The Terrible Twos

[Deefa]

Do horses go through the terrible twos as well as toddlers? Well i think my little one is!

We do small amounts of 'work' with him, such as walking round the roads, leading in walk and trot in the fields for show practice, walk over poles and through cones etc to keep him listening. We prob do something with him 4/5times a week. Do you think this is to much/little each sessionis only between 5-20mins long.
Its just that he has a bad habit of constantly trying to bite you as you lead him. I have tried holding his headcollar instead of the lead rein so he cant get to my hand but he then just throws his head around untill he is loose then bites me anyway!
We have managed this qiute well and it has stoped a little but at the show on Sunday he was really bad, and he also kept rearing, once at my little sister and he came down on her arm and he also tried it on with me and mum. He has been to shows before and has been fine. He only does 1 maybe 2 classes each time and only goes to them about once every 3 weeks or so. He is only 11.2hands but i still dont want this behaviour.
Am i doing something wrong? Any ideas?

 

[airedale]

if he's a colt then it's the time of year and if a colt is going to misbehave then breeding season is the time

if he's a gelding then he definitely needs a little sort out

have you tried putting the rope over his nose to stop the rearing or using a pressure halter instead of a headcollar

you could also 'confuse' him by leading from the offside for a while instead of the nearside and then alternate

 

[ihatework]

I think some horses do go through naughty phases as youngsters, but I really would try and nip this in the bud if I were you.
I bought mine at 20 months and he is now 37 months and I can hand on heart say he hasn't put a foot out of place so I consider myself very lucky! I reckon he is probably storing everything up for next year, LOL!

 

[Deefa]

He is a gelding, he was gelded in November.
I have been a little worried about doing some things with him as he is young. I have a pressure halter somewhere which will fit him, i will try him in that, thanks

 

[airedale]

it takes about 6 months or so for the male hormones to 'disappear' and so he'll still be feeling a bit 'colty' even without his bits

I'd certainly though expect him to start behaving again by end of July if that is all it is - as longer after the snip and also coming out of main breeding season.

try also leading from the wrong side - if he's used to always left side and nip mum then that will certainly confuse him for a bit and give you a chance to break the 'habit'

 

[Theresa_F]

Chancer was slightly naughty - soon sorted out with a visit from Mr Wackity - he started to rear, but never reared again once he had a fairly hard smack on the backside whilst in the air. Ditto biting - couple of good jerks from the elbow made him realise biting was not on, he also started striking out, I kicked back on the offending leg immediately - getting harder each time - took 10 days for it to sink in that it was not pleasant for either of us. He has never done this again since.

I did similar amount of work as you are - 3/4 sessions a week of varied groundwork and manners.

He is now 3 and going through the chew and destructive phase - teething like mad in fairness. I have given him several logs in the field to vent his fangs on.

He also did the annual refuse to load last month. I did what I did last year which was to invite him on the trailer - nice treats inside and gently increase the taps on his backside until he did get one fairly hard smack and went on. He then did the back out once loaded, so the chain went on under his jaw and the rope held over the breach bar so it tightened up - again his choice, walk in and stand - no discomfort - behave like a daft bugger and life gets uncomfortable.

He is not frightened, he just every now and then likes to test his barriers to the limit. I adore him but he is the sort that every now and then needs fairly firm handling and a smack on the backside to have it made clear that bad behaviour will not be tolerated.

He is going to be a big lad, and I cannot afford to have him behave like some of the bolshy big cobs I see from time to time.

I have been told at 4 they are lovely and then you have the 5 year old tantrums to look forward to.

Still, have never regretted getting a yearling to date.