Potty train your horse?

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MollyCon

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Join our current yard debate:
Can you train your horse to 'relieve themselves' in a designated area of their stable?
There are many wide and differing opinions on this, and just thought I'd find out what you lot thought as well!
 
I definitely read about a lady who had all the horses on her yard (around 15 I think) trained to poo in tubtrugs, then all she had to do was empty them (to muck out). However, not sure about urinating. It sounded like hard work training them though, basically watching them until they poo, sticking the tubtrug under them and then rewarding. Must take a while too.

Also, every entire I've had (a few colts and a stallion) always poo and urinate in one spot.....very handy! Apparently it's very common. My Welsh D was gelded at 3 and is the cleanest horse I've ever had........backs up to the back wall and poos in a pile and then wees in one spot too :)
 
A woman I know had taught her boys to wee in a bucket. She goes in stable & whistles they oblige, they do pee in bed when she is not around but she goes round doing this several times a day. I find it totally bizarre.
 
my horse is on the yard lol she always poos in the next horse along feed or water bucket. can be quite embarrassing lol
 
I also know a last whose horses pee in a bucket on command (whistle). She very kindly took my mare in for a couple of months whilst her goal was weaned and was keen to teach her, but tbh, I didn't really agree it was a good/nice thing to do!!
 
Yep, I trained my horse to wee on command! It started when he was on box rest and to save my shavings, he weed when out for a graze and it went from there. His reward was more grazing time so he kept "wanting" to wee several times :rolleyes::rolleyes: Even now he will usually stop on the way in to the yard, its his own choice - or a habit, I suppose.

My new young horse hasn't cottoned on though........
 
Easy to do and not only saves bedding but can be done prior to travelling, or competition so well worthwhile. All my horses have been trained to do this within a few days!
 
My mare will pee before being fed her dinner at night - it's easy to catch in a bucket. I started by whistling when I wanted her to perform - now she just knows to pee before the feed bucket comes. Although she does pee overnight in her bed, she will also 'perform' again in the bucket before breakfast in the morning. Makes for a fairly dry bed to muckout.
 
I have a two year old gelding who reverses into the corner of his box to poo and every morning there is a small poo mountain in the corner which is very convenient to muck out. No idea how you would go about training for this though, my others very messy in comparison!
 
How would you teach a horse to poo in a corner? The amount of poo that my lad produces is unreal :eek: Not too bothered about the pee as he's deep littered (pee's for Scotland too :rolleyes:)
 
My chap pee's in a bucket on command for a polo. He also only ever wee's in one place in his stable. We noticed that he always had a wee after he had his dinner and started to catch it in an old bucket and it started from there.

My old pony used to pee on command as well. He would go out for some grass after his dinner, have a wee and then return to his stable. He HATED weeing in his stable so would hold himself all night (we did not train him to do this, just one of those odd things) and would take him out before he had his breakfast in the morning. The vet always said it was a very strange habit not to pee in the stable but he was obviously healthy as lived until he was 33! :)
 
both mine will wee on going into stable, so i just stick bucket underneath relevant bit - mare and gelding. Just think it saves a bit of mucking out. All horses on yard are ok with having a bucket held for poo too, in fact two of them love nothing better than to sidle up to wheelbarrow whilst you are poo picking, have a smell and then do a poo for you - as some kind of reward for you, i think!
 
partypremier said:
A woman I know had taught her boys to wee in a bucket. She goes in stable & whistles they oblige, they do pee in bed when she is not around but she goes round doing this several times a day. I find it totally bizarre.
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Why? One less in the bed is more money in your pocket and less work to do mucking out. It was the first thing I taught my mare when I bought her and it only took her a couple of days to cotton on to the command. It was also very handy at shows as she is one who likes to cross her legs and wait til she's back in her stable (never ever did a wee on a hack but would burst as soon as she got back) - not good when you are out for 8 or 9 hours.
 
always thought it was a stallion thing, those gelded late or stallions seem to be tidy, mares messy only place i could be sure to find poo in the same place each morning was the one she had used as a pillow always nearside ear and mane
 
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