Is sugar ok?

[lovechick]

Ok heres my question, at the equine center where i work theres this pony thats really mean, since hes really fury he has a lot of dirt on him and when I wanna clean him, he snaps with his teeth on me, does it every time, u cant even pet him, its like hes always mad at someone or something. Could that be because the pony was abused or abandoned previously? and maybe kinda hates people(its not just me)? Also when I was reading the horse book it says that if a horse tries to bite you, it means that its trying to control you and you have to show whos the boss .. and slap a horse on a muzzle. Well I talked to my dad about it and he suggested to take another alternative, to maybe give this pony some special treats(besides carrots, that he gets every time) like sugar(cubed kind) or something else... Is that ok? is sugar ok for horses health? and will it help me to bond more with this little guy(he so cute!! and chuby with big dark eyes):blush: :blush: :blush:

Thanks!!:queen: :kiss: :queen:


http://www.mda.state.mi.us/kids/countyfair/animals/ponies/pony.jpg

[MagnoliaFly]

Treats wont solve his problem. If he is already snapping at you then giving him treats indicate (to him) that what he is doing is ok and he will get rewarded. Talk to the owner/rider/trainer and see what his history is like, he may just be a snappy pony. Some do it for attention because they have so much energy. If he tries to bite you step out of the way and move his head by pulling his halter. He may be scared of you since he doesnt recognize you. Get a friend to hold his head and pet him, some horses need extra attention and enjoy being coddled. Be sure that if he snaps at you while your brushing him, that may be a ticklish spot or a spot that is bruised or sore. Horses cant just say "that hurts!" or "that tickles!" so they do it in other ways.
Is he a young pony and untrained or broken to ride?

[lovechick]

Thats what i ussually do when I brush him, I hold him by the halter and brush him with other hand...but its kinda hard, and yes the pony is trained and little kids ride on him all the time... maybe they treat him bad or something... i'm not sure...
Well thanks again..:agree:

[SacredWarGirl23]

If you give him a treat he will continue his bad behavor. If he is good and doesn't try to bite then give him a treat. Just don't carry it in oyur pockets. Leave it outside the stall until you are finished with him. He could have possibly been abused. Is he scared of other people or just you? Sometimes horses are like that for no reason at all. Most of the time it is how they were raised. If they were treated mean they will normally be mean too. But like I said they can just be mean for no reason at all. I would suggest trying just standing outside his stall and just talk to him. most people say that that doesn't work, but it does. It's worked for me on other abused and mistreated horses. And be patient with him and be very gentle with him. If you can get him calmed down some to where he is happier and not so bitey, use soft rags and brushes and run them over him. Don't use stiff bristled brushes, save them until later. Is he always like this? Sometimes it is there way of trying to tell people that they may not feel good. Have you ever riden him or put the saddle on him? If you have what's he like to put a saddle on? Is he really jumping and gets really mean? If so, it may mean that there is something internally wrong, such as a broken rib.
Good Luck
Haley:agree:

[lovechick]

Thanks a lot you guys!! The pony is pretty mean to everyone not just me, theres also like 2 more horses like that too..well the owner buys the horses from this horse dealer person, so i guess they were in that kinda atmosphere where theyre not used to people much and now they are... so big change for them too..

I'll try to do what you guys said, thanks a lot!!
:D

[Shemmyboy]

My pony does that all the time!!!!!! Try hitting him on the rump, neck and rarely on the muzzle if hes really bad. And yell at him to when he tries to bite you. not like stop it pony like STOP IT YOU #@!%^*#! PONY!!!!!! SORRY alittle overdone but basically like that. PRAISE HIM SOOOOOOOOOOOOO MUCH WHEN HES GOOD!!!!!!!!!!! This really works. try instead of brushing him in his stall, to brush him in the cross ties or you can install crossties in the stall. of course, always ask the owner or the person in charge if you can do this. Is he really nice on horseback, but has really bad ground manners? My pony's a little powerhouse and is totally fearless. Just REALLY wants to groom you and make FRIENDS!!!! of course, in horse language this would mean biting and do tiny nips on you. Is he REALLY SOCIAL??????
try this...

