Pigs! Grr advice please!

SuperCoblet

SuperCoblet

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So we have this 5 mile roadwork loop that we trot around most weekends. We go past a huge cattle farm, quite scary however our 2 don't fuss and go past it nicely. For about the past year or so they have a pig right next to the road, which usually stays in it's stye. During this time the horses have smelt it and knew it was there, we sometimes had to persuade them past but they would usually just jog past and gypsy would go sideways with his head in the hedge while jogging :rolleyes: I must say he does look pretty ;)

Anyway last weekend we must have had serious bad timing as the sow had just lost her piglets and it was feeding time so she was out of her stye and snorting. This is getting to be a bit long winded but my mums mare is 20 and she knows the ropes a little too well and most occasions we have to try and outsmart her. Gypsy is 11 and has confidence issues, if Des doesn't go, Gypsy panics and says he doesn't want to tackle it on his own and just rears and spins to hide behind Des... Not good when she's backing up and refusing to move! So lady weekend we got about 20 yards away from the pig then she dug her heels in and refused to move... We tried absolutely everything to make them go forward but it just wasn't going to happen. I ended up getting off gypsy (he's more confident in hand and won't nap) and spent about 10 minutes trying to bribe him past but it worked and the silly old mare just followed :rolleyes:

Now this weekend we were just about to turn down onto the pig road, this mush have been about 200m away from the farm, gypsy didn't have a care in the world at this point, he never does unless the mare starts playing up! But then she just dug her heels in (literally, looked like she was going for a poo because he heels where that far in!) and completely refused to move, tried circling, backing up, tap with a whip... Nothing was going to make her go foreword and gypsy wad not going to go on his own. So this time we both got off and lead them down the road and they just walked on as if nothing happened :rolleyes:
Now the thing is, I don't want to be getting off everytime wo go there because in a sence they have won. So any tips on how to get the daft old mare forewords?! It's not Gypsy's fault, he has been through a lot and I can understand why he didn't want to go.

Thanks, I'm off show jumping in a bit :) :D
 
If you need to get off why not lead them back and forwards past the pig so they relise it's OK, then get on and ride then past it.
 
IMHO they are taking the piss and your expression "tap with a whip" suggests to me that you are letting them. You know that they have managed to get past the pigs before. THEY know perfectly well they have managed to get past the pigs before, they also know you let them get away with deciding they are not going past the pigs. If it was me on board I'd ride as normal NOT letting my nerves wind the horses up and as soon as the first slow footstep occurred I'd growl and give the horse and good HARD whack, with praise when it went forward.

My big mare remembers where she's been spooked and gears up for another good spook but if you put my daughter on her, who won't tolerate such behaviour, she soons straightens up and walks past quite happily. Given a more "sympathetic" rider she'll play up terribly.
 
Thank you, and yes when I said 'tap with the whip' I did mean whack as soon as they stopped but didn't want to get slated for it haha. She's a stubborn old thing and I certainly dont think we were letting them get away with it else we would have just turned around and gone home. I think I'm going to take the mare out on her own past as I am more compliant than my mum and she knows I don't let her get away with it.
 
Get off an lead is a great suggestion, maybe call in to the farm and see if they mind you stopping on the road and calling the pig over so the horses can see it, then lead they up and down back and forth until they are bored. The get back on and carry on. One good session might well cure it. We have pigs at home with the horses and when they are in neighbouring fields I catch Polo leaning over the gate licking the pig ! Gross but clearly he isn't bothered by them at all (the pigs must like a itch as they have to come right over from him to reach them!). We've had quite a few friends horses come and stay over the years and once they've stood and seen the pigs for a few minutes they don't bother with them again - in my experience.
 
Dont feel like a failure for getting off if thats how you got past thats how you got past. Does it make any difference if you were going home(I know mine would be fine going past the scary cows if it was on the way home) but going out he was petrified. Big Moose.

Anyhow after a while he realised he was going to have to go both ways and soon the eyeing up of the cows and the circling was just a waste of time.

