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  Discussion on Pinning ears
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Member:
Jbmom

Posted on Wednesday, Oct 27, 2004 - 8:10 pm:

My usually friendly, good natured 11 yo QH has the distressing habit of pinning his ears at nearby horses but only when being ridden. If we are standing still he is Mr.Sweet. Once we start working he does his job but what a crab. This makes it very hard to enter hunter classes and drill team is quite a challenge. Help!!!
New Member:
Lstaunt

Posted on Friday, Oct 29, 2004 - 8:43 pm:

Maybe it has something to do with this model/year of QH.

I also have an 11 yo QH who is otherwise sweet, friendly, & good-natured, but who pins his ears when passing other horses in the ring (doesn't do it on the trail).

Here's what I've tried:
1) Riding in the ring with other horses more often so he habituates to having other horses nearby in the ring. This works very well when I've been able to ride with others several times over the course of a week or two.
2) Distracting him by doing a couple gentle pull/releases with the rein farthest away from the horse we're passing. He still pins his ears the first time we pass a horse, but it seems to work well after that. Other means of putting him to work to distract him works, too.
3) Saying "quit" (or whatever word you can consistently use and consistently deliver in a stern tone) when he starts to move his ears into pinning position and telling him he's a good boy/patting his neck if he then stops pinning his ears. This one works less well, but that's probably that pesky "consistency" thing on my part.

None of the above have completely done away with the behavior, but we haven't been working at it very long. Hope you find something that works for you and your QH.
Member:
Dres

Posted on Friday, Oct 29, 2004 - 10:38 pm:

had a mare like this.. and what was going on in her mind.. is fear.. yes she was afraid of the other horses, thus if she ''puffed'' up and looked mean.. maybe they would leave her alone..

it was a challenge to ride her in groups.. but knowing that it was fear that was causing her to pen her ears, flare her nose.. act like she was going to charge, made it easier for me to understand and to distract her from the fear... she never was 'accepting' of others but knowing what I knew made it easier on ME..

good luck


On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with SPOTS..
Member:
Jerre

Posted on Saturday, Oct 30, 2004 - 11:54 am:

I have a mare who makes faces and protects her space in groups. The less busy she is, the more she acts out. When we're riding in a group, she's acts the best when she's most "with" me and really engaged in the gait or pattern. I increase my focus when I feel her thinking about the other horse.

If you have understanding people in your group, you can ask the OTHER rider to block your horse -- if it's YOUR horse moving into their space. That lets you be the "good guy" and as long as your horse stays quietly in your bubble, all is well.

If it's the other horse coming into your space, you can block him out, protecting your horse and remaining the leader.

Make sure that the other riders understand your strategy first!

At a recent clinic we were standing, mounted, in a semi-circle, listening to the instructor. My mare swung her face to the horse on the left. The rider blocked her with a raised stick (didn't hit, just had a barrier in place.) After encountering this a couple of times, my horse tried the other side. Same thing. Then she tried shuffling forward, so I asked for precise two steps left, two steps back, two steps right, two steps forward. That was too much work, so she finally sighed, DrOpped her head and went to sleep! All of this happened very quietly, but it sure worked!

I'm interested to hear that some geldings do this -- I've mostly encountered it with mares.

Jerre
New Member:
Autumn

Posted on Thursday, Feb 3, 2005 - 8:59 pm:

I'm a little behind on my emails and the last post on this was October 30 (ok...so I'm REALLY behind). I have a 14 y.o. gelding who pins his ears at me when I pass by him to get the grain for feeding. Never pins them when we're riding, pins them at his pasture mate whenever he feels like it, and sometimes pins at me when I'm grooming him...I just carry on and continue to do more grooming in the spot that seemed to tick him off. I've tried desensitizing him - rubbing his head and ears - when he does it but have given that up...he still pins them. It's more annoying than anything, I guess, and I don't feel threatened like he's ready to freak out. I chalk it up to him being cranky and have resolved to live with it.
Member:
Goolsby

Posted on Friday, Feb 4, 2005 - 9:19 am:

My boss mare pins her ears at the other horses in the field, the dogs and the cats. When she would pin her ears when I was near her I would give her a slap and yell. She is not threatening me but I dont like to see those ears pinned. Now all I have to do is say get those ears up.
Member:
Ajudson1

Posted on Friday, Feb 4, 2005 - 1:41 pm:

We have a coming 3 yr old filly who pins her ears at grain time, and it got to the point where she was getting pushy also. With her it's a fear thing too, she was a pity purchase and last horse to eat outa a herd of 15 and she was very malnourished. So she's always been worried she won't get her share.

