Wow, what a difference a year makes. I have my own place now, Heidi was turned over to a trainer and is a wonderful trail horse, Lady is improving on allowing herself to be haltered, Bobby Jo is calmer and easier to handle, and Lucy has been leased out to a loving family related to Davy Crockett. Thank you so much everyone for your wisdom. I wake up every day feeling blessed for having friends like you all and living on this beautiful piece of land.

Update: Sorry so quiet here. Trying to take care of four horses on my own without my own place. LOVE IT! Heidi is doing great. She leads, backs, lifts her feet for cleaning and the farrier, pretty good in the round pen but I haven't worked her much...100's of degrees even at night here. Her mom, Bobby Jo, needed some work because she wouldn't let anyone touch her back feet. She lets me groom her there, I can clean and trim her front hooves but still can't pick up the back ones without being kicked. Any suggestions? She's a broodmare that has never been handled until now. Then we have Lady, my cutting horse. She is Two-Eyed Jack, Bonanza on the top and Doc the Doc, Legrette, Poco Bueno on the bottom. She will do anything once I catch her, but getting to her in a 40 acre pasture is a pill. I catch her buddy and she follows me in. When I put her in the roundpen she PERFECT, follows me around, lets me approach and halter her. In the pasture? She will stay near me but not enough to put a halter on her. I could cheat and bring treats, but I want her to stand still when I come up to her. I heard that when she was at the sale barn the boyfriend of the ex-owner used to hit her over the head because she would cooperate. Any fast movement causes her to put her head way up. Then there's Lucy... she's four years old and the perfect one in this dysfunctional family, lol. Well, going to Texas tonight to check on my property and bring back my things to Georgia. Will drop in if my WiFi at the house is still working. Thank y'all so much for your guidance!

That right there is the moment you are looking for Pshart!.... It's been called many things by many trainers... But it's the moment the lightbulb came on... the moment you became the leader. The moment you gained her respect and trust. It's the moment that still sends shivers down my spine and swells my heart in wonder every time, even after all these years. It's the moment she put her life in your hands. It's trust for her leader... plain and simple. You did it perfect!. You may need to reinforce it a few times.... or periodically remind her it's you or the highway... But you done good girl! I'm proud of you!

Hey Gals, something strange yet wonderful happened Saturday night to my other horse that I wanted to tell you. My riding horse, Lady, has ALWAYS been hard to catch. Now that she is here at the new place on 40 acres, she has been IMPOSSIBLE to catch. It has been over a week since I caught her up. Saturday night, I walked all over hell and finally got her into the arena, fed her, and then tried to coax her back out. She would have none of it. Now it is dark, almost 10pm. I remembered what horsechic said and decided to move her feet. She raced around and around in the area. Man, she looked beautiful but wild. I kept pressure on her for about 5 minutes. Suddenly, she stopped and came to the middle where I was and just stood there. So did I because I was thinking, "Now what the hell do I do?" I walked away and stopped. She took a few steps. I took a step towards her and slowly walked away. She came closer. I turned my back on her and slowly walked away. I could hear her following me so I stopped, keeping my back to her. Softly, I felt a muzzle on my back so I turned around and petted her shoulder, clipped on the lead rope and led her back to pasture. Not sure of the why, just happy about the end result. Thanks horsechic!

