To make it short, today I was riding this horse that starts threating you when you tighten his girth.
A couple of hours before I rode him, another rider tacked him up and rode him and when he tightened his girth...the horse kicked him!(It wasn't something serious though, a small kick)
So anyway , after riding him he untacked him and the horse was in the stable for a couple of hours...
then, when I was about to ride him and started tightening his girth in the arena, he started threatening me as well and moved to the side...when my instructor saw this, she took my crop and started hitting the poor thing like 3 times on the side when I was tightening the girth.
The horse started freaking out and rearing (I was holding him) and she just kept hitting him with the crop!!
Now I know some people call it "discipline" but it didn't seem to do any good!!
I mean first of all, I don't think the horse understood why he was being punished...it's not like he ALREADY kicked...he just moved to the side and lowered his ears...
And second, it only made him angrier and more scared...
It's a horse that isn't really behaving so well most of the time, so he kinda gets hit quiet a lot (but not to the point where he's bleeding or anything...usually it's 'only' a crop or the lead rope...
So I can see he seriously gets afraid of humans...and that really makes me sad, coz I really like that horse, and I can see that deep inside he has a kind heart.
Do you think that what my instructor did was right?
Do you believe that hitting a horse is "making him behave"??
Coz I feel really bad about this now...I was just standing there and looking how she was hitting him with the crop...I wish I could do something...:/|||It's one thing to give your horse a little slap on the neck or belly to tell him to knock it off. Horses weigh about a ton and they need to be handled firmly so they get the message that the human is the boss.
However, a horse should not be punished repeatedly or as harshly as your instructor seemed to have been doing to this guy, also, It's a habit that he repeats all the time. A few hours ago, he kicked a student and was not repremanded, but then he threatened you a little later and was beaten harshly.
The proper way to deal with this behavoir is to: first of all, punish him EVERY time he does this. Consistency is key. Also, QUICKLY punish him. A little slap or a loud "Knock it off". He won't pick it up at first, don't expect him to be perfect after he's done this to people his whole life. And third, when he makes an effort to be a little less vicious, or submits to you, talk in a nice voice, give him a pat, reward him when he does something right nomatter how short a time he does it. By reenforcing it positively, your horse will learn to do things well.
This horse is just girthy.. ods are it will stay that way too. when you do up his girth, be slow, gentle and careful.
I hope this helps :( It really sucks when ur instructor does things and you can't do anything about it. Try to work with him on ur own.... good luck!!!|||Maybe he had a somatch ache or just didnt want to be riden and ik someone who hits her horse when she does something she dont want to do now if ur gettin off your horse and smacking her with a leather rein then ya thats abuse but if ur just tapping on the nose no. Don'nt ever hit a horse though you will lose there trust and they losse trust in you they'll be like she hits me im not goin to trust her.|||A good sharp hit or slap is not bad, but you sure don't just keep hitting on them. I have put the side of my foot in my horse's side for kicking at me. No kick with a 1,000 lb animal is a small one, they get away with it and it will become alot worse.|||no she wasn't right, you should tell a horse off when they try to bite you or kick you but all they need is one hit not that may times with a whip!! and if the horse was misbehaving when being tacked up, maybe he has a bad back or something, he could be in pain :D|||That's not abuse. Horses have very high pain tolerance levels, and it doesn't hurt them nearly as much as it would hurt us, but I see your point. Just remember, horses can get hurt, but crops can't do much.|||Get a new instuctor. She took her rage out on him. Punishing him for being cinchy would have been one smack with the crop, not beating him instead.|||Horses kick and bite each other hard in herds.
That horse will be FINE. There is nothing to worry about.|||i think he will be ok..|||Whacking a horse to discipline it is fine. That being said, you hit a horse ONE time to discipline it. After that it's just revenge. Three whacks is two too many in my book and your instructor needs to learn a little restraint on handling ill-behaved horses.
Sounds like one of several things is going on with this horse:
He might hate his job. Not all horses make good lesson horses and some of them are just downright miserable having several different riders get them out and tack them up and make them work day in and day out. I know if I subjected my horse to the life of a lesson horse there would be a pile of dead bodies around his stall, he would never tolerate it. Some horses enjoy it, some are okay with it, others just hate it.
