kicking doors and pawing

G

gocharliego

Well-Known Member
Joined
16 October 2011
Messages
65
Location
uk
Visit site
My horse often paws the ground, kicks his stable door and hooks his hoof over the kick bolt latch on the side of his door when wanting attention and food. Not only is it hurting the everyone's ears, his front shoes become thin from the pawing. :)

How can i stop this naughty habit!?
 
we are going to try carpet on the door for mine as he does the same. He couldn't do it in the barn as the grills don't allow them to look over the door (which I don't like!)
 
Put a chain across his door so the door stays open then he has nothing to band against.

Door bangers are PITAS and other horses will catch on to the 'fun' idea. My last Border Collie was brilliant at stopping them because she would rush to their door and jump up and nip their nose. It as funny to watch as she only had to hear a door bang and she was there, horses that lived there on a permanent basis would,on hearing a bang, just pull their heads in from over the door and she would nip any nose hanging out if she didn't realise who was actually banging.

I had a pony that was an incessant door banger and as the old dog was no longer of this world he drove me bonkers. One night he started at two in the morning. I was so mad I went out, picked up a broom and chased him around the stable shoving the bristles against his stomach. He never door banged again whist with me for several years. He went elsewhere and then returned. At the first feed time he started to bang and I waved the broom at him and he immediately stopped, and never did it again.

They do it for attention and therefore if the attention they attract is not what they want they soon stop.
 
Carpet is absolutely useless, don't bother with it. Rubber matting and putting Holly leaves on the door was suggested to me but I never tried it, as soon as I put up a stall chain and left the door open the problem was solved.
 
He has a wooden bar across his stable door but he continues to paw and kick the side of his stable. Thank you everyone, i will certainly be trying out some of the advice given whether or not it will work is a different matter as he is not one to give up quickly! :)
 
Get a spray bottle and fill it with water. Every time the horse kicks or paws, don't say a word just squirt it in the face. Sounds harsh but after a few times, even the sight of the bottle is enough, you won't even have to spray it. This will make them associate kicking or pawing with a bad thing.

I've done it before and it works a treat.
 
http://www.quitkick.com/index.php/all-about-quitkick/how-it-works

The Quit-Kick device is mounted on the outside of the stable door.

Once mounted on the outside of the stable door the Quitkick detects, through electronic sensors, when the door is kicked by the horse. The device immediately sends two jets of water upwards in a one second burst. This stops the horse kicking the stable door.


The horse is free to look out over the door as normal and the unit will not activate unless the door is kicked.
The horse very quickly makes the association between kicking the stable door and the water spraying upwards. The horse does not associate the water spray with anything other than it’s own actions (Negative reinforcement).

Through trials it has been found that typically horses stop kicking the stable door stable door in under two days. This depends on a number of variables: the temperament of the horse; how long it’s in the stable; what prompts the behaviour and so on...

Trials have shown that continual use of the Quit-Kick will ensure reinforcement of the horses revised, non-door kicking, behaviour.
Click to expand...
 
These type of devices really do work. There was a horse with one on its stable at my last yard. I can't say how long it took to stop, it already had when I arrived, but the horse never banged while I was a livery. It was funny actually because the device they had made a small sound before it sent the water jets up. The horse never banged but the device activated if it leaned to heavy on the door by accident. The sound was enough to make it take a few steps back thus avoiding the jets. It only happened a few times when the horse forgot. You could see it almost raise its eyes as if to say "oh damn, I have done it again!"
 
I had a door-banger - as soon as there was a sign of daylight, she would start - my neighbours loved me. I put a trug full of water just inside the door, every time she went to kick the door, she kicked the trug and splashed herself. It really did work - she soon stopped kicking. (and my neighbours weren't woken up at 5.00 in the morning)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top