Can someone tell me what to do about a horse that is constantly in my face while I'm grooming him , walking him etc. I made the mistake of feeding him treats by hand and now all he does is look for them. He pays no attention when I smack him to move away from me. Any ideas?
Will I get turned in for animal abuse:).
I've been surprised (will not really) at some of the horses I've gotten recently, considering who I get them from, that are very bad to do that. Is how I corrected it was, first always be on the watch for the first tiny little indication that they are getting ready to get in your space. The quicker you get their mind off of coming at you the better. Don't wait till they are in your space. Get them before they get there, requires quick reflexes:) Be consistent, correct everytime, even if it's several times in quick succession. And I try a poke with my elbow rather then a slap. Give some type of voice command when you poke too...a word, stop, quitit, or a correcting noice. Pretty soon you will only have to use the noice/voice command when you see them come at you.
Most important thing tho, is consistent, consistent, everytime.
If you correct sometimes and not others, he won't learn.
Becky
Oh, one more thing, the reason I don't use my hand to slap is it can make them shy of your hands. You raise you had to bridle, they can shy form you if you've slapped.
Hope all this helps.
Becky
First, stop feeding him by hand all but rarely. Some horses get really rude about it. If you want to feed him, feed him from a bucket, or do it so occasionally that he doesn't look for it.
Enforce a personal space with him that he can't cross. If he outright bites you, smack him, but you don't want to make him headshy by smacking him for this (too close to me) lesson.
I'd put a stud chain on the lead rope and give him jerks with that to back off while leading.
My advice, work on some ground work lessons that do a lot of circling where he will learn to avoid your body, not your hands. If you do need to make a point of pushing him away, like leading him in a circle where he needs to retreat and turn right away from you, bump him with your body, and not your hands.
Tie him to groom, and don't spend a lot of time babying and petting him for awhile.
Becky's right about verbally reprimanding too... I forgot to mention that... something like 'quitit!' or 'Aaaaat!' (my favorite nondescript reprimand)
And I'd recommend the stud chain - ~not~so that you are really hard with it, but rather so that you can be very subtle. Pushy horses can be pretty strong on just a halter, they like to yard you around, and I would teach him to respond to 'less' muscle by using the stud chain to give him a correction.
But don't tie him with the stud chain, ever... ;~D
Oh, and one other thing (Sorry)
When/if you do give them a good sudden, firm, jab with your elbow, be ready the first few times for them to be very surprised, might go back or sideways fast on you if they're not tied. Make sure you have a good hold of them, or they're tied securely, you don't want them to get away or break free. If they're tied, and go back they may fight the tie up for a few seconds. Let them. DON"T untie or rescue. Just get out of their way, and then stand quietly saying whoa, calmly.
Becky