PLEASE HELP - lunging, biting pony

J

jcneill

Member
Joined
27 March 2009
Messages
15
Visit site
Can anyone help me with my daughters 13.3 pony. He has recently started lunging over his stable door and biting anyone he can get at. This is for no apparent reason, the vet checked him yesterday to make sure he's not in any pain. He has always nipped in his stable but we got round this by tying him up and being firm with him. Now he has started this other trick. Obviously everyone at the yard is aware of what he does and gives him a wide berth but tonight he got the unsuspecting farrier and drew blood. This is really not good. We have had him since April 08 and don't know his background but this fierce behaviour has only started in the last month. I have read Monty Roberts advice who says make a big noise at him and wave your arms. This does work, but it is the poor unsuspecting soles who visit the yard that he gets or people who forget to give him a wide berth. I have ordered a stall guard for his stable so he can't get people but i would like to know if this can be cured completely as he will have to be sold next year as my daughter will have outgrown him and i can't afford to keep him as a pet. He is fine out of the stable.
 
Can he stay out more?

Any changes to feed or routine? Any changes on the yard itself, i.e. new horses, move of existing horses? Any change in his turnout companions? Anyone started feeding him treats in passing?

Personally I'd keep a lunge whip to hand, and crack it in the air in front of the stable if he made a move to lunge, but be full of sweetness and light if he behaves well.
 
yes, i agree he will be happier when he lives out but at the moment yard rules say he must be in over night. Thanks for your help
 
is he like this with horses and how old is he?? when you say stall guard do you mean a grill?
 
Think the water spraying may work TBH. There was a mare at college who did this - funny though she only did it to students, not the yard manager and, when she did one day go for one of the yard girls she was quickly let know this wasn't going to be tolerated.

Does he normally have his head over the stable door or only when he's on the 'attack'? If he likes to have his head over normally I can only imagine a grill will cause more frustration. I am no animal psychologist but the pony sounds like he's not happy and, if he's ok when out then I would personally look at moving the pony somewhere where maybe he could be out 24/7. Some just do not cope with being stabled as they don't get enough personal space and this can lead them to develop various issues.
 
Only other thing I can think of if he HAS to be stabled is to move him into a quieter stable where there is not as much human activity ? Maybe he's had a bad experience with THAT stable ?

Does sound like he'll be better out 24/7 although I know you have stated that this can't be implemented.
 
[ QUOTE ]
there are some new horses on the yard but he doesn't bite them when they go past, just people- why would this be?

[/ QUOTE ]

It could be a dominance/herd issue. His herd status may have been upset and he's trying to regain what he sees as his place. He might be a bit of a coward as well and has found that biting humans is on the whole less painful than biting horses.

Little Cob kicked seven bells of sh1t out of my mare last week all the way round the field - the herd boss likes my mare, Little Cob wants to be second-in-command and sees my mare as a threat. The rest of the time Little Cob is an absolute sweety.
 
the water spray sounds like a good idea. I've got another horse on the yard so moving him isn't that easy. He should be out soon so hopefully will be better, it's just wierd he's just started doing it. I'll give the stable guard a try cause he doesn't usually stand with his head over the door, if it don't work or makes him worse i'll get rid of it.
I had a mare that wouldn't let you pick her back feet up when i got her, with a lot of work and patience she turned out fine so i'm determined not to let this beat me
 
this is not politically correct and im expecting to be called all sorts for this but what we did with a pony like this is wait until he did it and then very firmly smack him on the very tip of his nose when he did it and everytime he even came with his head over the door when you walked past raise you hand and shout oi!

not the monty roberts way but it works and quickly
 
Just a word of warning re the water spray - if you use it to scare him/tell him off he may well associate the spray of water with something bad, which will be a complete pain when it's bath time
frown.gif
 
I would look for the cause. Are there kids on the yard who might be taunting them when they go past, or running past whuich he might not like? Could somebody have been feeding him titbits?
 
Is his stable at a high traffic area? I.e where alot of people go past because he is at the beginning/middle of the block?
My mare used to do this - lunging mainly for horses over her stable door but thankfully only got a mouthful of their rugs.
We found that it was because my mare didn't like horses going into "her area" and she felt threatned by them..
I have since moved yards and no horses can get their head near her stable door and nobody walks past her because of the set up of the stables. She absolutely loves it..
Izzi
grin.gif
 
[ QUOTE ]
this is not politically correct and im expecting to be called all sorts for this but what we did with a pony like this is wait until he did it and then very firmly smack him on the very tip of his nose when he did it and everytime he even came with his head over the door when you walked past raise you hand and shout oi!

not the monty roberts way but it works and quickly

[/ QUOTE ]

Personally I would be inclined to do the same .

The pony in my opinion needs a good sharpe shock to make him think again before reaching out .

Horse at our livery yard caught me on the arm whilst walking past, I was in so much pain at first to even react quick enough . But the next time I walked past I was ready for her , She got a good slap on the gob . She now stands back when I walk past .

Just to add she left me with an almighty bruise and I suffered crushed nerve damage and 5 months on I still can't feel that part of my arm
crazy.gif


She still needs to be told to go back when other ponies or horses walk by her .

Put it this way you really need to get this sorted now as it could be a small child that walks by and said pony could easily take the ear of a child
crazy.gif


Sorry if it sounds harsh .
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top