New Forest Wild Ponys?

Question

A Women i know is going to the new forest pony sale to buy some wild filly's, she has asked me to help her tame them. Ive never tamed a wild horse before but think it will be excellent experience. My mum has warned me that it may be a little upsetting seeing the ponies at first as they will be upset, angry, scared and distressed. I know people who have tamed wild horses and at the very least it took them 3 months to put into the paddock with other horses. How long approx. is it going to take to tame 4 wild filly's? and if anyone can give me any advice on how to handle a situation like the pony getting scared and lashing out, or something similar that would be great. Also does anybody have any tips of how to build a relationship with a pony that isn't used to people? Thanks Guys :)

Answer 1

It'll take a while. A lot depends on the personalties and ages of the fillies, some may be more willing to cooperate than others. It's best, however, to take it slow with them. Yes, they will get frightened at first. They won't know what's going on. They will not know you mean no harm. So you have to teach them.

A good way to let them get used to you is to sit outside their stall/paddock and just sit there. Read a book, do a puzzle, text people. If they come over and you're reading, why not read to them? Since you're just sitting there, they'll eventually realize you're pretty much harmless. Don't try to make them let you pet them. If they come over, go ahead and touch them, but let them walk away if they want. Do things on their time, not yours'.

Always be patient. You may find one filly is a lot more people-friendly and easy to train than the others. Who knows, they ALL might be easy to train. Every horse is different.

A lot of it is common sense and patience. Never give them a reason to get scared and lash out at you.

Answer 2

Demi - "wild forest pony sale"......this doesn't sound like something I'm familiar with - please give me more info - are you in Europe?

Anyways - There's a very good amount of practice that's been done with wild Mustangs in the American West.  Monty Roberts, a gentleman who's done work with the Queen's horses in England, has been the forerunner on this prospect and has written books on it.  He has videos available as well, surely in Europe as well as the US.

Mr. Roberts also gives clinics, which are probably part of content in books and DVDs of his, centered around working with the horse, understanding how they interact with each other and turning this knowledge into the proper activities to tame and work with them to become successful partners to humans.

His method of "join up" basically encompasses the process of allowing a horse at liberty in a round pen of no more than 60 feet to move about - you watch that horse, use your body space to cause him to move (acting like a horse as if you are another horse he's just been introduced to).  You act like the new horse, using your knowledge of the equine heirarchy of their society to establish yourself as the leader in your group of two.  You use your body to move the horse about watching for signs of focus and submission - how the animal's head is held, where he's focusing, watching for yawning and l*****g of the lips and which direction he turns - these all tell you his mindset

Anyways, you work with that horse and within an hour usually the animal will focus on you and begin to lock on.  Soon you'll be able to walk about in the pen and the horse will follow you.  He teaches you how to keep the horse's attention and then moves you through desensitizing the horse right to the point of accepting rope and halter within only a few hours of beginning the work.

Horses are social creatures - they are most comfortable with company of their own species - therefore turning these horses out with others of their type should be able to be done immediately in a safe paddock or enclosure - no hot wire, smooth wire fences - wire is really not good at all for them.  Pipe or plank fencing is best.  If they are alone with you, you become part of a herd.  they are one of the few animals who will accept a human as part of their herd - most others won't even begin to think a human should be allowed to interact with them let alone lead them, but a horse or dog will.

If you are asking about turning these horses out with other "tame" horses, again the same rules apply - the fences must be acceptable for safe, solid activity - other than that, wild horses and domestic horses simply establish the pecking order in their new herd within a short time.

Do not plan to work with all the fillies at once - plan to work with them individually.

Mr Roberts can perform this exercise, have an equine of any size or breed gentled, haltered and moving about as he wishes within a day of beginning.  The next day he begins again, reviewing what was done the day before and builds on it.

I will tell you I've performed these exercised with 2 young horses of my own in the process of starting them - it's done wonders.  They see me as the leader of their herd - when I walk into my herd of 5 horses, I become the leader.  The prior dominant ones don't pick on the submissive ones I'm interacting with - they all defer to me and come to me for attention.  When I leave, they revert back to herd status.

I hope this helps you.  How old are you?  If in your teens you are so well situated to learn this stuff and build on it.

Answer 3

Well first of all mak sure you have a good eye for New Forests as not all the 'wild' ponies are real New Forests, an awful lot of them will be part breds. Not sure if that matters to you or not but if there are any plans to show them just be careful.

What age will the fillies be because the older they are the harder they will be to socialise. Once you have them socialised it shouldn't take any longer than any other pony.