What vice's are you happy to live with?

[bay_mare]

Hello,

We were all having a bit of discussion at the yard the other day and i'm just interested to see what everyone else's point of view is on the subject.

What vice(s) does your horse have, or a potential horse have that you wouldn't mind living with? Are there some you would simply not put up with? Would you try or are trying to change them? And how?

I'm talking about crib biting, wind sucking, nipping, bucking, rearing, chewing rugs, chewing bandages/boots, agressive behaviour around meal times, napping while out etc and any more you can think of.

Many thanks!

 

[joeanne]

Blimey...
Small section b cribs....to the extent he has no front top teeth left. But he is a happy soul otherwise.
Tb cross likes to eat wood....pain in the bum as we have to cribbox absolutely everything wooden (electric fencing is the only thing thats really worked)
Stig throws himself on the floor in temper/frustration, but coz he is "speshul" I humour him
Most vices I can put up with if the horse is right for the job expected of it.
The only vice I will not put up with is aggression.

 

[BBH]

Annoying behaviours I could cope with ie weaving, crib biting etc but only for the right horse.

Dangerous behaviours I wouldn't.

 

[aidybex]

My horse is a crib biter - hasn't caused any damage other than a slight groove in his stable door. I was actively encouraged to buy him buy a couple of friends that are very experienced in dealing with crib biters. It does sometimes annoy me but hey ho, it's something he's done his whole life. I live with a husband who picks his nose, disgusting but he's always done it - and most certainly a vice!! LOL

My dad's tb and daughter pony have caused more damaged stripping wood off the fences this winter - but i think thats more frustration, boredom and looking for food than a vice?!

 

[turkana]

My horses live out, so stable vices wouldn't bother me.
Food aggresion is a total no no for me, I'm often pushed for time which means sorting rugs & checking over is usually done while horse is eating. I have 2 horses that I feed in the field side by side, so they need to be able to deal with that.
My tb doesn't like being messed about with while she's eating so I keep it as brief as I can, she doesn't do anything, she just swishes her tail, so I take the hint & leave her as much as possible but she does have to tolerate a certain amount.

 

[Cedars]

Puzzle eats her box, drives me mad but I accept it.

Dotty waves legs and threatens to bite but rarely actually does. She also bucks and rears but shes recovering from KS so that's accepted too.

I wouldn't accept rearers without cause or balance, or biters/kickers. Xx

 

[ThePony]

Cribbing could possibly deal with - but only if I could turnout year round to try and lessen it. Pretty much nothing else though!! Bucking possibly, but only if for a reason, not just as a temper tantrum. Absolutly no way for a known rearer or kicker. Napping I suppose to an extent - mare is a little harder to get going forwards away from home than towards, but that is a pretty mild example I think!

I am pretty negative towards any vices, there are alot of decent horses out there so why have to deal with that? I am not competing at a high level so there is no need for me to deal with vices in order to accept a horse working at an advanced level that might have 'quirks'. Horse ownership is expensive and time consuming anyway, I'm not too fussed to make it more so!

 

[celia]

I'd be happy to take on a horse with minor issues in any of the areas you've mentioned.

Would expect that a change in management etc would resolve many of them. Sister's pony used to nip and was very nappy out hacking but you wouldn't know it now. Similarly, my lad used to be very possessive about his feed and is now much improved - although he's still inclined to pull faces/wave a leg at other horses near by (which is pretty understandable I think!) Have known horses that crib/windsuck who have either stopped or reduced their behaviour considerably with a change in feed and/or management. I think once a horse is well established with this sort of behaviour though it is very hard to change so would probably steer clear of a horse like this unless it was completely incredible in all other respects! Rearing or bucking either in hand or under saddle I would be happy to deal with as long as it wasn't to a dangerous level.

 

[monkeybum13]

Vice's like weaving wouldn't bother me.

At the end of the day so long as there are no long term health problems what they get up to in their own time is up to them, they just need to be sensible to ride and no dangerous to be around.

Having ridden a rearer I would be very dubious about riding another one as serious.

