How to stop a door banger that's doing my head in !!!

You could get an empty fairy liquid bottle and fill it with water and keep it handy and when the horse starts banging dont go up to it and dont say anything and casually squirt it at your horse ( not a lot just so it sort of goes wha..? and stops for a second and then you can carry on with what your doing.
 
Tickles said:
Agree. Am surprised no one has suggested changing the horse's management such that it doesn't feel bored/frustrated/hungry/whatever is causing it to bang.
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Because its easier to wear ear plugs, slap it, wave a stick, squirt it with water or electrocute it. Whatever happened to horsemanship?:(
 
I had exactly the same problem and he only did it to get my attention, changing management, feed, beating, squirting it with water and padding the stable door wont work as the horse is looking for attention and in the meantime is damaging his feet - mine did his collateral ligaments!! I bought the quitkick www.quitkick.co.uk it is £200 and I thought it would be a waste of money but it was amazing.

Example, if you react or do not react to the horse when it is doing it they will continue as they either want to be heard or know that they will get your attention, with the quitkick it is so automatic that they then don't associate you with the buzzer and water. They are not cruel and they are a brilliant idea. Mine hasn't been charged in over 2 months and he hasn't kicked once. In the start he did forget it was on a few times but to kick the door once a day was better than constant when people were on the yard.

Best £200 I have ever spent.
 
I'm sorry, but Frank kicks his door when he's bored because he's bolted his hay and now hasn't got anything to eat. Its not about "managing the situation", he's got small hole hay nets etc, but he needs to learn to behave and stop trashing our yard!
 
lochpearl said:
I had exactly the same problem and he only did it to get my attention, changing management, feed, beating, squirting it with water and padding the stable door wont work as the horse is looking for attention and in the meantime is damaging his feet - mine did his collateral ligaments!! I bought the quitkick www.quitkick.co.uk it is £200 and I thought it would be a waste of money but it was amazing.

Example, if you react or do not react to the horse when it is doing it they will continue as they either want to be heard or know that they will get your attention, with the quitkick it is so automatic that they then don't associate you with the buzzer and water. They are not cruel and they are a brilliant idea. Mine hasn't been charged in over 2 months and he hasn't kicked once. In the start he did forget it was on a few times but to kick the door once a day was better than constant when people were on the yard.

Best £200 I have ever spent.
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That was the thing that I was trying to recall what it was called! -Quitkick- I do agree that it is the routine and management cosistency of the horse that probably needs to be looked at first!
 
Ok, sorry to hijack, but what do I do with one who has ad lib hay, can't go out because of a recent op and has company, and doesn't only kick the door, but all four walls too? :S
Hehe, don't we love 'em :p
 
As many horse owners will tell you, the frustrating habit of horses kicking stable doors is a real problem.
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Yes, the horse is doing it because its frustrated. however frustrated the owner feels you can bet tha the horse is more.


Kicking stable doors is a habit common among stalled horses, and often difficult to cure
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Man made problem! a horse wont stand in the field and kick the hedge or thin air. So WHY is it kicking the door?

Installing the QuitKick unit not only gives horse owners peace of mind, knowing that their horse will not injure itself or damage the stall door, it will also have no impact on their ongoing relationship with their horse.
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Except that the cause of the kicking is still there and the horse is still frustrated. it just doesnt like being squirted. its been trained to stop kicking by the water but the cause hasnt been removed so the frustration to the horse is still there. B***er the horse, It may not be externally evident that the horse is fed up but at least the dear owner doesnt have to put up with the noise anymore or the vets bills :rolleyes:
 
Ok teddyt, in your grand knowledge, tell JessandCharlie what she should do. Or when I need to ride my horse and he's kicking the door because he's bored should I just turn him out again and never ride him, let him get overweight and die?
 
alot to do with door kicking is either borderm so add toys, swede small hole haynet bobbing apples in water or Some impatient horses will kick at feed time which incase i would use the suirting device to stop or at least reduce it . horses are not designed ,to be caged animals , they belong out side . this is probley why 100% of the time majority of animals have stable vices
 
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wind your neck in Teddyt - the OP is asking for help and advice! My horse is definitely not stressed or frustrated he is wanting attention, and for the sake of his feet and future soundness and not being in pain the quitkick has sorted that out. Yes I have spent £10,000 on vets bills mainly due to his kicking the doors and the damage to his feet. The machine has not been on in a few months and before that he didn't need it - he pretty much stopped within a week.
 
flamehead said:
Ok teddyt, in your grand knowledge, tell JessandCharlie what she should do. Or when I need to ride my horse and he's kicking the door because he's bored should I just turn him out again and never ride him, let him get overweight and die?
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In jessandcharlies case being in a stable is more for the horses benefit than the owners- so thats unfortunate and has to be done. However there are still things that can be done. Small outside pens for example. More frequent contact, grooming outside, etc. For the horses benefit though there has to be stabling so the frustration is the price to pay for recovery from the operation. Thi hopefully will be short term, so imo more acceptable.

