StaceyTanglewood
Well-Known Member
how can i stop a horse pawing ??
stopping a horse pawing ??
- Thread starter StaceyTanglewood
- Start date
flyingfeet
Well-Known Member
In what situation?
Dad has to stand by mine and threaten him when being shod or he paws his toes out
Dad has to stand by mine and threaten him when being shod or he paws his toes out
Halfstep
Well-Known Member
Mine is a nightmare for pawing during feeding. Will send feed flying everywhere. A heavy tyre one of those tyre bowls that fit in them was the only solution. He can kick that to his hearts content and can't tip it over or injure himself (as he could on a manger).
stencilface
High upon a hillside
Can you hide round a corner and squirt horse with a water pistol each time they do it? I have heard that works, although I have never tried it!
Joss
Well-Known Member
Sorry, no idea. Our younger horse does it a lot. I have rubber matting in his stable & luckily he doesnt actually bang the door. He is awful first thing, due to my work he normally has breakfast & then rug changed & turned out. He is dreadful & often paws so hard the sparks fly. I do smack him on the chest, especially if he is in danger of getting me with a hoof but it makes no odds.
He is normally fine later in the day & is a good horse so I just live with it. Only probs when we recently stabled away in temporary stables with a dirt floor & he had dug a huge hole just inside the door!!
He also does it alot when stood in the trailer - so ideas gratefully received.
He is normally fine later in the day & is a good horse so I just live with it. Only probs when we recently stabled away in temporary stables with a dirt floor & he had dug a huge hole just inside the door!!
He also does it alot when stood in the trailer - so ideas gratefully received.
Enfys
Well-Known Member
It depends WHY a horse is pawing, the OP wasn't specific.
If it is sheer impatience at being tied then what happens with trainers where I live is that a horse is tied up and he isn't untied until he figures out that pawing isn't going to get him anywhere.
The only horse I have that paws is my mini, but he only does it when waiting to be let out in the morning, I just put some rubber matting by the door and let him get on with it. In his case it is sheer impatience, it doesn't get him outside any faster.
If a horse paws when I am grooming or it is being attended to by the Vet or Farrier then it gets reminded of its' manners, pawing whilst in hand is sheer bad manners.
If a horse paws when eating then as far as I am concerned that is perfectly natural, and if he happens to send his food flying then that is his own choice and he can jolly well deal with the consequences of his own actions. If it annoyed me that much then I'd feed in raised mangers where pawing doesn't knock feed over.
If it is sheer impatience at being tied then what happens with trainers where I live is that a horse is tied up and he isn't untied until he figures out that pawing isn't going to get him anywhere.
The only horse I have that paws is my mini, but he only does it when waiting to be let out in the morning, I just put some rubber matting by the door and let him get on with it. In his case it is sheer impatience, it doesn't get him outside any faster.
If a horse paws when I am grooming or it is being attended to by the Vet or Farrier then it gets reminded of its' manners, pawing whilst in hand is sheer bad manners.
If a horse paws when eating then as far as I am concerned that is perfectly natural, and if he happens to send his food flying then that is his own choice and he can jolly well deal with the consequences of his own actions. If it annoyed me that much then I'd feed in raised mangers where pawing doesn't knock feed over.
CrazyMare
Well-Known Member
Both of mine do it, for different reasons and at different times.
My yearling does it when her brain isn't occupied - for example, if she is tied up and I've finished grooming her and I'm doing my mare, she will paw. She gets told off and it lasts for a few minutes. She also paws at her dinner.
My mare paws when she is trying to tell me she wants something - either to go out, her tea, or to have a wee.
They are mother and daughter, so it just seems to be individual things - maybe my filly will grow out of the boredom pawing.
My yearling does it when her brain isn't occupied - for example, if she is tied up and I've finished grooming her and I'm doing my mare, she will paw. She gets told off and it lasts for a few minutes. She also paws at her dinner.
My mare paws when she is trying to tell me she wants something - either to go out, her tea, or to have a wee.
They are mother and daughter, so it just seems to be individual things - maybe my filly will grow out of the boredom pawing.
