Change of Scenery- Mini + Mare #1

Yesterday my son and i went out to a friends place, she recently purchased a horse and a mini. Shes not an inexperienced horse person for a while her family owned a few horses but i believe she may have over estimated her ability. A few days after purchasing the 2 new animals she had the new Mare out of the feild and was petting her and giving her lots of love, upon trying to put her back inside the pasture the Mare bolted and almost trampled her 2 sons, it took them 45 minutes to catch her and get her back in the yard.

I went out there to work with both the horses because they are getting to the point that if they are not safe then they have to go which is understandable i mean the safety of her children come first. I started with the Mini first, he is a little stallion and she is not sure that she is going to get him gelded because she has not decided if she will use him for a stud or not.

The little Mini is fun, a little pushy when you take him away from "his" mare but once away he is a sweet little boy, he picks his feet up really well, is easy to catch and let the boys brush him out. He was very curious about all the toys in the yard but didnt spook or try to run away. He is in desperate need of a ferrier but that will come with time, i lunged him a little bit and he has the most ADORABLE movement i will take a video next time i am out there.

My son is really good around animals of all sizes he understands what is ok and what is not ok, and when mommy says MOVE IT he moves and gets out of the way. The little Mini was so cuddly and just wanted someone to pet and love him. My friend bought the Mini with hopes that her 2 little boys would soon be able to ride him (the mini is only 2) so i had Ethan get on(with me holding him of course) to see how Mini responded to stuff on his back, no i am not a bad mother i was on his back just before and he didnt offer to buck or anything but i didnt want to put my weight on him either because hes so little and i am so much bigger lol.

This is from a distance but Ethan is on Mini's back, Mini did great he hopped a little bit and circled me but nothing crazy and drastic so i dont think he will take to much work. One thing i did recommend after seeing how worked up Mini gets when around the Mare i said we should try putting Mini in with the 2 Alpacas and see how that affects the attitude of both horses. Mini is NOT happy today he does NOT like those yucky Alpacas.

The Mare on the other hand... she tried being very pushy with me but that is something that i do not tolerate and she was not a big fan of me pushing her back so she started to listen. I put her on a lunge line and she gets the concept and moves beautifully to the right but to the left she just stops dead and bolts the other way. She tried running off with me a few times on the lunge line as well thankfully i was wearing gloves my hands would have been raw after that experience. She was extremely sweaty after about 10 minutes on the lunge so its clear she hasnt been worked in a while, i tied her to a fence post while i grabbed a few other things from my car. She stood tied very well, and i was able to pick her feet and brush her out with her being a completely different horse she was not spooky or aggressive or pushy.

Im going to head out there again next week and see how she is and try to work with both of them a little more. With them seperated now i am hoping my friend will have a little more courage to take each of them out and work with them, brushing then out picking up there feet and asserting dominance. Im excited to start Mare under saddle she is a beautiful mover! But more on them later.