Horse Trainers or longtime horse owners only!!serious answers please!?

Question

ok, i have a yearling filly. when i feed her or put her in her stall, she kicks her walls like crazy! she does it when shes eating or just standing there. I give her lots of attention so that cant be it. i have moved her away from the horse she was next to before and didnt like but she didnt stop. I have asked my vet, and some other trainers what i should do but havent gotten anywhere with their advice. its getting to the point where i am considering shackles for her. im afraid she is gonna hurt herself so ANY ADVICE WILL HELP!!!! im desperate! Thanks~

Answer 1

Are you feeding her in the stall? She could have a fear of the stall. I had a pony that had a fear of the stall, she would neigh and kick when you first put her in but then stop. The problem though was putting her in and getting her out. She would balk kick and rear when trying to put her in adn she would rush the stall while trying to get out, my sister and my grandfather were both trampled by her (not too bad but it is very scary).
We had to let her stay outside in the pen, we would leave the stall open for her but she wouldnt use it so we eventually built her a carport-like area out in the pen to protect her from the wind and rain. Shackling her will probably just make her more frightened. Look around and see if there is anything that could be spooking her, a board that rattles in the wind, an open area where something is dangling or swaying in the breeze and catching her eye. If you find something remove it and see if things get better. Good luck.

Answer 2

Hello,
I believe shackles will only make the problem worse in the long run. Horses are naturally claustrophobic and prefer to be out in wide open spaces. It doesn't sound like food agression or she would only do this at feeding time. You also have a young horse who probably has excess energy, and may be a little herd bound. She probably wants to be with the other horses-and obviously likes it outside. Here are my suggestions.
1 Make sure the stall walls are constructed in a manner that she cannot get a foot caught when kicking.
2 Put leg wraps--or boots on her hind legs to protect from hard blows.
3 Make sure she has plenty of exercise and a cool down period before getting put away. (This would probably mean walking or leading under halter).
4 Always lead her to the stall quietly, don't run her in.
5 Give her a treat when she gets in the stall, and plenty of grass hay to keep her busy and her mind off being cooped up.
6 Don't overfeed alfalfa or grain--for a young horse with little work, this can make them "hot"
7 It's best to have a safe window--or door that she can look out and where she can see other horses.
8 You can buy special stall mirrors so the horse can see their own reflection and be more comfortable in surroundings.

Best of luck!

Answer 3

Unfortunately many equines do this- for many different reasons. Here are some that I believe could be the core of your problem.

PROBLEM: Everytime you've fed your filly she has done this kicking behavior. She could be relating her kicking to her receiving her feed ration. Your filly thinks"Wow, everytime I start kicking my stall, I get fed." So now your filly believes whenever she kicks, she eats.
SOLUTION: Teach your filly patience. When you go to feed her wait for her to be peaceful. This means for her to stand quiet and polite until she gets her feed. It will take her a while for her to put two and two together since she already put the two and two before together that she gets fed when she kicks. Wait until she is no longer kicking the stall or calling to you before you drop her feed. HORSES are smart, and she will learn.

PROBLEM: Your filly may not have enough turn out, pal time or grazing time. Many horses learn stall vices as reactions from pent up energy and not enough turn out or grazing, and yes not getting enough time with other equines.Some horse's weave, some crib, others kick.
SOLUTION: More turn out with plenty of grazing and if you are able to manage another equine companion. A lot of ranches keep their stallions pinned alone. I've learned over my many years that my stallions are better behaved and more stable when kept with another equine companion. Horse's need to be just that- HORSES. They deserve to run and play with each other and learn natural behaviors that they would if in the wild. So let them.

PROBLEM: Infrequent or to large of meals. You may not think that when you add or take away a little bit of feed to your equines grain ration that it makes a big difference but it does. Horses are creatures of habit, and upsetting their schedule and stomach's play a big part of behavior.
SOLUTION: Keep meal times on time and always with the same amount. If you know that you're going to work your horse out a lot next week, gradually change the feed ration this week. By keeping meal times at the same time or around the same time each day, your horse's body will be disrupted if you miss a feeding or are hours late for one. KEEP THE TIME. If you know you can't be there to feed your equine's at their feeding time, then measure everything out ahead of time and ask for someone else to feed them when you can'ts. AND always, keep your grain ration the same. Don't sit there and say,"Well, Prissy has been so nice and loving today and even though she's only sitting in her stall, she deserves a little extra feed." That extra feed could mean the difference between a horse that is at good weight and healthy and a horse that is stocking up and foundering.

Lastly I don't recommend shackles. Since you aren't there to monitor your equine 24 hours, a serious injury could happen. By shackling your equine you take away her ability to run, which in her mind means- "oh no I'm trapped, at any minute I could be attacked and I have no legs to run on." Shackles can increase stress- and in some horses stress leads to colic.
If you are worried about her injuring herself, outfit her in trailer boots. These will offer her legs protection with the peace of mind that she can move about.

Answer 4

Here are some possible problems...

Too Much Attention. You may be giving her too much attention so to get your attention she kicks on her stall. Lots of horses have that habit called 'TA' [Total Attention]. To fix this try to ignore her when she does that and if she is starting to wreck her stall try to just give her less attention when she in in her stall and more attention when she is in her pasture. That way she may soon make the connection that she will get attention in her pasture and she may stop kicking her stall. Also try to work her everyday in a round pen or bring her through her gaits on a lunge line.

Doesn't like the stall. A lot of horses do not like stalls at ALL. They just want to be free. Try to give her a lot of pasture and if you can leave her in the pasture all night, just blanket her. If she has been a full outdoors horse before in her life she may not like a stall. If letting her out in her pasture all the time isn't an option try letting her graze on lead rope before she goes to bed. Bring her out where there is green grass and let her graze for 10 minutes or something. It helps a lot.

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Answer 5

It is not a question of how much attention you give a horse that causes this kind of thing. She probaly developed this habit defending herself from other at feeding time and it just has never been stopped. You may want to try a set of kicking chains or you can put a horseshoe around her ankle to help break her of this habit. If not, she can cause injury to her legs and possibly to you if you are in the wrong place at the wrong time.

Good Luck!

Answer 6

I would use kicking chains.. We had a horse in our barn that did what your filly is doing and I think it was just her way of acting out. We used chains on ankle cuffs on her back legs so that if she would kick, it would give her a slap.. it was not heavy enough to break or injury her legs, just to wake her up and it worked. After a few months she was fine without them and the advice to do this came from a local vet.

Answer 7

I had a 2 year old that did the same thing. After I sold her they put a chain on her leg, just long enough so that when she would pick up her leg to kick it would hit her in the belly, she trained herself to quit kicking. It is a nasty habit that can get her hurt. Also start to teach her Pat Parelli's 7 games, you will see a big difference in her attitude.

Answer 8

Kicking straps or chains will help. Make sure you keep an eye on her when they are on. Alot of horses kick when they are bored. It WILL cause problems with her joints if she keeps it up.

Answer 9

how long is she in the stall for? maybe she needs to be lunged really well before you put her in so her excess energy is burned off.

Answer 10

she'll grow out of it