As for overweight horses permanently having to be stabled with minimal or no hay i dont subscribe to that! i have 3 rescued ponies that have all had laminitis and arent ridden. So they cant get overweight and i dont have the option of riding to help slim them down. but they all live out and have some grass but their main diet is haylage. So it can be done with the right set up and management. its not easy but then they are happier than being stuck in a stable banging the door.

Banging the door is because of hunger, boredom or frsutration due to limited movement. Horses arent physically or mentally designed to walk two strides and then hit a wall. Hence they express alternative behaviours. It may do the owners head in but the horse cant actually help it! And retaliating by inflicting pain or fear doesnt solve the issue for the horse.
 
ischa said:
alot to do with door kicking is either borderm so add toys, swede small hole haynet bobbing apples in water or Some impatient horses will kick at feed time which incase i would use the suirting device to stop or at least reduce it . horses are not designed ,to be caged animals , they belong out side . this is probley why 100% of the time majority of animals have stable vices
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Right, Frank already has small holed haynets, eats apples just as quickly and if they're bobbing in water he kicks his buckets over and soaks his box. He also kicks at feed time.

Clearly, I'm a cruel mummy and I should just never bring him in. Poor little sod for being expected to behave for 5 mins whilst he's waiting for me to put my hi-viz on.
 
teddyt said:
As for overweight horses permanently having to be stabled with minimal or no hay i dont subscribe to that! i have 3 rescued ponies that have all had laminitis and arent ridden. So they cant get overweight and i dont have the option of riding to help slim them down. but they all live out and have some grass but their main diet is haylage. So it can be done with the right set up and management. its not easy but then they are happier than being stuck in a stable banging the door.
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I didnt say that, I said that if I never brought him in from his field then we'd never be able to ride him and then he'd get overweight and unfit. Or am I meant to launch my tack at him from across the field and hope for the best?
 
i also think when a horse does start door kicking it becomes a habit to them. my mare who i have owned for ten years has always been a door kicker but a few years ago a youngster was put in the stable next door and the youngster was always putting her head over the partion to have a nosey. my mare then obviously kicked out with one leg hitting her side of the partion. the youngster was moved due to this but she still kicks the partion for no reason. there is no horse next to her and she can be stood there eating her net with her ears forward looking across the yard and bang she kicks the partion. no warning no look of aggression on her face nothing. very strange behaviour
 
flamehead , i not say your bad ,ive clearly gave you idears on how to help your horse , around the situation of kicking the doors . some people have expressed, it clearly him being
frustrated , ive clearly said it can be anumber of things , , but i have expressed in my thoughts that is not clearly focused at anyone , that horses are not to be designed as caged animals .i fill they should bealoud out 24/7 but this is my way of doing things and i have never had a horse that had any vice because i have left them out 24/7 and not stabled.
horses that are stable goes throw one stable vice ,box walking ,kicking stable doors. wood chewing , kicking stable walls etc
but each to there own , ive just tryied to give you a few examples of help with the situatation and im sorry if you have taken offence to what i said ,but its not directed at anyone like yourself
 
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Lochpearl- i joined in to give another perspective. Until i did everyone was suggesting quick fixes that ignored th cause of the problem. Im sure the squirty machine is great andim glad it helped you. But i disliked the advertising wording as it too ignored the cause.
I dont need to wind my neck anywhere! Just trying to give another point of view and maybe one that is a bit more regarding of the horse.

If im wrong and every horse that kicks the door is a s**t and just wanting needless attention then ive wasted my time. heh hoh! everyones elses advice is obviously better :)

i do like a good debate :D:D
 
It was the way you approached it. Yes there are horses that have vices and I for one do not agree with chastising horses for vices but the OP said it was as soon as the horse saw her and would not stop until she left, this was exactly the same as mine.

Mine did it when I got him, mainly at feed times and then as soon as he got to know me it was as soon as he could hear my car - I couldn't run fast enough on the y. He yard to try and stop him. He then severely damaged his collateral ligaments in his coffin joints and had to spend 9 months on box rest. He was happy when he had food and others never heard a peep out of him, but as soon as I went on the yard - in fact when I entered the road to the yard he would start. In his instance yes he was wanting my attention and was bored on box rest but it only heightened his habit.

What I was trying to say was that sometimes something like the quitkick can react so quickly to them they are then confused as to why it has happened and then learn from it. He is neither scared of water or alarms or even his stable door, when he is rubbing his bum on it! or walking in and out of it, and he has totally stopped. Now I cannot say that he will never hit the door again but now he just stands as he did before with his head out the door, ears forward and please come and give me cuddles and sweets look rather than mr angry and if you don't give me attention I'll kick the door down.

I was merely trying to say that some horses just do it for attention and once taught it is not correct they will stop. No whips or agressiveness will help but also management isn't always the cause. Also to say about different ways of managing box rest is to do the pens etc. He wasn't even allowed out of his stable to be mucked out, so there wasn't a lot I could do, plus he never did it when I wasn't there.
 
I've used quitkick and it is fantastic. Horse stopped after one nights use and then only had to use it every six months or so to remind him. When they bang the door the quitkick box sprays a small jet of water at them. Expensive but worth it!
 
