# Halter Breaking 8 month old filly.. please help



## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

A bit more about you would be helpful here - how much experience do you have in working with horses? (not just riding - WORKING)


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## thenrie (Sep 10, 2012)

subscribe...


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## Spotted (Sep 19, 2012)

I would get her to like treats. then let her sniff the rope and take it away and give a treat. do this several time, so she sees the rope as being a good thing.
Take baby steps, each time releasing the pressure and giving a treat. soon you will be able to put the halter on. After that put a little pressure on the halter, when she gives, take way the pressure and give a treat. And keep going. I recommend starting with a slight turn instead of a forward motion.


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## Chiilaa (Aug 12, 2010)

How did you get her from the seller's place to where she is now?


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

How did you not realize she was not as advertised (ie halter broke) when you went to look at her, moved her to where she is now, etc?


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## thenrie (Sep 10, 2012)

I was going to wait to see what others would say, but I think I'll chime in now. Just my 2 cents worth.

The quick way would be to get somebody who can toss a rope to rope her. It's a pretty quick thing to break them to control with a rope around the neck. Then it's not too much problem to get them to accept a halter from there. Especially when the horse already knows you.

What I would probably do (bad shoulder, can't toss a rope) would be to go ahead and start training her to longe in the round pen, without a halter and get her to become submissive and obedient to commands. I would do it with a lead and halter in my hands, sort of as "visual aids" for the commands (swing the rope to get her to go, etc.). Once she is doing well at that for a week or two, I would get her to approach me (that's part of the longeing training) and slip the rope around her neck for a little control. Then I would work on getting her to accept a halter. Once she is submissive on the longeing controls, it should be much easier to get her to accept a halter. Got to get that rope around the neck, though.

There are other ways, but since she's in the round pen, why waste the time?


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## HighonEquine (May 11, 2012)

I agree with Thenrie. You have her in a round pen already, start from there. 

I would start first by asking for forward movement. Don't expect a full cirlce around the pen at first. Start with small steps. Ask for her to move off (either with a whip, or lead rope), once you get a few steps stop asking and back up a bit. Repeat until you get her moving forward consistently. Once she is relaxed about moving around the pen when you ask, start having her change direction. At this point she will have realized that you are in control. 

Next I would start asking for her attention. Lets say she is ignoring you as you climb into the pen. Kiss, slap the rope on your leg, jump up and down what ever it takes until she looks at you. If she completely zones you out, make her move. Not a slow dinky walk, but a brisk trot. Back off after a lap or two. Once she has stopped ask for her attention again. If you get her attention, then start moving around. Go to her left, then her right. Make her move around to keep her eyes on you. If she looks away, make her move off again. Eventually she will understand you want her attention. This is a great time to bring in the treats! Slowly circle her, going from side to side and getting closer each time. If you think she is going to shy away, don't push it, back up a bit. At some point you are going to end up close enough to touch her. I would only touch areas she is okay with at this point. Only pet her for a few seconds and then walk away. Make each time you pet her a bit longer. If she runs off while you are petting her, don't let her stop on her own, make her move a bit, change directions, you want being away from you to be work. 

I would keep going at this until you can touch about anywhere. Desensitizing the face first would be best. Then you can get a halter on and control whether or not she can run off a bit more.

I hope that was mildy helpful!


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## thenrie (Sep 10, 2012)

Watch some John Lyons videos on Youtube about longeing.


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## haleigh (Jan 6, 2013)

My father used to foster horses from the SPCA all through my childhood. When i got to be of age to actually help, i would. I can halter fully grown horses mainly because we had them in stalls. eventually they would warm up to us and let us halter them with rope halters before switching to normal halters. This is my first filly. Ive tried to get her in the barn and stall her up, but she wont move from her round pen. I was able to get her into the trailer because she followed her momma. We took momma out when i had her in the front. Like i said, the man told me her shots were up to date and i stupidly believed him and he said he would fax the paperwork over to me when he found them. I have her registraion papers, but never got her shot record. When the vet came about, he said she probably never had her shots and needs to be dewormed. I am in the process of scrubbing the trailer down to clean it out to make sure. All my other horses have their shots. I was able to halter them with ease because they were worked with, but she was never been worked with. Thanks for the advice. Ill keep trying. Patience is a virtue in this  Thanks!!


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## Thunderspark (Oct 17, 2012)

I agree with her being in a round pen to use it to your advantage. Every time you go in there go in with the lead/halter and if you can pet her face then use the lead/halter to rub her with so she learns it won't hurt her.
Like someone else said, if she ignores you or turns her butt to you chase her off, make her do a couple rounds then relax in the middle and if she turns to face you, you turn away.
Do a search on Clinton Anderson on Youtube, there are vids up there that might be helpful to you....


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## thenrie (Sep 10, 2012)

haleigh said:


> My father used to foster horses from the SPCA all through my childhood. When i got to be of age to actually help, i would. I can halter fully grown horses mainly because we had them in stalls. eventually they would warm up to us and let us halter them with rope halters before switching to normal halters. This is my first filly. Ive tried to get her in the barn and stall her up, but she wont move from her round pen. I was able to get her into the trailer because she followed her momma. We took momma out when i had her in the front. Like i said, the man told me her shots were up to date and i stupidly believed him and he said he would fax the paperwork over to me when he found them. I have her registraion papers, but never got her shot record. When the vet came about, he said she probably never had her shots and needs to be dewormed. I am in the process of scrubbing the trailer down to clean it out to make sure. All my other horses have their shots. I was able to halter them with ease because they were worked with, but she was never been worked with. Thanks for the advice. Ill keep trying. Patience is a virtue in this  Thanks!!


I wouldn't worry about scrubbing the trailer. The medicine will take care of the worms. If you'll look up information on Coggins, you'll find it is a disease passed on by mosquitoes and once contracted by a horse it is usually fatal within a month or so. So the likelihood of your filly having it is miniscule, and washing the trailer will have no effect even if she did, since it is passed by mosquitoes. Same with West Nile virus. Since it's winter time, unless you are in south Florida, it's unlikely you have anything to worry about.


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## HighonEquine (May 11, 2012)

How are things going? Any progress? Have you decided on the technique you are going to use? 

Update us soon!


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## themacpack (Jul 16, 2009)

thenrie said:


> I wouldn't worry about scrubbing the trailer. The medicine will take care of the worms.* If you'll look up information on Coggins, you'll find it is a disease passed on by mosquitoes* and once contracted by a horse it is usually fatal within a month or so. So the likelihood of your filly having it is miniscule, and washing the trailer will have no effect even if she did, since it is passed by mosquitoes. Same with West Nile virus. Since it's winter time, unless you are in south Florida, it's unlikely you have anything to worry about.


Sidenote - "coggins" is not a disease. The disease is EIA (Equine Infectious Anemia) - Coggins is the test.


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