Foot scraping/occasional door kicking

nikicb

nikicb

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Cam doesn't really have many faults (other than being grey). But for the odd 5 minutes he's tied up he does love to scrape his front feet on the ground. And will kick his door if he feels he's missing out. Just turned 6 in terms of calendar years (5 in real years till May).

I ignore it and he usually stops quick enough. I know it drives older son mad though when he is doing the yard. I regard telling off as giving positive reinforcement to negative behaviour.

Thoughts? :) x
 
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I've found trying to stop them does no good at all, it's pointless.
Some do it, but I've never know anyone find a cure yet but they must have had some reward for doing it one time in their life because they think they get something good if they do it for long enough. So at feeding times, most will stand patiently and wait for the bucket. The one that is banging the door thinks his comes because he is banging.:rolleyes:

Could try rewarding with feed or hay net soon as standing quietly, definitely nothing when demanding by scraping or banging.
 
muff747 said:
The one that is banging the door thinks his comes because he is banging.:rolleyes:

Could try rewarding with feed or hay net soon as standing quietly, definitely nothing when demanding by scraping or banging.
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I'm glad it's not just me then! I've tried to counteract it by making sure he has feed/hay in his stable before I put him to bed (so there is no kick the door/food given scenario). He isn't allowed to touch it until he has stood nicely to let me take his headcollar off. And if he starts banging the door I walk in the other direction. Just thought I was maybe being a bit mean. :o
 
Echo the ignoring them and reducing desire to kick by haynets etc.
If annoys others (or you!) could also try to minimise noise by putting rubber matting on surface being kicked or scraped. Also something prickly like plastic door mat to make it unattractive for horse to touch.
 
My grey girl used to do this (both the scraping and banging). I ignored her and she hardly ever does it now - she's rising seven and I've had her 3 years. My best memory of this is the first time we took her shoes off for measuring, she went to scrape the floor and no sound came out - she stopped and stared at me, so I'm pretty sure she just used to like making a noise when she was bored being tied up or being ignored in the stable!
 
MIne is exactly the same age as yours and does the same, it drives me insane, no matter how many times I tell her off she just does it again. I hope she grows out of it (and a lot of other things!!). I do try and make sure that she doesn't get any rewards after a scrape but I don't think she knows any different.
 
I would do what you are doing op. As you say they do it for attention and they do not understand the concept of being told off for doing it! You reward them for doing it if you "tell them off" or respond in anyway.

Sometimes making a bracelet with big beads or something for the scraping leg can irritate them sufficiently to stop them.
 
Thanks everyone! I shall carry on ignoring it. :p He totally does it for attention - he looks at me before he does it, just like a child looks at you before they do something they know they shouldn't. :rolleyes: So I avoid eye contact. ;) He is a bit of a clown as well and loves picking things up, eating my hair, etc. :)
 
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You're definitely doing the right thing! So many people end up reinforcing it by responding by giving the horse attention.

You could further decrease the behaviour by rewarding the horse when they're standing quietly ;) Keep an (unobtrusive) eye on them, and when they're not making any noise, scraping or pawing, say "good boy" and go over and give them some nice attention for a few seconds.

That way, you are both reinforcing the right behaviour and allowing the unwanted behaviour to "extinguish" through not reinforcing it :D
 
My girl has always done this. Years ago I did try to cure her by spraying her with the spray attachment of the hose. Worked fine and she would stop the minute she saw you pick up the hose. But start again as soon as you put it down. :rolleyes: So short of carrying the hose around with me everywhere, there was nothing that stopped her. I just ignore it now. Trouble is, she has taught the cob next to her to do it, and he is MUCH worse. He bangs much harder and for longer and even in the middle of the night when no one is in the yard! Wakes me up in the early hours most mornings :mad:. My girl, on the other hand tends to do it only when you are there and she wants your attention. The thing that sets her off the worst is when I stop to chat with someone on the yard. She cannot bear it! If I am busy working, she is fine. :rolleyes:
 
i used a water spray and sprayed his shoulder from a distance but he was really bad for it as he used to dig holes in contrete... hes stopped digging or kicking the door now hasnt done it in a good 6 months but it was a last resort as ignoring him didnt work at all and he used to do it in the field when no one was about aswell and this has stopped too... he doesnt even kick or scrape at feed time... but i would carry on with ignoring him for now :)
 
Thanks everyone!! When I was on a livery yard with my old girl, fidgety horses would always drive me mad. Now I've got one of my own. :rolleyes:

