Tacking a brat?

Question

My horse Angel tries to squish me into the trailor and will step on me and kick me while I try and tack her.. I missed out on half my lesson today because she was being a brat! How do I fix this? I had to use my crop on her and hit her!

Answer 1

Arabians are very intelligent.  They don't forget stupid human mistakes.  She's not a brat, just thinking faster than you.  Sounds like YOU need more ground work.

Answer 2

Well...we have something in common!!! My boyfriend's mom's horse hates it when I put tack on her!!! She isnt an Arabian though...she's a paint! But I dont have any problem tacking up our other horses at all!!! I have been doing some groundwork on her to help fix some of her problems! Try lunging her when she wants to be a brat when putting the tack on her. Show her you're the boss and dont let her push you around!

Answer 3

I have several Arabians and they are very smart. What you perceive as "bratty" behavior is actually just her telling you that she is ahead of you in the pecking order: she is in charge. Horses that invade your space, squash you, step on you, are all signs that they do not respect you.  I just received a yearling colt who had been petted a lot but wanted to be up in my space any chance he could. While it may seem cute for a young horse when he is a 1000lb horse it won't be cute it will be dangerous as you are finding out now. The round pen is a great place to take this mare. Do lots of making her change direction and moving out of your space, any and everytime she tries to crowd you, use the whip and your body to invade her space and make her move over (make sure you are not in kicking range). Kicking is dangerous and a sign of aggression. My colt I described earlier kicked my husband, he no longer has as much aggression or bravery because I have done lots of lunging for respect. I also taught him to drop his head off of slight pressure, a horse that will allow you to drop there head almost to the ground is submissive to you. Parelli has some great games for teaching respect. Once the mare respects you the other antics go away. Spend a lot of time moving her around. Also get a horse behavior book, in there it will explain why it is so important to be the boss mare, LOL, but not an abusive leader, there is a difference between having the horses respect and having the horse afraid of you. Because Arabians are so bright but also sensitive, make sure you don't go hitting on her, it will solve nothing. With that said if she kicks out at you in the roundpen, nail her with the lunge whip in the fetlocks as fast as you can, be quick enough so she connects the discipline with the action, any later is to late and she will just think you are something to be scared of. Sounds mean I know but what do you think a boss mare would do if she kicked at her? She would nail her and put her in her place. Again hitting her is not part of developing respect but if she kicks you need to respond letting her know that was the wrong thing. If she crowds your space while leading, back her up for every step she takes in your space. Back her away from you. If she comes forward again, back her again. It may take you all day to get that through to her but stick with it. Also if she comes around to nip at you poke her hard in the side of the muzzle. Make sure you stay at this mare's shoulder, she is likely to overreact now that you are standing your ground and she may try to cow kick you from the side in protest. Stick to backing her or moving her out of your space she will eventually be much easier to handle. If you don't feel like you can teach her this, hire a professional. Please though don't just go hitting on her. My rule of thumb is serious threats get serious reactions, minor threats get correction showing them the PROPER behavior. Hope that makes sense. Good luck to you!

Answer 4

She is just trying to see if she can controll you. Do not let her get away with it! You should try putting the blanket on first and then give her something that she really likes like a treat ( apple, corn, carot, ext.) and then put the saddle on and give her lots of lovin. Just take it slow. She will soon realize that you wont give up and then she SHOULD start to be better at it. STAY CALM AND BE GENTLE!!!

Hope i helped!!!

Answer 5

let her get more used to you.

Answer 6

The move away from me spot is just behind where the girth does up. Can you try and poke her there with your fingers each time she tries to turn around on you.

When you lead her, hold the lead rope just behind the halter with your right hand. Try and stand beside her shoulder. Hold the left over rein in your right hand with enough spare rope hanging down that you can swing it around you to give her a hurry up from behind if required (I mean putting your left hand behind your back to tap/hit her with the extra bit of rope).

If she tries to turn towards or step on you, two things to try

1. jab your right elbow into her neck/shoulder.

2. take your left hand and hold it up near her eye, this will cause her to turn her head/shoulders away from you.

That's what I'd try....Very best of luck with Miss Smarty Pants! My sisters pony used to behave like this with me...brings back fond memories. She eventually loved me.

Answer 7

You have to show her that you are the boss so that they will then on know that she or he has to obey what you say and or do.

I know that it has to hurt you when you have to hit her with the crop so you should only use it if you have used all the energy that you have to get them to stop until there is no choice left on what to do.

Answer 8

is there a particular cause of her behavior? does something set it off?  she could be sore and hav been in the past, so that she really wants to avoid being tacked up.  any negative association like this will make a horse behave in uncharacteristic ways.  my horse got hit round the ears with a brush and now its literally impossible to get dirt off her ears.  it could be worth investigating her problem a bit further

Answer 9

While I understand they can be frustrating, I don't think DCF would approve of this.

Answer 10

Before u get her in the tralier lunge her, load her, tack her, then if she does something wrong or bad take her out lunge her, load her tack her even if u aren't going any where but just to practice.

Answer 11

Arabian brat hmm?

Well sweetie, see, Arabians aren't stupid brats. They get a feel of their owner's attitude, so... You can see where I'm going with this.

As for an actual training part, you shouldn't tack a horse up in a trailer. It's a prime spot for someone being smashed into the ground when a horse panics. Take her out into an open space, preferably with blocker tie rings, so she can pull back if she needs to, and try it. Very rarely will you see a horse swing it's haunches TOWARDS a rider and kick them. Not likely.

Answer 12

without reading the other replys...

first thing you need to do is to check your tack fit and have a vet and/or equine chiropractor check her out for discomfort...past injuries, heat cycles, etc.  

next thing, take that mare back to basics.  retrain the behaviors you want.  stay calm, and praise the c**p out of her when she does what you want.  arabs are *very* intelligent and extremely sensitive.  as an arab lover, i could go on and on about the breed, but instead i'll say this:  you need to find a way to get on the same page with her.  once you guys are working together towards a common goal, the sky is truly the limit.

also, for now on, you may want to plan to be at your trainers an hour before the lesson starts.  that way, you won't feel rushed, and it'll be easier for you to keep your cool when your mare starts acting silly.

hope this helps.