-shy, possibly abuse but it could also be a lack of handling by her previous owner. Be sure you move slowly and calmly (as possible) around her and use quiet voices. It also may be that she is trying to keep an eye out for the colt while you are handling her (or the baby). I would probably wait a little while before weaning him as you need to work on getting them both to let you handle them and trust you. It sounds to me as though you are going about it the right way. I have a little mare who was never handled (she was thrown out in a field with a bunch of horses) and it took quite awhile but she is doing very well now except she just had her first baby and is "over-protective" even with us. I dread weaning. Patience, consistency and love will go a long way- I think she just needs time to learn she can trust you. Best of luck- I'm sure it will be fine, Toni
