My 8 year old gelding has started kicking out, biting at my feet and in general not wanting to work. Help!

Question

I have an 8 year old Appy gelding who was deconditioned when I got him. We've worked at a reasonable pace the last year and made great progress. He was switching leads during cantering and has stopped. He had some hoof problems but since been taken care of, his back is adjusted, and vet checked fine. He recently started kicking out when asked to move. When cropped, he turned around to bite at us. He bucked a few times as well. He did this prior when he was sore and we got off as this was very out of character. Now I think he is on to something in order to not work. I'm going to let him get a few weeks of training as he's on the lazy side and doesn't like to work - he'll stop etc. w/ out being asked to stop. Any suggestions? He's not done this prior to this month and we thought due to pain. He's fine physically. We think just a little too smart...any suggestions are welcomed. thx

Answer 1

Sounds like hes still in pain. Have a equine massage therapist come see him he/she will go over the horse completely and find anything that is hurting him. Check ur saddle isnt hurting him. If it used to fit him when he was unconditioned perhaps its too small for him now? U just have to cover all bases as to why he has started doing this. It really sounds to me like hes in a bit of pain. I would have him checked by the therapist before he really gets a fear of being ridden and u can end up with some major probs

Answer 2

My friend had this same problem and she let him get away with it so it was his way of saying he didn't want to work. You need to just make him do it and let him know that his behavior is not acceptable, even if it means cropping him some more. Having an experienced trainer get on will help because they will not tolerate the behavior. Take care of it soon before he thinks he can get away with everything.

Answer 3

Sounds like he doesn't respect you. I will give basically the same advice I gave someone whose horse chased them out of the pasture. I don't think stopping when he isn't asked to is a sign of laziness, I think it means he does not respect you. That is why he turns around to bite when cropped.

To build respect I would suggest forgetting riding completely for about a week. I would put together a groundwork routine whose only purpose is to get the horse to respect you. Make it as long as you like, devoting a few minutes to each exercise.

First, I would start with doing some leading exercises which are designed to make your horse think of you as a leader:

http://www.train-horses.com/leadingyourh...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMh0hyaqN...

Then take him to the round pen and do the hook-on:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U_MrQ8MXx...

Spend a lot of time on the ground just asking him to backup, firmly. Mix that up with your leading.

Then I would do this exercise that is designed to get the horse to focus his attention on you. I'm going to have to put up a video that shows it, but I will try and describe it. Start by standing directly in front of your horse, with the lead rope. Ask the horse to step sideways to your right by lifting and pointing your right hand (holding the end of the rope). Put pressure on the right side of the horse using your whip. When the horse steps to his left, chances are he is going to be looking off that way. Bump your rope side ways to bring his nose back towards you. The idea is to teach him to focus both eyes directly on you. Then repeat for the opposite direction. Do this for say 10 times going each direction every day for a week. After awhile, you will find your horse paying a lot better attention to you.

Sorry the last exercise probably isn't described so well, I am going to have to post a video sample. But in any case, I would take a week off from riding and work with him daily (or as often as you can) just doing groundwork exercises to establish respect. Then go back to riding and see how things work. But when you do go back to riding, don't just jump on the horse, go through the groundwork exercises each time you're going to ride, just do it at a faster pace and spending less time.

David

http://gentlenaturalhorseman.blogspot.co...

Answer 4

Appytude. Don't settle for anything less that you want, get mean. If you ride english. Go borrow a nice western saddle and get out your spurs. If he isn't going to be nice,you have no reason to either.  

Answer 5

he sounds like hes turned sour.

Dont let him get away with it!   it will just make him worse.  but also encourage and praise him alot when he does something well.  goodluck

Answer 6

Hmm. It sounds to me like your horse needs to be motivated to work. I don't think your horse wants to work. Your horse needs to respect you as the leader of him. Give him some work in a round pen and have a crop to reinforce leg if possible. If the vet said that there is nothing wrong you may want to consult a professional trainer to help you.

My trainer massaged my friends horse and he got over soreness.  

Answer 7

He's not 'lazy'. Listen to what he is telling you. First of all, the horse is always right! He is not doing the things he's doing just because, the problems are caused by the human. He acts up when you do something to him he doesn't like, like when you slapped him with the crop, your horse is talking to you...can you not hear him? If you REALLY want to help him and not just make his suffering worse (and yes, he is suffering, if you cant see it now your BLIND) by manipulating him out of this, you need to stand back and truly analyze the situation. If you come to the conclusion that the problems are not in the horse it self, and that you the handler are the source of this.........start LISTENING to him.......what is he telling you? Take off the bridle, remove the bit, stop forcing him against his will, stop punishing, and start building a relationship! All the help you could need is right in front of  you now.

Answer 8

You know your horse, so you are the only one who can answer this.  I can give you a couple of "maybes" and then you can go from there.

Maybe - your horse is sore in ways that you don't know.  I would really wonder saddle fit - even if it isn't horrible they really get sour and sick with the constant ache from the saddle, and after a while they just want to give up the whole thing.  I would be tempted to get a saddle fit check, and try something else, either wider or narrower.  See if you can improve things.  I would think back pain much more than anything, but ask yourself, - does he have problems taking one lead?  Does he have problems bending one direction?  Is there any chance he has joint/hock problems?  Since he's been vet checked that probably isn't the issue, but you could try three or four days of bute in a row and see if his attitude improves with the bute.  If so, that means that he was having discomfort.

Maybe - he's getting ring sour.  Lazy horses do get that way pretty quickly.  Do the problems disappear if you trail ride?  Do they disappear if you do something totally different?  if so, then you know the problem isn't likely physical.

Maybe - he's getting smart and cheating and disrespectful.  i would have to suspect that's part of the problem - biting at your feet is rude.  I agree with your one poster who said that groundwork is the key.  I would really stop riding for a week or two, if you think this is the problem, and get him much more respectful from the ground.  Good roundpenning can be a huge help, he needs to know that when you point and move your hand he needs to move - now!!!  I would really try some of Clinton Anderson's groundwork things - he has DVDs on both roundpenning, and an excellent one called "Weanlings/foals/yearlings" that is great for mature horses, and basically teaches them to give every part of themselves into your control.  His "Riding with Confidence" series one also really addresses speed control.  often when we want our horse to move forward a speed, we also put all these rules with it - go to the right, tuck your nose, move slowly, take the proper lead.  It can be really helpful to focus on just one thing done properly, and that is - move forward now.

Good luck.  I have had some really quiet, lazy horses and they can be very challenging in a way different than a spooky, energetic horse.  It is going to take some detective work on your part to solve the problem.