How do I stop my horse from spinning around me when I want him to stand. He was in a real stroppy mood (17hh of girly squeeling, stroppy gelding)this evening!! It's the 4th night of coming in the stable, both him & his mum have been out with a stable if they want it!I washed his feet off, out him in with his feed, went did the same to mum, (they share a stable until His is finished it's 15' square), then he got a real strop on over something, so I thought I'd give him 5 mins on the Dually as I'm not impressed with his feet flying past my ears whem I'm changing rugs!! Yeah THAT stroppy!I got him out asked him to just stand, well the front & back legs were going, he was desperately trying to rear, squeeling like a girl, I'd school him then he spins his backside away & do a brilliant turn on the forehand! How the hell do I stop that, he'd stand for all of two seconds then start all over again, as soon as I straightened the Dually & rubbed his forehead!! Hate it when he's in a stop as he seems to lose all rhyme & reason. No wind, dry day.. Any ideas, he's good 90% of the time, a pain 9% then we get the 1% stroppy teenager He's 11 by the way.
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Can you get someone to hold him on the dually & school him while you do the rugs when he's like that for your own safety?
Is it possible that he's stressed about going in the stable with his mum?
It's a very small space to have 2 horses shut in together as they can't get away from each other.
May be better to leave them both out until his stable is ready.
when the adrenalin is up as much as that, it's very difficult to do feet etc safely - duh - that's stating the obvious isn't it! :)
Can you see or hear anything thats upsetting him?
same questions as Beryl, plus on the adrenaline side is your up high during this or are you able to control your frustration?
mel
x
I think its really important that you pay close attention to everything that happens leading up to the 'strop' - something is triggering this behaviour and breaking down the whole sequence can be invaluable and keep an open mind about what the problem is - sometimes its not what you think it is. Quick example - I was asked to help a horse scared of the clippers; when I tested and assessed her it wasnt the clippers that were bothering her so much, it was the box that the extension lead was plugged into (electric clippers) bouncing aroound her feet that bothered her.
a suggestion... could someone record you putting on the rug so you can watch it afterwards and see it happening from a different view?
You should have seen the stable they were in it used to be 24 x 12 until we had to sell the house, then shrank by 9 feet. Had another stropy moment today, since we had to do the other stable in an EXTREME emergency(mother had colic) he's been chilled out well ish for him. had a few weeks off work for a holiday while the weathers been soo crappy, now coming back into work but being a prat as usual until he's fully fit. Is in more now due to mothers reoccurring colic, due to lack of grass & her eating brambles not good for a 27 y.o.. They go out for a couple of hours to have a leg stretch & cavort around. Think it's just him not getting his way ie I'm 2 minutes later than I should be according to him. As for having someone hold him with the dually, most people I know are nervous of him, he really is that bolshy. I usually don't take any notice of him but it does get on my nerves, it's frustrating more than anything.
hiya, have you done join up and follow up with him, if yes how was he to join up and follow up with?
I'd love to meet him :D
Do you usually keep to strict times with him?
They will often become stressed if you do & are late; it's often better to be a bit flexible with your times, so that they know you will come, but they may have to wait a little while, then they shouldn't be so stressed.
I don't mean hours of difference, but an hour - 1 1/hrs, so you have some leeway if you are held up for some reason.
You could always have a long line on the Dually while you do feet so you can school him when he's bad mannered - i used to do that with my 2 mares while i trimmed them as they wouldn't stand tied up when i got them for me to work on on my own, so i did them in the pen.
Bearing in mind you first posted about this in December, can you give us an update of what you have been doing between now and then to help deal with this, save us ging over old ground and telling you what you already know! hahaha
Hi Tiggy - I am wondering if he wouldn't be better off separated from his mum for awhile. You mentioned that he is 11 so it is time he started acting more like an adult not a stroppy teenager. I would be inclined to separate them if that is possible - certainly he needs a stable to himself but close to his Mum. Is it possible to find another companion for him? The separation will have to be done gradually given they have been together for so long. I assume he was weaned at some stage so he has at least had some time away with other horses. The behaviour you describe sounds dangerous so it needs to be addressed before it becomes habitual. He sounds as if he needs much more exercise and handling - a join up session if you haven't had one recently followed by discipline sessions with the dually, plus long lining or lunging with a lose lunge lead. His high spirits could also be diet related so you may need to re- assess what you are feeding him. His Mum at 27 would need a far more nutritious, protein rich diet than he does. It will be good to know how he is progressing as you did mention he was just coming in to work again. Hopefully he has already settled down for you.
