Horse Behavior Q & A: Hobbles for Horses? Paws Down!
How do you feel about the concept of putting hobbles on a horse a couple of hours before feeding to prevent him from getting too excited and pawing up his bucket? I recently was caught up in a debate over this. It would never even occur to me to hobble a horse to “teach” him to not get excited during feeding. I was wondering if this is considered inhumane.
-Claire
I would not recommend using hobbles to prevent a horse from pawing and getting excited around feeding time.
There is a simple and humane solution to eliminate the behavior that will take only about seven feedings and a fair amount of patience. Right now the horse is being rewarded for pawing, as he is fed when he is pawing. Simply wait until he ceases pawing, and use that moment to cue the correct behavior by feeding him. He will learn quickly that the way to “turn on” the food is to stop pawing. Be patient, though. The behavior will get stronger at first, because the horse will be frustrated that the pawing behavior is no longer producing food. He will paw more, and harder—so just take a deep breath, relax and wait. Thanks for the question, Claire.
-Claire
I would not recommend using hobbles to prevent a horse from pawing and getting excited around feeding time.
There is a simple and humane solution to eliminate the behavior that will take only about seven feedings and a fair amount of patience. Right now the horse is being rewarded for pawing, as he is fed when he is pawing. Simply wait until he ceases pawing, and use that moment to cue the correct behavior by feeding him. He will learn quickly that the way to “turn on” the food is to stop pawing. Be patient, though. The behavior will get stronger at first, because the horse will be frustrated that the pawing behavior is no longer producing food. He will paw more, and harder—so just take a deep breath, relax and wait. Thanks for the question, Claire.
Labels: ASPCA, Horse Behavior, Horses
posted by ASPCA at 9:06 AM PERMALINK
2 Comments:
Thank-you so much for this answer! I was once fired from a barn because I refused to put kick chains on a horse which kicked at feeding times. I explained to the owner that I felt that kick chains weren't humane and that I chose to feed her mare first before she started kicking, hence rewarding her good behavior. The owner complained to the manager who told me that I was rewarding the horse for kicking by feeding her first. I was then told that I had to put kick chains on the mare; when I refused, I was told to not return.
You should have left the horse without feed until the kicking stopped. Unfortunenetly the problem is so dangerous to the horses own health and to the surrounding property that you must consider removing the animal to a safer place where this problem can be addressed,perhaps in an open paddock where her tantroms can not result in injury to herself or to property.
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