 

[jsr]

My boy naps. It's annoying and sometimes a bit dangerous (was very dangerous but we've worked through ALOT of issues) but I can cope with it and it doesn't both me..much! It can be annoying when he does his stop, spin bog off routine with other people around, and he is a bugger for hiding behind other horses...without checking they mind him putting his head under their tails and hiding!!! But thankfully my hacking friends understand and don't seem to mind too much....well they haven't said so I'm guessing they aren't too fussed!!

I wouldn't be happy with any stable vices, but that's purely because to me it indicates an unhappy horse so I would work on sorting those out. My lad is out most of the time anyway and when in certainly hasn't time to do anythign other than eat cos why mess around when there is hay to scoff???

Biting, bucking and rearing No no no! I'd not be happy about those!!

 

[Ladybird]

My old mare cribbed occasionally, never worried me as it was fairly rare, she was too busy boxwalking the rest of the time when she was in! That drove me mad from a mucking out POV.
However the killer with her was the bucking, it was getting ridiculous so she had to go.

New boy is a fidget at times, however in my eyes he's absolutely perfect so he can fidget to his hearts content!

 

[Lobelia_Overhill]

My horse windsucks not sure why, I'm thinking it's a "habit" now more than anything else... it doesn't seem to affect him in any way at least

 

[Archangel]

I must be very grumpy because I would not put up with anything like cribbing or weaving, something rocking away in the background would do my head in.

 

[madlady]

I would put up with cribbing, windsucking but wouldn't be able to cope with weaving - mainly because of the stress on the joints that this causes.

Bucking/rearing it would depend - if it's pain related then yes if not then I wouldn't touch with a bargepole, I worked with a confirmed rearer for a while who just went vertical because he really didn't fancy being ridden - no pain issues, tack fitted etc, he just would not tolerate being ridden. He would go up and over so that has put me off rearers for life!

Aggression - again it would depend on the situation and the horse but I wouldn't necessarily rule a horse out because of that.

 

[Horsie_madd_freak]

My tb mare who's 6 nips gentley with love often but can also bite....hard!& can get 'intimidating' round meal times[but with me she knows she wont get away with it].

She also is known for having a good buck! She also tried to 'turn home' on hacks alone if thats counted as a vice.

Ontop of all that she is a COW to pick up her feet but has got alot better with consistancy.


Even though she has her problems, she's my perfect horse; i wouldnt change her for the world because i think if she wasnt like that....she wouldnt have the cheeky amusing personality and stubbon mare attitude about her. So i spose depending on the horse, and how much they mean to there owners ...... you could put up with alot!

it's suprising what owners will do for there 4 legged equine friends

( however there are 4 horses on our yard that CRIB like hell& that annoys EVERYONE around, they've eaten the whole arena fence by there stable blocks......TWICE NOW!.....xxxx

 

[planete]

I would not buy a horse with any known vice. If my horse developed a vice I would do my best to cure him. If that failed, I guess I would do my best to still love him but it would upset me! So I guess I would NOT be happy to live with it.

 

[McNally]

I wouldnt accept ridden vices. I thought i'd be ok with stable vices and bought a weaver but actually it quite bothered me as i saw it as a sign he was stressed and unhappy (he didnt weave constantly) I used to get quite upset feeling!! (cant believe i just admitted to that!)

Cribbing and wind sucking dont bother me tho oddly, or maybe thats just because its always someone elses horse doing it!??

 

[Damnation]

When I first bought little mare she bucked, napped, barged, food possessive, awful to handle. By the end of it all she did was Nap if I asked her to hack on her own. I think alof of behaviour based vices can be sorted with the right boundries/management.
I could put up with a crib biter, wind sucker and a weaver, even a barger.. (He'd do it once.. twice would just be stupid LOL! Rather give them a good wallop then get trampled, I value my life!)
Would never have a kicker,agressive, another nappy horse or a rearer which is why I have the one I do. None of that! Much prefer an easy life!

ETA: Having said that I knew a mare who had been known to kick when you were grooming her and would actually run and bite the wall when you were grooming her stomach. Drag you to grass, REALLY food orientated like foamed at the mouth around feed time, and ran her teeth across metal and stone in indignation.
However, was perfect to ride, literally. You could leave her for months, hop on and hack her past a field of galloping horses and she would just keep walking. So its all swings and roundabouts.

