Horse Bad Habits and Vices

When Good Horses Do Bad Things

©  2008 Cherry Hill   © Copyright Information

Most horses are good. However, any horse can become a bad actor with improper care or handling. Certain horses have a predisposition to neurotic breakdown when faced with domestication pressures. This psychological frailty may be genetically inherited, formed from early experiences with the dam or training, or may develop later in life due to disease or trauma. Horses with neurotic tendencies often form vices.

Vices are undesirable habits that horses exhibit in the stable environment and are generally caused by confinement, over feeding, and stress. Examples are cribbing, stall kicking, and weaving.

Bad habits, such as rearing, halter pulling, or tail wringing are undesirable behaviors in response to human handling and are generally caused by rushed or improper training, uncertainty, insecurity, or resentment. A resentful horse is uncooperative and resistant. His resistance can be based on confusion, fear, disrespect, fatigue, and occasionally high spirits.

Often a horse's action is interpreted by humans as misbehavior but is perfectly legitimate horse conduct. Of course, what is acceptable behavior between two horses is not between a horse and a human. Here's where practical horse psychology, behavior modification, training, attitude adjustment, conditioning, whatever you want to call it, is essential.

Most vices and bad habits are preventable, that is, with forethought and proper management and training, most of them can be avoided. Prevention is the desirable route because once certain habits are established, they can be extremely difficult to change. Some habits are manageable, that is, certain techniques and equipment can be used to diminish the negative effects of the habit, but the underlying habit is still there. If the equipment is not used, the habit resurfaces. A few habits are curable. With carefully planned, diligent efforts, some habits can be permanently changed. Some vices and bad habits are incurable.

Vices and bad habits are best approached in a step-by-step manner:

UNDERSTANDING HORSE BEHAVIOR AND NEEDS A horse's natural behavior must be altered somewhat so that the horse can adapt to domestication. Basing these modifications on natural behaviors results in minimal stress and long-lasting results.

Whether or not there is action, there is always behavior. A sullen horse, rigid and unyielding, is "behaving" just as is the wildly bucking one. Behavior that is repeated may become habit (even though it was not a human-designed lesson). Horses are constantly learning as a result of their casual handling and their everyday environment as well as from formal training sessions.

The horse is a gregarious nomad with keen senses and instincts and highly developed reflexes. These characteristics are responsible for sending a reining horse to the winners circle as well as sending a panic-stricken horse through a wire fence. Gregarious animals are sociable herd animals. Given the choice, horses are rarely seen alone, preferring to be in close proximity to other horses; there is safety and comfort in numbers.

Horses perform daily routines in response to various needs: eating, drinking, rolling, playing, participating in mutual grooming. The desire to perform these rituals is not diminished, and in fact is probably intensified, for the horse in confinement. Humans might think a horse prefers to be clean, clipped and blanketed but most horses will opt for a good roll in the mud. The old adage, "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" is based on firmly implanted habits which are governed by a biological-clock. Many behaviors are socially oriented (and contagious): eating, pawing and rolling, running and bucking, wood chewing, cribbing.

Just because horses want to be with other horses doesn't mean all horses get along. Battles are fought to determine the pecking order or dominance hierarchy. This establishment of social rank usually makes future aggression unnecessary. Humans occupy a rung on the ladder of power and are tested by horses to see where they stand. A horse handler must convince a horse that the human is on top. Sometimes horses try to interact with humans as if they were horses. While a young horse is being groomed, he often wants to reciprocate as he would to his mutual grooming buddy in the pasture. Even though such a gesture is meant to be friendly, not aggressive, intentions don't count. The act of nibbling must be discouraged with a clap on the horses neck or shoulder along with a firm "No". Then get the horse busy doing something else.

If a horse has not been sufficiently socialized away from other horses and with humans, the horse will be insecure and often will desperately attempt to retain communication with or proximity to herd-mates or the barn. The chronic case is called herd bound or barn sour because the insecure horse links comfort, companionship, and food with the barn. What may originate in a young horse as a temporary insecurity may evolve into a long-standing and dangerous habit. In order to ensure that such a bad habit does not get started, handle horses separately from a very early age.

