Hello all,
I ride an 11 year old QH gelding whom I love very much. He's a dream to ride, very comfortable and responsive.
The problem is his behaviour on the ground and towards other horses (and most humans, especially men). I will describe a bit of what's going on before posting my questions further below.
I'm one of the few people who deal with him (he doesn't have a lot of fans at our yard) and we get on really well. We've done Join-Up and I try to free-lunge him weekly when I'm there before I ride him.
With only me riding him, he doesn't get a lot of exercise, so he probably is feeling a bit unfit. He's not stabled and lives with a big heard on dozens of hectares of paddock.
His behaviour on the ground includes frequently pinning back his ears when people approach him (he sometimes does it to me as well) and while he doesn't bite, he sometimes 'snaps' to get people to leave him alone.
While I understand that he might just not always be in the mood for cuddles (and I do leave him alone if that's the case - he's entitled to his personal space :-) ), his behaviour has recently become grumpier and grumpier and I can't figure it out.
Since the beginning of the year he has become very itchy and I wonder if that has anything to do with it?
Like I said above, he's great to ride and once I'm on, he's really responsive and keen.
Oh, he's also very girthy, so I always try to give him plenty of time with the girth lose on him before I tighten it.
Do you guys have any suggestions about what the issue could be?
Are there any activities or exercises I could try?
Many thanks for your help :-)
Eva
Hi Eva, It sounds very much like it could be sweet Itch - a severe reaction to the saliva of midge bites - just in case you call it by another name; it makes the skin feel as though it's on fire & drives them nuts, so the behaviour is understandable. That is your first thing to sort out!
Both of my mares have sweet itch unfortunately, it is manageable BUT you must get on top of it straight away. They need to wear specialist Sweet Itch rugs 24 hours a day except when you're working them, when you'll need a fly spray that repels midges, not all of them do.
My Ebony was exactly like you describe the first few months after i got her, she was so bad, i had to give her a bath at least once a fortnight with gentle shampoo, use the Boett Blanket on her & where that didn't cover, i used an anti midge cream; it took nearly a year for her condition to show improvement to the point she was a happy pony again, so you just have to keep with it.
The girthy bit is probably to do with it too as thats one of the places the midges go for, he could also be very sensitive naturally round there.
Please do get a vet to check him out for Sweet Itch as left uncontrolled it is a terrible condition for them.
If it is that, don't worry, it is controllable, you need to get the rugs on them before the midge season starts as the point of the rug is to be a physical barrier to prevent the midges biting in the first place; it might take a while to settle this season, but next year, if you get the rugs on early enough, he'll be a very different horse.
Best wishes xx
Hi Eva, I'd like to add a bit to Beryls excellent point. I feel there may be something else going on here too. You say he is not "popular" at the yard and doesn't like men and snaps - I strongly suspect there is some history here to some current behaviour that humans are imposing on the horse. You say he doesn't like men, if a man has treated him badly somewhere in the past he will be wary of men (what is his history, how long have you had him?) animals can tell human gender difference. When he behaves inappropriately what do other people do (difficlt to know what they do when you are not there I know). Can you reflect on the times that he has 'snapped' at you compared with the times he hasn't and see if there is any pattern at all, no matter how laterally you have to think e.g. is there always a certain person around the yard that time, is it dark, has he been fed etc etc etc. Watch everything that happens and there may be some clues that start to emerge. Looking forward to hearing more about this - its very interesting
Hi Eva - welcome to the Uni. I haven't had any experience with midge itch but it does sound nasty and Beryl's advice is always sound. If it is midge it then your problem could well be solved but I will address your problem as if it is a behavioural, environmental one. If he flattens his ears at you or anyone else he is warning you off. If he does it particularly to men then he is saying stay away from me because I don't trust you. The reason for this behaviour is most likely because he has been badly abused by people in the past - particularly men. I had a mare, my. Pie, once who had been incredibly abused by a guy who claimed he would re-train her for her young owner as she was rearing. She had been initially started by a gentle lady trainer and was friendly and OK on the ground until her young owner sent her to this brute. He managed to damage nearly every joint in her body, left her with two broken floating ribs, ear twitched her and probably also nose twitched her. Credit to Pie all this brutal treatment didn't break her spirit but left her terrified of people and ready to fight them off. She was returned to her young owner a broken down, terrified angry and dangerous horse - she was only 4 years old. When I first saw Pie she was skinny grey coloured Palomino who viciously attacked her young owner as she approached her in the small