I will be truthful with you. It will take time and a lot of love but it can be done. The first thing we have to do is put the horse on a regular schedule of feeding. Set times to feed and keep to them. In doing this we are building the foundation of the horse trusting us to be there on time each day and to rely on us to be there each day at the same time. Horses are creatures of habit and rely on that habit for feed and other needs.. The hardest thing to do is to let this horse be a horse again. To let it feel the freedom of being a horse and to do what its God-given instincts gave it to do in order to survive and be happy. Spend time with it every day brushing it and giving a good rub on the neck. The best way is to go out in the pasture with it and just sit and watch it. Watch it's every day body language; what makes it tick, its dislikes, its likes . I sit the first two days for about 15-30 minutes and just talk to it while it grazes, not touching it, letting it be comfortable with me near its space. I let it know that I'm not a threat to it and never will be a threat to it. I tell it he/she is a good horse and sometimes will give it a treat if it lets me near. Otherwise I turn away and will try the next day. I have found that at feeding time if I give it a treat as a special friendship offering and tell it he/she is a good pony and its ok now, the horse responds favorably. I tell it there will be no more pain ever again because it is with me and I won't let anyone hurt it ever again. You have to be truthful in all your sayings and with your feelings with this animal. I do this every day for a week and on the 7th day see a difference in the horse. He/she may not nicker to you but he will watch you to see what you are going to do and if you say hello my friend in a sing song voice this tells them that every thing is ok. They will start to come over to you, what I like to do is meet them half way, one step at a time. If they stop I stop and so on until I can offer a treat in my outstretched hand. I give the treat and tell them that is all I wanted of them and I walk away. This is very hard to do- to walk away when you want to pet them and give them a hug of love for once in their life. But you need to be strong and walk away. I have waked away with tears of joy because this animal is trusting me and I have to stand up to my part of the bargain and not push them out of their comfort zone because if I slip up I could tear down all that trust that we have built up in the last week. I try to break down everything into simple steps for each day of the week. This will help to set a goal to follow for each day.

An example setting goals for your self and the horse ... 1. Set feeding times give your self a half hour say in the morning feed between 5:30-6:00am in the evening between 5:30-6:00pm. Give it a treat before feeding it if it will except it if not put it in its feed where it can find it. 2.Go out and set and talk in a soft sing song voice Talk to it about anything that comes to mind . Carry treats with you every day and leave it where you were setting. Why you ask because the horse is going to go and smell where you were setting after you have left the area. he is going to want to get your sent and what will he find for his effort of being curios a treat waiting for it. 3. Set and talk to it as the day before and repeat the talking and watching and the treat. 4. Walk around the horse keeping 30 or more feet between you and it. He will watch you like a hawk to see if you are going to be a threat to it. Walk around two times if the horse keeps on grazing then walk a couple more times making the circle smaller. Go and set down as the days before and then when you leave ,leave a treat as before. 5. Do as the 4th day only making the circle smaller so on the 4th circle you are standing 15 feet away from the horse if he shows no sings of getting nervous then step toward him a few feet if the first signs of him becoming uncomfortable reverse your steps and walk away and set down and talk to him tell him it is ok . Remember to leave a treat. 6. day you should be able to notice the horse taking steps toward you,it might only be as if he is grazing but watch what steps he is taking they are getting closer to you inch by inch. take out a treat and toss it about 7 feet from you and watch what happens. he will remember the treats that you left in the days past and walk up to take it. 7. Don't be surprised if the horse starts walking toward you when you come in to the pasture ,go slow one step at a time meet him half way if he stops you stop talk to him that he is a good boy/girl let him make the first move at all times . I do this with my horses even now I will go out and set on the hay tire and wait for them to come to me. Usually they beat me to the hay tire and I always give a good gentle rub. Don't pat ,why because they associate a pat with a reprimand from another horse only with another horse it is a bump of the nose, the alpha horse and the beta horse will do this to get another horse to move away. Connie Beckner Ask, it will be given you; seek,and you will find it: knock,and it will be opened to you." "Passage from the New Testament in the Book of Matthew"

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