Has a naughty habit...

Maui+Bec

Maui+Bec

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My new neddy is perfect in every way apart from the fact he wont let me more than a few metres away from him when hes tied up. He'll just stand placidly when being groomed and tacked up, hes even fine when I walk into the barn next to where hes tied for a brush or something, but as soon as I walk across the yard where he can see me walking away he starts immediately rearing and pawing. (His stable is across the yard) I try to tell him off but as soon as I get close he stops. When he does it im always too far away to give him a stern telling. Should I ignore the behaviour completely?

Ive tried tying him up elsewhere on the yard which made matters worse.

He doesnt like being left in his stable either, though this is easier, still Id rather resolve the problem than avoid it ? I cant tell if its attention/trying to get loose/ or anxiety.

You can see by the pic that Im not talking about walking 100metres away from him its literally just a few. Sorry bad pic as i was just taking saddle to tack room and he still has bridle with headcollar over the top on. Sorry its huge its from fbook.


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:s confused. xx
 
Are there any other horses nearby? it could be in a new environment he panics when left on his own? I wouldn't get cross at him if he's genuinely scared.
I agree though, it is a bit strange.
 
how about having everything out and ready before you bring him in so that you don't have to leave him, do that for a month or so then see if that helps him to settle down! very odd!

I used to have a horse that would pull back and break the twine and run off when I left her, not every time but often! so I just made sure I had her tack etc out so i didnt have to leave her on her own!
 
Mine paws the ground if he can see me and I ignore him but would never rear, dont no what to suggest sorry, seems like he is scared of being on his own?!
 
How long will he do it for? Can you just leave him tied up with a haynet until he's bored? Like, an hour?
If your instinct is to tell him off he's probably being bolshy. He looks naughty in the pic.

I'd just tie it up with a net (supervised) and read a book till he's bored of having a tantrum.

*ducks and runs for cover from the backlash ;)*
 
Yeah Im skeptical about him being scared simply because he doesnt look it and he sometimes gets his *bits* out like hes excited lol. Have tried a haynet and he isnt too fussed about it. Am trying not to leave him for now and having everything out, but was wondering if ignorance was the best tactic as Im inclined to think he isnt scared, hes not a nervy horse really.

Saying that he does lots of droppings when hes tied up and doesnt like being in his stable, (paws and rolls and bunny hops at the door). ... such a random boy! :P
 
horsemadelsie said:
Are there any other horses nearby? it could be in a new environment he panics when left on his own? I wouldn't get cross at him if he's genuinely scared.
I agree though, it is a bit strange.
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He does it if there are horses in and if the other horses are out :confused:

Patterdale I think Ill try that and see what happens.Fingers crossed lol x would you still tie him to the bail-a-band(sp?) as hes snapped it a few times.. though never run off.
 
I would just tie him up until he's bored. I'd use strong baler twine so he can't break away as easily and just keep an eye on him.

It's all very well trying to stay around him etc so as not to upset him but that's just pandering to him IMO! :)

If it was mine he would be tied up and left until he stopped creating and had a snooze. Might take a while hence haynet.

Repeat daily until he just accepts being tied up - you should train him, not the other way around! ;)
 
Ps if you are doing it then don't give in!!
When you're ignoring him he will most probably start with his usual antics, then get worse and worse when he realises you're not paying any attention. Do not cave in at this point!!
He will calm down when he's been ignored long enough :D
 
I had a loosely similar problem but inside the stable and only with other liveries.

It only happened when people were still in viewing distance and I spent a day sat round the corner in a coffee room to monitor her stabled to see if she was really frightened as people had told me.... eventually popped a sign up asking people not to interact with her as she had learned that she kicked off, rearing and booting and calling when people entered the yard then people would come over and give her a scratch. Then of course she was more annoyed when they left and started up again. Whereas she knew it would get her nowhere with me and wouldn't bother kicking off.

In my situation she wasn't scared (despite many liveries telling me she was terrified) I sat and watched and saw a smart horse throwing a tantrum to get what she wanted.

Pan
 
I wouldn't tell him off..even though he may not look scared, you don't know that he isn't. It sounds like anxiety. My pony will do the same thing, hop on the spot and do little rears like yours is doing. I'd ignore the behaviour completely, as well as tying him up as regularly as possible for short periods, with you going back and forth to him
 
Ohhh, a male version of my mare ;) she also did this when you left her stable, or when you were fussing another horse, pretty much all the time... For attention, I completely ignored her, I found that If I left the stable and hid round the corner the behaviour stopped because she knew it wasnt worth it, she was always pacy and reary
 
Posted before I finished!