back yard - ears flattened, flew at her then turned and kicked out. I was shocked by her behaviour and was ready to leave but when the young girl came out of the yard she just stood there quietly looking so sad that she touched my heart. So I asked the young owner if I could try to catch her -didn't know of Monty's methods at the time but I did know after years of work with animals to approach her quietly with my shoulder turned to her and my eyes down and turned away - I was wary but not afraid of her as she continued to stand quietly as I approached and I easily slipped her halter on. Had no intention of buying her so just rubbed her down and let her go and went inside for a coffee at the young girl's family restaurant before heading home. While I was having my coffee the owner came over to me and begged me to take Pie as a free lease while she continued to try to sell her. As I was on long service leave at the time I agreed. I knew it would be a huge challenge but I felt so sorry for the young mare so I took her on and renamed her Pie. Pie taught me so much. Initially I could ride her despite all her injuries even on the roads as she loved going out but was terrified of cars and trucks but didn't do anything really dangerous. Sometimes she would 'bail up" and I quickly learnt to just sit on her stroke her lots and wait. If I was at all impatient with her I paid for it when I got off. She was such a challenge - always ready to fight back if she felt mistreated in any way, full on ready to attack when any male came near. I learnt to find the largest possible carrot and keep her head with my body shielding the vet as he injected her with a sedative. Carrots were my salvation with Pie. If she was angry with me after a vet or farrier visit I would hide behind my quiet gelding and feed her carrots under his neck until she was ready for me to come out and stroke her. Three months after Pie came home with me the young owner rang to say she had found a buyer. Young man who wanted her for bending racing! Impossible for Pie so I said how much is he paying and then said there is a cheque for that amount in the mail for you to-day. After about 12 months my vet recommended a knee injection for Pie's near knee - all her joints were bad but this was the worst one. Sadly the injection went wrong and it crippled Pie on that leg for life. After the pain killer wore off she came up to the fence calling out to me in pain. Her knee was like a football and she couldn't put any wait on it. Nursed her for 12 months and the knee improved enough for her to move around on it. I owned her for 12 years and then decided to try for a foal. So Pie gave me Tricka - no hiccups at all and I managed to pull Tricka out for her as I had pulled many calves and Pie was struggling a bit. She was a wonderful mother and her nature changed - let me do anything with her foal. A couple of years ago when Pie was 23 years old and her joints were getting sorer my vet encouraged me to say good- bye before she started to suffer to much and have to go through another winter. I still miss her so much. Such a story and longer term Uni. members would have heard some of it before so apologies
for that. Point is if your horse has been abused and his actions suggest he has then you need to spend time to gain his trust and help him to trust other humans again too. Join up will really help and plenty of handling with the dually halter and as much special time you can give him with lots of love and encouragement. Try to introduce him to a range of people while you hold him with the dually being ready to gently discipline him and back him up when his ears go back. Make sure anyone you introduce him to lowers their eyes and approaches him quietly and submissively. He will react differently to different people so be ready for that. Lots of pats and rewards when he behaves appropriately. Sorry Monty but this is where a small piece of chopped up carrot can help but please make sure he is standing quietly, submissively with his head away from you when you give it to him. He must not muzzle you or look for it. Finally if his ears go back when you girth him this could be because he maybe a bit sore - girth or back area, or the saddle may not fit him perfectly or he maybe a bit ' cold backed' and needs a good rub on his back prior to saddling. Good luck with him and apologies for such a long response.
Hi MaggieF and all,
Seeing this long response I first hesitated if I felt like reading it! Now I'm so glad I did!!!
This is the first time I read the whole story of your Pie, Maggie, and I think you did a wonderful job with her. Funny when you only get bits and pieces of a story, it just doesn't work.Thank you for sharing your story and no doubt giving Eva a lot to consider and think about.
I would like to acknowledge you for stepping in for this mare and giving her a good life.
Miriam
lovely to see more of the story of Pie,
Thanks Miriam and Mel. - I did get a bit carried away!
Hi MaggieF, I'm so glad you told us more of Pie's story, poor little girl, how lucky for her she found you, Bless her.
It makes me really pleased i found Libby as if i hadn't bought her, the people who found her for me would have - her story would have been VERY different if that had happened, I'll not say any more!!!!!
Sorry Eve, i missed the bit about him not liking men, but the itching is top most in my mind as i remember how dreadful Ebony was when she came to me, she destroyed everything in her wake in her frustration of not getting any relief from it.