Horses are nomads. This wandering tendency is the precipitating factor for confinement behaviors such as pawing, weaving, and pacing. These vices result from boredom, lack of exercise, over-feeding, and insufficient handling. Regular exercise is necessary for the horse's physical and mental well-being. Any horse, and especially an energetic, inquisitive horse, should have active, sustained exercise at least five times a week. Active, sustained exercise would be longeing, driving, or riding. Turn-out usually does not yield sustained exercise - after a few leaps and bucks, the horse rolls and begins grazing or might stand at the gate, ready to come back into the barn.

A horse's ration should be tailored to meet his energy needs. Too often a horse's ration is set when he is being regularly ridden but is not adjusted when the riding program is interrupted by an injury, poor weather, or the owner's schedule. An overfed, under-exercised horse is a prime candidate for developing any of a number of stable vices.

Horses that are kept in box stalls or small pens need to be turned out and allowed to "be horses". Otherwise they may become bored, tuned out, lazy, and unresponsive OR irritable, anticipatory, nervous, and explosive.

Even though the modern horse is relatively safe from predators, its historically long struggle for survival has resulted in a deeply imbedded suspicion of anything unfamiliar. Keen senses plus the flight reflex can turn into panic. Few horses, on their own, stick around to ask questions of something spooky. A horse can be taught to trust his trainer's good sense, however. A trail horse, left to his own devices avoids the "black hole" which is really just a ten inch deep puddle. When his fair and competent trainer asks him to consider stepping into the water, the trusting animal tries. As long as a trainer makes wise decisions and never asks the horse to negotiate something unsafe, the horse's natural instinct of fear can be over-ridden by its confidence in his trainer.

When a horse lacks confidence or has received poor handling he can behave very irresponsibly and spook with the slightest provocation. Because a horse has an excellent memory, he can remember quite remote experiences especially if they relate to his imagined safety. It is thought that horses never quite forget these fears. All you can hope for is to encapsulate the bad experiences with layers upon layers of good ones.

Horses are capable of assuming thundering speeds from a standstill, of rising from a lateral recumbent sleeping position and instantly running, and of striking or kicking in the blink of an eye. These lightning-quick reflexes helped the horse survive for over sixty million years. The same automatic responses allow today's horse to perform in a vast array of spectacular performance events but they also can prove to be potentially dangerous.

Much of training is designed to work with and/or systematically over-ride the horse's natural reflexes. For example, it is a natural response for a young horse to raise (flex) his leg when it is touched. This reflex is beneficial in teaching the horse to pick the hoof up for farrier care, yet there are times (bandaging, clipping) when you need to handle the horse's legs without him lifting them. It is important to make the two requests as different as possible so that the horse can differentiate and will not be confused as to what you want.

For example, when asking the horse to pick up a hoof for cleaning, pinch the tendon area just above the fetlock between the thumb and middle finger. At the same time, use a verbal command with a high tone and rising inflection such as "Foot!" which will encourage motion. Be ready to catch the hoof in its upward flight with the other hand, because the total reflex chain includes the horse putting its foot right back down! If you let the horse put its foot down several times, you have inadvertently taught him the wrong lesson!

Young horses often stamp their legs when introduced to electric clippers as if they were trying to ward off a huge buzzing insect. For this lesson, you want to over-ride the horse's natural reflex to pick up his foot. During the first few lessons, it might be best to hold the horse's leg in the air while you are clipping so the horse can get used to the sound and feel of the clippers without moving its leg. Then you can move on to teaching the horse to stand with his weight on the leg for clipping. Press back on the knee or forward on the point of the hock to remind the horse you do not want him to flex those joints. Then use a low-toned, falling inflection command such as "Stand". Most horses will soon differentiate when to pick up the foot and when to keep it on the ground.

Most vices and bad habits can be prevented by a thorough understanding of horse behavior and the use of logical, progressive training methods.

click here to see a chart on horse VICES

click here to see a chart on horse BAD HABITS