Evil Ropes!

Ok so as I'm sure y'all know by now I'm a co-trainer at a rescue ranch. Well last year we got a Heinz 57 Pony and an Appendix QH that came in together. the QH (Keo) is coming along very nicely and is a dream to work with. He's a little flighty but that's to be expected without knowing his past. His partner in crime, the little pony (Pixie) is also a great little mare except for one thing - she is deathly afraid of anything to do with rope. Whether it be a halter, twine from a bale of hay, a lead rope, reins, or a bridal, she is afraid. She's also a little apprehensive with strangers but with a few treats she is really starting to enjoy being the ranch's new official gate greeter (if she doesn't get chased away by one of the other guys). Luckily she has become quite attached to me and the owner of the ranch and will follow us around like a puppy dog so we can lead her into the round pen and work with her one-on-one. I've been free-lunging her and doing join-up to strengthen our bond and she really loves our time in the round-pen together...until I bring out rope. Suddenly she turns into a flightly, unpredictable, pony. She will try to go through the fence to escape! I've gotten up to where i could place a rope around her nose while she munches an apple wafer but then I tried to slide it up higher and get around her neck and she was having nothing to do with it. I don't want to corner her and force rope on to her as that may highten her fear. She's fine if it's just lying around but as soon as someone pick it up she's outta there! I've taken to free lunging her when she tries to run off and keeping her going until she tires then allowing her to join-up and then she'll trust me again with rope slung over my shoulder but if I make any motion of trying to place it on her she runs off again. I've had her in the round pen with Keo when we're haltering him and leading him around and just doing different excercises with him so she can see rope on him without it hurting him. We've fed her with someone holding rope standing beside her. We've held a treat just under the nose band of a halter so she would have to stick her nose into it to get the treat. All to no avail. Something has happened either with her old owners or in transportation that has scared her way too much. I have a couple tricks I wanna try out on her but if anyone has any suggestion on helping Pixie out I'd love to hear them! I'm at the point where my next move is to just make a lassoo, throw it over her head and let her buck around until she tires out and realizes it aint gonna eat her and then when she's calmed down feed her her grain ration. She really is a sweet pony and you can tell she's really interested in working for us but the fear is strong in her eyes. She's also a very god mover with smooth transitions and will make a nice lil mount for us.

I would try putting a rope over your shoulder everytime you work with her and pretend it is not there. No don't corner her, it will only ruin your relationship. Also try playing with the rope in your hands while you are working with her. Just handling it and if she freaks just hold the rope and say a command she knows like trot or walk. Whoa probably will be hard for her to listen to right away if she is scared. A horses reaction is to run first, so let her run she can only go in a circle and talk calmly to her. It s ok everything is fine. That kinda thing the second she relaxes good girl. Another thing to try is taking a small rope very very short and when you brush her slide it all over her just like a brush. As she becomes comfortable make the rope longer and longer. If she gets uncomfortable take a step back. She may have been tangled in a rope or halter and this is really scarey for her. Lots of treats and reward bravery ignore fear. By that I mean if she is terrified don't say oh poor girl because then you are rewarding her and she will think it is ok to bescared. Don't push to fast or to hard. It takes lots of time and patience. I had one like this too after he hurt himself when his halter got stuck. Actually broke his nose, so it is something that takes time. She will probably get to trust you more as you bond with her. A round pen and working in it is god's gift to earth. If I can help you in any way let me know. Also try everytime she gets a treat holding the rope in your hand. She will begin to associate the rope with good things.

This is going to sound awful but here goes! I think the best think is to get the rope on her by any means possible and then deal with it after she has had a bit of a fit!! When she has calmed down a bit you can tell her how good she is etc. Mares are very intelligent so she will quickly pick up on the fact that it isn't hurting her and calm right down, especially if she is food / treat orientated!!