 

[Hippona]

I don't mind the weaving/box-walking vices- because its an outward sign that the horse is unhappy and its in my power to do something about that....previous weaver stopped totally when I changed his diet/environment. Current horse 'would' weave if I took others out before him.....so he goes out first- why upset him? But then I have my own place with 3 horses so I can mange them how it suits them/me and they have a relaxed stress-free life now.

Napping, mini-rears and bucking out of 'joi d'vivre' I don't mind......I can deal with napping /mini-rears - current horse does it because he's a baby and lacks confidence but we are working through it and its no great problem. Previous youngster did it, we worked through it and now he's fine.
Bucking when going for a canter I don't mind- makes me laugh. Broncing to try to get me off would be a no-no- but then there would be reason for that- pain most likely- and again it would be up to me to find out where the pain was...

Agressive behaviour I cannot stand....its usually down to previous bad experiences but I'm not out to get myself bitten/kicked - its a hobby, not a deathwish.....

 

[HashRouge]

My first horse used to wind suck, my sister's first horse weaved and my current mare kicks out at other horses. The first two aren't dangerous although weaving can be pretty stressful (he now lives out 24/7). My mare could potentially be dangerous but after 10 years with her I know exactly how close is too close. Our only problems are at shows, because apparently half the horsey world doesn't understand what a red tail ribbon means

 

[bumblelion]

My tb napps badly when out, is very stressy and box walks if the time gets past 7am, which is very rare !My id rips the tbs rugs, is very bolshy and rude and chews everything! But I love them both dearly!!!

 

[Vickijay]

I have a new one... Im (just about) happy to live with my slightly agorophobic horse! She isnt keen on being out, esp for longer than about 25 mins!! She has been known to jump out or in, whatever she chooses! She has enjoyed being in through the winter and now hates spring and being forced outside!!

Im happy to have weavers as would just put a grill up, not so keen on crib biters and windsuckers. Am used to most ridden vices as naughty or missunderstood ones are my thing!!

 

[cazrider]

my lad naps when solo hacking if he's not ridden on his own much. Its almost as though he forgets he can. I just have to make sure he is ridden regularly. no big deal. I wouldn't stand for anything like aggression or rearing though.

 

[Ranyhyn]

I will put up with quite a few handling vices, but no ridden ones. Not my bag at all.

 

[Lexie81]

My new horse weaves in the stable. When i first got her she weaved constantly as she was on a yard which didnt allow 24 hour turnout and and even with a grill up she would stand behind it and weave.
I decided to change her routine and see what happened, rented a field and shelter along the lane from our old yard and put her out 24/7 with our daughters pony. She hasnt weaved since, and having her out 24/7 actually suits me better any way, i was only stabling her as i didnt think she would cope living out, but i think this way, with less of a clip than she has now ( she was fully clipped when she arrived) and a decent set of rugs i think she'll be fine next winter.

 

[kirstyl]

I don't think anyone would choose to go out and buy a horse with known vices unless they were particularly special. I bought mine (an ex racer)as a walking skeleton in Feb 10 and he turned out to be a cribber and occasional weaver. Certainly wouldn't have been my choice to have a horse with either of those vices but with tlc and lots of patient and consistent reschooling work, he is turning out to be the best horse I've ever ridden. And I wouldn't swap him! He cribs before feedtime and weaves if he's stressed. I try to minimise his stress levels with good management. On the plus side, He's the politest, most unspooky horse (in hand and on board) that I've come across and he keeps his condition really well with minimal hard feed. He had a stressful life as a flat racer in Hong Kong, then a hurdler here, vices seem inevitable.
I would not have a proven napper. Having ridden many nappy horses, some of which were taking the mick with their owners, some were far more persistent, it is one of the most frustrating and often dangerous vices. I don't like persistent rearing, and I really wouldn't choose an aggressive horse. Life is too short and I want to enjoy the time I spend with my horse

 

[blitznbobs]

Can live with weaving and door banging, don't mind the odd buck.

Won't tolerate rearing or kicking or incessant biting.

BnBx