Continue to see the pigs ...consider it something new and part of your horses education. You dont want to end up in a battle with your horse and yes its scary if they do start being an idiot etc so absolutely fine to get off. Even though you know they are taking the P. Keep trying and trying and it will get better. Practice makes perfect. Good luck
 
Polos Mum said:
Get off an lead is a great suggestion, maybe call in to the farm and see if they mind you stopping on the road and calling the pig over so the horses can see it, then lead they up and down back and forth until they are bored. The get back on and carry on. One good session might well cure it. We have pigs at home with the horses and when they are in neighbouring fields I catch Polo leaning over the gate licking the pig ! Gross but clearly he isn't bothered by them at all (the pigs must like a itch as they have to come right over from him to reach them!). We've had quite a few friends horses come and stay over the years and once they've stood and seen the pigs for a few minutes they don't bother with them again - in my experience.
Click to expand...

Funny licking pig new salt lick? My sis horse was kept with pigs and cows and had no issue with them. Mine was terrified of cows(for a while).
 
It had crossed my mind that it might be salt, the field next to the pigs we use for hay so the horses are only in it late summer after the hay has been cut (when the weather can be hot). Perhaps pig sweat could be the new 'in' suppliment (but I'm not sure I fancy collecting it that much!). Doesn't seem to do either Polo or the pigs any harm so I'll just let them carry on.
 
Horses have a natural fear of pigs because a pig will attack a horse!

I have seen to horses that were gored by pigs and both were significantly scarred for life.

Some horses will get use to them, others never will.
 
Both the 20 year old and the 6 year old I ride are terrified of them. Last time I did manage to keep the young un from bolting past but it took a lot to keep him calm and he was still on his toes for at least another 400 meters after we got by the pig field. I've meant to go and ask for some pig poo to put in their field as I thought that might help. Oddly enough the mare who spooks at all sorts of random invisible things walks past them quite calmly:confused:
 
According to legend, when the horsemen (those who handled the heavy farm horses) in the north east of Scotland went on strike 150 years ago (?) they got up to all sorts of tricks to stop the farmer taking the horses out and breaking the strike. One trick was to smear pig manure on the inside of the horses' collars and also onto the stable door posts. Apparently, as has been mentioned, horses don't like the smell of pigs and they'd be impossible to tack up or take out of the stable!

How about a bit of reverse psychology? Ponies don't like the smell of blood either so we train them to take their hard feed off a fresh deer skin when we train them as deer ponies. How about doing something similar with pig dung? (I'd wear rubber gloves!:D). Put some near the feed bucket and move it nearer each day until desensitisation is achieved.

Just some lateral thought and it might help.;) You might also get a pet pig, but having kept them in the past, I think I'd prefer to put up with the napping!:rolleyes:
 
My mare is genuinely terrified of pigs. She snorts, and breaks out in a huge sweat. Desensitising by keep going past them, or leaving her at the pig farm fora few days vacation are the only things I can think of to possibly help, speaking as someone who planned her hacks to avoid any possible pigs!!!
 
:) thought maybe I'd wait for a rainy day and make a papier mâché one :D don't think I'd want to own one or even borrow one even briefly.
 
Ah just keep trying or have a break and do it now and again. Honest my horse drove me mad for a couple of years(sorry yes)! I dreaded going IF they were up at the gate and hanging over, he was aright pain. But he did get over it as it became very boring after two years. I never thought of it after that but I never enjoyed it and we would dance along the road. Big woss. I got into big battles with him over it(the wacking with whip etc etc) then tried the "good boy" etc and talked him through passing. But not sure what worked in the end if honest? We did get there though. And yes I think mine was taking the P.
 
We also have 2 farms with pigs to hack past, and were constantly spooking the horses to the extent it was becoming dangerous...espescially as it is a route I do a lot of riding and leading.

Luckily I have a friend who has some pigs at her house so took the horses on 'pig training'! They were initially very spooked, but after 1/2 hr of standing next to the sty, even got one of the more frightened horses to touch noses with one! She had piglets too and let them run around in a pen next to the horses too, but they were not deemed as so scary as the fully grown parents!

It has really paid off as although our horses still make 'eyes' at the pigs as we go past, they are no longer panicking.
 
We have pigs and horses. For some horses the answer is, give it a smack and a boot and ride it past (sideways/prancing whatever) but some might need de sensitising to the pig.
Can you graze your horse in hand/stand near/touch the pig (not whilst on board) and get it used to it?
 
Hi we have pigs and ponies. Or NF rubs their backs for them. We dont have trouble and do offer for people to bring theirs here and let them get used to them. mine arent near the road but the sanctuary down the road does and lots of people dont ride down here because of them. good luck
 
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