I NEED help with my horse. I created a spoiled monster. My horse, when we first got him, stomped down all of

Question

the grass in his pen. We have are doing everything we can to get it to grow back... and it is starting to grow back. In the last two days, I let my horse to graze the lawn- so he could get his fill of food. I usually take him out on the lawn to brush him, or tend to his needs. Well the last two times I took him out today he wants to graze the lawn. I wouldn't let him and he started to get a bit mad by stomping his foot at me- kinda looked like he was going to shoot up on his hind legs. (normally this is the most easy going horse in the world) So, when he did this, i realized my mistake and put him back in the pen. (he sees coming out as a treat)... so i'm taking the "treat" away until he learns that he cannot graze the lawn. I KNOW i shouldn't have done that...Instead of letting him graze the lawn or should i say until his grass grows back, i'm giving him more hay and oats. BUT does anyone have any better ideas on how I can correct this behavior?

Answer 1

that sounds about right  

Answer 2

seems like your doing all you can

Answer 3

ok all of these answers are wrong...

so,

dont just stop taking him on the lawn.

1:when you go on the lawn hold on the chin part of his halter, when he leans down to eat firmly say NOand pull up a little. If he still rushs towards it. walk him away.

2:once hes away and calm, bring him back on it and repet that untill he understands that you dont want him eating it.

3:Ask him to do something on the lawn, like halt or back up. If he gets it say good boy!! and pat him and let him eat a couple bites of grass. So he knows that the grass is a reward not a luxury.

4:then pick his head up and walk around the grass.

5:remember if he trys to eat it say no and walk away.

good luck!!!

Answer 4

Keep doing what you are doing.  If you happen to have a turn out with no grass just to get him exercise, that would be good.  He doesn't necessarily need more hay and oats. It's like those that become carrot piggy, they want their carrots as their treats.  Your horse wants the grass and became a grass piggy. You were probably feeding him the correct amount of feed to begin with, but the grass became what he really wanted.

Do not let him graze especially with you holding him as that could become a nightmare for you.

Answer 5

that is good, jus do that

Answer 6

I'm going to assume that your horse is a gelding and neither a mare or a stallion.  Now that your horse knows that he can control you and that you are afraid of him, even of his hoof stomps, there are several options.

1) This is expensive.  Have a professional trainer train him in your presence and see if you can reassert your role as boss.  This may or may not work.

2) At this point punishment is more effective than rewards.  If he gets rewards he will associate aggression towards you with rewards.  I can't tell you how bad that idea is.  Punishment can mean many things.  Some people use electric cattle prods set at a low level.  I wouldn't dream of doing that.  If you have a super shooter squirt gun, you can carry that with you and if he misbehaves shoot him in the face.  That may or not work.

3) Never let him on the yard again.  Never means never.  Build a hitching rail for him near his pen.  The post holes should be at least two feet deep and the posts should be made out of cedar.  The cross bar must be very solid.  We used cedar posts that we attached to the posts with ring nails.  If you don't have one get a thick leather halter for his head.  When you need to brush him, or whatever, take him out of the pen with a strong!! lead rope attached to his halter and tie it to the cross bar with a good slip knot.  You never know when you are going to have to free him.

4) For general health purposes, make sure that his feet are properly trimmed.  If you have nobody to help you, hire a blacksmith to do it.

5) If he does behave well in the pen you may reward him there but nowhere else.  I highly recommend apples.

6) Make sure that you are not giving him too much in the way of oats - laminitis (Inflammation of the laminated tissue that attaches the hoof to the foot of a horse) is a terrible health risk.

There's a lot more but how can I tell you about decades of experience?

Answer 7

Yup...my horse did that too! All I did was take him out and when ever he wanted to go and eat i would kick him ( if i was on him) and firmly tell him NO. If that doesn't work, than just dont take him by the lawn anymore. And the most important thing is....BE FIRM, DONT GIVE IN, DONT BE SCARED, MAKE SURE HE KNOWS THAT YOU ARE THE BOSS.

Hope I helped!

Answer 8

Couple things. First, the grass is not going to grow back in his pen, if it's a pen. If it's smaller than three acres, and he's got it down to dirt, it's going to stay dirt as long as he's in there. Second, horses like to graze. It's really what they do more than anything else. So let him graze a little. You get the benefit of a couple things. Maybe he helps you with the mowing, and you get to spend some bonding time with him on the ground. An hour or so a day wouldn't be so bad for either of you.

Lastly, do correct him when he paws or stomps at you. Bring him out, let him graze, and when it's time to go back if he stomps or paws, back him all the way back to his pen. Then bring him back out to the lawn but make him stand. Don't let him graze. Every time he stomps that foot, back him up, jerk his lead a couple tugs, and make sure he gets the idea that his doing that isn't OK with you. Do it over and over until he stops. You have to correct him RIGHT then. Not letting him graze tomorrow is a bad way to get him to realize it's punishment for stomping today and isn't going to fix the problem. Might even make it worse, since he's REALLY going to want to graze the day after tomorrow or a few days after. Recreate the behavior and keep correcting it until he doesn't do it anymore. Don't give, and don't bend. Correct him every time. Do make sure he's getting enough to eat, which it sounds like you are.

Answer 9

If he truly is easygoing, then he is probably just bluffing, but be very observantt and use caution.  My horse is 'food aggresive' when I go in his stall and there is food he pins his ears and glares at me, he may stomp a foot, but never kicks out.  Because my horse has been doing this for so long, it would take a great deal of physical strength to stop him, and he means no harm so I don't feel a need to correct him, but maybe letting him eat when you say it is ok would help.  If you can't get his head up from grazing, use the toe of your shoe and firmly nudge the soft part of his nose and mouth.  It will not hurt him, but it gets their attention, and after you repeat this a few times, he should stop trying to graze, especially when you move your foot.  You could try lunging him on the lawn when he gets impatient, he may just have a lot of energy and if he can't focus it on eating then he may feel frustrated.  Hope this helps!

Answer 10

It sounds to me like he was just hungry when you let him out there, and he didn't want to stop eating.  Just keep that in mind, and do what you're doing.

Best of luck!