hes pushing his luck

T

traceyann

Well-Known Member
Joined
7 June 2009
Messages
645
Visit site
my new horse i saved from the meat man is lovely but seems to try a new trick everyday i cant keep up first bolting in the field thats know stopped then bolting out the field thats now stopped the lastest biting while i picking up his front foot oh forgot to mention the cow kicking when picking up back legs i know hes had a rough time of it and has been badly beaten and starved i dont want to smack him but he isnt hearing a growl and now he got a cut and wont let me near it what would you do he doesnt scare me at all but i trying very hard not to smack him
 
Have you tried pulling down on his headcollar, like a sharp 'yank'? I know it's hard but you may have to put your hear to one side for a moment and maybe give his a sharp tap, just once may do it. If I didn't with my cob he would be all over me saying 'i'm king now'. My mums mare used to bite when you picked her feet out, put the foot down as soon as he bites, sharp 'yank' on the leadrope and pick the foot up again.
Hope this helps :)
 
hose it, then slap sudocreme on it and leave it alone (unless it's so bad it needs stiches or bandaging) that should fend off infection and you can repeat in a couple of days. You can normally get a good covering on a smallish wound with 1 wipe over the area.

If he just needs space and time, messing about with cotton wool and potions and powders makes it worse. We have found this works wonders with anything we pick up to fix if it is damaged as it is a lot kinder than messing them about if they aren't happy with contact.
 
Apart from dealing with the cut, is it possible to just turf him out for a month or so and just feed him so he can just completely chill out? If all you do is feed him (a nice thing) and maybe just a pat on the neck (a nice thing) then he should come to realise that nothing bad is going to happen. That's what I did with my beaten pony.
 
I would love to turn him away but where he lived out in all weathers he wont now and rip chucks out of my wood gate in protest and gets very distressed the cut is a nothing cut but would like to wipe it down at least out of fairness i tried to be to nice i think because of his history where any other horse would have got a smack he a bit headshy so dont really want to tug to much on his headcollar he does learn quick but also new tricks quicker iv only had him a month so i think there trust issue on both sides weather he picking up on this im not sure
 
Took me a good week to 'make up' with my mare after she cut herself and I cleaned it out with ultra diluted hibiscrub and a blob of dermobion! She too has been mistreated and if you hurt her she will do her damdest to hurt you back!

She does respond well though to a dually headcollar and is a very sweet mare most of the time!!
 
Is he ok with you holding a whip or something long near him? If so, touch near the cut with one end at it and let him thrash and dance about as much as he wants while you stand a safe distance away with the stick touching the area (extension of your arm). Once he stops, reward him by taking it away and giving him a pat.

I've been riding a mare who has been trying it on when she can in a smiliar way- she's especially crabby about having her belly touched (and it needs to be groomed to get the mud off before I can put a girth on her) and I've found that just riding out the protest by holding my brush against her belly (and my body out of reach of the hindlegs) while she makes a fuss and rewarding her by leaving her alone when she stops being a bag has really worked.

No yanking on anything needed!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top