Holly is right on pshart. I'm goind to toss a wrench at you tho.... And I am confident you are up to catching and working it through. The horse that never resists is the hardest horse to fully train and ultimately the most dangerous. (because we don't expect them to blow) So while it's extremely helpful to you now in the beginning that she is so willing.... It is very important to find some things that she is not so willing at and conquer her 'give to you' in those situations so that she truly understands that she is to give to your will and not her own. You may need to actually 'push' her a little to find that resistence. (not BIG resistence... just a little is enough, but have the TIME available, and be always in your safety zones in case it does get big). She needs to understand that YOU are the leader and that it is YOU that she needs to turn her attention to when the world gets too big for her, and that she needs to listen for YOUR cues, over her own instincts. This is what will keep you safe on a trail when the dragons come out from behind the trees, or on the side of the road when a truck hits it's airbreaks, or any other of the million boogeymans out there, that it's impossible to train for. Start simple by asking her to turn and face you. Then ask for it EVERY time you ask... Then ask for it for longer periods... Then start asking it while you do things... (brush her, pick up her feet, despook to a saddle blanket etc. PRAISE, PRAISE, PRAISE her for doing good and RELEASE her BEFORE she quits on her own so that it was YOU in control. If she refuses to stand facing, make her move out (quick and stern and beyond her comfort zone). The resting, peaceful place is standing with eyes on you. When you have that lesson solid... Start introducing more fearful things . Always start short and quick so you can praise her for standing, then release her and repeat. IMPORTANT: FIND STUFF SHE IS AFRAID OF: because trust me there WILL be something in her future and she has to know that her job when that happens is to stand still and put her attention on you and your will. It is not possible to teach a horse to never have fear, but it IS possible to teach a horse how to react to the fear when it happens. IE: stand still and turn to 'mom'. But in order to teach that you have to find fear to work with. If thats too quick of an explanation email and I'll break it down better. I hope it made sense. I'm so proud of what you've done so far. Lots of people say they want to do what you're doing but the majority aren't willing to do the work. Keep it up and maybe you won't even need that trainer, you're well on your way.

It's so nice to have a willing horse, pshart . . . It's when we meet with resistance that it gets scary because even a pony is so much stronger than we are . . . Do keep working on ALWAYS, 100% of the time, getting a "give" to pressure, even the pressure of your body language in leading forward, back, left, right, halt, and getting her to move over while tied as this will help the farrier, immensely . . . Get her to give to the pressure of holding her feet up for longer and longer periods while they're held between your knees or in your lap and worked on with hoof pick, knife, nippers and rasp. Be sure she's willing for the farrier's work before you try to get her trimmed . . . unless your farrier is a trainer/friend who won't mind helping with the training. If the farrier isn't a patient sort, and if the filly gets resistant, the experience could result in a set back. Sounds as if you know how to be patient, firm, and consistent to set the boundaries for your horse and sounds like you are going to help her to only get better and better. :)

WooHoo! I reviewed everything with my filly today and the only thing she refused was the lead rope when I first led her out of the pasture. She stood stiff-legged for a few seconds and then gave up. I let her come up to me and rubbed her shoulder and we were off to walk all over the ranch and then get groomed. When she was standing in the field, I ran my hand down her legs and decided to try picking each one up. There was a bit of a fight the first time around, but then she just put her muzzle on my back and watched. I worked my way around three times picked each leg up and held it there before placing it back on the ground. She, Heidi, is so calm for a two year old. She is very much like her mother. She gets a pedi-mani this week if all goes well!

pshart I have been following this posting and I can feel your excitement and happiness just reading your words. I myself many moons ago broke and trained my colt. This was before the time of all of the information that is available on the internet and TV. I still after being around horses for over 40 years I seek new learning opportunities. I highly recommend Clinton Anderson https://www.noworriesclub.com/ and Chris Cox http://www.ridethejourney.com/ I have watched many of their programs and their techniques and knowledge are outstanding. Even after all of these years I have learned new things and even learned the (why) behind some of the things I have always done. Both have a great starting programs. Good Luck and have a wonderful time doing this with your filly!! Glo

God, I love you guys! This is why I belong to ES. I truly appreciate every word you write and read it over before I go over to the stable. I want to hand over to the trainer a polite young lady willing to learn...I am talking about the filly, lol. Today I made the lead rope into a rein and we visited a fire (big one) and backed up starting with five paces to 10 on each side! THANK YOU for telling me about the tarp. There's some huge pieces of waferboard out there and I will get a tarp. The only time she didn't give to the halter was leaving her enclosure and personal pony. You guys are so on the money! Thank you!

Excellent advice, chic . . . :) Couldn't have said it better . . . pshart, chic is right! You're doing swell :) Your horse will tell you if you are doing it correctly. If you are, then you'll get a focused horse and calm obedience. If you are doing it wrong or pushing too hard, too fast, you'll get a frustrated horse, rude horse. Just go step by step. Put yourself in the horse's place, which is actually like being plopped down in a foreign country where one doesn't know the rules or language . . . Patience, focus, consistency, and reward by taking the pressure off (body pressure or physical pressure) when the horse gives you the right answer or STARTS to give you the right answer . . . I love what JL says: The slower you go, the faster you get.