Cold Weather and Acting up ?

Rick

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Oct 19, 1999
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Hi there, just another post question from a new rider !

I have owned my horse since this past August and since it has turned cold ( at the present time 5 degrees F ) he is really acting up. Throwing his head. snorting at you , pawing alot and also nipping. When he out to pasture and you walk to the gate where the and he will come up and **** his head sideways and try to bite while he starts to stiffin his upper lip and nose.

When he does this I start with a loud shout to have him stop ! Most of the time he pulls back just a little then does it again. When that does not work I then smack him in the nose to get him to stop the act of biting and at the same time I give a sharp loud yell. He will then pull back and sometimes trot off while throwing his head. But he comes right back.

This disposition I do not like at all ! I bought him because he WAS!! nice and laid back.

The Question is , DOES THE COLD WEATHER MAKE THEM ACT UP !

ps. He is in good heath and his teeth was checked and floated about 2 months ago.

:mad: :confused:
 
What are you feeding him?? If he is getting lots of "hot" grain, oats and corn, that could be getting him hyper. There was a thread a while back that talked about grain and bad tempers. Also if you are not riding him as much he could have more energy. I notice a big difference in any of the horses I have had between the summer and winter but I think its mostly the food and lack of activity.Tend to see this in humans too! :)
 
Well, some horses just have a bad attitude. I just came back from a ride, and I actually spent more time longing than I did on horseback! Sometimes, they bite, kick, and be "bad" because no one has taught them that YOU are the master and that you are always expected to be obeyed, whether it's a sunny day or it's raging wind and rain.

Sometimes feed can make the horses hot. :eek: If you are feeding plain oats, I suggest switching to beet pulp, which is cheap and does not make the horses hot. But remember that you should only make the amount you are feeding, and soak it for twelve hours BEFORE you feed. Usually one or two handfulls are more than enough as pelleted. You can add as much water as you want, because it won't hurt them at all! If you don't soak the pulp and just feed it, then the horse will get colic. :eek: :eek:

Hope this helps~~
 
It sounds like this horse changed dramatically since you bought him. I went back to the feed thread , I didnt realize that you had started that one. Personally, if my horses are not doing anything but walking around a couple days a week why feed them performance food. I wont even buy alfalfa hay, I stick to grass hay. How old is the horse? If he is young he may need more turnout time. A couple of hours doesnt seem like it is enough for any horse. They are pretty active if left to their own wishes. I might question the person feeding your horse and make sure that they arent overfeeding him, especially grains. Our horses get nothing but grass all summer and believe me they are healthy. Brenda
 
Bren, my horse ( Sherman ) is 12 y.o. and is fed at the present time about 2lbs of grainper day. 1lb in the morning and 1lb in the evening along with a 6" flake of alfalfa hay at the same time. I also have a 8% mineral block for him to nibble on as he always acts like he never is fed.

I board him at a friends house and he feeds him most of the time. I have mentioned to him that we should stop feeding grain since its cold and he's not rode much. This was not a good idea to him. My friend (knows alot about horses,rode and trained) said that Sherman would get upset if we fed the others and not him. This sounded dumb, But I am a new comer and said ok.

I think that his hay is high in protien, but do not know exactly.

The other hores at the barn are in foal and at this time we do not let my Gelding out at the same time. So when we do let him out, he just stands there and does not move around much. When he was out with others, he used to run and buck and kick for about 10 minutes then would just walk and graze. If out by himself he stands at the barn door.
 
Medalia

I forgot to mention that he does ok if I have him on a lead line it seems to be( at this time) only when he knows that he is out and if he wants he can trot away. While on a lead rope he acts better.

Almost as if he knows that I cant reach him and he gives me the rebel look b4 trotting away while throwing his head.

But then I will open the gate and walk to him and he gives me the look as if he is in trouble.

I hope that that sounded right.
 
