Feeling very disheartened

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Footlights

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I tried pulling my horses mane for the first time today and got an explosive reaction. He swung round, tried to kick me and then tried to bite me.

I reassured him and continued other things instead, but later when I approached him he charged at me, which was very scary. I asked him to move out of my space but he just charged again. He then approached me nicely and I managed to rub his head, but I didn't want to push him as I feared for my safety.

He has bitten me before, but has been getting better recently, and nothing like this. I'm feeling very disheartened, I don't know what i should to do if he does it again :(:(
 
give him a row! dont let him away with being aggressive especially running at you and the biting has to stop!!

sounds like he might have had a bad experience beforw, still you need to make him respect you nip it in the bud now before it gets worse :-)
 
some horses dont like having their manes pulled mine hates it so i do it with scissors, thinning scissors and a thinning comb he doesnt mind that at all, just go slow dont take too much off incase he decides he doesnt want to have it done as he will look off with half of his mane long half of it short just go gradual you'll get there :)
 
Simple - don't pull his mane again!

Seriously, lots of horses hate their manes being pulled (pull out a handful of your own hair to find out why!) but there are alternatives like the solo comb which work painlessly.
 
I wouldn't try it again...some of them find it too painful or maybe he has had a bad experience previously (like being twitched and having it pulled!:D)

Solo combs are great...my mare doesn't mind pulling but now I use the comb anyway.
 
My girl tries to bite sometimes if I,m putting a rug on her doing up the front clips. I think she's had some sort of bad experiences at some point or another but I don't think it's acceptable. I've had to work with it and try to nip it in the bud but she sometimes still does it every now and again more so if she is dying to get out in the morning. I use my voice first off and if that doesn't work then I raise my hand high which I use to back her up away from the door because this is where she does it. If I get her to back up and drop her head she tends to stop. If that doesn't work then I will finally put on her natural halter and get stronger with her. I never hit her or even touch her. I'd definitely suggest the ground work at this point in time.
 
When I bought my horse her mane was cut (from the track) and she did exactly the same as yours. I have her for 6 years now andonly once have I managed to pull it without a twitch. She's still not 100% with a twitch and will try to crush me or stamp on me (she's normally a lamb and very gentle) it takes me at least an hour over 2 days to pull her mane and I literally pull half a dozen hairs at a time. I can do the top few inches and her forelock fine but the rest is a no-no.
Just set yourself plenty of time, remove anything they could harm themselves on and wear steel toe caps or be very good at river dance :)
I also find she likes it if I scratch the patch I've just pulled from.
 
They don't look as good with a Solo comb tho IMO - they relax with the twitch on and 5 mins later, job done.
They then remember standing still and not having a fight, it stops it being a big deal.

IMO horses won't always like to do what you ask of them, but as long as these situations are in the minority then you have to just tell them to suck it up and deal with it. It's half a ton of wild animal at the end of the day and although it's an old fashioned point of view, I think that they have to understand that sometimes, that's life! :)
 
Solo combs are not good if the mane is thick - you just end up with the out of control bog-brush look !
We also tried a rake, again didn't get a good result even though it worked great on her tail.
 
patterdale said:
They don't look as good with a Solo comb tho IMO - they relax with the twitch on and 5 mins later, job done.
They then remember standing still and not having a fight, it stops it being a big deal.

IMO horses won't always like to do what you ask of them, but as long as these situations are in the minority then you have to just tell them to suck it up and deal with it. It's half a ton of wild animal at the end of the day and although it's an old fashioned point of view, I think that they have to understand that sometimes, that's life! :)
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I think its a case of each to their own...totally agree that you need to be careful with half a ton of horse...but I would get pretty aggressive if someone started pulling my hair out (and it was hurting!). OP can decide whether they think a pulled mane is that important. It isn't to me...if I have a disagreement with my horse I would rather it was about something else as this isn't something that is important to me.
 
patterdale said:
Ps Anti-Twitch brigade, please form an orderly queue ;)
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I'm definitely not anti-twitch. I've used them to do all sorts off things, including shoeing, injections. But I wouldn't use one for something as non essential as pulling a mane.

OP, if your horse behaves like this again, chase it round the box in a threatening manner, that kind of behaviour really isn't acceptable BUT make sure that you approach things you haven't done with him before with care, don't just attack him. TBH, if you marched up to me and pulled a lump of my hair, I'd threaten you too!
 