Anyway she was always a pain when tied up but slowly over time and being ignored she stopped her behaviour, very occasionally she will do little tiny bunny rears when she's impatient but it's nothing I worry about. The more you stress about it the more of a problem it will become.
 
FreddiesGal said:
I wouldn't tell him off..even though he may not look scared, you don't know that he isn't. It sounds like anxiety. My pony will do the same thing, hop on the spot and do little rears like yours is doing. I'd ignore the behaviour completely, as well as tying him up as regularly as possible for short periods, with you going back and forth to him
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Agree with this.
Avoid situations where you need to leave him tied up alone or try having his friend tied up beside him to see if it helps.
As this is worrying him, take the problem away by either having everything to hand so you don't leave him or put him in his stable.
I've had horses get a very short lead rope wrapped around the back legs when tied up, real houndi style, which is why I always have scissors nearby as you can't untie the tightened rope.

Once he's settled at the yard, in a couple of months, try again. My philosophy is to save battles for important things and find alternative solutions for the little problems.

Whatever the reason for his behaviour -fear or naughtiness- the result for him is stress. Reducing unimportant stressful situations when possible may help your new horse to see you as someone who listens and helps him out when things get tough.
It doesn't mean you'll never be able to tie him up, it just means you can't just now.

BTW, For some horses that pull back when tied, it's worth looking to see if the cause isn't ulcers.
 
horserider said:
Agree with this.
Avoid situations where you need to leave him tied up alone or try having his friend tied up beside him to see if it helps.
As this is worrying him, take the problem away by either having everything to hand so you don't leave him or put him in his stable.
I've had horses get a very short lead rope wrapped around the back legs when tied up, real houndi style, which is why I always have scissors nearby as you can't untie the tightened rope.

Once he's settled at the yard, in a couple of months, try again. My philosophy is to save battles for important things and find alternative solutions for the little problems.

Whatever the reason for his behaviour -fear or naughtiness- the result for him is stress. Reducing unimportant stressful situations when possible may help your new horse to see you as someone who listens and helps him out when things get tough.
It doesn't mean you'll never be able to tie him up, it just means you can't just now.

BTW, For some horses that pull back when tied, it's worth looking to see if the cause isn't ulcers.
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Sorry....I disagree here. Avoiding the issue really doesn't help.

I have a horse whose previous owners eliminated anything which could possibly cause him worry......to the point that absolutely everything upset him... he just wasn't exposed to anything. He literally poo-ed himself every time a door banged- couldn't be tied up- he stressed over everything. Swung around at the end of a lead rope like a fish on a hook when tied up and I went out of sight. The answer is to go out of sight....and then come back. Without any fuss or bother. He will learn that its safe for you to go away....nothing bad happens....and then you come back.

If you never leave him to go get your saddle.....you will never be able to leave him to go get your saddle.....he won't just wake up one morning and accept it. You have to make it normal for him......If you do what you've always done- you'll get what you've always had.

I ignored mines behaviour- he is a changed horse. No-one can believe it.
 
I disagree too, my mare was not worried and was not ill, she was a flipping diva with a temper who didn't want to be kept waiting, whilst I agree that telling a horse off in this situation is counter productive because it means you actually have to give the horse attention and this is what the horse wants, I do not agree that avoiding dealing with this is a good way to go, tie up safe, of using Hay net use a small holed one in case horse gets leg caught while being a prat and get a good book and wait it out.
 
It depends on horse and its motivation for doing what its doing. I'm with horserider on this one, I think. Just have your stuff ready and get him ready in the stable for now. Maybe do little bits of tying up at the end of rides when he's relaxed.

A video might be interesting if it isn't much trouble? :)
 
I'm not saying avoid the situation to mollycoddle him, just give him time so he acclimatises to his new surroundings before asking for something he finds difficult. I don't mean a soft, wishy washy approach either, horses need positive leadership but coupled with fairness.
A humans, sometimes we want everything to be perfect right away when patience is in the long term, a more lasting solution.
I don't think this horses reaction is untypical in a new home, just as snatching feet away from being picked out is common behaviour. Until a horse is entirely comfortable, anything that restricts its ability to flee can be a source of stress.
 
