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Horse ALWAYS paws the ground while grooming

5K views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  Paintedponies1992 
#1 ·
I have been half leasing a horse since October, and while for the first month or so we did not have this problem, he has developed a really irritating habit of pawing the ground as soon as I hook him up to the cross ties. Every time he starts to do this I tell him 'No' and push his leg back down (and hold it if he tries to kick up again) but he continues to paw as soon as I let it go. His facial language doesn't show anything; he has his ears forward so it doesn't look like he's angry or irritated.

It makes grooming a really annoying task because I am constantly watching out for where his hooves are so I don't get bopped in the shin. I also take my little sisters with me on the occasion and a lot of the time they are too afraid to groom him because he's always kicking. I want to make the barn as pleasant as possible for them because I'd like them to ride when they're older, but if they're freaked out about his kicking it's not much of a good time. If it helps, he also paws constantly while he's eating. I assume this is because he was starved with his past owners and it's more of a protective thing over his food.

Why does he paw, and how can I stop this?
 
#2 ·
My daughter's pony used to dig a hole to China in his stall when he was eating. We switched from hanging buckets to feed pans. When he would paw, he knock the feed pan over and it would fly every which way. He learned pretty quickly that perhaps pawing was not a good idea.

It reduced the amount of pawing when grooming as well, but it didn't stop it completely. I noticed too, that when he was being groomed he looked relaxed, not annoyed or agitated. I also observed that he only pawed when we were grooming certain places like his shoulders, which I would catch him rubbing on the trees in the pasture to scratch himself.

Based on this I concluded the pawing wasn't so much him being aggressive or impatient, but more like "OOOOH! That feels really good! Yep. Right there!". I upped his fat in his feed and the pawing and itching disappeared.
 
#3 ·
One method that was suggested to me by our trainer, but have not had to use, is using a Velcro strip with a string from which you dangle a small block of wood. You attach it above his knee. Each time he paws, the block of wood raps him in the shins.
Eventually he gets tired of getting hit in the shins and stops pawing.
 
#4 ·
He does seem to paw particularly fast right after he's gotten a treat, so maybe it is just a pleasure thing. I don't give him treats very often though and he still consistently paws. I don't really find it so cute as there is a big strong hoof on the end of his leg that I'd like to steer clear of! I think I might have to try the velcro and block combination. I don't really have a say in his feed as I'm only half leasing him, but I'm sure his diet is high in fat as they're still putting weight on him because he was starved by his owner in the recent past.

Is there anything else I could do to stop the shuffling? Some suggestions I read said that I should unclip him and make him walk, then clip him back up. But he just paws so much I think I would making him walk forever!
 
#7 ·
One method that was suggested to me by our trainer, but have not had to use, is using a Velcro strip with a string from which you dangle a small block of wood. You attach it above his knee. Each time he paws, the block of wood raps him in the shins.
Eventually he gets tired of getting hit in the shins and stops pawing.
I did something like that with my two year old, only with the toe of my boot, after two times I just had to lift my foot and she'd stop pawing.
 
#8 ·
I see horses in our barn do it as a, "Hey! You over there! Give me one of those treats, would ya?!" We just ignore it unless it gets particularly obnoxious and then a sharp "Ah!" generally makes it stop.

With our new horse we just ignore it. He eventually stops. He hardly does it anymore after a month at our place.
 
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