Do horses get in 'moods'?

[pattir7]

Hi everyone,

I am leasing a 5 yr. old quiet TB...this is our second month together, riding 2-3 times a week (one is a lesson). We had been making tremendous progress and we had gotten to where we were able to do everything we do in lessons, by ourselves!! Just two days ago, we had progressed to doing serpentine patterns and while they still need work, we managed a couple really good ones.

Today, it was like I was riding a different horse. He worked with me fine from the ground...we begin each workout with some lunging and he seemed normal. Then I mounted up, and we walked for a few times around before trotting. Trotting clockwise was fine...but counterclockwise, he just refused to listen. I could get him to trot but then not in the direction I asked...and it was just awful. I even got the crop out and it didn't help...cause he'd trot but then would be all over the place. I tried gathering up his rein to steer with....that didn't work. I tried steering with my leg and he'd kinda walk the direction I wanted but kinda sideways if you know what I mean??

It was hard to just get him to walk counterclockwise in the direction I wanted so that's what we did. Forget trot. Forget serpentines. Forget everything...just walk where I ask...and he even resisted that.

I'm still pretty new at tacking up, etc...and he seemed to be 'chomping' on the bit more than usual...so I thought maybe something was bothering him...I ended our workout on a decent note. I loosened up his girth and it wasn't too tight...it loosened easily....but if it had been bothering him, I released it enough that it wouldn't. He is a fairly 'mouthy' boy...he is just a baby and likes to put everything in his mouth...but as we were walking out, he actually nipped my finger. Didn't hurt me but he's NEVER done that before. Now I really thought something wasn't right.

So, I take everything off and just have him standing in crossties with his halter thinking I'll just let him cool down that way. Well, then he starts pawing the ground with one foot, then the other...then reaches up and bites the wood frame above him. Honestly, I've never seen him act this way. Up until now, we were working really well together...and I really felt we had a good relationship...but tonight made me wonder if maybe he's changed his mind and hates me???

So, my question...do horses get in 'moods'?? With how he 'tested' me tonight, I'm not riding him again until our lesson and the instructor can tell me if I'm doing anything wrong. I wouldn't think we could go from awesome workout to terrible workout in the course of two days and it be entirely my doing???

Patti

[wanttobecowgirl]

Hey I'm new at lessons myself, 6mo or so. All I can tell you is even the horses at the farm I ride at can be so sweet one day and so nasty the next. Maybe the horse was not feeling too well and this was the only way it could tell you or like my instructor always tells me when things with the horse go wrong, They have a mind of their own and everyday you might face a new problem even if you have done it a thousand time there will be that time your horse will just do the off thing, she tells me not to get upset or afraid ( easy for her to say) but stick to your grounds and be in charge. Now if I feel that I would put myself in danger GET OFF and take control from the ground! It could just be your horse was having a bad day I know it's easy to say but don't be afraid just go back and act like nothing has happened. Hope that helps.

[jacstar]

All i can say is YES YES YES and YES

I have a TB mare which says it all
In australia we are in the start of spring
which means she's in season. mood swings left right and centre
we rode in our lesson the other day and it got to the 40minute mark and she decided she has had enough and thats that by planting her feet in the ground and throwing her head up and down(we have a running martingale and she still managed)and going sideways :mad:

she was sweet as pie yesterday the day after the lesson and today back to i dont want to. :mad:

Its a matter of working out when they are pulling the wool over your eyes
and when they are really sore.

i have had my Tb of a year and at the start (3month mark, great for the first bit but when 3 months hit she was naughty) i had a hell of a time with her as she was testing me out, which made me more determaned to not let her win .

All i did was show her that by jumping around and going sideways is not going to get you out of work so all i did was push her forward even though she still was going sideways, backwards, diagonal you name it she did it.
When she actually went forward i would stop hounding her to go forward and realise the pressure from my legs, and praise her.

As for the chopping/nattering, we do the same thing when we ride in the arena, its a nervice thing.

The way i get out of that is to get her moving straight away, just doing simple things but things she has to think about circles, changing rein, figure eights, etc etc and this usually stops.

Unfortunately TB's has the attention span of a flea so it is best to keep them moving or they start to get bored and invent things to do.

If you have any other questions i'm happy to help
i know what your going through and it does get better just be persistant

Jacqui

[jacstar]

Oh and with the pooring and biting(doesn bit humans though :) )
my Mare does this as well this is a new habit we have picked up :mad:

For the biting at the poles i have tried yelling,growling, yanking the halter no response

But i have figured out what gets her and that is when she is biting at the wood i growl and then with my knuckle hold it between her rips until she stops (this does hurt alittle, so a secnd or two is all it takes)

i did this for a few times (sounds mean i know but it works) and after a few times i would just growl and she would stop stright away as she knows what would be coming. and praise her if she stopped after my growl

i have just started the same with the pooring at the moment it works.
when she listens with the pooring i praise her straight away.


just becareful that the biting the could doesnt become windsucking/cribbing which is where they put there mouth over the wood and suck in the air.

this can result in to all sorts , colic, gas, etc etc

jacqui

[crazystevie]

Definately!