Tiggy was on Monty's fb page the loader a few days ago! He's had a couple months off, for a break, so theyve both just been in & out of the stables. I brought him back into work a couple of weeks ago so he's being a right prat, give him his due he'd managed to put his shoulder out, ribs & neck normally!! As for separating them they had 4 months apart when he was a 4 y.o being broken in then mum went up to the stallion (she didnt take), he's happy to go out & away from her, including weekend shows so 3/4 days at a time, she's the problem going out she screams like a banshee he doesn't care. Like I said most of the time he's quite good, chilled out I muck out round him move him by just saying excuse me & touching his side. He's very intelligent, so keeping him occupied is hard, usually grub does the trick. He's just fed on Healthy Hooves & a basic coarse mix 1 scoop of each over 2 feeds, mum is on Allen & Paige Veteran Vitality, she's had 3 bouts of colic in 6 weeks, vet thinks she's probably got melanomas in her gut so digestion is not what it should be. They both have hay or haylage from our fields. I usually go up in the mornings around 8 am after dropping off the other half, then again around 4/4.30 pm as it's getting lighter in the evenings now, although he seems to think 3.30 would be better sometimes!!Honestly he is funny, we've had a couple of panic attacks, the 1st was out with a friend her horse reared & she jumped off we had a paddling by the river bank no response to voice or leg, big sigh & cuddle when I got off & got to his head, got on 5 mins later like nothing had happened, 2nd time was at Cricklands we went from the bottom ring to 1/2 way up to the main ring before I could get off, all because of a screaming child behind a hedge. Again fine after 5 mins of getting off & cuddles.Hope this makes some sense other half hovering with intent!!! Men aye.
Sounds as if you have it all under control. Hopefully he will settle down again once the weather is better and he is back in work. Could be just spring fever coming on.
Spring, haha yeah if it EVER stops raining here, mate in Somerset has a nice island of grass, roll on summer!! We had an episode the other day, but that was due to next doors horse screaming its bleeding head off all day... Thanks all for your comments, they'll help with the 4 y.o that me & a mate have just got. Shes a pushy id x tb, needs to get some manners into her. On that note she evades the dually by putting her head right up then twisting it round, seems totally oblivious to it, any advice would be appreciated.
Hi Tiggy - with your 4 year old try holding the lead rope very close to the discipline ring with one hand with the other holding the lead rope off the ground. As soon as she goes to put her head up give her a really big Jerk as hard as you can - a jerky action with this behaviour is more effective than a straight pull and release action. As soon as she responds immediate reward by releasing the dually and lots of pats. Repeat and be consistent as soon as she attempts to put her head up. Once you have her head responsive then you can try the other exercises. Backing her up walking and stopping in the sweet spot, trotting with you and stopping in the sweet spot etc. I would continue to hold one hand close to the dually ring ready for that quick correction until she is perfect with leading etc with the dually. Make sure you have the dually fitted correctly and you may need to wear gloves if she is really pulley. A long lead rope will help if she is really naughty and inclined to take off. Watch as many of Monty's videos as you can so that you can note the different ways he uses the dually on different horses. The free UK series, Horse and Country tv . with Monty and Kellie Marks is also excellent for demonstrating the use of the dually on different horses. At one stage on Forum I made a list of these videos with a brief note on each so you may care to do a Forum search to find this. Good luck and have fun with your new girl.
Just checked Forum myself - the Monty and Kellie videos are listed under the thread " my grand daughter slept for 2 hours ......horse and country tv.
Hi Maggie, she's pretty good leading out, she's happy & mainly walks in the sweet spot, she does get quickly corrected if she's not mind. Although I haven't tried Join-Up with the two youngsters I'm working with I'm very pleased with their progress, had a bit of follow-up in the school today, they've not been out much like mine so the bit of grass in the school is WONDERFUL, so I'm grateful for any time they choose to be with me before the belly gets the better of them. The mare is settling now, trying her luck & pushing to see where the boundarys are. Am sure we'll get there takes time & I'm in no real hurry, want to have her back & teeth done before we progress to backing her, although she was backed & turned away.