Monsters said:
I'm at my witts end with it he's doing my head in and he copied it from a liverys horse and now my pony who iv had 7 yrs done it tonight as well. I feel in a while we are gona have a stable yard off door bangers.
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Maybe they are all doin it because they are all under similar management. If they are all stabled then maybe they are doin it because they want to get out. Maybe their heads are being done in stuck in the stable so when they see the person that lets them out they bang more!
 
Must admit my lot know my car, so have them 1) rearing 2) tap dancing that's just the 2 young ones. 3) weaving and the 4th just stands there bless him. But my lot it comes down to being fed and they stop.:)
 
You can cure this completely, in a day or so, with absolutely no pain or discomfort to the horse, I know because I have been there with several of ours who were attention seeking rather than there being anything wrong. Simply close the top door, leave it 10 minutes or so and then try opening it. Each time the horse kicks the door close the top up and give him time to think about it. With one of our ponies it took about half an hour (and god, he WAS annoying), one of the horses took more sessions but over a couple of days. I have never known it to fail, you may have to remind them every now and then if they forget why they stopped doing it!! I would imagine that most horses that kick the door are doing it for attention. We all know that most prefer to be out but occasionally they have to come in for feed, groom, etc and if they start kicking it can drive you mad.
 
Trug buckets of water in front of stable door,
Wood across door at an angle so he cant kick it
Brushes on inside of door
Bucket of water thrown over him..
Open door and put a chain accross the door
 
dont smack the door, why make a horse that has been put in a stable by man become afraid, just give it some hay, that is all it is asking for. Silence is golden.
 
I had mine PTS a month ago. Didnt solve it in 32 years!:) What i would pay to hear the door bang now...:(

TBH I found turning him out worked well...;)
 
Right my lads management, he's out for 20 hrs a day comes in to a full haynet which he never really wants, might have a lick off his horselyx. He's ridden, groomed, feet sorted and feed within the 4 hrs he spends in. As soon as I close the door he will bang and not stop. More turnout than a lot off horses and nothing to do with hunger, just come in so unless he gets bored within the few seconds it takes to shut the door, it ain't boredom. I stay in the yard he will kick away, leave the yard and it stops in a instant.
So it's not bad management he's never short off water, hay just wants constant attention from the minute I bring him in.
My pony has been on his routin the same for the last 7 years with no hint off banging a door until this horse comes to the yard so I'm certain he's picked it up as a fun thing to do, else I'm sure in 7 years he may off found some kind off vice which he never has until a few weeks after this lad comes
 
http://www.quitkick.com/

worked a treat on the eventers! It is very sensitive though so remember to turn it off when you go in the stable or you will get wet!

ETA: Teddyt it is wonderful that you have the land available to have your ponies out 24/7, however many owners are not in this position just as not all horses are suitable to living out. It is easy to sit behind the computer and criticize the OP - I assume you know her stable routine well enough to know that her horse/s are bored and/or frustrated.... If not I agree with the poster who said wind your neck in and keep your opinions to yourself if the OP is asking for ADVICE.
 
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Sanolly said:
http://www.quitkick.com/

worked a treat on the eventers! It is very sensitive though so remember to turn it off when you go in the stable or you will get wet!

ETA: Teddyt it is wonderful that you have the land available to have your ponies out 24/7, however many owners are not in this position just as not all horses are suitable to living out. It is easy to sit behind the computer and criticize the OP - I assume you know her stable routine well enough to know that her horse/s are bored and/or frustrated.... If not I agree with the poster who said wind your neck in and keep your opinions to yourself if the OP is asking for ADVICE.
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Well my advice is to look at why the horse is doing it- think about horse behaviour! i dont see why that is so bad and why the opposing advice assuming its doing it to annoy is any better, with the answer being to throw/wave things at the horse or some other method of 'punishment'!

People seem to be missing the obvious. The horses that do it more when their owners are there and stop when they leave are doing it because the owner is the one who feeds the horse and turns it out. The owner is the one who gives the horse attention, hence when the horse sees the owner or hears their car they know they will get some attention- whether thats food, turn out or being ridden, whatever it i the horse needs. Natural horse behaviour when wanting that attention is therefore to kick the door because the horse is frustrated. It doesnt matter whether the horse may have only been in for 5 minutes- if its frustrated, its frustrated. some horses will tolerate hours in but others wont, hence they will kick quicker. Others will box walk, weave or crib. Some wont do anything because they have a higher tolerance of confinement or hunger.

This doesnt have to be a criticism- im just pointing out horse behaviour and the way the horse thinks. Everyone else was approaching this issue from a human point of view. Despite domestication stables are alien to a horses mental and physical imprint. I suggest that others 'wind their neck in' actually! They are the ones taking offence that their management is causing the problem- because they dont think it does. But the point is the horse does! Regardless of whether an owners opinion is that the horse cant possibly be frustrated if the horse is demonstrating alternative behaviours then it is.

Im just putting the case for the way the horse thinks because when i joined this thread nobody had considered the horse. Advice doesnt always have to be what someone wants to hear and i dont think ive been rude- just pointing a few things out that are alternative to others. So then i get told that i have to wind my neck in and other sarcastic comments just because i give an alternative view point! Its a shame people cant debate a subject without resorting to this.
 
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