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"Do you have any tips for a biting horse?"
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Dear Keith...
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Hi,
I enjoyed a clinic with you about a year ago, way up here in Maine. I noticed on your website that Maine had blue "x", indicating a previous clinic. Does that mean you will not be coming back here? If that is the case, where might the next closest be?
Also, do you have any tips for a biting horse? Not the one I brought to your clinic! This guy is a 13 year old QH/Arab mix, who pins his ears at me, and bites others, but ONLY (that I have noticed) when one tightens the girth. He got a student of mine the other day quite badly. I do not want to sell, or give him away, as someone else will just have the problem. Also, he is great in other ways, such as being an awesome trail horse, very comfortable at all gaits. All negative behavior stops as soon as the saddle is cinched up. He is quite hard to fit, as he is short-backed and wide-withered. I am guessing he had a poorly fitting saddle in the past, and now has acquired biting as a habit. Now, I am very sure the his 2 saddles fit. One is treeless. Another is a wide, children's saddle. Both seem to fit well.
Up to now, I have tried whacking him on the rump with a loud, noisy plastic bowl, when he pins his ears at me; that did not seem to help. Then, I tried giving him a treat when he DIDN'T pin his ears while I was tightening the girth. That seemed to work for awhile, then he got REALLY demanding about getting more and more treats. The girl he recently bit had just finished up tightening the girth, given him a treat, and we were standing there, done with the girthing, when he reached over and got her arm. Any ideas would be very much appreciated.
Sincerely,
Mary |
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Reply
Hi, Mary -
The x's serve to show where we've been and help get a feel for where demand is for future, return trips. The schedule page you're referring to (http://www.horsemanship101.com/John-Lyons-Trainer-Clinics/Where-and-When.html) will always carry the most recent schedule; you can always check that for future events - plus, if you've signed up for my newsletter (http://www.horsemanship101.com/John-Lyons-Training-Newsletter/Josh-Lyons.html), you'll automagically get word when something is scheduled in your area.
Regarding a biting horse, remember that when a horse pins his ears he's telling you he's going to bite you at some point - he's not suggesting, he's telling. When he cocks a leg, same thing. He's going to kick you, he just hasn't announced the time and place. You've got to nip it in the bud. When the horse pins his ears as you cinch or even looks at you cross-eyed, take his muzzle between your two hands and rub like you're trying to produce a genie. When the horse pulls away, pull it back and do it again. Your job is to make the horse look at you and think it's best to just let sleeping dogs lie. Become the crazy aunt who wants to hug you too much. You hug (rub the muzzle) till your horse wants to squirm away.
You may want to check out books that go into more detail about this sort of thing; I can't do it justice in a short email. See this page for 200+ topics, each leading to a relevant book or video: http://www.horsemanship101.com/Horse-Training-Tools/index1001.html.
(Also, see the products listed on this page for more in depth descriptions of what to do.)
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