Debate - what vices are a no no for you?

I'll deal with most things as they arise, but no-nos are:

Won't be caught
Fence-breakers / houdinis
Tries to hurt you (nasty kickers / biters)
No sense of self-preservation (this covers rearers that go over and true bolters)

Had friend with a lovely ISH that jumped out of every field/stable it was ever confined by. Not fun. Seriously, who wants to deer-fence their paddock?
 
The Fuzzy Furry said:
Yard vices/habits I wont have are:
cribbers
door bangers
fence runners

The last of those is a right bloody pain for anyone.
If you havent had one - add that to your list if purchasing.
If you are a YO & never had one - ask the question before a livery arrives...........
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i agree with this - my horse is next to 3 fence runners and put it this way one is a headshaker and never ridden the other is bonkers and tanks off and wont load and is a door banger. its shown me how lucky i am with my youngster.thank god the only vice mine has is hes nappy at times. LOL
 
a couple of years ago me and a friend were talking! she didn't want a horse that kicks, but kicking wasn't a massive issue for me! I didn't want a horse that reared, that didn't bother her!

so she bought a new horse, who turned out to be a kicker, has kicked her a few times, in the ribs, in the leg, almost kicked me in the head twice! once when I was doing her belly straps and another time when I was behind her trying to get her to lunge for the first time! luckily I wasn't too close! she also turned at people in the field for no reason and tried kicking them! kicked my horse and damaged his hock! so maybe I've changed my mine about kicking!

then I got my boy, he became a rearer! brilliant, just what I didn't want! reared up one day, turned in at me, struck out with a foot hoof and hit me in the jaw! tried rearing up at me in the field when I first had him but as he's getting old he seems to be calming down! so finger's x'd when he backed and less bored he wont do it anymore!
 
My horse has bolted and reared but I wouldn't classify him as being either a 'rearer' or 'bolter'
He bolted because he was chased by dogs, and his rears are rare and small due to frustration when he doesn't understand something or when he half-heartedly naps.
I wouldn't be able to deal with any stable vices as they'd annoy me endlessly, and cannot tolerate anything that kicks or bites.
I wouldn't buy anything with engraved vices of any kind but if it's something that happens very occasionally it's usually something that can be resolved through time and education.
 
Wouldn't accept a rearer, napper or bolter that's for sure. A bucker I would consider depending on quite what it does (not a bronco).

Stable vices I wouldn't accept much UNLESS the vices ONLY happened literally in the stable in which case I'd solve it by simply making them live out! But I wouldnt never consider a weaver (know of a horse put down due to the twisting action on the front legs damaging them) and also a wind sucker having had one - she ruined all our fence posts and wooden fences taking chunks out and loosening them!
 
Wouldn't touch a rearer, not keen on wild suckers and cribbers but wouldn't necessarily stop me unless I was buying to sell on... And door kickers drive me mad! Although again I would buy one as most can be cured with a water pistol!
 
Can't think of anything that would put me off if the horse was perfect apart from that. Yet to meet a horse that won't put in the occasional buck/spook, and I prefer a sharper animal :) Most of them can be sorted with training, or at least lessened with correct management.

Our old boy is a windsucker, not a particularly bad one, and although it's a bit distressing to watch he has been such a star and he's taught us so much, wouldn't change him for anything and very thankful it didn't put us off!! Pip will rear if he's put under a lot of pressure, doesn't really bother me tbh as he's never stood straight up. I suppose if I was paying £4k + for a horse I would probably opt for something vice free but ours have all been bargains :p
 
I won't touch anything that full on broncos (especially if it does it when/just after being mounted - been there, done that, got the scars), rears and goes over, or really truly bolts. Not a fan of traffic shy either. More or less anything else, I'd be willing to at least consider. Stable vices don't worry me particularly, it's usually a management issue and fairly fixable. I tend to quite like quirky, project types.
 
My horses HAVE to have good ground manners. I don't like bolshy or pushy. Iv just bought a young gelding who has already improved so much from being taught to respect my space. My mare bucks and it doesn't bother me but the new boy rears and I'm not keen but hopefully he will grow out of it! If they are safe on the road I'm happy- sch
 
wyrdsister said:
Stable vices don't worry me particularly, it's usually a management issue and fairly fixable. I tend to quite like quirky, project types.
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I think a lot of the behavioural 'vices' mentioned are potentially fixable too - door kicking, begging, non-catching, loading, clipping, bad manners, poor attitude to humans, some aggressive biting & kicking.
 
Last horse I bought was described to me as a kicker, which with a yard full of children I can well do without. However, when I met him, he was sensitive and affectionate; but anxious, and wouldn't let anyone near his back end. His owner was jumpy and nervous, which of course was making it worse. I took him home for next to nothing, and brushed him all over. He jumped about all over the place, trying to evade me, and yes that included kicking out. I quietly persisted (although I made sure I stayed out of the way of course), and he got over it in no time at all, and no longer kicks, ever.

He hasn't a nasty bone in his body, and is so grateful to have found someone to be his boss it's tragic! I suppose I'm saying that vices shouldn't always be taken at face value. I'd have missed out on a cracking horse if I hadn't gone to see him.
 
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