I have mare and a gelding, but both can be moody. The mare is EVIL when she's on season, and bites, bucks, kicks, rears and naps - something she would never do otherwise!

The geldings mood depends. It usually reflects on what mood i'm in though! He'll have the odd week, where he is just grumpy - nothing dramatic, just not very pleasant. The rest of the time he's really affectionate, works hard, and seems to enjoy my company, if he's grumpy, he just wants his food and thats it! He hasn't had one of those days for about a month now though, which is good! It might have been a new horse thing. A year later, and were gettnig on lol!

[notpoodle]

mine does, sometimes she just can't be bothered with anything for no apparent reason. she can also have 'grumpy' days one time and be the sweetest thing walking this planet the next. or she'll be grumpy with me but the moment she gets an audience she'll be all like 'oooh aren't i a cutie' :D

julia
x

[CrazyMare]

Yep, I find horses do have their '' off days'' the same as we do, when my chap is in one I,ll just lunge him that day and turn him out again as I,ll just end up getting all stressed out and having a battle with him as he can be a right stroppy teenager! :rolleyes: so yes, I would say horses do have mood swings,your lucky you have a little more docile gelding! ;)

[Fruit Loop]

When my mare was chomping on the bit and mouthing a lot I was told that it was her way of evading the bit and therefore not doing what i told her to. I was advised to put a flash piece on her bridle and to be honest its working she's not mouthing and she works much better when i attempt schooling her.

[pattir7]

Thanks everyone for the replies...

I will still wait for our lesson just in case he is testing me...cause if he is, I want some instruction on how to deal with it right then and there. Cause I do NOT want him to get to thinking he has the upper hand. I've never had to deal with this kind of (now that I think about it) evasive behaviour. There is the possibility that he was just 'in a mood' or not feeling well...and that next workout will be fine again...but, I am not taking that chance. He certainly was not acting like he wasn't feeling well as he worked perfectly from the ground. Personally, I just think he felt like 'getting away with something'.

When I first started leasing him, I told him -- "you take care of me, I'll take care of you". In other words...be good to me and you will be rewarded...which I do after a good workout. I did not reward him after this workout..didn't punish him either...but while he was pawing and biting the wood frame in his cross ties, I simply ignored him and made him wait. Letting him know that his misbehaviour was not going to earn him any reaction whatsoever. I don't know if this is a correct way to deal with this but I am not one to scream at or inflict any kind of pain on an animal. Just not my style...there just has to be a better way to get the message across. Last night was really the first time he didn't hold up his end of our deal.

Wish me luck in our next workout...we'll see then what was 'up' with him yesterday...whether he wasn't feeling well...grumpy...or just testing me...

Patti

[Tiber]

In a word YES!

My pony is an expert! One day she won't want to know me at all, and the next she'll be playing games with me in the field and waiting by the gate to see me. One thing which really puts her in a bad mood though is saddles. She's just had lots of bad ones and so now when I try one on her she is in a mood with me for ages til I ride her bareback again - tried one last Wednesday, hadn't ridden since then but done a bit of lunging, rode her yesterday bareback in the field for a bit and today she loves me again cos she's realised I didn't buy the saddle. I have an odd pony. :o

[Unbridled]

Sugar definitely has moods! A lot of it has to do with hormones but she's also what my instructor diplomatically calls "sensitive" as well. Little things can upset her--like if I ride her every time I go to the barn she quickly becomes resentful, as if she's being used. I always have at least one day with her when we just "play". She was going into heat this week and I rode her Monday and she was a complete pain about it, bucking and such. Tuesday she was much better but still irritable. But we had a play day yesterday and she was such an angel and really seemed to have fun, so I think she'll be a lamb for our lesson tomorrow. She follows me around like a puppy and runs to the gait to meet me in the field, but when she's in a mood she sometimes pins her ears back when I halter her and once this week she actually had the nerve to threaten a nip (got severely repimanded for it and then behaved appropriately contrite).

I don't know as much about geldings, but I know they can have moods too. One of the TB geldings at my barn gets really bad when he's around mares in heat--barging, snapping, ect--but the rest of the time he's completely perfect. And I think horses are like people in that they also have "off" days where they just don't feel like working and are not performing to the best of their abilities.