getting a horse to wee

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fuggly

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this may seem silly but has anyone got any idea of how to get a horse to wee. my daughters tb won't wee when out ,if he doesn't go in the stable before a hack he is awful to ride it's literally like he's going along with his legs crossed . we have tried all sorts standing in long/short grass uphill downhill whistling . we were showjumping sunday in the warm up he was amazing but in the class he was very reluctant we thought he didn't like the ground but after 5mins back at the box he weed for england (very unlike him )he must have been desperate .it's ridiculous to have to send a horse into the stable for a wee before we go hacking worse than a child . people laugh at us and don't believe it but if he doesn't go he can barely move after 15mins riding .
 
She said she has already tried whistling!

Is it possible that he may have been punished in the past when stopping to pee (spurred on, hit with the whip etc.) and so has learnt only to do it when in his stable?
 
if you whistle when he wees when you take him into the stable, he will learn to associate the sound with weeing, and will eventually do it when you whistle (one long drawn out note, repeated, works best i find!)
i trained a few of mine to wee into a bucket i was holding, to stop my stables getting stinky, and it worked!
i don't reward them with a treat for it though, because i find they can't think about that and wee as well!
 
Perhaps shaking some fresh straw underneath him in the stable might encourage him.

I always wondered if horses could wee as and when they chose, my stallion certainly can! He goes around the field pee-ing on every pile of dung he finds, like a dog cocking a leg on every lamp post!
 
As soon as he starts to pee in the stable you need to reinforce the behaviour with a signal. I know people who whistle and some who sing and this does seem to work. Eventually you will be able to get pee on demand out of the stable too but it does take perseverance.

Be aware however that I do know someone who would feed her horse a carrot or a treat everytime he performed correctly and he eventually started to stand and force wee out to get treats so be careful about rewarding him after the correct behaviour!! Perhaps just a pat and a 'good boy'!!!
 
my boy wont wee while we're out on a hack, he will at shows etc... but he waits until i un tack him and take him to his field and then he lets out a big groan and wee's!!!
 
Mine did this today - he got a bit strong in the school and was keen to go back to the gate, rode him back to the yard, was walking him back out to the field and he stopped, groaned and had a big wee! Silly boy was obviously very keen to go. He's done this once before, he got SO strong in the school and when I got off he went straightaway! I think I need to practice whistling!
 
smash : that actually is a possibility we hadn't thought of that. , i saw the previous owner teach a child on him prior to us having him and she encouraged the child to use the stick alot "to get him going" .and she certainly wasn't the sort to let a horse stop for a wee

kerilli : will certainly try your idea thankyou .
 
i work at a trekking centre and one of the horses has the opposite problem - he wont go in his stable!!! on a average hour ride he will usually have 2 wees and 2- 3 poos. think he has learnt the more he stops to go to the loo on a ride , the shorter he has to walk!saves on mucking out tho!!
 
my TB is the same - he never goes to the loo when I am riding him and I only recently realised that he was doing the horsey equivalent to the pee pee dance when I had him tied up outside his stable!

the whistling thing is interesting, I might try that on my ned.
 
[ QUOTE ]
it's ridiculous to have to send a horse into the stable for a wee before we go hacking worse than a child

[/ QUOTE ]
Why? It's what I do. I tend to stand him in for an hour anyway when he's brought in - but within the first 5 mins of comming in he will always wee (most geldings do......)
 
When you say that he seems desperate to wee every time to ride him, do you think he wees excessively? i.e. do you think there's a chance there's a health or physological problem with him?

If not & it's just a management thing, I would certainly try to train him to wee on command, as explained in other posts.

Is he turned out much & does he wee in the field? I'm guessing he doesn't wee in the field (hence needing to go when you bring him in to ride?) & in which case, can you turn him out 24 x 7 for a while (a week maybe?) whilst the weather is still good. Obviously you'd need to keep an eye on him to ensure he's not getting distressed, but you should find that if he HAS to wee, he'll get over it & once he's used to diong it on grass, coupled with your training, it solves the problem.
 
AmyMay :9/10 we stand our horses in for a while but sometimes this horse doesn't go wees (maybe he doesn't need one then ) but as the ride progresses he then needs to go but won't while out .the "ridiculous ..... " statement was not ment that it annoys us to put him the box
Sal_E :no he doesn't wee excessively there are no health problems, possibly physological as "smash" pointed out earlier ,he is out 24/7 in "summer" and dawn til dusk winter he does wee in the field .it is literally a reluctance to go while out, so on a long hack or at a show it's not pleasant for the rider and must get v uncomfortable for him .
 
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