[reining girl]

so i have a horse on trial right now, here is the thread http://www.horseforum.com/horse-pictures/my-new-horse-zillion-catrillion-pics-46086/ he really is a great horse, very calm and cool about everything hasnt spooked once. My problem is, today i wanted to look at his teeth, well when i went to put my hand on his lip he threw his head way up in the air. So i grabbed his halter and tried again, this time he started walking off and he is so dam big that he just kinda dragged me along with him. I would stop him and then try again, and he would do the same thing, we pretty much walked the whole round pen. So then i just tried setting my hand on his nose and the sides of his mouth and he would do the same thing, throw his head way in the air then start walking. So my guess is that he is probably really hard to worm. He is fantastic with everything else, he is awsome to ride, not spooky at all, i mean he has been at my place for 5 days and i have already taken him on a trail ride and he never spooked or snorted at a thing, anywere i take him he acts like he has been here a million times. But a hard to worm horse i such a pain in the ***, and there are many many horses out there, so should i send him back to his owner? I e-mailed her today about the problem, so we will see what she says. Here are a couple pics i took of him all tacked up waiting to go for a ride. He really is 16.3 and a half hands tall, i just have long legs ( im 5foot 10)

 

[reining girl]

the dog in the backround is Ajax, he is a awsome dog

 

[FoxyRoxy1507]

they do have wormers that u can add to their feed so if thats ur only problem i wouldnt send him back just bc u cant use tube wormer. sometimes "the one" isnt perfect and there are things u have to work on. when i first got my old mare she was the same way but was completely abused it took time and patience to work thru it and we finally did. if u really like him dont send him back for such a small issue that can be fixed.

 

[MN Tigerstripes]

I wouldn't send him back for that. In my opinion it's a very minor problem that you could probably fix with minimal effort. Is he head shy or difficult to bridle/halter?

 

[Crimsonhorse01]

That is a very small issue that can be worked through. It sounds like its just an excuse to take him back.

 

[ShutUpJoe]

That's not a huge problem. Pretty easy to fix. You just keep putting your hand there until he stops throwing his head. Once he stops you take your hand off and move on. He'll learn that if he wants you to stop putting your hand on his nose he has to stand still.

Well that's what I've done....

 

[snoggle]

I wouldn't send him back for that. Even a very inexperienced trainer (like me) can manage to work through that. Being spookless and a great ride are far more important (and harder to fix if he isn't).

I would see how much you can do to improve this over the next 9 days that you have left. Start slowly and gently touching his face, getting closer to his mouth as long as he cooperates and praise him for cooperating. Maybe just touch his lip a little for a day or two. I have a feeling you'll see improvements in just the time you have left with him. If he improves during your trial, you should certainly be able to fix it.

 

[Speed Racer]

You'd willingly send back the 'perfect' horse for something as minor as him not wanting you grabbing on his face?

Seriously, this really is a non-issue. Take your time, be patient and gentle, and touch him EVERY day, multiple times a day. Eventually he'll quit throwing up his head.

Many horses are head shy and it has nothing to do with abuse; they just don't want to be touched like that. My old gelding Mack was like that when he came to me, and now I can pat and touch him all over his head and he doesn't care.

As far as worming him, why not just dissolve his wormer in water and pour it over his feed? That's what I do with mine, and I've never had them turn their noses up at it. I gave up trying to fight with horses over taking a tube of wormer years ago.

 

[GottaRide]

How do you bridle him?

I suspect there is something about the way you're going about your approach that is causing the issue. Can you rub on his face up by his ears? Work your way down slowly to his eyes, to his forehead, to his cheeks, to the bridge of his nose, to his nostrils, to his mouth.

Not taking a dewormer can be an annoying issue, but it wouldn't be a deal breaker for me.

 

[reining girl]

hes not hard to bridle, takes the bit very willingly. Im not using this as an "exucse" to send him back, i really do like stanley. If he is hard to worm i will probably just buy the pellet wormer and keep working on his mouth area, i wonder if he maybe had some tramatic thing happen to his mouth area, there is a scare there. And im not grabbing at his face, i start wiht my hands at his cheeks then slowly work my way down and as soon as i get to the corners of his mouth thats when he starts in. Its just more so a pain to deal with especially when my other horses i could de worm without a halter on. But i do agree, im over reacting over something as small as this, just something i will have to work on with him.

 

[justsambam08]

Personally then, I would make it a point to mess with his mouth area every time you handle him. Ice hates it when you touch/rub his muzzle, so every time I see him I make sure to do something. Its to the point where he just stands there with a sullen look on his face...a step down from biting/pinning his ears/yanking his head away! I'm hoping eventually he'll actually enjoy it.

 

[reining girl]

ya, thats what im going to plan on doing

 

[charlicata]

It took at least a month for me to be able to pet the Saddlebred I used to have on the face or head. And even after a year, forget worming directly out of the syringe. Applesauce in a small mixing bowl works wonders!!! Just mix the tube of wormer in with it. You'll have no problem getting him to eat applesauce. And I understand about him taking the bit willingly. Ty used to just drop his head if I had the bridle in my hand. If I just walked up to him in the stall or field though, he would throw his head everytime.

I agree with Speed Racer. Take your time and be patient and gentle. But be sure to touch him every day. He might be a little more receptive to the touch if you are giving him a treat at the same time. This way, he'll associate the touch with the treat and not jerk his head away everytime.

Good Luck. He is a beautiful boy!!

 

[Alwaysbehind]

I miss how not wanting you to flip his lips up to see his teeth suddenly becomes he is hard to deworm? Even less I do not see how it means he was some how traumatized around his face. He just does not like it and he was able to make you stop.

Lots of horses do not like having their lips flipped up so you can look at their teeth. Shrug.

I certainly do not think it is an end all thing and I certainly do not see it as something I would use as an excuse to return a horse on trial. Honestly, I would not really consider it a problem. Sure, something to work on, but not a problem.

Fingers crossed you do not have any real problems.....

 

[ilovestitch]

Sounds like you know how to handle working with the minor problem so I really wouldnt be worried about it, I would be more excited that it sounds like you have a good horse on your hands and a possible sale in your near future, Congrats!

 

[reining girl]

The only reason that i saw it as a problem was how he acted when i went to touch his lip, like i said he dam near ran me over and then he just pushes you along with him. LIke i said, im going to work with him on it and if he is hard to worm, o well ill use the pellets or the apple sauce method. He is a very sweet boy and is just so dead broke and calm about everything.