i brought my filly last march on her first birthday she was and is lovely she stood at 14 hh she would catch, lead, pick up feet and load without any problems i get her home she was brilliant i could even lay with her in the stable using her as a pillow lol for about 3 months, then she started playing games like im a tree (planting her self), we over come that by me haveing more patiants then her lol, then bolting in from the field we over come that by everytime she went to bolt id turn her and walk back to the field, i repeated this for 30 mins somedays till she stopped and walked in calm that worked we over come that then we started rearing when being lead back to the field, we over come that by me ignoring her and carring on walking that worked .before the winter came last yr i was getting her used to wearing rugs she accepted them with no problems, 3 moths ago we moved to germany were she loaded and was fine on the lorry with the transport company in there hands for a week she was brill she turns up her all confident but now we are having trust problems she had her first season about a month ago, whilst in season i couldnt get anywear near her apart from if i had food and if i tried to touch her she would back up buck and run she was like that for 2 weeks i spent alot of time just talking to her stroking her face and slowly she let me touch most of her again, but the other day i had a tracor in the field digging the whole for the ground work to there new stables and she was very intrested in the tractor to intrested if u get wat i mean so my boyfriend and friend had to keep her away. her being very strong headed she was running through them bucking at them and so on tilll she got back to the tractor. but noone hurt her or even touched her but now i can only stroke her face no where else its like we have loads of trust to some trust to no trust everytime something different happens how do i get her to over come this, she is used to tractors as my naigbour is always in his field with it she fine with cows and dogs and so on but everytime someone new goes in the field she losses all trust in me even if im not in her view as my house backs on to the field i can see everyone that goes in and out so know one has done anything to make her lose trust is this just a faise she is going through she now stands at 16hh so she can be quiet scary to people who dont know her . any advice on trust would be be handy thank you.

You post this question under "trust" - but I am not sure if this really is the issue.

You describe a lot of rearing, running, bolting and so on. This is to me not a trust problem but a serious lack of respect. And if a 16h two year old just runs through your friends this is getting a little on the dangerous side.

It sounds to me that this filly thinks she is queen B and can do whatever she wants. And that is not good - and will get worse.

Here are two approaches I can think of. If possible, I would put her together with a very dominant mare of comparable size - well she might get banged up a little. I have found that horses are much more efficient in solving this kind of problem. But this also would require that you can perfectly handle the other mare - and eventually take over from her.

Also you might find someone who has experience with this kind of behavior - and can break it.

Hate to say that - but "using her as a pillow" might have kind of been the start.

Good luck!

GC

i am sorry to say that this problay is my fault as when she was younger i used to play in the field for hours with her chasing her, her chasing me playing some foot ball ect when we was in england and i brought her home she was put into a field of 10 mares and 2 geldings one of the same age as her so she had a play buddy and they were best friends some of the mares were in there 20s so they stayed out the way abit but the others started to become role modles for her and my other mare who is very dominate to other horses gave my filly a few beatings put her in line my othere mare being head of the heard ever since iv had her in every heard iv put her in she is 16'2 and listens to every word i say she is very well mannerd, since we moved to germany it has been them 2 together only my older mare is protective of me and is with me the hole time im in the field following me, circling me so when ever the filly has aproaached me my old mare chassed her away.i can do anything with the filly as long as nothing changes in her environment then she will approach me but wont let me touch her for ages it takes me about a week sometimes to be able to touch her face and shoulder i havent been able to touch her tail end since her season and it all started since she had her first season this is the problem . she is sweet gental large and loves to play which i have tried to stop now as she is so large maybe thats wat she is missing the old days lol all the bolting on lead rearing ect has stopped we dealt with that as soon as it started this im having a lot of work done in the field building stables and so on so it very hard at the mo, one day she fine the next when the builders so have been around. back to square one it very frustrating.

It sure looks like you are part of the cause - bolting or rearing on a lead should be a real NO-NO. But that is water under the bridge.

Let me try to explain a possible current cause - this is a little bit of behavioral science.

The filly has obviously a lot less attention / playtime / buddies than she had. And by now she might have learned that not letting you get to her will give her a lot of extra attention. You mention it sometimes takes a week - that is most likely a week of high attention she gets.

Let me give you an example. Years ago I had a mare that started sucking on the fence rails. What did I do? I went there and cussed her out. To her it did not matter - I was dealing with her, not the other horses. I tried everything including the meanest hot sauce you ever tasted - she licked it off the rails.

I finally realized, she only did that when I was around - I watched her with binoculars from the house. So for some nerve wrecking weeks I just ignored it. I would walk by her pen and instead of yelling at her I would just say, "Hi Lacy" and walk on.

It took a while but she eventually quit - she did get nothing out of it.

Think about it and maybe give it a try.

Something like try to get to her - and walk away as soon as she backs off and pet or do something with your other mare. Only give her attention if she makes the slightest move to approach YOU.

Good luck!

GC

LOL dont you love (and hate) how smart they are sometimes. My Gelding will look me dead in the eye as if to say "i know you hate this but watch me do it anyway" and turn around and start cribbing on his stall door. (of course only when im out of popping distance)

I would think about sending her to a trainer for a while to re-establish a healthy dominance hierarchy in your filly's head. Then, have the trainer work with you to show you respect xcorsises that you can use to build on your relationship with her.

There are very few things more dangerous than a disrespectful horse. Fix it now or pay for it later.

i dont really think its disrespect as every problem iv had with her we have sorted on our own she has never done anything to make me worried or anyone else that goes near her, she has a very strong mind and is always playing with everyone and chassing the dog around the field trying to flip him over that is quiet funny to watch and i dont think would ever hurt anyone, i have had some improvment with her letting me touch her im starting to think she has pain in her overiers when in season and its gunna take her a while to get used to haveing monthlys the same as all us women do and she just worried, i can lay on her and groom her and she follows in walk and trot without being in head coller and lead rope so i know i have trust and respect i have never let her get away with anything thats wrong. when it comes down to things happening in the field and me not being able to catch or touch her for about a week after thats the ONLY problem i have with her. maybe someone did do somthing to her to scare her when i wasnt around as it only my two horses out there and alot of people walking through the field,my older mare doesnt go up to anyone but me but the filly goes up to evryone,and maybe she assoitates new things in the field to that situation i dont know just a thought but today she seemed her self lovley lots of kisses and pulling faces lol

poptart.... horses are not house pets, they are herd animals with clear and straight-forward pecking orders in their herd. Your filly clearly puts herself above your dog (ie chasing him until he gives in, which is dangerous for your dog as she could quite easily step on him) and evidently is not quite sure where you fit in her dominance structure. Read some books, talk to people who work with horses professionally or have lots of expierence with them. If, as you believe, it is not a respect problem then they may be able to recomend some techniques or supplements to ease her "transition into marehood."
After reading up on horse behavior and talking to knowlegable people, you still think it is a monthly thing, talk to your vet. There are things as simple as giving her herbs like rosemary to ease symptoms to giving her a hormone implant to avoid heat cycles entirely.


good luck.

Oh and by the way, stop laying on your horse. It may not happen anytime soon but one day you are gonna get hurt.

great times i have spent all week pampering the filly and today she was back to normal picking up her feet and everything im so proud of her lets see if she stays this way so happy