Can't say I blame horse for trying to tell you that ripping her hair out hurts. You can get acceptable results with a stripping comb.
 
I didn't just march up to him and pull his hair out, and certainly did not attack him!!!

I dont mind if i cant pull his mane, it's more the fact that he actually charged at me that I am upset about, I don't think I stood my ground as I should have done, but at the same time it was really scary and I think he actually would have gone for me, in a nasty way :(
 
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Don't "give it a row" back if you are feeling worried - thats exactly how to lose the situation and possibly get yourself in hospital! I do agree that the situation needs resolving, but perhaps get some experienced help in doing so. Getting into a battle with a horse you're not feeling confident with only leads to one thing - failure!

Take out the mane issue. Next time just groom your horse, and move it around the stable - make him go forward, back, side to side etc. All calm and without fuss. Re-establish your level without a fight..

As for the mane pulling, not many horses like it. We use lickit tubs as a "humaine twitch". The only time they get them is for distractions when we're doing something they may react badly to. If this doesn't work I use a solo comb and thinning rake, which isn't as good as a real pulled mane, but its better than getting hurt!

(ps. I learned this lesson the hard was - after not wanting to give up on a battle I ended up needing two shoulder operations and couldn't ride for 18 months nearly!)
 
Non essential - depends what you do ! Mine is Tb who has a mane like a Shetland on steroids ! I show and dressage so do quite a lot of plaiting therefore a thick long mane would make it a nightmare as well as look awful.
She's on gardening leave for a year so tempted to let it go 'au natural' and see what we end up with - I'll post the Thelwell x TB pics in a year :)
 
I think it's each to their own.

But I will say that if we didn't do things with our horses because they objected the first time, what would we ever do with them? :)

Plus it's not the same as pulling out our own hair :)

Each to their own tho - for example I don't pull tails anymore because I dont think it's worth the hassle, but I have to do my manes! :D
 
Well knowing him I'm sure it will be a while before I am even allowed to brush his mane after the explosion I witnessed today. I hope he never charges at me again, it was truly scary.
 
darkhorse123 said:
this reply actually made me lol - love it!:D
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:D :D :D

My gelding is one of those that if you get too firm/agressive, everything escalates into all out war in a split second. So I've got pretty good at just staying calm and waiting for the moment to pass. Then once he's ready, I ask him to do something easy, he then does it right and I can end the session on a good note. It seems silly but I think that the 'good ending note' helps when we do our next session (and he is actually coming on very well in his training so I must be doing something right).

I'm quite glad that I don't need to pull his mane because he's bad enough if you use the 'wrong' brush when you groom him! :eek:
 
Use a solo comb. I dont conventionally "pull" my horses manes any more; the solo comb is pain free.
ETA I do think its the same as pulling out our own hair ; each hair in the mane and tail [or hair on my head] has a nerve. It hurts!
 
Yes from his reaction you would have thought I'd tried to kill him. I hope he forgives me :-( think I'm gonna have to go into the field with lots of bribes for him tomorrow morning!
 
If someone pulled your hair would you not try and do something about it? I don't think the horse is in the wrong for biting to be honest - its only a natural response to a painful stimulus. I don't pull any of my horses manes and I showed one of them to a really high level just cutting with scissors then solocombing to make it look natural - my older boy will actually rear if he has his mane pulled. I don't let mine get away with anything but when it comes to them clearly saying this hurts me then I don't think its fair to punish them for it.
 
Most of the time, if a horse has never had its mane pulled before its quite easy. After working spend just a few minutes each day, if they are warm & you pull a few strands from each place, it is unusual they bother. Even if it takes you a dozen sessions over a fortnight to get it done. Then just keep on top of it. Some do have deeper rooted hair & find it more painful than others. But on the whole the ones with the worst reaction are the ones who've been hurt doing it. If pulling means that much, its worth a bit of time & effort imo.
 
If someone hurt me, yes i would react, however i only pulled a few strands out near to his withers. His reaction was so over the top he has obviously been hurt in the past by it.

This morning he walked over to me when i called him for the first ever time, i think it was his way of saying sorry (not that he needed to). I gave him lots of fuss and hopefully I will never see that side of him again, it was not nice!
 
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