Odd In-Hand Work Question?

[Ottbaxel]

This is a strange one!

So, I suspect my 17 year old ottb has some weak stifles after needing some time off from a nasty abscess (and he did feel meh before then as well while he was getting towards being due for hock injections, which he has since had done). Long story short, he feels like a pogo stick under saddle, kicks out hard with his right hind in the canter transition (he’s always done this but infrequently, now it’s consistent) and occasionally his hind end sort of slips out from under him. He’s sound on the lunge-so I see no harm in doing some stifle strengthening exercise and see if that helps him out. Anyways!

While doing hills, raised poles, backing up etc I have also just begun doing some groundwork in the ring with him. I’ve started just asking him to move his hind end over so he crosses one hind in front of the other, and trying some shoulder-in. He knows how to do this under saddle already.

He doesn’t seem physically to struggle with these movements at all. I am just using a rope halter right now, so there’s not bit in his mouth. I have noticed some licking and chewing, and he lets his Mini Me out while doing this too so it doesn’t seem to be bothering him. The weird thing though, is he is VERY mouthy while doing specifically the shoulder-in. He doesn’t actually bite, and doesn’t pin his ears, but he just starts nibbling and nipping at my watch, my sleeve, my shirt, etc. which I find very odd?

Does anyone else’s horse do this? It seems more playful than anything, but if it could be a pain response I don’t want to discipline him, so I’ve just been making him back up a couple steps to get him back out of my space.

[RedHorses]

Yes. My Wobbler would bite at my hands when he was feeling uncomfortable. It started at the mounting block as I positioned him on days he was not able to carry me. At the end he’d walk up to me in the paddock and bite harder at my hands when he was uncomfortable (we had a cold spell about a week before he was euthanized, and the day after I put a blanket on he didn’t bite at me).

My lease horse has done it in hand usually when I’m switching to a short hold, so in his case he’s probably thinking “carrot”. Other times it appears to be “let’s get on with it” after we’re standing doing nothing (I’m talking to someone or thinking about whether I want poles and in what configuration). He’s 7, still very green, and thought he knew everything there was to know about silly human games already when I got him. The biting at me has pretty much vanished with verbal reprimand, or backing up if he ignored that, and realizing that he doesn’t know everything and I really like it when he tries to do what I’m asking.

You know your horse, and if you think it’s playful then it probably is. Clearly and definitely correct him when he does it and see what happens. If it’s play it should stop. If it’s pain it may not, or he’ll do something else. My Wobbler was clearly unhappy when he did it.

[mikeyscott]

@Ottbaxel

This is a strange one!

So, I suspect my 17 year old ottb has some weak stifles after needing some time off from a nasty abscess (and he did feel meh before then as well while he was getting towards being due for hock injections, which he has since had done). Long story short, he feels like a pogo stick under saddle, kicks out hard with his right hind in the canter transition (he’s always done this but infrequently, now it’s consistent) and occasionally his hind end sort of slips out from under him. He’s sound on the lunge-so I see no harm in doing some stifle strengthening exercise and see if that helps him out. Anyways!

While doing hills, raised poles, backing up etc I have also just begun doing some groundwork in the ring with him. I’ve started just asking him to move his hind end over so he crosses one hind in front of the other, and trying some shoulder-in. He knows how to do this under saddle already.

He doesn’t seem physically to struggle with these movements at all. I am just using a rope halter right now, so there’s not bit in his mouth. I have noticed some licking and chewing, and he lets his Mini Me out while doing this too so it doesn’t seem to be bothering him. The weird thing though, is he is VERY mouthy while doing specifically the shoulder-in. He doesn’t actually bite, and doesn’t pin his ears, but he just starts nibbling and nipping at my watch, my sleeve, my shirt, etc. which I find very odd?

Does anyone else’s horse do this? It seems more playful than anything, but if it could be a pain response I don’t want to discipline him, so I’ve just been making him back up a couple steps to get him back out of my space.

My horse does something similar when he’s mentally working through new exercises. Backing him up like you’re doing seems like a good way to remind him of your space, but if he’s not showing pain signs, it’s probably just his way of staying engaged!

[Ottbaxel]

That’s what I’m hoping it is-it’s so odd! I guess I’ve just never noticed this reaction before because I’ve never really done a lot of in-hand work with him until now.

[dmveventer]

Does he do this any other times? Some horses are just mouthier than others but I’d expect that to be evident outside of just groundwork. My horse loves to try to grab my watch, sleeve, hair tie, etc when my hands are by his face. If he can’t reach a human he’ll nibble on the cross tie, his leadrope, whatever. It’s not a stress or pain response, it’s just him.

[Ottbaxel]

I have noticed when I walk him over poles in-hand (before I do raised poles I walk him over a punch of trot poles on the ground to warm him up) he starts nibbling at me. Otherwise, he isn’t particularly mouthy. He does crib so maybe he just has an oral fixation lol, but generally he’s fine-like on the crossties he’ll stand perfectly still without trying to grab onto anything like his read rope or the ties.

[Simkie]

I have a gelding who gets kind of mouthy when he’s anxious. He also tends to want to rub his muzzle on stuff when he’s worried, which is (I think) sort of an abbreviated version of being a little nibbly.

I would take it as a sign that the work is harder for him, and that he’s less sure about it, and that he may be looking for more feedback regarding it than you’re giving him. That is, at least, how I take that sort of behavior in my guy. So, ask for less, quicker with the praise when he’s doing the right thing, and break it up with stuff that he’s more confident about. I’d do a few steps, praise a TON, and move on.

I really, really try to avoid disciplining when mine gets like this, because it just makes him more anxious in the “omg I’m worried and not sure and trying hard and I don’t understand and now she’s yelling at me ” sort of way. YMMV!

[NaturalSelection]

I have a baby TB (3yo, unraced/unstarted) who is a very sensitive/anxious type and sometimes clearly purses his lips when he’s getting stressed. I try to be very careful to keep him below threshold when working with him. When I am getting close to overloading him with groundwork requests and I give him a break he starts to want to chew the lead rope. I let him and then after a few moments the rope chewing turns into big licks/chews and a yawn, then we start again. On days when we’re going through material that he is comfortable and confident, meaning he knows the answer, there is no rope chewing, just periodic lick and chew releases. Sometimes I think mouthy horses are trying to find a way to get to a lick and chew release. YMMV.