Well, Rick Im not a pro,I'm a backyard horse owner, so maybe I shouldn't be answering this but I think Sherman is getting too much grain and not enough hay. They need the roughage from the hay which is what ideally they should eat in the summer(grass) Any of our horses got nothing but grass all summer(after gradually letting them out longer and longer). No offence to your barnowner but it seems that for him it may be easier just to feed everyone the same thing rather than specialize feedings. We did have a very old pony that had to be fed special feed. You could still feed some grain but I would decrease it and increase the hay GRADUALLY!Do you buy the feed or does your friend? Perhaps if you bought it he would be more willing to feed him different. What does he say when Sherman acts up like that? I was forced to buy alfalfa hay a couple years ago(hay shortage) and had so many problems with my horses, bad tempers and diarhea. So I buy grass or mixed hay now.
 
My horse trainer tells me that sometimes the cold air can make a horse more frisky, and I've noticed that my horses tend to throw their heads and buck on the lunge line. My horses are turned out full time. I don't really know much about feed though. All I know is the basics and when to cut down, et cetera... If Sherman starts to act up on the lead line, which you say he isn't really on the lead, but if he does, I've taught my horses that whenever I lead them, they should follow me closely and stop as soon as I do. I also like to have a space between us. I've now noticed that my young horses tend to run up against me when I am leading them. So I take the end of the lead rope and snap it across their chest which gives a little popping noise. It startles them more than it hurts, and they eventually learn that no matter how frisky they are, they still have to obey their HANDLER. As for Sherman's tendency to nip at you or bite you, it could be because he's playing around or is being aggressive. It really depends on what kind of biting it is. I'd say to continue with the sharp quit (since horse's may confuse no and whoa), and give him a really solid whack. If a hit on the nose doesn't make him stop, you have to really get aggressive. A horse is a 1200 pound animal and humans are merely around 100 or something pounds. It's best for you to take charge and put him in his place. You can't hurt him as much as he can you. I'm sorry if this advice sounds crude, but it's the best I can offer. Good luck and let me know how Sherman's acting. :)
 
Bren and Laya,

Thanks for the advice, Sherman was on grass(could come in and out at his will) with a grain supplement twice daily b4 I bought him. When I seen him for the first time he was so laid back and a great horse for a beginner. I just fell for him. Like I said b4 I have only had him about 4 months but I do see a definite change in his attitude, not for the good though.
The caretaker did say at one time that his alfalfa hay was high in protien. I will try and find out how high.


Laya,
I should be specific when I say he trys to bite. He does not actually open his mouth fully. He opens his mouth a little and does a snipping action with his teeth.
While nodding his head towards the closest part of you. I take this as a invasion of my space and also aggression towards me. This I dislike very much. Maybe I am taking the aggresion towards me to personal, as he (Sherman) may have a dislike to myself.
 
Rick,
Don't take the nipping personally unless you've given Sherman a reason to act like that, which I doubt. Just remember to be very, very firm with him. Biting is not acceptable and you've got to step up a few measures if he hasn't improved with the firmness of your punishment. My horse trainer turned around and really laid into my colt's shoulder when he bit him. Justin hasn't bit anyone since. So just be very, very higher than him. You could also carry a popper with you that just makes a really loud sound when it hits the horse to scare them. A popper may only startle them and may even sting a little, but it may end Sherman's biting habits. Also, if this problem is mainly only the invasion of space and Sherman's testing you, stop and hit him with the end of the lead line in his chest. it'll act just like a popper, make a sharp sound, and startle him. then, back him up firmly. Hopefully he'll learn to respect you.

[This message has been edited by Laya (edited 27 December 1999).]
 
Thanks Laya, your advise will be followed thru and I will let you know. At the present time it a snowing like mad and the temps are very cold. As soon as I get a chance I will practice the advise.

