| Horsie Troubles! |
| Horses are very powerful animal. A horse can be a real danger to you and itself. Below are common horse problems and tips that I find works well to fix the problem. |
| BUCKING |
| This is a very common problem. To buck, a horse lowers its head and kicks back its back legs. A lot of things can trigger bucking; Exitement, Discomfort, Fear, Anger... Bucking is very dangerous, and has to be fixed right away because once its in there head, its hard to get out. |
| solution |
| Since horses have to put there head down to buck, keeping their heads up is a good way to stop it. There is one problem to that though; horses are very strong and your arms aren't strong enough to stop the head from going down. Keep his brain busy. Make him move forward, figure "8" and make him forget to buck. Bucking is a bad habit, and if you can teach your horse right away that its wrong, better for you and him. It may also be triggered by pain. Make sure the tack fits well and that there in no discomfort or injuries anywhere. By bucking, the horse is trying to tell you something, why dont you try to stop and listen to him? If its only from exitement; lunge your horse before rides to get the extras energie out and once your on him, keep him busy working. Dont let him trail off and get bored. If bucking persist; get the help of a professional. |
| DIFFICULT TO CATCH |
| Running away is another of those anoying things your horse picks up. As soon as he sees you entering the paddock with a halter and lead rope, he's off! And your out there chasing him for hours... |
| solution |
| Hide the lead rope and halter where they cant see it behind your back. Bring treats with you everytime. Even better, but the treats in a plastic grocery bag. The horse will asociate the russling plastic to yummies! You can eventualy take the treats out of the bag and you go with an empty bag. Also, dont ride your horse every time you catch him. Bring him in the barn, groom him, give him treats and let him go. He will not associate being caught to working hard. |
| MOUNTING |
| Dont you get this, you finaly get your horse to stand still beside your mounting block, and as soon as you step on it, he moves forward, sideways, backwards and god knows in what other directions... |
| solution |
| Teach your horse to stand still and praise him when he doesn't move. You can get someone to hold his head at first. Do mounting practice sessions. Just spend fifteen minutes of going up and down. And everytime, reward him. Avoid these: Pulling the saddle over the spine, Digging your toes into the horse's side, kicking the horse's rear when you swing your leg over, pulling on your horse's mouth.... |
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| Page Last Updated: 04/15/2006 |
| BITTING |
| Theres the most anoying and painful one... There you are picking your horse's feet and her turns around, taking a chunk out of your behind... |
| solution |
| Horses bite for different reasons. Affection is one of them. Horses with bite each other to groom or just exchange a good massage bettween friends. Thing is, we are not horses and as much at your compagnion's intentions were good, its not right for him to do it on you. Be creative. Give him a "bump" on the nose with a ferm "NO". Don't knock him out, just surprise him. Make sure that your horse doesn't become head shy this way though; you dont want to creat another problem by fixing one. Stop hand feeding him; Use a bucket to give him treats. Or what the hell, beat him at his own game. Shove your finger in his mouth(where the bit goes so he can't nip you) and leave it there. He wont like you being in his mouth and may click that bitting you is what triggers it. Maybe your horse bites you out of agression. Are you hurting him when you put the saddle on? He wont bite you for no reasons at all. Look into the problem and everytime he goes to bite you, try to remember what you just did and see if there's a pattern. |