I just recently purchases a new young 3 yr old horse. So far I am happy with him, but I have found out that he has a tendency to paw. This is a behavior I want to stop as I sure don’t want him to do this when in the trailer or other places. So, what is everyone’s secret to stoping this unwanted behavior?
I got a horrible paw-er. He spent many, many hours tied to the tree of patience. Any time I was doing something outside with the horses, he got tied to the tree with a hay bag and didn’t get put away until he was standing nicely and munching. He’s now learned that standing around is his time to relax.
I find what absolutely does not work is giving them any kind of attention for pawing- yelling at them, smacking them, etc.
Exactly what tabula rashah said. A pawing horse is training you. Ignore it like it doesn’t exist. Don’t even look it at. This will work but most people don’t have the calmness needed for this approach.
Hate to say it as I’ll likely get flack but we finally used a paint ball gun on our shire. He was simply too big to be allowed to continue doing it as it caused quite a bit of damage. Had to do it once, 24 hours later, about 2 days later and than the following week. He hasn’t done it since. If you go this route make sure the horse has room to run (I wouldn’t do it in a closed stall) and that the person firing the gun can aim as I would HATE to hit anything but a butt.
[QUOTE=tabula rashah;5324204]
I got a horrible paw-er. He spent many, many hours tied to the tree of patience. Any time I was doing something outside with the horses, he got tied to the tree with a hay bag and didn’t get put away until he was standing nicely and munching. He’s now learned that standing around is his time to relax.
I find what absolutely does not work is giving them any kind of attention for pawing- yelling at them, smacking them, etc.[/QUOTE]
This!!
Agree with the Tree of Patience method. This has worked for all of my horses.
That said, even the most broke horse might have a moment where they are tempted to paw the ground. If a horse paws while tied up on a high line while on public lands, this can cause lots of damage really fast. It is recommended that pawing horses be trained for hobbles and then hobbled if they paw the ground while tied.
I’ve hobbled my horses if they have a brain fart moment and won’t stand tied without pawing.
My Haflinger gelding will paw like a madman in the crossties. He moves all the way to the front, and paws and paws and paws. Digs up the dirt, makes a heck of a mess. I tried leaving him standing there for a long time, but he’d still paw.
I tried kicking chains, and put the chains together (well, now I know he’s hobble trained) and he wouldn’t paw, but it was such a hassle to put the hobbles on and take them off that I stopped doing it.
Then a tree came crashing down on the roof of the crossties closest to the tackrooms, so we can’t use those till they get fixed. I’ve been putting him in the wash rack crossties, but because there’s a big puddle of water in front, I put him in facing the back, which I hitch him up with a safety knot.
I think maybe he’s used to a hitching post more than crossties. The people who had him before me used one.
I’ve got a pawer. Most of the time I just ignore it and eventually he quits. If I’ve got him somewhere that I don’t want him to paw (on grass, at the trailhead, etc) I put on the “bracelets” that my farrier made me. He took an old pair of shoes, bent the heels in close together and showed me how to put them on and off - you slip them on from the back over the cannon bones and then rotate them 90 degrees and drop them down on top of their feet.
They’re easier to put on and off than hobbles or kick chains, and accomplish the same thing. He rarely paws with them on - only willing to put up with the banging when he’s really stressed out about something.
I have a trailer tie in each stall and if i am going to be hanging out in the barn say waiting on farrier or vet each horse gets tied in their stall. some days they get hay some times they dont they need to learn to accept it either way. it has worked well for my group. if i am not going far with the horses then i dont give hay in the trailer and they are quite. and they will stand tied to trailer with or without hay. most times when they do have hay they choose not to eat it. they would rather relax and sleep after a ride then eat.
Yup, mostly what they need is lots of time just tied up and ignored.
I have been known to hasten the process not with a paint ball gun, but with a water pistol. Sitting nearby reading War and Peace, when they paw, I give verbal correction concurrent with water from gun hitting them. They are Amazed that they can be Touched in that manner while person touching them is ignoring them and reading War and Peace.
The bracelet concept is a good idea, and hobbling horses to prevent pawing at horse shows or on public lands also works well- but of course you need to be sure horse is trained for these at home first.
Also make sure they don’t train you in other, similar ways- banging on stall door or gate at feeding time, banging on gate to come back in from turnout, etc. I think we all have a tendency to ‘hurry up’ when a horse pulls one of these tricks- and for valid reasons, you don’t want the horse to dig a hole or damage stall door or gate- but it is in fact the wrong reaction in terms of eliminating the behavior by the horse.
That’s true. When my farrier first made the shoe bracelets they were just the tiniest bit too big. I had Trav tied to the trailer at the arena and he spooked at something. When he sucked back (why he’s not ever hard tied), one of the shoes went flying. Luckily no one was hurt, and a few whacks with a hammer later they were tightened up enough that they can’t go flying when they’re on.
Note: why yes, I do own a trail horse that has crappy feet, a hard to fit back, doesn’t hard tie, paws, and sometimes bucks to say F-you. He’s lucky he’s a pretty pretty paint. :lol:
I use hobbles on those that just dig holes to China. It seems to almost act like a sedative. Make sure to teach hobbles untied, legs in polls, in a safe place like a round pen first.
do u have a pic of the training bracelets u have ?
Totally OT, but I find it comforting to know that my late gelding Calvin has been reincarnated as a paint :lol:.
I’ll have to put them on Trav when the farrier is out on Friday while he’s waiting his turn and can take a photo or two then.
[quote=kcmel;5327883]Totally OT, but I find it comforting to know that my late gelding Calvin has been reincarnated as a paint :lol:.
[/quote]
So I get to blame you? Excellent! :lol:
[QUOTE=Toni L;5322130]
I just recently purchases a new young 3 yr old horse. So far I am happy with him, but I have found out that he has a tendency to paw. This is a behavior I want to stop as I sure don’t want him to do this when in the trailer or other places. So, what is everyone’s secret to stoping this unwanted behavior?[/QUOTE]
short sharpe shock treatment is best buy a small boys water pistol
when he does it shoot him-
and say big loud voice no- water dont hurt him but will make him stop
hobbling or kicking chains isnt something thats done in uk
its not something people would do
yes I found the squirt gun method to work well- I just put water in an old trigger spray bottle and adjusted the nozzle to a stream- can shoot from about 10 feet back. I guess the paintball gun is a variation, but seems a bit of overkill to me.
There are some habits that get confirmed after a while and are very hard to extinguish if they’ve happened for months or years. The stable vices- pawing, weaving, cribbing and stall walking all fall into that category, especially if they occur when humans are not around as well. Horses who have those confirmed habits often do better in 24/7 turnout in a large enough paddock that they can canter and trot and have a feeling of “getting away”.
I’ve had good success with clicker training: I click/treat when the horse is standing still / quiet. I used this in addition to the basic ‘stand’ command, since ‘stand’ came to mean ‘stay in one place’ but did not stop any pawing while staying in place.
Like the Tree of Patience, it requires patience from the person to teach patience to the horse.
star
[QUOTE=ShotenStar;5395768]
it requires patience from the person to teach patience to the horse.[/QUOTE]
ohhhh, I’m going to use this quote in the future!
OK, variation on this, I have a very bad pawer as well. Paws in the cross ties (BO has new dirt down and mats on top but of course he manages to move over to the down and paw away-then i get in trouble!) PLUS he paws like a banchee in the trailer! With or without company! I have tried hay, no hay, different kinds of trailers, even(sigh) tapping the brakes a bit too hard to reming him to stop doing this. He paws while moving, stopped, etc. HELP!!! It’s driving me crazy! I do not have access to a tree to tie him to…