Thanks again ! :D
 
Okay, my horses are quite laied back and they don't get much grain and are out in the pasture 24/7 with a run in. My gelding tends to be a playfull one and trys to get me to play with him by biting at me, tossing his head and troting away, then stops to look at me as if to see if I'm giving chase. His tail may go up playfully some times. He's always hat a bit of a niping problem (prevous owners taught him to take carrots out of thier pocket so he things everywhere's a pocket and when you get after him for it he thinks its a game :mad: ) At one point I had to carry a crop with me because he wanted to play so much that he would actually come after me to try to get me to run and ver off at the last minute. Now my horse is the most people orented horse in the world, he loves everone and doesn't discriminate, he's just playful. Especially in the winter when it's cool out. Does your horse have someone to play with? May be you could try playing with him from outside the pasture or get him one of those jolly balls, I've found that helped allot just to have someting to play with, my gelding loved it and even my other mother hen horse would join in the play at times with it (most of the time she didn't want anything to do with play time) hope this helps. good luck and watch out. :)
 
Since nipping is a problem (and Justin is turned out 24/7 with a barn with open stalls) I thought that there was no excuse for his biting me from my back when I was leading him. He would try nipping at my butt or would pull out my hair scrunchie even when I was walking him out after exercise. I corrected his behavior. Every now and then he'll try to get me when I'm leading him. I've also found that in many horses, they like to stop and eat when they'r being led. Their owners haven't corrected this behavior, so they soon pick up on bad habits. Like eating when someone is riding them. I've noticed this more often in the trail horses and show ponies in the stable that I board at. I believe that you shouldn't allow your horse to eat grass while you are walking them. Sure... go out and handgraze your horse or pony, but don't let him have his way when you're trying to go somewhere's. I just thought that I'd add this. So don't let Sherman try to eat grass while you're handling him. So one day he won't stop while you're riding when he believes he'll have something to eat.
 
Dreamer and Laya,

Thanks for taking the time to respond to my post. It really shows that you care.

I had the chance to ride yesterday and today. Both rides went well, only a couple of nipping trys. Both times it was not much of a try. I was real firm with him and decided to not let him get away with nothing. This helped alot ! Not only did we have two good rides, but he seemed to enjoy it also. This may sound weird but he was not throwing his head and acting up like he use to. :D :D

Thanks again for caring enough to reply.

Hope you all have a great year. :D
 
Rick,
I think that the cold weather might cause a change in attitude. I never would believe it had you told me earlier, but today my always sweet tempered horses (mot actually mine but..) started freaking out at the littlest things. My instructor said is was probably cuz of the dramatic change in weather. Hope you have better liuck later!
 
Rick
This is exact same problem I've recently experienced with my new horse. He was as sweet as a lamb when I bought him (and he was bought for that reason). However, as the temperature dropped and turnout time reduced, he became increasingly 'naughty' and 'cheeky'. I reduced his hard feed and tried to maximise his turnout time (suggest a book called "nervousness in horse and rider" which talks about winter time turnout and it's direct relationship with nips/spooks/general naughtiness - will e-mail the full title and author to you soon). Also, I think the timing of the temperature drop and friskiness was also the same time when he was starting to 'test the water' so to speak. Would suggest you check the feed etc, make sure he's getting enough exercise to burn of those excess calories and stop any naughty habits forming with sharp voice or firm smack. Hopefully, like mine, he will reverted back to his sweet self and start to enjoy his work. Good luck - let me know how you get on
 
Melh,

Your horse and mine must be twins !!!! haha

Your advise is exactly what I am doing. It seems to be working at the present time.

I hope to be able to find a place of my own with the room for several horses. I also think that since he is fed by someone else, he thinks that they are his keepers and he looks for them and also trats them differently than me. This does makes since to me and I don't blame him.

Good talking with you and good riding. :D :D :D
 
Sometimes when Justin has an attitude adjustment needed due to the fact that I don't feed him, I ask if I can feed him one night. Then, the other horses are getting fed while I'm either working with him or grooming him, and he gets all anxious. Soon enough, he starts to behave and I "reward" him with his dinner. That also works for the respect. maybe if you tried feeding your horse sometimes, your horse wouldn't think that the usual person is the definite feeder.

Good luck.
 
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