Facing Your Fears

Abbey's progress can't start until she's no longer terrified.  With a foal that's seen people on a fairly regular basis, their curiosity usually overcomes the fear.  But Abbey hasn't been exposed to people or confinement.  Her reaction is to try to escape.  She quickly learns she can't get over the top of the pen or under it, so turning and running will be her default unless she's re-programmed.  Of course if she were roped or run to exhaustion in a round pen, this would be over quickly.  But she would be mentally and physically stressed and she would carry that initial fear with her all her life and possibly revert to it in high pressure situations.  And I'm blessed with the luxury of time.
Many times a day for the first three or four days, I'll enter her pen with the goal of her facing me instead of bolting away.  Eventually, this will be a skill that will help her anytime something scares her.  At first I'll move her quietly around the pen by just stepping toward her shoulder.  But I'll keep turning her back and forth and at some point she will tilt her head, or cock an ear toward me and I will instantly take a step back.  I'll build on this until she turns her head to me.  I'll slap my leg or make a noise to cause her to look.  When she does, I'll  step back.  When she moves away, I'll move her around, quietly and not in one direction until she looks at me.  Eventually, she will step toward me when I step back, and then I will step back a few steps.  As she gets more willing to face me and step toward me, I'll actually step back and turn away.  I'll give her a minute to think about this before starting again.  The sessions will be short, or as long as they need to be to get her calm, looking at me, and taking a step toward me.  When she does really well, I'll turn and leave the pen.  Abbey has generations of good breeding to be a working partner and I've "met" both her sire and dam, so I know she has good genetics.  She's a quick learner and she doesn't want to be scared of me.  In a day or two of this, I'll be able to get close enough to put my hand on her forehead--very briefly and I'll remove it before she moves off.  I may have to start with just getting her to stand still while I raise and lower my hand.  The only time I will make a quick move is if she pins her ears or offers to kick.  Abbey didn't do any of this, but if she did I'd raise my hand, say "HEY" and sort of shoo her off continuing to make her move and turn until she faced me.  For the first few days, the goal will be for her to hook onto me when I'm in the pen with her.  I want her to be facing me or at least looking at me as I clean her pen, etc.  And even when something startles her, I want her to quickly turn back to me.
All the while, I'm going to be super careful not to stress her.  I'll watch to make sure she's drinking, eating, pooping and peeing normally.  I agree with the new thinking about low stress handling of livestock.  It just makes so much sense they will be healthier.  Another big plus is that they  learn better if they aren't scared, stressed or out of breath from running around a round pen.  Fear may be a great motivator, but it's not the motivator I choose to use.