What I've been doing is haltering her outside the stall, put a twine over her nose thru the halter rings, and then we go in, stop, and the minute she gets pushy/ears go back, we back and stop, repeat. We go past the grain bucket, out into the barn aisle, back to stall etc. Just keep her busy until her attitude improves. If she so much as dives in for the grain, we back again, circle, etc.

I am also rubbing her and speaking softly to her while she's standing and being good. She's a very smart little filly and catching on. Considering 2 other horses are eating during all this, she's improved in only 3 days of doing this.

I just wish I would of started this sooner while she was smaller. But I knew she was afraid so I was hoping it would resolve itself as time went on.

She isn't being slapped or yelled at and this seems to agree with her; she still comes running when I call her name!!
Member:
Kimbrly3

Posted on Thursday, Mar 10, 2005 - 12:09 pm:

So from what I'm getting is first figure out what your horse is meaning by it.
Well.... when I first approach my colt in his stall he pins his ears, then when I get right up to him, his ears go forward.
I don't get that one. No other horse I've had has ever done this.
I'm stumped on how to even address it.
Member:
Dyduroc

Posted on Friday, Mar 11, 2005 - 12:10 pm:

Some food for thought:

"In silhouette, an angry horse looks quite earless and it has been suggested that one of the reasons why humans can control horses so easily is that we must always appear dominant and ferocious to them simply because our own ears are forever pinned to the sides of our heads. In horse language this must make us seem very intimidating indeed, and there is nothing they can do--it must seem to them--to change our domineering mood. No matter how submissively they behave, we never prick up our ears in a greeting, or flop them out sideways in dozy subordination."

From Horsewatching by Desmond Morris
Member:
Lhenning

Posted on Friday, Mar 11, 2005 - 1:52 pm:

Interesting thought by Mr. Morris, but I don't agree. Though people coo and cuddle puppies, talk baby-talk to them, or dress them in clothing, 99.9% of these people actually know the animal is a puppy and not a baby. I think its the same with horses. I don't think they look at us and see another horse, they know full well we are a different species, and that is why they are on alert when near us. They simply don't know exactly how to interpret us and that alarms them. When our actions imply something they cannot figure out, they may fill in the blanks with behavior they do understand the same as we do when puppies whimper, but since we don't ever have ears that stand up they cannot use our ears for communication. They may not understand our earlessness while very young, but it would not take them long to understand we don't communicate that way. When we behave in ways they do understand, they relax, even when that behavior is not something another horse would do. Consider how talking to them in our various tones of voice can help shape their behavior. We don't sound at all like other horses, but the consistency of our tones becomes understood in time.

Happy trails,
Linda
Member:
Alden

Posted on Sunday, Mar 13, 2005 - 10:27 am:

I agree with Linda, I think lots of people think "natural horsemanship" and make the same mistake as Mr. Morris. "Natural horsemanship" should be using the way a horse behaves or reacts to train him in what you want. So of course I can't pin my ears, swish my tail or even kick like my mare. I can use pressure, space, timing and attitude to shape my horse's response to me and what I want.

Now where was this thread, oh yea. Our mare was real pushy at feeding time. I'd use pressure and make her stay away from the feed and hold my hand out. As soon as she reach out to smell my hand with ears forward I turn away and allow her access to the feed. At first it took awhile for her to try that option, but after a week or so it became routine and there was no more problem.

On the other hand a two year old filly would rush in all excited and dancing around. With her I used pressure to keep her away until she stopped moving for just a brief moment and I turn away allowing access. Now after a few weeks she approaches quietly and waits for me to get out of the away.

Two different problems but similar approaches using pressure and attitude.

Good luck and good day,
Alden
Member:
Christos

Posted on Sunday, Mar 13, 2005 - 1:54 pm:

Mr Morris would certainly appreciate Penner's "Wear-A-Mare Training System".
You can find it in the Humour section.
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