marco

[amanda125]

Marco is a 7 months old stud (I'm "told" his mother is a quarter horse and his father a nfld pony) and it appears that he was not handled much by his previous owners. So, we decided to start with the basic. (brushing, halter on-off, touching, raising hooves, etc)
He's catching on quickly and will even walk a little on lead, but he has some nasty habits. He bites, kicks, charges, head butts, and will pin you in the corner of the stall if your not careful. If anyone has any suggestions I'd love to hear them.

[htrimm08]

be VERY firm with him,
whenever he goes to bite give him a good smack on the nose, or threaten to.
when he kicks it sounds like hes being bossy, but you have to show him your not scared of him, even if you may be a little, do not back off. you have to punish him for it, id probably kick him back to be honest lol.
for the charging, if its out in the field then I would jump at him with flailing arms to ward him off, and the same with pinning in the stall.
basically show somehow that your not putting up with his bullshit.

all of these habits are about establishing who is boss, he does them to get his own way, but thats not how its supposed to be, a very important thing to learn with horses is that YOU HAVE to be the leader, if not it is a very dangerous situation for both you and the horse.

sounds like a typical stud. My suggestion would be to get him cut as soon as hes able.

[shelly]

Yeah, gelding him will cut down a LOT on the bad behaviour.

[amanda125]

we basically been doing what Heather suggested.
Talked to the vet and she says he won't be ready to cut until march or april.

[2stephanie]

hi,
just wondering how your doing with Marco

[amanda125]

Marco is doing great. I changed training techniques in July when he and Cheyenne became mine (even though they were living at my place they belonged to a friend - her horses / her way) and has gotten quicker and better results.
He's much calmer and willing. Lifts hooves with no trouble, stands for grooming and will pretty much let me pet him all over. I'm currently working on leading and helping him get over his fear of anything red. LOL