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  Discussion on Ear pinning escalating due to stall rest
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Member:
jent

Posted on Sunday, Jul 19, 2009 - 7:46 pm:

We bought a 9yo gelding about a year ago and the previous owners warned us about his ear pinning. Only happens in his stall (and only sometimes in the pasture, even though he would walk right up to you), and we figured that he was entitled to have his own 'turf' but only because it was not a physical threat. When you approached him he'd pin his ears... but as soon as you put his halter on, his ears go forward. He was very mouthy and looked for treats so we confined his treats to a bucket only - no hand feeding. One could work around him in his stall, even when he eats, picking his stall, go near his food, put bell boots on for turn out, etc... No problem.

Between Mar & Jun, he spent a lot of time in his stall recovering from an abscess. His behavior didn't really escalate then, although after recovery, once at a show, his breakfast was late (because he'd had a late dinner due to the time we hauled in) and he did swerve a bit and bucked.

Last week, he threw a shoe on Tues so he was in his stall until the farrier came on Fri. He'd been allowed to hang his head out of the feed door to look around. The b.o. said that he bit two kids at the barn so she wanted his door kept shut. A witness said that they were messing with his face at dinner time... he was watching food being served but it wasn't his turn yet and he was ancy.

Yesterday, he colicked mildly in the morning so we had to withhold his food for the day and only fed 1/4 flake every 2 hrs today. Well, he's famished and upset at being indoors again... and I can't say that I think the barn owner is treating him kindly... Of course he was waiting at the door for his hay when he saw it coming. I made him move to the corner where he's fed and he did, ears pinned, head down and looking away. As soon as he sensed the hay coming forward, he grabbed for it teeth bared, ears pinned.

So if this behavior continues, what should I do? I'm not sure he'll ever get the hint that I want his ears forward. I'm not afraid of him at all but I think some others at the barn are, so he's been able to dominate. We are moving barns at month-end until I can find my own property so this would be a good time to establish new routines. Any ideas as to where to start?
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Sunday, Jul 19, 2009 - 11:19 pm:

I took care of a horse like this who would pin his ears every time I would bring his food to him when his owner was hospitalized for a broken pelvis.

After he had been on my farm for about 3 weeks I let my guard down a bit. One evening when I entered the big stall that he was eating in there were two piles of hay at each end of the 24' stall and I walked in between the piles. He raced at me from the other end of the stall, immediately got into my face and grabbed my ear on the opposite side away from him, biting right through my earlobe and nearly tearing it off. Not a fun injury to have! It was a very frightening experience and I never let my guard down with him again, ever!

When I went away for a few days a friend and neighbor of mine fed the horses for me. I had warned her about him. She has a lot of experience training dogs and also has worked with dolphins.

If the horse pinned his ears at her approach with his feed she would quietly walk away and not give it to him. She would then sit up in my barn and read for a while before trying again.

Every time he would repeat the bad behavior she would quietly refrain from feeding him.

After a few tries he quit the ear pinning and received his food.

The next day he reverted back to the bad behavior so she repeated the exercise and he corrected his manners much more quickly.

I was able to continue with this method and when I sent him home again a few months later he had quit the ear pinning at dinnertime.

Interestingly, the horse who did this is not one who is high on the pecking order with the other horses. In fact I could not turn him out with my Paint horse and had to turn him out only with my most mild-mannered boy who he got along with just fine. In fact, they would even stand in a small stall together and eat hay side by side.

I found out later that this horse had a history of biting his owner including once on the lip and another time grabbing her by the shoulder of her coat and dragging her along. I saw him kick her in the leg once for no good reason at all. He obviously did not respect her.

The people who had him previously had wanted to get rid of him because of his "rogue" behavior and traded him for a quarter horse that my friend gave for him.

When I got my Paint horse he had been handled pretty roughly for a few years, had had to fight others in the herd off for his food and had been "cowboyed" quite a bit all around. Being inexperienced at that time I ignored his ear pinning that would take place in his stall when grooming him. The pinning eventually escalated into a couple of biting episodes. After he would do this he knew it was wrong, that he was in trouble and he expected and received punishment.

His personality is generally aggressive and he IS at the top of the pecking order on my farm but if he pins his ears at me at all I immediately point my finger at him and verbally reprimand him. That is all that it takes for him to knock it off, but sometimes I still have to let him know I'm not accepting ANY threatening behavior. If I didn't do this it is possible that his behavior could again escalate. I am not worried about him acting out as long as I immediately respond to any posturing on his part.