I might leave the hose unless I'm desperate bearing in mind he is a big grey mud monster and it's rather a useful part of my grooming kit in the summer. ;)

Hopefully he'll just grow out of it. He is far better about the door banging. He's actually learnt that if he bangs when I am walking towards him with some haylage, I will actually go straight past and give it to one of the others. I think he just forgets sometimes. :)
 
My horse used to do this really badly too - it used to annoy other people on the yard who I'm sure would tell him off when I wasnt there which probably reinforced it. In his case he was definitely doing it for attention or food. When I moved yard to one with rubber matting in the stables it stopped completely! He obviously just wanted to make some noise as he has now replaced that bad habit with teeth grinding! So I would advise getting a small strip of rubber matting and put it behind his stable door and see if that helps. Failing that, I've heard of something that was designed to resolve this problem - its a squirty thing that is attached to the outside of the stable door. When it detects an impact it squirts a small jet of water upwards. Dont know how I feel about this and definitely would not use it on a nervous horse but maybe it would work on your horse..?
 
Laser Beams said:
... Failing that, I've heard of something that was designed to resolve this problem - its a squirty thing that is attached to the outside of the stable door. When it detects an impact it squirts a small jet of water upwards. Dont know how I feel about this and definitely would not use it on a nervous horse but maybe it would work on your horse..?
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Did you mean this squirty thingy QuitKick?

Here is another page about it Review about QuitKick.

For the record, I'm still voting for continuing to ignore as the first solution to the problem.
 
Lacey does it when she thinks she should be fed. It's only really at feeding time when I go to the feedropm though.

Never really thought of it in the sense that I'm rewarding her by feeding her! Good point though.

I've given trying to stop her. If she really annoys me (I.e. She's in, it's around dinner time but I'm busy doing something involving going in and out of feed room , I sometimes shut her top door lol.

I've thought about the water squished but didn't as she is a bit funny about things coming 'at her' over the stable door - she was hit with a broom at her old home.

I have put padding pn the door to protect her legs and to muffle it a bit
 
Thanks for the new replies. :)

I'm not sure I could put anything on the door because it's one of those sliding ones and knowing Cam he'd only nibble at it anyway! Tbh it's the foot scraping that annoys me more but if that's his only 'vice' I dare say I'll manage. ;)
 
My Horse is a foot scraper! It does my head in. She does it in the stable and when tied up. She has adlib hay and does it even after he dinner. But once I go out of sight she stops :rolleyes: On the yard though she does it over and over again. I do ignore her. I have been ignoring her for for almost 2 years now :rolleyes:;)
 
LaurenBay said:
My Horse is a foot scraper! It does my head in. She does it in the stable and when tied up. She has adlib hay and does it even after he dinner. But once I go out of sight she stops :rolleyes: On the yard though she does it over and over again. I do ignore her. I have been ignoring her for for almost 2 years now :rolleyes:;)
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I have had my horse twelve years and have ignored her door banging and foot scraping for 12 years. She still does it. In fact if I even step away to take a picture of her she does it, so nearly all her pictures show her holding her foot in the air. :rolleyes:

onboxrest2.jpg
 
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I have a foot scraper too, it drives me insane! He only does it when he knows I am preparing his food, or occasionally when he gets bored tied up if he doesn't have a haynet.

I always wait until he stops to give him his food, but have only had him 6 months. I will be interested to see if me rewarding the wanted behaviour actually makes a difference. Probably not :rolleyes:
 
Wagtail said:
I have had my horse twelve years and have ignored her door banging and foot scraping for 12 years. She still does it. In fact if I even step away to take a picture of her she does it, so nearly all her pictures show her holding her foot in the air. :rolleyes:

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Haha, sounds like my photos!

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Ha! You should all channel this natural behaviour and train for Spanish Walk. Seriously; once you start asking for it they won't be nearly as keen on doing it :-) The Zenyatta video just looks like a seriously stressed out, hyped up horse.
 
My grey does exactly the same. He diesnt bsng the door with anyone else, only me.
He has no other faults at all.

He just does not have any patience when it comes to food. Even when he's got food he cannot eat it fast enough.

Maybe it's a grey thing!
 
Argh door kicking samba is v annoying to the point she gets worse the longer you leave her. What works is pressure halter, take her out on yard, work her 5minutes (she half passes, shoulders in in hand) and put her back in, repeat this that she door kicks she goes out and works her feet. Took about 4 goes first time, now all I have to do us head for my halter and she takes a step back and stops kicking.
 
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