Holding up front leg - Why?!

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MagicMelon

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One of my horses, a Welsh Cob - has always been very weird with his front legs. I know its not uncommon for horses to lift and hold up a front leg while eating for example, which is what he does. But he also holds a leg up at lots of other times as well! For example, if I leave the stable for a minute to go next door to get a brush, he'll hold it up until I come back. He also does it in the trailer waiting for his treat (which he gets when he loads nicely!). He does it if he sees another horse eating or if he generally wants something!

It seems to be attention seeking behaviour? He's got a lot better with it but still does it a lot! He was kept on his own in a field as a 2 and 3 yo (how awful!!) and just had feed thrown over the fence at him (so I was told), so when he came to me he had no idea about fitting into a herd or seeing other horses with food (he couldnt understand why he couldnt have theirs too!). Do you think this is a big factor in explaining why he does this leg holding up thing??
 
mines a welsh cob x tb and he does this too, when he wants my attention he paws at the air or puts his foot on the floor outside his box (his door is open with a chain) so i tell him to put his foot back in and stop messing, its mostly when ive gone away and am coming back he does it
 
perhaps he has been rewarded in the past for this behaviour, passers by thinking its really sweet and giving polos when he does it. am purely guessing my girl does it when she eats but not at any other time
 
We have an ex-pacer on the yard who always does this when he wants something. He is a strong charactor but quite alone in a herd situation. I think its eager anticipation for whatever attention is going!
 
im guessing mine wants attention, he always does.

another thing he does is, if he's tacked up and in his stable, he doesnt like me keeping him waiting while i fetch things, ie hat etc, and does little bunny hop/rears behind his chain
 
Cairo does it - has been trained to do so - his way of saying please give me a minty cube.

Chancer does it, but then he kicks at things - fairly sure this is a baby stage though.
 
As said by Theresa_F it is often taught as a way of saying please.

Bert does it while eating but I was told by the vet that they do this as a way of eliviating frustration/anxiety at being fixed or stationary, especially while eating. Supposedly the horse being a herd and prey animal prefers to keep moving especially when eating as it is very vunerable time and the pawing and leg lifting helps relieve the anxiety.
 
my ex racer does this and i think its more like a dog begging. she copied a horse on the yard and now does it from time to time but yeah generally when food is envolved
 
I think you're probably right with the attention seeking thing.

I have a mad TB who is the world's worst weaver - any time, any place, anywhere.

When he does it he crosses over his two front legs and swings his right hind in the air.

Last time he did it was when he had finished his tea last night.....
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It's called "displacement." There was also an article about it in a magazine recently. Think about it, horses evolved to eat whilst on the move....so now being fed from a single bucket they often, although not all, pick up their legs as a way of almost relieving the fact they cannot walk and eat.

Although some horses can be taught this behaviour, it's not (usually) a sign of aggression.
 
i read that. doesnt seem to be relating to food though, as he doesnt do it at feed times or while hes eating
 
my boy always has a front leg in the air when he's eating, he lifts it so high, then changes to the other front leg, then tries to lift too many legs at once then falls over. He's absolutely wild about food. May be an attention seeking thing, as he also throws himself on the floor and lies with his feet in the air in the filed when he sees a mare, thank god he doesn't do it when ridden too haha!
 
Mine swings his hind leg whenever he weaves, but he's not always eating.

He can be waiting at the gate, tied in the yard, hanging over or behind the stable door. He even weaves at me and I weave back. We're both mad, but he's quite a nice ride really. He lives out most of the year in order to minimise his madness.
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gina2201 - Yeah that makes sense. Except in my boys (and others as well apparently!) they dont do it just while eating. Mine does do it while tied up quite often but he also does it if he sees someone else eating. For example the other day he finished his feed quicker than usual in the field so he wondered over to "the boss" who was still eating, he stood at a distance and did his leg thing! So he wasnt tied up or anything, he could move about as much as he liked.

Glad my boys not the only weird one out there! I just wondered if it was a natural thing, ie. if and why they'd do this in the wild.
 
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