[*mel*18]

I have just rescued a pony from some gypsies whom to put it nicely didn't look after it.

Now i have got it i can't do anything with it. I can't catch it no matter what and when i have cought it (only once) it violently shakes and won't even eat out of my hand.

Any tips on how to build up a horses trust will be greatly appreciated.

[hil529]

i have a rescue pony. although i wasnt the one who rescued him, i only adopted him. the people at celtic rein rescue used intensive love therapy for him. basicly they cornered him in the stall, and just held him for hours petting him and feeding him treats. over and over again.

best of luck to you!!

[taydajumper93]

I would just gain its trust, because it seems like a trust issue

[Eventer98]

Maybe when you feed it hay/grain stand as close as you can while it will still eat and gradually move closer over a long period of time? when you get close enough to touch it, just gently stroke it for a second and then walk away. keep doing this and hopefully the pony will eventually start to trust you.

[Courtney1291]

thats how it was with my pony. what helped me was i had another pony who was very sweet, and would always come to you in the pasture with him. and whenever she would come up to me, he would always get curious, and eventually got closer, and wanted treats too...after he learned what they were lol.

also before he was legally mine, i sat out in the pasture for hours at a time, just sitting still with a bit of grain in a bucket at my feet. he would come up to me, and see i wouldnt kill him. but when i moved he'd run off again, but i know it helped, he knew he could trust me and that i wouldnt jump out after him trying to catch him.

oh, and if you do catch him, i suggest that you keep a halter on him. that helped me alot, because when he would let me catch him, i could always keep him with me. breakaways are the best of course.

one more thing lol, he almost always would come up the fence if i was sitting outside the fence, because he didnt feel scared i guess. i would just sit there with my hand through the fence. this works best if you have the halter on, because you can clip a lead on to the halter through the fence, and he cant run as easily. my guy didnt seem to be as scared or feel as threatened when i did it that way.

also, both times, i made sure they were in small lots. so that he always had to see me. what helped most though was what i said first.

so yeah. just dont chase him... you probably already know that. the people that had my guy before me thought it was ok to just chase him, and now you cant even so much as jog anywhere near him. and when you can finally touch him, start with gentle pats, and then just get harder with your pats, and scratch his neck and stuff to where you know he can feel it...i dont know how to explain it. light touch seemed to scare my guy more than like rough scratches from a curry comb.

oh, and it took weeks for him to finally learn it was ok to eat out of my hand. and i've had him almost a year, and he still wont eat hay or grass or anything out of my hand. anything but grass is fine. once you find what the other people "lured" him in with. it'll be alot easier to try to avoid those things and get him to trust you, and slowly add them in later on.

i hope my post helped...if you have any other questions, or need me to explain anything better, just ask.

EDIT:

one more thing. my guy was very curious, and if i sat with my back toward him, with something in my hand, like a book im reading or something, he would come up to me just to see what it was. dont move when he comes up to you, just sit there, and act like hes not there. any, and every horse i have ever done this with will always come up to you. i've done it with many...i use it as a game lol. its how i eventually caught alot of the ponies where i got my mini. all of them still come up to me when i do this. they seem to love to figure out whats in my hand.