What does it mean when your horse paws at the ground?

Question

is it agitation? I was trying to do flexing with my TB today and he was soooo difficult. I couldn't keep him away from the grass long enough to really get him to do the exercises. I spent most of my time pulling his head from the grass and telling him a firm "no". After a few ties of this the word or slight pressure was enough to make him lift his head, but then when I moved to his side to begin flexing, he just went right back to the grass. He spooked several times (like 4 or 5) . I don't know if he sensed the Thunderstorm that was coming or if was something else in the field. Then one time he pawed at the ground like a bull getting ready to charge. What am I doing wrong?

Answer 1

Your horse has no respect for you so he is going to run the show.  You obviously allow this behavior so you have taught him that it is OK.    Pawing is usually a sign of disrepect, boredom, dominance and attention seeking behavior.  When your horse wants to eat instead of paying attention  to you and what you are asking, you have to not allow that behavior.  Ask him to move his feet - no anger or frustration, just do it.  You have to keep him out of your space.  Be careful and help your horse.

Answer 2

LoL, ground pawing means he's annoyed at you.

Answer 3

Yes agitation, or annoyance. He should be reprimanded for this when you are working with him, gently but firmly.

Answer 4

Frustrated or bored - when he does this, or attempts to eat when he's not suppose to, make him go to work (circle him several times around you) - but do it immediately when he puts his head down/paws - so that he can relate the work to the action.  ALSO - you might also get a rope halter if you dont already have one? They have a little more 'bite' with less pressure, then the flat nylon style.  A quick sharp jerk on these, will usually be enough to get a horse to snap to attention!  Good luck!

Answer 5

I have one that used to paw when he was colicking....the only other time he did it was if he was agitated.

Answer 6

I would say agitated or annoyed

Answer 7

He is probably just annoyed and doesnt want to do the work, hence the pawing at the ground. my horse usually does it when he's standing still and wants to go, he just gets bored. but in your case i think he just didnt want to work. Just keep persisting with him and ALWAYS end on a good note, even if you have only been riding 10-20mins. never, ever, ever end of a bad note because the problem will just get worse and worse.

good luck with it all =)

Answer 8

when they paw its just a sign of being bored usually

but other then that

its they want something like you said in your post you kept pulling his head up he was pawing for grass or he was bored

my horse does it all the time its such a bad habit

but hope i helped

good luck!

Answer 9

he really doesn't want to work. he is pawing because he is not getting his way. you should work him in the dirt. he is simply frustrated cause he can't get to the grass

Answer 10

Its usually a sign of impatience and frustration, my gelding does it when i'm chopping and mixing his feed, he'll paw (count) on the ground and blow his nose, to let me know hes waiting i guess. He also does it when i take the other horse out of the field first and he has to wait til i've tied him up, so then i can go collect him from the field. Hes a well mannered horse not bolshy or pushy, just impatient, once hes got your attention he stops, its really funny.

Answer 11

Generally impatience. But yes, horses can act flighty or stubborn when the weather is changing, or there is a thunderstorm coming. Thoroughbreds also tend to be a little jumpy. :) I don't think you did anything wrong, but you might have tried moving him from that area to another one that didn't distract him. His attention needs to be on you or he won't be getting the full value from his exercises. Take his head up, then try driving him forward by pressing your shoulder against his before he can get his head down again. Hope this helped! :)

Answer 12

my horse paws at the ground all the time. she does it out of agitation or nervousness.. next time.. get him away from the grass.. if that isn't possible just keep your horses mind off the of grass as best as you can. you need to remind your horse who is boss!

Answer 13

One thing that hasn't been mentioned or asked is if you have allowed your horse to graze when he has his bridle on....if so, that is a very bad habit...a horse in a bridle is working and should not be allowed to graze.  Besides green slober doesn't look very professional at a show or in a ring.

Horses are very sensitive to sounds and rumbles in the ground due to incoming storms...that could have caused the pawing..but the grass thing is him either having been allowed to do it in the past and trying to get out of work.

Remember.."lead him not into the path of temptation"(aka..the grass)!!!  Work him in a non grassy area if possible and don't let him eat grass again while being ridden or while in a bridle...even on a trail..bring a halter if necessary.  

Have you been doing alot of flexing lately??  Maybe he is bored and needs a change of pace for a day or two.  Do you ever put him in side reins and lunge? Change the routine..they get bored just like we do.

Tomorrow is a new day...maybe he was just having a bad day!!

Answer 14

different horses, different reasons.  mine would paw if i was slow in giving her feed bucket.  my friends would paw every time he got near water.  i've seen them paw in boredom, anger and just want to do something else.

Answer 15

He's either bored or it hurts him to flex.

Answer 16

your horse has no respect for you. Try taking him out of the feild next time so he is not distracted by the grass

Answer 17

he is warning you to stay away

Answer 18

aww well it doesn't nessicarily mean he's annoyed with YOU

because my horse whenever he is tied up he paws

when i tie him up he paws

and when somenoe ellse ties him up he paws so it's not just YOU

he's just annoyed because he can't get his way and he wants that darn grass!!

i also have a grass loving TB and i MAKE him work when i'm training him i firmly tell him no and keep telling him NO until he just does what i tell him too and when i'm doen riding and am all untacked.. i then let him graze while i hold his lead for about 10 minutes as a reward.. pretty soon he caught on and worked and trained really well.. and we always ended with a 10 min graze as his treat ! lol but that bad thing is now he'll try to rush through our training he will even walk fast.. so now i gotta work with that hahah but so far so good!

Answer 19

He obviously wants the grass, it's typical for horses to concentrate on their stomachs while you're on their back. Your commands need to be more precise and stern. Pawing the ground(besides boredom) is annoyance and in a way testing you.  Show him who is boss friend.

Answer 20

my horse paws when hes bored...about to roll...or when hes fighting with  a horse in turnout

Answer 21

Your not doing anything wrong. Usually when a horse is pawing the ground he is either impatient or trying to tell you what he wants. He could also be feeling the surface of the ground, if its soft or hard. But what i think your horse is doing is trying to tell you he wants to eat not do the other stuff. so he's pawing the ground and saying "No this is what i want, the grass" what i do if my horse cant stop eating is i move her to sand or somewhere where there is no food or anything distracting her. that way she is focused on me the whole time!

Hope its helpful!