I see what you are trying to say, buy I think that setting firm boundaries from the word go is all part of getting a horse to settle and know his new routine.

Animals like to know where they stand, and by giving in to him, pandering to his tantrums and 'giving him lots of time,' you are only allowing time for the problem to get worse.

It's not hard or stressful to be tied up, the horse is just winding itself up and letting it do it because he's 'still settling' is only going to make it worse.

If he was mine he would tie up, end of.
 
It's a form of seperation anxiety, my old boy does it too. I would just try and eliminate leaving him as much as possible - have your tack ready etc- and otherwise be as quick as possible when you're leaving him. I used to find it quite sweet when mine would panic a bit when I went into the tack room, then I'd be met with a whicker when I reappeared :D
 
Queenbee said:
I disagree too, my mare was not worried and was not ill, she was a flipping diva with a temper who didn't want to be kept waiting, whilst I agree that telling a horse off in this situation is counter productive because it means you actually have to give the horse attention and this is what the horse wants, I do not agree that avoiding dealing with this is a good way to go, tie up safe, of using Hay net use a small holed one in case horse gets leg caught while being a prat and get a good book and wait it out.
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Was exactly what mine was. If I told her off for it she'd have won with attention. I hid round the corner in the coffee room for a day and backed up in my mind that she only did it because everytime she did a livery would go and pet her. Remove the attention and she stopped within the day. She was in a new place and did a good act of looking flat out terrified. If I hadn't known her well enough or sat and watched that she only did it to people she knew would respond I probably would have worried about the situation more. Luckily common sense prevailed over panic!

She also decided she was scared of silly things for a while, rather than avoiding these she'd have gates slammed shut by her, tractors in and out the field, car horns going... she soon learned that anything making a loud sound was normally fairly boring and on occasion actually fed her, cue horse that doesn't even flinch when things are lobbed at her (OH and her play fetch with a dog toy :rolleyes:)

Pan
 
My horse did exactly the same! I thought I was the only one!
I have a video of it somewhere....

My horse does it purely for attention seeking. He is quiet as a lamb but if he's waiting for his dinner, or if his stable mate is being ridden and he isnt (the world does revolve around the gingertrotter dont you know) or if he is tied up being groomed and them I go for his tack he starts.

He used to do it constantly, but i made sure he was always tied securely and there was nothing he could bump into or land on, and then just totally ignored him!
I didnt even look him in the eye when i was walking back to him - I varied the routine EVERY time, sometimes walking right past him and putting the tack in another stable (I must have looked like i had lost my marbles!) and then walking back to the tack room and standing there for a few minutes and then going back to tack him up - all with no voice, no eye contact! nothing!

Its taken a while but now he only does "the rearing" very very occasionally but he usually only does one or two and then remembers not to be such a twit and calms down again.

If only I could stop him charging up and down then fence line when I go to catch him now...... <sigh> we'll get through all his silly foibles one day - one patient step after one patient step :)

Good luck with yours - mine is ginger too, its in the genes i think!!
 
patterdale said:
Animals like to know where they stand, and by giving in to him, pandering to his tantrums and 'giving him lots of time,' you are only allowing time for the problem to get worse.
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Its only giving in to him if the OP carries on trying to tie him up and letting him wind himself up so far then going back to him, etc. Not tying him up at all wouldn't be giving in to him in any way, it would just be putting the issue to one side until the horse is in a generally more relaxed state, when the problem should be much easier to address, much less likely to escalate or risk causing any injuries, and with a bit of luck it might disappear on its own when the horse has settled down a bit.
 
PandorasJar said:
She also decided she was scared of silly things for a while, rather than avoiding these she'd have gates slammed shut by her, tractors in and out the field, car horns going... she soon learned that anything making a loud sound was normally fairly boring and on occasion actually fed her, cue horse that doesn't even flinch when things are lobbed at her (OH and her play fetch with a dog toy :rolleyes:)

Pan
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This is exactly what I did...carried on as normal...doors banging etc- paid no heed to it. Initially there was snorting and prancing but he soon realised there was nothing to worry about.

He also got my daughter belting up and down the yard on a bright pink bike complete with handle-bar tassels and spoke beads.....

In fact...out of our 3 horses....he is now the most inquisitive and the one most likely to march up and see whats going on:D
 
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