Young horse with an attitude problem!

trefnantblackknight

trefnantblackknight

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Hi,

So had my 4 year old Lipizzaner for 2 years now and he has always been very strong willed, he is the same with the other horses and tries to throw his weight around but the other boys put him back in his place when he pushes it too far!!

I was leading him up the lane today with another horse behind and after something spooked him just out of the drive way he decided he wanted to prance his way up the lane which was fine I just kept bringing him back to walk.. but as we got further up the hill he started to get more and more annoyed at me for asking him go back to walk, Stamping his foot, shaking his HUGE head that sort of thing I just ignored his temper tantrum and kept telling him to 'woah' when he threw himself into a trot!!

and then out of no where he tried to turn his bum on me and kicked out twice - it was obviously meant for me but me being at his shoulder made it difficult for him to reach me...

He has kicked out at me once before when he refused to leave the paddock to go back in the field - he got caught in some electric fence so doesn't like to go near it - I 'tapped' his bum with a whip and he brought his back leg forward and kicked me behind the knee!

Now once I have growled at him or given him a smack he sulks but will stop what he is doing or do as he is told or he will fight me now he is a big horse 16hh which is HUGE to me! and I never let him win the fight but now he is getting even bigger and I am worried!!

Do you think he will grow out of this attitude problem he has going on?? I have had 4 young horses in the past and have all been lovely and sweet but if I'm honest this young man is a bit of a B*****D.

Don't know if the above makes sense.. But thanks for reading :)
x
 
Sounds like he's getting his horns out, is he backed or are you doing any work in hand with him at the moment ? is he possibly needing some work to keep his brain occupied some in hand work moving his feet and shoulders around wouldnt be a bad thing for him
 
Contact amaranta on here. Whilst she doesn't have lipizzaners she does have Pre's, and I wonder if their temperaments are similar - as in they need very particular handling.
 
Lungeing, walks out in hand, loose jumping - he does maybe 4 days a week of 'playing' but he still seems too immature to ride and the Lipizzaner people don't recommend you ride them until they are at least 5 years old - slow to mature :)
 
Marydoll said:
Sounds like he's getting his horns out, is he backed or are you doing any work in hand with him at the moment ? is he possibly needing some work to keep his brain occupied some in hand work moving his feet and shoulders around wouldnt be a bad thing for him
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He is doing a minimum of 4 days a week of 'playing' which is either going out in hand, lunging or loose jumping
 
I would get him backed and in some regular gentle work .
He needs some focus and to be gently tired.
I would not be ' playing ' with a young horse behaving like this .
I do have a little experiance with Lippys they need disipline and focus.
I am assuming he's not entire.
 
If you post on the classical riding club fb page you will find a wealth of information and experienced people with these type of horse, well worth a look and friendly place
 
Well, I can only tell you from my experience from having a youngster with a very big "personality"that, no, he won't get any better until you get to a stage where you can deal with this behaviour and for me that meant _never_ letting him scare me whatever trick he pulled (what you described sounds very familiar!). It took me a long while though, but I realised that whenever I flinched or moved (subconsciously) in response to his bullying he realised it worked. Now if he tries anything I open my arms and walk right up into his face (think arsey teenage boy) and say "yeah come on then, which bit do you want to bit then?" Might sound crazy, but it works! ;D
Good luck
 
IMO you need to very pedantic with a horse like this,but also very fair i would work in the school in hand until i had control of all 4 feet and he was standing where i put him or going in the direction i wanted him to go insist they comply or youre on a hiding to nothing, of youre unsure at all you need to get help from an experienced person as this could escalate very quickly
If you join the classical riding club and the fb page you will have access to very experienced people including Sylvia Loch whoin my experience is happy to answer questions and give advice
 
I would definitley call in a proffessional for help. If these horses (Iberian in general- lusitanos, PRE's/Andalusians, and i think lipizzaners come under the Iberian, although they do not generate from spain or portugal) aren't given boundaries and rules to follow they can easily become dangerous and very out of hand. They need firm, yet sympathetic handling as they will, as I said push the boundaries as much as they can. They need leaders and your boy is trying to be the "boss" of you and you need to stop this before it becomes dangerous. They can be very misunderstood but once ground rules have been established they will be your partners for life and will do absolutely anything for you, but it takes a while for them to trust. They are quite hot headed and need stimulation as they have very active, and very willing brains. I have a 5 year old andalusian and she was very testing when I first got her but her boundaries were set and she was not to cross them. Hope this helps a little and please do call in a proffessional for help.
 
Lippizaners are a very intelligent breed, it sounds like you did the right thing by not backing off when he was having his moment, but they will pick up on the tiniest thing so you will need to make sure your are consistent in all your handling and don't allow him any leeway.
 
I would be trying to find other Lipi owners - I know two people who imported rescued ones from eastern Europe a few years ago and both have been challenging, for these owners who were all, (one at least has been passed on) very experienced with horses in general. They are a breed unto themselves, and as well as being intelligent are very athletic, and confident in their own abilities. I can put you in touch with at least one of them if you want to email me - her horse has taken some two years to accept and enjoy his work, but he did have a bad start. I don't know if there is a Lippizaner forum but there is a group of Lipi owners on Facebook
 
I would ask around your area to find a trainer near you that deals in that kind of behaviour, but I would make sure you get some good reviews from people before you have them out as some are a complete waste of time and cause more harm than good. From my experience problems like this only get worse if they are not stamped out quickly, and problems are generally easier to fix before they manifest into a bigger problem.
Good luck sorting him out, hope he comes right. :)
 
I know Maryk (some numbers after her name - can't remember them) (I'm friends with her on here) has a pure bred Lippizaner.

Mil has a part bred he is great but can be a little sod when he wants to be..

Una Harley of the Lippizaner society may be a good person to chat too? (Google her) she's got lots of experience with lippi's.. You can pick and choose what info you want to take!

:)
 
I had some great help from a lady near me when I got my youngster. He is 4 now but has always been a bit 'cheeky' shall we say since I got him at 15 mths. Essentially you have to teach them things are black and white and they are to behave/act how you want them to. She has given me lots of tips and techniques to use which essentially is based on working with how a horse thinks. I really suggest you look to get someone in to help you with some groundwork as you need to get the control from here to start with.
 
Ditto get some help, as he is seeing what he can get away with and needs to learn some respect. Also look at what you feed him. I breed PRE's and haylage can drastically alter their behaviour, as can alfalfa. I had one colt who went from sweet natured to a grumpy monster on alfalfa! Needless to say he wasn't on it long! Some can take it and some can't. Also the spring grass could be having an effect on him, in which case a magnesium supplement might help. All mine are on a low sugar, low starch diet.
 
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