Impatient ponies and pawing

[zyndyna]

We have an impatient girl that paws the ground. Of course this is usually around feed time, while standing tied etc. The problem is she is teaching her bad habits to others. I have tried leaving her tied for longer periods of time, not going into her stall to feed until she stops etc with no luck of curbing the issue. Any suggestions on correcting the impatient pony?

 

[Marsha Cassada]

You are doomed. I do not think pawers can be cured without drastic steps that you probably do not want to use.

What I discovered from experience, the best way to deal with it is to ignore the pawer. This will help your sanity, if nothing else.

As to her teaching the others, I don't know about that. My pawer did not teach my other horses that habit. Are your ponies related by any chance?

 

[zyndyna]

Nope not related. We brought a mare in this past October and she was fine the first several months now that they have been stalled in the same barn across from the pawer and she has now decide to start the same habit. She is no where near as bad as the other though.

 

[shorthorsemom]

I put a rubber mat under my pawing boys feed tub. He still paws, but doesn't make a hole in the dirt or wear his feet badly. My boy also likes to make his feed tub that hangs on the gate bang by grabbing it with his teeth and dropping it so it goes bong bong bong. You can hear it in the house with the windows shut if I am late for feeding time.

I don't know a cure, I just ignore it. He doesn't bite or get aggressive, just paws and bangs the tub. My boy can tell time and knows when it is "pellet time". I do not tolerate the pawing in harness or when I am handling him and when he is on lead with halter. For all other times, I ignore it because it is near impossible to correct a behavior when you are at a distance or on the other side of a gate and he is roaming free.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

I've broke 2 from it now, and it is NOT easy, or fun, and you have to have really good timing. No, you cannot fix it when they are roaming free etc, but in hand, while I'm nearby and they're tied, in harness, it's potentially dangerous and needs to be stopped.

My first step is some serious patience pole time. They stand tied if I'm in the barn pretty much - even if that's hours. They don't go do fun things until they are just STANDING there - not playing with their mouth, pawing, etc. chronic rope chewers I put a grazing muzzle on until they 'get it.' My one guy pawed on the hitching rail because he was antcipating something (workout, trailer ride, or the much dreaded bath) so I tied him there, found a comfy lawn chair, and a good book for an hour or two and completely ignored him. Psyched him out the first few times. Now, he just STANDS because that's what we do at the hitching post no matter what - just stand there!

My filly was not so easy. Patience pole time did not work. Out of frustration I pegged her right in the knee mid paw with a wood block, and continued on like it never happened. She had no idea it was me and seriously thought god had smited her for her actions. Look on her face was oh so priceless. Has cut way down and respects a 'no' much better now.

For pawing in hand, the only thing I've found to work is to wear a big heavy boot, and don't kick them in the leg but pick your foot up right as they go to do it so they hit you with the middle of their cannon bone. You cannot do it out of anger or boot them (for obvious reasons) but it makes a real impression when done in a 'matter of fact' way. The key is to teach them there are unacceptable times to paw, not try to teach them not to do it.

 

[FurstPlaceMiniatures]

I should add screaming at a horse is about as effective as baptizing a cat - and it does not help one bit to break pawing.

 

[amysue]

I have one of these, who taught a group of youngsters to do this. I tried everything you can think of to no avail. Then my shoer friend made me a pair of pawing bracelets. She took a colt shoe, widened it out then hammered the ends close together. Then drilled holes at the tails for a rubber band. I put the shoe around the pastern, below the fetlock and above the coronet. Every time Rosalin pawed, the bracelet banged her in the foot, immediately ceasing when she put her foot down. They work like a charm. There is a product on the market for this, "paw be gone" is one and tough 1 makes a set of pawing bands too in mini sizes. I swear by them. They must come off for turnout and exercise but they're great in the stall, on crossties or at the feed trough. Rosalin even learned to put her front hooves into the plastic feeders mounted to the wall and dig like a dog in the sand. Made an awful racket, but the bracelets cured that.

 

[lkblazin]

One of my girls will paw when she thinks she is getting something special. She used to paw when I would have her in halter just standing. She wants to be moving.

I fixed it by a firm tug of the lead and firmly saying her name. Her name is whisper so it was kinda funny yelling that. But I also did a lot of work with her over jumps in hand and free. So she knows hand direction, words, tone of voice, and clucking. Basically I use different clucks to tell them what I want. Shes smart and knows if I say her name firmly when she paws at the stall door, that she should walk away and leave it.

She does not paw just for the fun. Its if she is board or wants something.

 

[paintponylvr]

Ditto Furstplaceminiatures.

I also have hobbled a single leg - using a figure 8 strap. When you have several pawing, though, it's major work doing that! It does teach them to stand tied though.

I have filled holes with plastic bottles - the ponies became desensitized to the bottles and then would "fling" them out of the holes and continue digging. Thought I had some pics, but can't find them right now.

Amysue - THANKS! I wondered about those and now I think I will get some to try on the ones who "dig holes to china"... and yes, I have had others learn to do it from the main pawers and I have found that it also runs in family lines. If a mare is a digger - often her foals are too.

Edited to add - 'Clipse above knows when you are close by and she will stop pawing when you look her direction or move towards her. I've never actually SEEN her digging or pawing except when she was in the trailer - a hole "just appears"!!

 

[AngC]

I've been meaning to comment on this thread, but haven't had time, prior.

My observations are that one horse can indeed, teach another horse "bad" habits. For example, I've had problems haltering our mare ever since we got Coco. And because Baby was in the same enclosure/area, I was concerned when Baby started copying the mare's fleeing habits. We've all since come to an understanding... ie, I just started ignoring the mare and focused on Baby. It's a work-in-progress, but now I can walk up to Baby and put a halter on her, anywhere in the pasture, just like I can with Nicky. Coco (by her choice) I have to stand outside and point at the stall and then she goes inside; then she has to go in the same corner every time so I can put the halter on her.

Coco-she who doesn't want to be haltered- has never ever pawed. In fact, when the farrier is here, I have to tap her leg sometimes so she'll drop her foot.

Baby pawed once while tied. Nicky frequently paws; I think mostly because he gets bored. I don't scream at any of them; no point to that. But, for example, if Nicky paws I just grab his front legs and hold them. If he insists, I hold his front legs up a little higher for a few minutes; usually that serves as enough of a distraction. I've found that distracting them seems to work the best.

By the way... I never tie any of ours up and then leave them alone tied. Down the road, the neighbors had a full-size horse saddled and tied in the barn; they left the horse unattended and it reared and snapped a front leg. I always thought (if I thought at all) that a horse could have a cast and a leg set just like a human. ...apparently not; that pretty palomino had to be put down. After that I never leave any of ours tied unattended.