I have a 5 year old gelding who is misbehaving....?

Question

I went to put his halter on him after he finished his grain and he knocked his head into me and pushed me over. His disposition is good so it was a suprise when this happened, also he throws a fit everytime I try to pick out his feet, that is if I actually manage to get him to lift his leg please help me !!!

Answer 1

First off, he might not have been raised having his feet worked with all the time. As far as that goes, patience and time and continually working with him on that. Practice by picking up his feet and putting them back down without spending time picking them. Let him know that you don't always want to go digging around with a hoof pick. Just pick up, and put down. All the time.

When horses are "fond" of another, they're rub each either. Was he rubbing his head on you, or did he knock his head into you? My gelding had a habit of rubbing his head on me, which about knocked me over... but I thought it was cute. But you do have to stop this behavior, because it can be dangerous.

He may have just been playing... since you said it's not normal for him.

He might be developing a disrespect issue, that depends on how long you've had him. Increase your ground work with him, and work on personal space. Teach him that you can come into his space whenever you want, but he can only come into your personal space if he's invited.

You want to bond and be friends with your horse, but at the same time you have to maintain a line of authority. It doesn't sound like he's crossed it, but if you show him that knocking you around is ok, then it could progress into a bigger issue.

Answer 2

You are letting him be the dominant horse. He is learning he can get away with that stuff. Knocking his head into you once could be an accident. If he does it all the time, hit him back once and say NO. If he is being hard for you with lifting the leg, hit that leg once, say Knock it off, and pick it up again. Repeat until he does it. He knows how to pick up his legs- you are just not making him do it.
Think about it: if you were a lead horse in that group- you would expect the others to do exactly what you said, when you said it. If not, you would retaliate by biting or kicking.
He is seeing that you aren't doing anything back to him when he doesn't listen, so therefore he is the leader of the group. Once he respects you as the leader, all you should have to do is a mean voice and he should listen and quit it.

This works on every horse (unless you get those ones that have been dominant to humans their whole life- then it takes more). A horse I have never worked with before responds and quits after the first time.

Answer 3

If this is a change in his behavior, especially if its sudden and dramatic, then you may want to get him examined by a vet. There may be something medically wrong that's causing him pain, discomfort, or just stressing him out. If you receive a clean bill of health from the vet, then you're going to have to examine the way you've been handling your horse.

If you've hand fed your horse treats of any kind, this can over time turn him into a pushy animal. Treats should only be fed to a horse in their corner feeder or grain bucket. These animals are too big and too dangerous to be treated as house pets. Now, feeding from hand once in a while won't hurt you, but to make it a daily habit is asking for trouble.

The fact that he pushed you over after eating his grain might also suggest food aggression of some sort. If he's been in a situation where he feels his food supply may be threatened (i.e. if he's turned out with other horses that may try to drive him away from the hay or water), he could be defending what he feels is his property. You're going to want to watch how you feed him. Does he pin his ears when he sees the grain? If so, wait for him to relax before giving it to him, then praise and reward him when he calms down.

Don't forget, though positive reinforcement is the best way to train a horse, when he acts out in an aggressive manner, you have to discipline him so he understands that such behavior is not acceptable. A stern smack and a prompt "No" should get his attention.

Now, about his legs. Once again, you'll want to have the vet check him out to make sure there are no soreness or lameness issues that might make it uncomfortable for him to pick up his feet (and thus put more weight on the remaining three). Because of his age and the behavior issues you've mentioned, it sounds more like his actions are a result of his greenness rather than a medical issue, but I'd still get a vet to check him just to be safe. You're going to want to be firm and consistent with your ground work. When you ask for his foot, make sure he gives it to you. The proper signal for him to lift his foot should be a gentle rub down the length of his lower leg. Ask him that way first. If it doesn't work, lean into his shoulder a bit. When he picks up his foot, hold it for a good few minutes. Make sure he knows that you're in charge, not him. If he yanks it away, make sure you get him to lift it again and keep a hold of it until you're ready to let go. Repeat the process for all four legs. Do this every day. Keep working on it, and reward him heavily when he picks up his feet. Eventually the message will sink in, you just need to have patience and be consistent with the way you ask.

Answer 4

You need to think about whether he pushed you over in a hostile way or if it was a way of being friendly. I have a horse that nudges me with his head all the time but if I start to scratch his ears, he stops. As for training him to tolerate you picking his hooves, start by just rubbing on his legs close to his hooves. After a few days to a week, pick up his hooves and put them down a few times a day. Do this until he picks up his hooves with no problem. Then move to picking his hooves only sometimes when to pick up his leg. If this doesn't help after a while, ask the vet to check out his hooves. Maybe he has an irritation.

Answer 5

He probobly needs to figure out that you are the boss...you cant let him boss you around like that...you need to show him that you mean buisness (dont hurt or hit him though) You need to let him know that you are the boss and that he can trust you. If you just got him than you need to build up the trust wall...if you've had him for a while then maybe call the vet incase he is sick or just take it easy on him for a while.

Answer 6

this horse has no respect for you and your space (or probably any other human) and was never taught to pick up his feet groundwork groundwork groundwork..If you can afford a trainer who leans toward the 'natural horsemanship' type training ( I HATE that term,,good training is training..) send him..or watch some of these guys on RFDTV or get their videos Clinton Anderson..Dennis Riese..John Lyons..If there is a local trainer you hear good things about maybe you can trade barn work for instruction on how to deal with your horse.

Answer 7

How much grain are you giving him? Oats have a lot of energy factor in them, and can cause a horse to become restless, or agitated. Like when a person gets too much caffeine... I've seen normally gentle horses that had too many oats, kick, bite and throw their riders. If you have good quality hay, or pasture grass, a salt block and good clean water he won't need a lot of oats. I would say cut back his oat intake, and see if his disposition doesn't improve.

Answer 8

Maybe you should just check over his legs for sores or cracking on hooves also tie him down tight with about four ropes two for each side, when you try to clean his hooves.

Answer 9

He probably just is not that happy with you doing that. This may sound weird but try talking to him in a smooth voice, and maybe sing to him..

Answer 10

He doesn't respect you. Try walking him in circles until he tires out.