I had a horse that was terrified of plastic bags, and I tried everything to try to get him accustomed to them, tieing them to the field fence so they flapped etc and he could see them and get used to them! In the end the only thing that worked was, I tied him up short so he couldn't move and rubbed him over his body with one while my friend stood at his head and treated him. At first he was a quivering wreck, jumping and snorting and making a huge fuss, getting himself all sweaty and worked up, but I did this every day for about a month and Voila! No fear of bags.

Sorry that for me would be a last resort, if nothing else works then I would go ahead and and just put it on. But freaking her out would be my last attempt. But it is your pony OC and it is a decision you have to make. In the end if you are looking for a fast solution then Gustav is your answer but I would be a bit concerned about my relationship with the mare. I have horses that are abit to social with me, in that when I arrive they literally jump the fence to come see me. So I have them abit too friendly but I would rather that than have them fear me.

Each to their own! But I think the more you draw attention to the rope the more she will act up! Sometimes it is best just to get it over with and then go forward from there! I'm not suggesting that you really lunge at her with it, just be very matter of fact and business like about it. I find with all animals that the less fuss you make over something the less fuss they make. Just a thought.

How long have you been working with her with the rope if it has not been too long I would still take the long approach and slowly introduce her to it but if this has been a long ongoing situation than just get it on by any means and go from there horses are funny and sometimes you just can't get them over their fears unless you force them too the other thing is do you have to use rope I mean is there a halter on her already if not how are you transfering her from the pasture to the round pen? just wondering

Yuckaduck, your style of methods are exactly what I've been doing with her...for a year now. They've worked with other horses that had a fear issue but just not for Pixie *grumbles* She does love her treats but the fear is strong enough in her that she doesn't care if she misses treats/attention/positive motivators if it means staying away from rope

Gustav, I'm about ready to go down that path but I'm worried that if something ends up happening (putting a hoof through the fence, tripping, w/e) or she manages to get the rope off we'll just be back further from where we started.

WildWings, we've been working with her for about a year now. As for getting her from point A to point B, due to being involved in rescue we have the set up for working with equines that can't be handled immediately as is the case with Pixie. Our barn sits in the middle of a corral so stalls can be opened and horses just trot out on their own. The corral has 4 gates, one leads you out completey to unfenced area (where our tack shed is), one leads you into the small paddock where we keep sick, old, or sassy horses, one leads down the lane which connects to another lane and goes to the far field (all fenced), another leads to the middle field and the last one leads to the front field. The corral sits inside the front field. And then it gets more complicated as things are interconnected in some ways and by opening and closing certain gates you can make certain areas accesable only by some areas and not others (it's easier to see than explain). So anyways we can either herd her into the round pen or what I usually do is go up to her with a treat and then tell her "lets go play Pixie" (she loves being worked in the round pen with free lunging) and she'll dance along beside or ahead of me to the round pen.

A year is way to long sorry I thought this was a new horse with a new problem. Corner her and get the rope on her and then just let her react on her own. Do it in a place where she can't hurt herself. Follow Gustav's advice because that is your next step here. Leave the rope on her as long as possible and do it everyday with her until she figures out that the scare routine just ain't gonna cut it anymore.

Ya, it's been ridiculously long. I haven't been the one working with her for the whole year (only started with her meself in the early spring) so I have a gut feeling that the people who were working with her bowed to her fears too much and weren't matter-of-fact with her by saying things like "Oh Pixie girl, it's ok, the rope aint gonna bite ya! Awwwww schnookums c'mere" and so on. Where do u think the best place to do it would be? A large open field, or the round pen? Should I get it on her and start free lunging her to get her mind off the rope or just leave her be?

I almost got a fly mask on her yesterday! Pretended I was gonna put it on Keo who was standing next to her then slipped it over her ears instead but she was too quick and shook it off before i could do up the velcro. She gave me the funniest looks after like "Did you REALLY think you'd be able to get one of those things on me????"

Round pen would be ideal give her 5 minutes to figure it out and then start working her. The game is over. I would not use open field because if she happens to go totally bonkers it is harder to intervine. At least in the round pen you will be able to say ok lets do some work it ain't so bad.