I don't have to be ugly or aggressive to simply and quietly let him know that he is out of line. Sort of like the alpha mare stretching her neck out.

If anyone else is caring for him who might not understand his body language I insist that he be tied for grooming.

When he first arrived at my farm he was demonstrative about anything to do with anyone being around him while he was eating but he stopped this behavior entirely once he learned that he could trust me and that no one was trying to take his food away.

If any of the other horses come into a stall while he is eating, however, he will immediately react, resulting in their immediate expulsion.

He is very good for me though, and to take his food away from him while he is eating it is no problem at all, and I have done so when I accidentally dumped the wrong food pan or noticed that some hay was a little "off."

He trusts that everything will work out for him if he cooperates willingly with me.

I am his alpha mare.

You should be able to find a way to alter the undesirable behavior of your horse, especially when you have him on your own property and don't have others giving him mixed signals.
Member:
jent

Posted on Sunday, Jul 19, 2009 - 11:44 pm:

Wow Vicki... thanks so much for taking the time to write all that background. That really helps. Now that people have seen this behavior, he's not going to be treated well. The barn owner is refusing to turn him out bec he hates her (wonder why - note sarcasm) so that just means more trips to the barn every day.

I will start working with him though, with his food... we'll see if my walking away with it makes him nuts or whether he will figure it out. I'm going to make sure we're well past this colic thing first though.
Member:
annimule

Posted on Monday, Jul 20, 2009 - 8:13 am:

Re: ear pinning I have had wonderful results by clicker training for ears forward. I work with donkeys and mules but have a friend who has taught this to her horse. The reason for teaching it is to change the "mood" of the horse. Kind of like people smiling even if we are in a bad mood. It makes us feel a bit better.

I don't know if you are familiar with clicker training but basically, you click, you don't need a clicker, just make a "clock" with your tongue on the roof of your mouth, or say "YES!" every time you get the desired behavior. Follow immediately with a treat. If he has trouble taking treats politely, feed them from a dish. I use hay stretcher pellets, one at a time. Just stand in front of his stall. Click every time his ears go forward. It will take him a while to understand the "game" and the fact that he controls the vending machine, but once he does, you are golden. Once he is doing it 99 percent of the time, you can give the behavior a name.."ears up", whatever. Once you have the behavior on cue, you only c/t when you ask for it.
There is a lot more to it, fading the c/t etc. You can find info on line or feel free to email me privately and I'm happy to talk you through it.
annimule@dishmail.net

You could also start with teaching him to target an object. I use a small orange cone. Present the cone to him, at first he will hit it with his nose out of curiosity. CLICK IT! put the cone behind your back and deliver a treat. It helps to have him in his stall with a bucket in which you can DrOp his treat. That way you can keep yourself safe. There is some level of frustration on the animal's part at first, as they try to figure out what their silly human wants now. They quickly get into the game tho.

You might want to read Alexandra Kurland's book Clicker Training Your Horse and read about Fig.

Good luck.
Member:
jent

Posted on Monday, Jul 20, 2009 - 8:41 am:

Thanks Ann! I'd heard about clicker training, also for dogs, but I haven't ever tried it. That, in fact, might be better than standing and waiting with his grain, or walking in an out with it, at least in the beginning. I can only imagine the fit he might throw if I walked away with his food for the 5th time... without really knowing why.
Member:
vickiann

Posted on Monday, Jul 20, 2009 - 11:34 am:

Yes, clicker training is good and can also be used in combination with what my friend did with the walking away. She has used clickers with puppy training.

It is pretty amazing how quickly horses can pick up on the idea of cause and effect. I think that it may have been about five times walking away on the first day but only two or three the next day and then follow through wasn't too difficult. Each horse has his or her own genetics and personality plus experiences that have effected their lives over time, and we have learned they have long memories about things that have been bad experiences for them.

Especially after experiences at this stable, you will have to spend time working on building a trusting relationship resulting in your horse believing that you will be fair and consistent.

Rewards for good behavior is one thing, but with some horses you still need to let them know that posturing for a higher position over you won't be ignored. As you become more attuned to communicating with your horse through body language, which is how he is communicating with you, a wag of the finger/verbal reprimand will cause those ears to go forward again quickly and effectively.

To tolerate the behavior puts you at risk for an increased level of aggression, which may happen days, weeks or months after ignoring the posturing.
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