How do you deal with a horse that pig-roots?

Question

My brothers horse is pretty great except for the really annoying habit of pig-rooting! She's done it since we bought her, does it both in the bridle and when we're leading her. She does when we're going slow and when we're trying to run barrels, doesn't have a speed preference. It's really annoying because she'll just put her nose to the ground and pull. That and it does affect her performance since it's kinda hard to go around a barrel with your horse's head in the dirt! Need some advice on getting her to stop... Thanks!

Answer 1

Firstly I would get its back and Teeth checked. If nothing wrong there i would seek help from The 'Intelligent horsemanship.com' people ( monty or kelly marks etc) There must be an underlying reason for your horse to behave in this way. You just need to work out the reason and then deal with it. Not a nice thing to deal with but very rewarding when Cured.Good Luck.

Answer 2

Well, here's a few things to think about.

- Horses lower their heads when they feel safe and comfortable. The head will usually rise when a horse is worried or anxious. Perhaps your horse is just exceptionally comfortable with its situation. That would be the best.

- Your horse's background may be responsible. Reining horses and Western pleasure horses are taught to keep a low headset, and some trainers take this to an extreme. You'll need a trainer to carefully undo this.

- Determine if your horse does this on the lunge line at all gaits. If so, and if the horse also does this when it's just hanging around it may a) have a problem with spine or neck muscles, tendons or bones which makes it difficult to bring its head up, or b) it may have been abused to such an extent that it always keeps its head down to avoid punishment, or c) it may have some sort of neurological problem. (a) and (c) need vet help and (b) needs a lot of tender care and confidence building.

Answer 3

Give it a salt block or a mineral tub.  Sounds like it's rooting for something it is craving.  Maybe even a supplement.

Answer 4

When she puts her head down and starts to pull tap her on the side with your foot and let her know who is the boss if she ignores you then tap her harder..... if she still is ignoring you then slap her on the butt with your reins or get a Small crop/whip

hope this helped

my horse did the same thing so i hope this works with your horse too

Answer 5

First of all get her teeth and back checked like previous respondant mentioned. Make sure that all of your tack fits correctly, bit, bridle, saddle, get your saddle and fit checked by a proffesional saddle fitter. Very important that these all fit correctly. Are her hooves correctly trimmed / shod? Maybe get a second opinion from a farrier.

There could be any one of a number of reasons for her doing this, you need to find the reason for her doing it before 'making' her behave by hitting her.

Good luck.

Answer 6

Red - she's trying to tell you something - but I'm not sure exactly what.  Typically when a horse does this with the bit, the reason is bit resistance - rooting through the bit, etc is a way to put the bit in a different position alleviating undesirable pressure or gagging.

If she's doing it without a bit though, perhaps she's learned that she can get pressure relief from pulling.

I think most trainers would tell you what mine have told me - they don't lead their horse.  They do not pull the rope or reins and expect the horse to follow the feel.  They expect and train the horse to follow their body, only using the rope to communicate an expected change - the horse is walking quietly alongside you, no pressure - you wish a change and the horse misses following you or your shoulder, a short pull on the rope regains focus.

I pictured a horse pushing the ground with it's nose when I read the main line of this question - now I get your meaning - the horse is pulling to release pressure somehow.

Barrel racers find themselves in the unenviable position quite often of dealing with troubles.  I've been to some Ed Wright clinics and learned a lot from him - coupling this with information gained from videos, books, and from various trainers I've worked with, I have come to the conclusion that barrel racers have a goal - go fast around a barrel.  and many of them (as I was) as youngsters only focus on going fast and getting a pattern down.  Quite often they run a horse through and through a pattern expecting them to get better and better when the horse is actually very overworked and bored - the competition isn't fun for them anymore.  It's not working harder that produces results, it's working smarter - Charmayne James, in her Western Horseman book, describes how she conditions her horses - and her conditioning includes little actual pattern running after training.  Once the horse is shown the pattern and runs it a couple times, he knows the pattern.  The key is getting him to place his feet where you want them when you want them there.  Body position is also a factor.

Many of the barrel racers I've spoken with who've had problems go back to basic riding skills - and many of them find what they THINK they're telling the horse with hands, feet and body isn't acctually what he's "hearing".  Also, many have issues with the horse wanting to enter the arena - because the arena relates to the work the barrel racing has become.  The horse doesn't see it as the fun that the rider perceives.

So - I am going to suspect there's a complicated reason the horse does this without there being an easy one-liner answer.  I think the answer lies in truly understanding why she's doing this and what the response is.  I think I would focus on getting to the point first on the lead where you aren't required to "hold on to" her to keep control - some joining up and round pen work and practice might be the key here to keeping you both happy - her because someone's not hauling on her nose - you because you don't have to haul her around as much.  But this isn't easy - it takes time and patience and trust in your abilities.  After 41 years with these lovely critters, it's VERY hard to leave 3' of slack between you and that horse - it takes lots of practice, knowing how to reward and make the right thing work - TONS of repeated reinforcing of what you wish in a consistent way and an ability to immediately recognize and reward the slightest try.

I will tell you with certainty that she's not doing this just because she's a doof or because she wants to annoy you - it's a sign that she's uncomfortable with the way she's being handled and communicated with.

Try checking out Ed and Martha Wrights website www.edandmarthawright.com (I think - maybe it's just edandmartha.com) - see if you can contact Ed and ask him that question - get a conversation with that guy and you'll really like him.  Also, if you can get to a clinic in your area by him, I would encourage it - he works with all participants on a one-on-one basis and all involved learn from what he teaches.

good luck!

Answer 7

Are you talking about when a horse puts it's head down and snatches the reins?  We just call it rooting, is it the same?  

How long ago did you buy her.  They usually do this because they've been ridden by someone with hard hands.  I've fixed it in the past by putting them in a bitless bridle for a while and then going back to a bit.  It is super-annoying.  Don't know if this will help in your case.  It becomes a pretty ingrained habit.

EDIT:  Just read your details.  They do seem to do the rooting more when they're irritated and/or bored, and as I said, it's a tough habit to eradicate.  I'm wondering how old she is.  If you can find riding activity she finds interesting - such as setting up an obstacle course - something that will break the pattern or mindset she's gotten stuck in - this might help.  Again, I think she was probably ridden for years by someone who rode with too much contact and no relief.  If you can just ride her on a totally loose rein, that will help, and is actually necessary.  Wish I had some better solutions for you, but the one's I've given so far have worked for me in the past.