help with a "herd sour" yearling filly?

Question

When i try to work with my filly by herself she wont pay attention, she is too worried about getting back to the other horses. i've even tried to round pen work her but it doesn't help. She is at the point she will just about knock you over calling to the other horses and looking around Please help.

Answer 1

Ugh - I hate this lol. I would continue with the round pen. Every day. Consistency is key. If she wants to get in there and act like a fool, then let her do so. Keep on her and make her canter in circles while she is screaming her head off at her friends. Eventually she will get tired of this and come back to you. When she does this call it a day. You made progress even if her mind was only on you a minute. Start up again the next day. Eventually you will see great improvement.

We used to have a pony that was so herd sour. Any kid that got on him he would take off for the herd - rider in tow. So we started making that pony work his butt off with the herd. If he wanted to run to far left field, then he was going to be working in far left field. Eventually he learned that it wasn't that much fun to hang out over there anymore.

Good luck and keep at it...you will see progress I promise - haha

Answer 2

Your filly needs to be in a place where she can neither see, smell, or hear your other horses- her natal herd. Your round pen needs to have a fence around it that totally blocks your filly's view of her friends. She also needs to have some work done with her using some other method than just simply running her in circles- which is not good for her legs at this point any way. I would recommend going to www.montyroberts.com/org to learn about his humane, resistance free method of training and communication known as "join up". Try it- you will learn a lot from Monty, and it will make your situation much easier and safer for both you and your horse. Finally, I would hold off for a while before I would start a horse of that age under saddle- she's too young and immature for hard work. Her bones are still very soft and growing at her age, and she needs time to grow up some more before she is asked to work hard. Hope this helps.

Answer 3

I had a yearling that did the same thing. He almost ran me over. He only did it once ;) Try lunging her on a line with a chain you need to get her attention. Don't abuse her of course but you need to let her know you mean business. If she comes after you and not paying attention you need to get in her face. She needs to realize that she cant ignore you and run over you. If she learns to respect you now it will make it a lot easier later on. If she is really hard to crack try keeping her separate from the other horses for a week or so. She will start to un-bond. That might make her easier to work if she is a little less concerned with them. If you are trying to work with her just with her feet and such and she is ignoring you. You need to really get in her face. Snap her halter and say whoa verry strongly. Also you could try tying her up for a few hours if she is determined to walk away. Hope this helps.
[e-mail] if you need anymore help.