I have been working off and on with a little mustang mare for about three years.

She generally works well once you get her haltered, but she is a little hard to catch.

She has a habit of pinning her ears back and swiveling her backend around.

She has been known to kick people including her owner and a farrier.

A few weeks ago I went to catch her, and when she went into kicking posture, I just started talking to her.

After a few minutes, she turned her head to me and let me halter her.

Now she lets me halter her even when she is eating. No more ears back and turning her butt to me.

Her owner and others still have to do that little kicking threat dance to catch her.

It is gratifying when you have little breakthroughs with a specific horse.

BH63

Good job!

Sounds like she needs to be desensitized and you need to start over from square one..When you start a horse don't quit, finish the job..

you need a round pen and lots of circles on the long rope, and when she gets worn out she will turn and come to you, you will be her security blanket, never let her turn away or sideways from you..it won't take you long to get her attention..Mustangs being a wild animal tend to be a little harder to work with than domestic horses. Go slower and longer, but use the same methods..

Things have changed over the years as to horse breaking,

In my youth we eared them down saddled them up rode them around the pen twice and opened the gate and headed North for the next 10 hours..It worked surprisingly enough, wet saddle blankets will fix about anything, its always the patience horseman that counts IMO, an ill temper will set your training back months as a rule, and fear can train a horse, but those horses tend to come untrained IMO.. Sometimes problems can be ignored and they fix themselves to one extent or another, but not guaranteed, but it always worth a try..Don't allow meaness under any circumstances and kicking and biting is meanness, but its an easy fix..

Go easy and make a friend in the long run makes a better horse, learn what works and what does not, babying a horse doesn't work, nor does beating a horse, give him a safe enviorment and trust and teach him and you will own the finest animal God ever put on this earth, and it all starts in the round pen.

Thanks to you both!

We have been lounging and longlining this mare for a couple of years.

She foundered right after the owners got her (she was originally a BLM horse) so we have to watch her weight and use boots on her when we work her.

The vet wanted to put her down at first, but with a lot of care, she lives a useful life.

We let kids ride her occasionally in the round pen, as she settles down after we get her saddled, but we can’t work her hard.

She might be a little testy due to being on a constant diet and maybe a sore foot.

She has only bit me twice but not in the last couple of years. We seem to have reached an understanding.

After lounging her, she does follow me around (until she sees something to eat. LOL

BH63

quote:

Sounds like she needs to be desensitized and you need to start over from square one.

If you're going to work with a "wild" horse, better start with a babe. As they get older, they acquire survival knowledge, like kicking and biting, tough to get past.

Grizz

^
Yep!

She was a baby when she was caught, but her dam died in a BLM pen, so she grew up fighting for her food.

She was sponsored as a yearling but was quite a handful, so after 3 years she was headed to Mexico when the current owner heard about her and took ownership.

She is smart as a whip, but you have to earn her trust and respect.

BH63

It shouldn't take more than 120 days to make a good horse, a mustang or whatever..Then they just get better with age..Prime is 8 to 20 or whatever and that depends on the individual horse...In all mustang class competition they have 140 days to finish them and they do wonders with them, they show these shows on TV all the time...3 years is unheard off, sorry not ment to offend but its just not a good thing.

No offense taken.

I agree we have been taking it slow, but the owner calls most of the shots.

We’ve had two professional trainers come in but they get frustrated by the owner and quit after a few weeks.

The owner likes to bribe her horses to get compliance and I am not a fan of that style of training.

I like to set things up where it is easy for the horse to do the right thing and awkward or uncomfortable to do the wrong thing.

I grew up using force to get horses to bend to your will but I don’t do that anymore.

Still it is gratifying when you get a good bond between the horse.

BH63

Hand feeding a mustang and any horse to a lesser degree, at least until the mature, as it tends in some cases to teach them to bite..None of my horses kick, but Ive had some mules that did, we tied a tire to there tale and let them have at it for several days, they always quit kicking, maybe on a horse Id tie a bicyle tire to his tale and see what happens..Let me know if you do, never tried on a horse, never needed to, but a mustang is close enough to a mule that it just might work!!

^

LMAO

BH63

I have a trade secret togain a horses trust!!

A GRAIN BUCKET