[PyscoFalcon]

You shouls NEVER yell or hit a horse/pony.

Tie him up short so he can't turn round to bite you but can still eat hay (which should be availble at all times when working with and around him)

Then use a soft bush or even a cloth gentle work around his body. Keep prasing him and talking in a soft smooth voice. You can give 1 treat only at the VERY END before lettign him loose to enforce his good behaviour.

It will take a whlie but he needs to earn your trust.

[Shemmyboy]

excuse me, but that's like saying don't yell a kid ever. Some times they really need some dicipline!!! I'm not saying hit him alot, just when he's bad! If you have some time and you are riding or on the ground, THINK POSITIVE. Praise him ALOT.

[Nevertoomany]

NEVER tie a horse short when grooming him
If you have ever seen a horse flip and break it's neck you would know why.

And when you are grooming a horse should NOT have access to hay.

Lovechick there may be other issues here.

Ponies are often broken to ride by adults or large children. They are not always handled with the kindness we afford horses because they have a general bad reputation.

I have to go with just be kind. Say NO and if you thump the pony do it under the chin . If they can't see you, they don't know you are doing the hitting so it may not associate you with the thump.

Try gently talking to the pony. Maybe sing a lullaby . See if this helps. It may not have good ground manners cause little kids are always hanging on it.....

You can say anything you want to it ....
they only know tone of voice so say anything just niclely UNLESS you are disaplining. A simple sharp NO! usually works.

You may NOT get this guys behavior to change. WIthout knowing the cause -- it is very hard to undo. Kindness often works wonders.

Just keep at it.

Wwe resuced a pony that took about 6 people to catch but once caught had perfect ground manners and was wonderful undersaddle. This never changed in all the years we had him.

[Shemmyboy]

Bravo, Nevertoomany!!!! Definitely that is great advice. I was a little excited at the time i typed that entry. sorry. So tell me about this adopted horse you got! That sounds really interesting.

[Nevertoomany]

He was a very pretty small shetland pony.

Was going to the meat market and I couldn't stand it.

So i put a lead line on and walked him to my barn.

His halter was embedded in his mane.

He was very fat ( meat market).

And very leary of people.

But we worked on him and found that once caught he was a real sweet heart.

After a few years of using him for some lessons we just left him alone to be a pasture buddy to a friends older horse.
He eventtually diesd peacefully in his sleep .
We think he was about 25 or more at the time. Never really knew.

[Shemmyboy]

awwww. Maybe I should do that wehen I get my first owned horse. hmmmm.:angel:

[booger7139]

[/SIZE] well ponies usually are ridden by smaller kids and the ponies can take over them and do whatever they want to the rider and the young kid wont do anything so they learn bad behavior also try a muzzle wont hurt him but it may teach him not to bite you! [COLOR=deeppink] [COLOR=deeppink][SIZE=3]

[SacredWarGirl23]

Nevertoomany,

Sorry to hear about your horse. That reminded me of a horor story I heard that unfortunatley was true. I don't know if you heard of it but there was this man who owned a bunch of ponies. After awhile he quite taking care of them and his place got really run down. A horse rescue society went out their to check it out because I think someone said there was a whole herd of ponies being mistreated. The rescue society went out there and they found a collapsed barn, a run down place, and a herd of starved ponies. Almost all of the ponies had to be put down. They had huge sores all over them and their hooves were so over-grown some couldn't even walk. Some of them made it but barely. All the ponies were starved and dying. Then they went and looked in the barn and found a pony trapped inside it. The barn had collapsed. I think the pony had been in there six months or something like that. It was a beautiful bay stallion. They had to put him down to because of his sores and his hooves were so over-grown that he couldn't even walk. They sent the man who owned them to court and know he isn't even aloud to own a goldfish. This story appeared in a Western Horsemen Magizine. That was just horrible.

~Haley~

[Mitchandozzie]

omg tahts jsut horrible:(

[Shemmyboy]

glad we have animal services for that. What kind of person could actually live in peace knowing that he was responsible for an animal's death?!!!:mad: :confused: