Horse Training

FL_Cracker · Jan 9, 2005

We have a three year old paint horse that is really a good horse and rides Ok. Heres the problem. When she gets mad or doesn't want to do what you want her to do, i.e. (pick her feet, groome, & misc.) she will try to bite or kick you. What is the best thing we can do to break this nasty habit.

Shes still young and is a little hard to handle when your riding. Not crazy but just won't go anywhere and fights the halter. She's a small horse at 14 hands and about 750 lbs but I think she will be a good trail horse some day for the grandkids.

We have an 10 year old mustang that leads and the paint will just follow along without problems but it's the biting and kicking that has to go....

Any ideas?

FL_Cracker · Jan 9, 2005

I have to post a picture of our mustang just to be fair.

roho · Jan 9, 2005

Helo Cracker! Ok 1st remember U will probably get as many differnet fixes as U get replys and some may or may not work! Good looking babies U got there! & Remember they are like kids/juvies! Testing their relationships and boundries! 1st thing to do is start with trainer not trainee! Do U have the experience/time to deal with problem! If not take to trainer that can halter break and work basic manners when lifting feet and loading in trailer! 30/45 days ought to be plenty of time for basic manners! Get books/magizines on starting horses and round pen work and start there! BTW how much experience do you have with horses before I START TELLING YOU HOW TO DO THINGS! (YES I know I raised my voice, sorry hehehe)

FL_Cracker · Jan 9, 2005

We are gringos, only a very little bit of time casual riding. Owned horses 20 years ago but only for a year or so. My wife likes them and rides when ever she can but it's always been horses owned by others.

We have no training skills and know it....

Take her to a trainer....???

stevenf · Jan 9, 2005

FL_Cracker
In my first life I was a horse trainer and Jockey that was almost 30 years ago before I got old and fat. I am back in the position to start working with equines again because we finally bought a ranch and I've started with donkeys, mules and a mammoth jack, we also are boarding 2 horses for a gal and either her stud or my donkeys got to them and both are pregnant the offspring will be mine either way as partial payment for the board bill.
This all said it takes many years to learn how to untrain horses which is what you are dealing with. It is actually pretty easy to train a equine to be a saddle mount for trail ride type use but untraining them is not a task for most casual horse owners. At this point in life I don't think I'd even take one on as there is no better way to get hurt around equines than untraining bad habits. In the future you should get a very good book on training and there are a bunch I'd go to the bookstore and sample them until you find one that you understand and feel capable of following their steps as some are far more complicated than others. As far as the Paint Pony you have had someone already suggest a trainer I highly recommend you go this route. Talk to your local stable and fine horse breeders and get names of good ones I'd plan on the horse going with them to stable at their place and your bill will be around a $1,000 by the time you get through.
In the future assuming you let this paint develop this habit you really need to find either a good book on avoiding and correcting these types of stunts. Be very, very careful as there is no better way to get hurt then around horses. I've got a young mule right now that I bought with a head problem and I'm going to take her to a friend and see what we can figure out but if I can't we'll sell her as I like my animals to like me and she doesn't like anybody yes she's young and she'll probably grow out of it as mules often do but in the mean time what an attitude she has.
BE CAREFUL! Steve

cowboydoc · Jan 9, 2005

If you don't have any experience I would recommend Clinton Anderson's ground control cd's. They will help you immensely.

NoTrespassing · Jan 9, 2005

Ok, I'm no expert but I will make a few suggestions. My wife has been training horses for a long time and I consulted with her on my ideas.

First of all, if you're going to correct a horse for something they do that you don't like it has to be done immediately. If you don't correct the horse within 3-5 seconds they will not know what the correction is for.

Never give had fed treats to a horse that tends to be mouthy.

The horse shouldn't be able to bite you when you are grooming it if you have it tied on a short lead. You have to let the horse know who is boss. You are! Don't put up with bad behavior at all.

If the horse starts acting up while you're leading it you could quickly lead it in tight circles, this is something they don't usaully enjoy and it takes their mind off of acting up.

