I have an 8 year old mare standard bred. She is very nippy and can be aggressive. She bit my forehead a couple weeks ago. I had a bruise. She spooks easily and I need help. She is western. The worst part is when I saddle her. She is sensitive and is cranky. Please help.
Thanks. Denver
Hi Denver,
It sounds like your mare needs to develop respect and confidence. Respect for you and confidence in herself and her surroundings. Biting and spooking are just symptoms of a horse with a lack of respect and confidence.
Have you visited my Horse Information Roundup? There you will find MANY articles related to your questions. Here are just a few
Biting and there are six more article related to Biting under Behavior
I recently put up a 36 x36 pen and shelter for my horse. I live here in Golden Colorado where the soil is VERY much Clay. We had a several inches of rain this past week, which is a considerable amount for our parts. The pen got very muddy. I spent several hours today mucking it and now doing research on what I should do for a better fix. I saw your article on 3/8 minus pea gravel. A couple of questions:
1. Some horse friends of mine suggest I use Granite Crusher Fines to aide in the drainage. Is this suitable?
2. Whether I use Pea Gravel or Granite Crusher Fines, what is the recommended depth of the material I should go with? 2, 3 or 4 inches?
BTW: I’m also going to install a french drainage system as well.
Many Thanks!
Shawn
Hi Shawn,
The French Drain is a good idea. Sloping the pens slightly away from the barn is helpful to manage drainage too.
I’m not personally familiar with Granite Crusher Fines but think they might be something like decomposed granite which we use here in northern Colorado.
We use decomposed granite under our stall mats and also under the 3/8- pea gravel in turnout pens.
So my answer would be yes and yes ! A tamped crushed granite base with 2-3 inches of 3/8- pea gravel on top.
Please feel free to post your results here. Thanks ! Cherry Hill
To read more about French Drains, pen footing and much more, refer to these books and DVD.
We recently brought home two horses. The 4-year old mare is a sweetie and not issues but the 7-year old gelding is nervous and spooky.
Three days ago during feeding he spooked and broke his halter. (The mare flinched at something and the gelding turned it into a panic, rearing back until the halter gave way.) I was moving slowly and deliberately around them so I am not sure what caused the mare to flinch but the gelding seems to be a bit of a basket case.
I have worked for two days being very gentle but insistent with the halter and still have not been able to get it on him. I don’t want to press the issue because he doesn’t know me that well yet and has only had a few days to get used to our pasture. While he was eating, I had the halter nearby and would move it around so he could hear it jingle. When he quit freaking out at every noise, I held it so that he would have to put his nose in the halter to take a bite from the bucket.
I didn’t push the issue but slowly would move the halter around and by the time he finished eating I was scratching his jaw on the right side but was not able to get the strap over his head without him moving away from me. I didn’t want to chase him, thinking this would cause further issues, but I was calm to the best of my ability and spoke soothingly to him. Am I on the right track? Do you have some advice that would help me to make this process go more smoothly? Thanks! Kathy
Hi Kathy,
Although you need to proceed with caution around horses for both your own safety and that of the horse, often sneaking around and being overly cautious seems to make horses more nervous and suspicious.
To me from what little you say, I’d say this. The gelding never learned to stand quietly when tied. And actually before that he never had been taught to be confident in the world of man, so is suspicious to the point of panic.
At 7 years of age, that is quite behind the program and now being a full grown, strong horse, it makes things especially more challenging and dangerous.
What I would do is start from square one with the horse free in a small, safe sturdy pen. You will have to have the time it takes with a small goal each session. Don’t use feed to distract or bribe the horse.
Perhaps at first just the goal of being in the enclosure with the horse without him trying to get away from you or turn his rump toward you.
Then a goal of him allowing you to come up to him and touch him.
From this point you can continue the lessons in the small enclosure or move to a small round pen (maybe 50 feet in diameter) where you can free longe the horse around you at a walk, trot, halt.
Eventually you will progress to putting the halter on the horse after you have halted him and walked up to him. It can be with you or an assistant holding the horse with loop around his neck or it can be with you solo and the horse free. You will put the halter on matter of factly, not using grain.
Just halter the horse using normal, safe procedures.
If the horse tries to move away, let him and send him around you free longeing. Then stop him, walk up to him and begin again.
Once you have successfully haltered the horse, unhalter him. And rehalter him. Do this until he no longer flinches or wants to move away. Haltering and unhaltering then will be you main lesson until it becomes second nature.
The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 31,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 11 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
When we were driving into town and back yesterday, I was checking out all the horses on pasture with turnout blankets, some good, some OK, some really downright awful. In a few cases, I wanted Richard to stop the car so I could either go adjust the blanket or take it off the horse before it became hopelessly tangled!
One horse in particular has had the same blanket on in the same remote pasture since late fall and I really doubt it has been attended to since then !
Hi Richard,,, I live in nsw Australia, and have read your story on Sherlock you horse, My buckskin Q.H. has a large Sarcoid [size of a walnut] on his back, about 3′ from his spine, I was woundering how the mouth wash spray method went. I will try it my-self ,, but am interested in how everything turned out. Be great if you would let me know. Regards Pam
Hi Pam,
The article on our website was updated on 6-05-11 and the status is still the same. Cherry Hill
I am 59, rode for 40 years but had a hip replaced about four years ago and need to get the other done sometime in the not to distant future.
Talking to my physical therapist about getting back in the saddle and asking for exercises or what-ever to try to improve the range of motion in both hip sockets is like trying to get an answer out of my dog. (and due to restrictions of my medical insurance I can’t go to another therapist.)
Do you know of any books that address this issue, or know of any group that works with rider disabilities who might be able to help me get back in the saddle?
THANK-YOU! Dianne
Hi Dianne,
I’m posting this in hopes that one of the readers of this blog might be able to help you specifically with a group or book recommendation. I don’t know of any specifically related to hip replacements and riding.
However I have heard that hip replacements enable people to ride, rather than disable, so I’d think of it that way !
I’d start by asking your doctor and/or physical therapist specifically what limitations you have in terms of exercise, such as you shouldn’t go past a certain angle with your artificial hip joint. Also in terms of the other hip joint that will need to be replaced in the future, ask which exercises would exacerbate whatever the condition is that is going to require you to get that hip replaced too. Just like with horses, some exercises would accelerate damage to an already deteriorated joint. So ask which movements are safe and which are not for each hip as they currently are.
Once you know what you shouldn’t do, that will rule out certain yoga poses, certain Pilates exercises and some general fitness and stretching exercises.
Also, again asking your doctor and/or PT – they probably have a standard handout or booklet they give patients of exercises to prepare for and recover from surgery. This will make a good basis for your program.
I hesitate to go much further than that because I’m not a doctor or a PT and every person’s situation is different.
Hip Flexor Stretch
If it were me, I’d find out what I shouldn’t do and then start with simple exercises, adding repetitions, weight or difficulty…..always listening to your body.
And finally, one of the best ways to get back in the saddle is to get back in the saddle with the help of a mounting block. Even if for a few minutes every day, gentle walking, moseying around.
Best of luck and please feel free to post any comments, information directly here on this blog.
Friends and family around the country tell me how scarce and pricey hay is this winter. It seems like every year one section of the country has a drought or flood or something that affects or even wipes out the hay crop.
Even though good hay might be tough to find in your area, don’t be tempted to feed moldy hay to your horses.