Someone may be cinching him up too tight or too roughly causing him to become girth sour. He could be associating rough treatment from one regular handler with the entire process of being saddled and taking his frustration out on everyone.
His tack might not fit. One guaranteed way to turn a good horse bad is to put them in crappy fitting tack and expect it to pack around kids for lessons.
Sorry, but I think your trainer kinda sucks in her management of this horse. Yes, I firmly believe discipline is an important tool but you also have to find the cause of the behavior and address it if you want the horse to change its attitude.|||I would definitely call that abuse. Popping him once is discipline any more than that is revenge (aka abuse). I would be more concerned with finding out WHY the horse is girthy in the first place. Many horses start acting girthy because something is bothering them either about the saddle (maybe it doesn't fit, maybe their back is sore, maybe they have a sore around the girth area....etc) or sometimes girthiness is a sign of ulcers or other health conditions. Look for a reason for the problem first before you just assume it is a behavioral issue.|||It is unacceptable for horses to kick and bite at humans. There is a line between punishing and abuse though. Perhaps the horse has a rib out and is causing him pain when he is bein cinched. That is defiantly something that should be looked into. Maybe your instructor was bein a little drastic but I'm sure the horse is okay. Do not allow a horse to behave in such ways, it is dangerous for everyone. Often when horses act out like that, there is something wrong and it is up to you to figure out what that may be.|||You're instructor shouldn't have continued to hit him after he started freaking out. That could have been dangerous, for all three of you.
You instructor also shouldn't have hit him AFTER she saw him do it to you. You usually have about a three second window to punish a horse when it does something wrong. She should have waited until he did it again to punish him. The poor thing probably doesn't even know what it did wrong.
Your instructor ALSO shouldn't be putting people near or even on a horse who is known to 'misbehave." She should call a professional trainer.
That's THREE things your instructor has done wrong. I'd find a new instructor.
On another note, horses have tough hides. Getting hit with a crop for them is like a minor bee sting to us. (Unless it goes on and on, then of course the pain gets greater.)
Talk it out with your instructor.|||well if one of the horses was missbehaving i would give them a firm tap (by tap i mean so that he knows ive done it but not to hurt him .)and use your voice mostly.
one of the horses at my riding school has this problem with the girth and i just tighten her girth slowly and gently and she doesnt make a peep but if your pulling and halling at the girth then maybe your pinching the horses skin .
i would never hit a horse with my crop and if she hit him more than once then yes i do think this is wrong !
hope this helps %26lt;3.|||I have trained horses for more years than most of you have been alive and I would never tap tap tap a horse on the shoulder or make sure the correction was done before 3 seconds. In my opinion 3 seconds if a lonng time! If a horse needs correcting it should be done instantly, swiftly and hard.
If I ever have to correct a horse I am able and willing to make a mark on them that would be there tomorrow and I porbably would never have to make that correction again.
If a horse would nip at me I would slap it very hard and instantly on the soft part of the muzzle and then act like I had no idea of where it came from. I have never had a head or earshy horse and I have never had a horse bite at me more than one time.|||I know a horse that's like that, when you tighten her girth, she get's angry, so we do it gently and slowly, and she's fine, but my trainer has NEVER done that before. It's not going to help the horse at all, especially when it doesn't even know what it's being punished for. One smack might have been fine, depending on how he was threatening you, but your trainer didn't have to slap him with the crop like that...|||it may be upsetting to you but there is nothing u can do. it is not your horse. he is sick of being ridden and cut in half by people in a hurry to jump on his back....(not saying u) but this is the lot in a life of a lesson horse. as far as your instructor hitting him she really sounds like a moron. my horse threatens when being girthed. i do it very slowly, and pull the legs forward one at a time...he knows how to shake hands...LOL
then i walk and tighten a bit more. i do this 3 times until i am mounted and then the final hole when i am on board. i normally walk when tightening the girth. if he does swing around like he is going to bite me...he "accidentaly" bangs my elbow on his mouth. it is a self correction ...all i do is stick my elbow up and if he is dumb enough to try to seriously bite me he is the one who runs into me.... other then the ears pinned back and sour face he has only tried to bite me for real 2 x's and he got a good bang on the snout and has not done it again.|||Your instructor over reacted. The reason you would hit the horse is to stimulate another horse biting him. A quick and immediate smack with the palm of your hand high on the shoulder works the best. Make sure it follows IMMEDIATELY, or the meaning is lost. Beating a horse into submission will simply make him resistant and nervous. However, the threatening behavior is dangerous too. If simply giving him a smack with the palm of your hand doesn`t work, carry a crop with you. But don`t hit him if he`s stopped threatening you; that`ll only encourage the behavior.|||As long as the discipline is properly issued, then no, it's not abuse. A mare will bite her foal if he misbehaves, and the crop doesn't even hurt as much as that (well it shouldn't, anyway).