Yanking downward on their halter usually takes their mind off of acting up also. As soon as the horse quits the bad behavior stop the correction as a reward.

Practice on ground manners every time you work with the horse. They should move when you do and stop when you do.

Good Luck, BE CAREFULL!
Here's a link with a couple suggestions too.
http://www.infohorse.com/html/hilton.asp

Kevin

CurtC · Jan 9, 2005

( If you don't have any experience I would recommend Clinton Anderson's ground control cd's. They will help you immensely. )

I second this recommendation. What you describe is a respect and attitude problem, it seems like a huge obstacle, but you'll be really surprised how some _consistent_ and positive handling will turn a horse around really quickly.

In my humble opinion, unless you can find a trainer who you _know_ is a natural horsemanship trainer, you are far better off working with the horse yourself.

I've read training materials from Parelli, Lyons, Clinton Anderson, and a few others, and they are all closely related. I like Clinton's stuff the best simply because he does such an excellent job of getting the information across, and his techniques are simple.
http://www.downunderhorsemanship.com/

Also, an inexpensive, quick and fun read is 'Considering the Horse' by Mark Rashid. I have read all his books, they are excellent. No real specific training information, but a huge weatlh of insight into why horses act the way they do, and how to gain their trust and cooperation.

BTW, if you happen to have Dish or DirecTV, find RFD-TV, several good weekly shows on there on horse training. You might have a hard time turning it off.

sideboiler · Jan 10, 2005

I once bought an Arabian stud colt yearling that was used to playing rough with other young horses. When you weren't watching him closely, he would sneak his nose under your arm and nip the underside of the upper arm. It felt like getting stung by a yellow jacket and usually left a sizable bruise. I got some publications by Western Horseman that had a lot of good training tips. Here is what I used to cure the nipping problem. I took a thin piece of cedar shingle (1" wide by 8" long) and pushed three straight pins through the shingle with about 1/8" of the point sticking through. I then held the shingle in my left hand with my hands folded under my arms. The horse could not see the shingle. I went into the corral with the horse and pretended to be looking at the fence, all the while, watching the horse out of the corner of my eye. Sure enough, he slowly came up behind me and I made sure my right arm was toward him. He reached to take a quick bite and I nailed him with the pins in his lip. He never saw what got him but he sure felt it. It took two of these treatments to cure him. I still have him and he is 24 years old now and the best horse I ever owned.

Keith_B · Jan 16, 2005

( We have a three year old paint horse that is really a good horse and rides Ok. Heres the problem. When she gets mad or doesn't want to do what you want her to do, i.e. (pick her feet, groome, & misc.) she will try to bite or kick you. What is the best thing we can do to break this nasty habit.

Shes still young and is a little hard to handle when your riding. Not crazy but just won't go anywhere and fights the halter. She's a small horse at 14 hands and about 750 lbs but I think she will be a good trail horse some day for the grandkids.

We have an 10 year old mustang that leads and the paint will just follow along without problems but it's the biting and kicking that has to go....

Any ideas? )

Make the results of the incorrect behavior on the part of your horse unpleasant. Anytime she doesn't do what you want, or does something you don't want her to do when grooming or something put her in the round pen and and put her through the paces until she tires. Then try to groom and things again. If she misbehaves immediately put her through the paces again. At some point she will associate her misbehavior with the resulting actions.

Most likely the horse has learned bad behaviors to keep from being groomed.

I have a four year old Tennessee Walker that in the last two weeks began kicking the back of the stall when we went into the barn to feed. This started around Christmas when the kids fed her a couple of evenings. I think she must have kicked the stall to ward off the stud I have in the next stall and when the kids fed her immediately afterward she associated the kicking of the stall to being fed. I have greatly reduced the occurrence of this by not giving her grain until she she is acting appropriately. She has gone from kicking the back wall of the stall five times or more to kicking it once or twice in the last six or seven days.

It sure takes them a lot longer to unlearn a behavior than to learn a behavior.

You may want to try a twitch to see if the distraction diminishes the behavior when she is being groomed. The twitch is used by ferriers to distract horses when they are putting shoes on them.