StaceyTanglewood
Well-Known Member
sorry horse is pawing when tied up !
basically it paces the field as soon as any horse is brought in this can be 10am or 3pm doesnt matter he is also bargy at the gate and demands to be brought in first but is in the first stable to the yard and bites rest of the horses on their way in
so i have been tieing him up while i bring the rest in and he just paws and paws and paws - i have ignored him and ignored him but he dont stop i dont think it would stop if i left it there all night !!
basically it paces the field as soon as any horse is brought in this can be 10am or 3pm doesnt matter he is also bargy at the gate and demands to be brought in first but is in the first stable to the yard and bites rest of the horses on their way in
so i have been tieing him up while i bring the rest in and he just paws and paws and paws - i have ignored him and ignored him but he dont stop i dont think it would stop if i left it there all night !!
jojo23
Well-Known Member
Our horse would paw when tied up in the trailer without a haynet, it was some kind of temper tantrum. It is her personality, she is a competition horse who needs reminding of her manners now and then, in a firm and calm way. If she was spoilt like the horse you are talking about she would be a nightmare - her personality is that she wants to do what she wants to do when handled but needs reminding that she is not the boss and she needs to abide by the rules, think she might have been bashed a bit because sometimes she does something naughty then gets upset because she knows she is going to be told off, but you just need to be firm and calm with her. Your horse probably just needs consistant firm handling to re-educate him, but getting the owner to do that might not be so easy.
Law
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
If a horse paws when eating then as far as I am concerned that is perfectly natural, and if he happens to send his food flying then that is his own choice and he can jolly well deal with the consequences of his own actions. If it annoyed me that much then I'd feed in raised mangers where pawing doesn't knock feed over.
[/ QUOTE ]
My 2 year old does that every day. I've started to clip the bucket to the gate to stop him sticking his foot in it and sending it flying!
If a horse paws when eating then as far as I am concerned that is perfectly natural, and if he happens to send his food flying then that is his own choice and he can jolly well deal with the consequences of his own actions. If it annoyed me that much then I'd feed in raised mangers where pawing doesn't knock feed over.
[/ QUOTE ]
My 2 year old does that every day. I've started to clip the bucket to the gate to stop him sticking his foot in it and sending it flying!
almorton
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- Joined
- 2 March 2008
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- GreyGates Sport Horses Lancashire
hobbles. work every time!
StaceyTanglewood
Well-Known Member
[ QUOTE ]
hobbles. work every time!
[/ QUOTE ]
it threw itself on the floor !
hobbles. work every time!
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it threw itself on the floor !
Box_Of_Frogs
Well-Known Member
Hobbles! OMG!!!!
Horses paw the ground as a displacement activity. It's the outward sign of an inner need to do something. Horses move as they feed in the wild - that's why some paw the ground/feedbowl as they are feeding. It's not to irritate an owner. Stressed and/or captive horses in the wild move (fast!) to escape whatever is the problem - that's why horses paw when they are stopped from moving. Young horses full of energy blat about in the wild for the sheer fun of it but also to learn how to flee and fight. It's just us humans that have made their life more difficult by imposing artificial restrictions on thousands of years of instincts.
I'd ask every horse owner whose horse paws to try to see things from their horse's point of view and unless it's dangerous, have some compassion and understanding.
Hobbles. Ye gods.
Horses paw the ground as a displacement activity. It's the outward sign of an inner need to do something. Horses move as they feed in the wild - that's why some paw the ground/feedbowl as they are feeding. It's not to irritate an owner. Stressed and/or captive horses in the wild move (fast!) to escape whatever is the problem - that's why horses paw when they are stopped from moving. Young horses full of energy blat about in the wild for the sheer fun of it but also to learn how to flee and fight. It's just us humans that have made their life more difficult by imposing artificial restrictions on thousands of years of instincts.
I'd ask every horse owner whose horse paws to try to see things from their horse's point of view and unless it's dangerous, have some compassion and understanding.
Hobbles. Ye gods.
almorton
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- Joined
- 2 March 2008
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- 1,071
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- GreyGates Sport Horses Lancashire
hobbles arent ideal, but then, neither is horses slamming their hoof capsule / shoe / pedal bones into the floor and im more bothered about
a) keeping them sound, and
b) keeping my toes and wagon intact!
so i guess ill keep them handy.
its not like i use them as decorations or anything, its a needs must!
a) keeping them sound, and
b) keeping my toes and wagon intact!
so i guess ill keep them handy.
its not like i use them as decorations or anything, its a needs must!
Box_Of_Frogs
Well-Known Member
Not gonna get into an argument greygates as life's too short. But a horse pawing and pawing is an unhappy horse. If you hobble an unhappy horse you are not getting to the heart of the problem, you are slapping a very nasty sticking plaster over it. Unhappiness in a horse usually spills over somewhere else.