The threatening not good. If the people did not correct him, his habits would have got worse over time.
If it hurts you so much to see him like this, try to correct him yourself. If you feel him tensing up and moving to the side to kick, push his hind quarters back away from you, flick your hand (holding the rein) and MAKE him walk on.|||Horses kick and bite each other in the pasture to discipline each other. So no hitting a horse once or twice isn't abuse. Hitting one over and over is abuse. You have about 3 or 4 seconds after the horse acts up to discipline him, after that it is abuse. So if one of mine tries to bite me I will beat the hell out of them and make them think the world is coming to and end because of their actions for about 3 seconds, then go back to being normal. I don't think it "makes them behave" just shows them that what they did was very wrong and they better not do it again.|||That's really drastic. We call that a girthy horse and they're out there alright, it's not uncommon. Try doing the girth up really loose to start and the walk toward the arena, and do the girth up another hole, then walk a little more and do it up again. Did you ever think that maybe the horse is sore there? Some horses can get mean if they have ulcers or something bothering them that makes it painful when the girth is tightened. I think smacking a horse repeatedly is a bad idea because that'll just make him more flighty and will cause him to use the reactive side of his brain. Horses learn from positive reinforcement and the release of pressure. If the horse only gets punished he's not going to know what he's doing wrong, he'll just get more and more unhappy and scared. I believe that disciplining a horse is important, but I would never do something like that. I think your instructor took it a step or two too far. The instructor should be looking for the root cause of the girthyness and then fix it kindly and patiently. Good luck!|||well i would say that horse definitely needs discipline.
this is what i did with my pony. she had the same problem
when i tighten her girth
if she reaches over to bite i smack her face ONCE
if she kicks i smack ONCE hard right on her belly (kinda where her knee is to her back leg)
if she moves around i'll kinda smack her chest and she'll stop or i move her back exactly where she was standing square wait a minute. try to tighten her girth again and the second she takes even the tiniest step i move her right back where she was.
now shes perfect with the girth :)
i would make sure the horses skin isn't wrinkling to hurt her and stretch her front legs to un wrinkle it. or rub her girth area and make sure its clean and nothings bothering her. i only discipline when shes being bad. if something is hurting or bothering her i fix it and go on with what im doing. even though she did something she wasn't spose to she was just telling me it hurts.
always discipline early though you have 3 seconds to reward or punish a behavior or else they wont really know what they did.
i wouldn't let the instructor discipline her anymore. you do it. and reward really good behavior a lot more than you punish!!!|||Yes what the instructor did was right. Even though you love horses you can't let them get way with poor behavior. When horses threaten you, you should address it right then and there. You should not wait until the horse bites or kicks you to discipline it, you should stop it before it happens. Horses that get away with this for a long period of time become aggressive because they have learned to act that way. If that horse becomes too aggressive he could seriously hurt someone, I have seen horses that have learned to behave poorly go after people, or bite and kick people. That horse knew he was not supposed to threatening you but did it anyway because he knew he could get away with it. It might seem mean but in the long run its completely necessary because horses are big and potentially dangerous animals. Besides you are not going to injure this horse from whacking it with a crop. Horses kick each other in the field and they are fine from that. Just make sure you stay away from the horse's face and you are far enough away that he can't kick strike at you if you go to hit him with the crop.Good luck!
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