QUESTION: We have never had a horse before. We
bought a 4-year-old gelding. He is pretty nice to ride but
lately he has started pinning his ears back at us when we pet
him on his sides and flanks. Also when we approach him and
give him treats from our hands, he pins his ears at us. So we
try to do this everyday to show him we love him but he is
getting worse and worse. We are afraid he will start biting us
soon because he acts like he wants too?
ANSWER: This "Horse Behavior" is common in a horse
that does not have a lot of respect for his owner. First, the
touchiest places on a horse’s body are his sides, under his
belly and especially the thin skinned Flank area. When
grooming or stroking them there, do so with enough gentle
pressure to ensure you are not feeling to him like a pesky fly
on him or he may kick at you to get that annoying thing to
stop. Keep stroking these areas (up to 50 times continuously
without stopping) until he quits twitching his skin at your
touch. Once he stops, you stop shortly afterwards, don't keep
doing it. Personally I leave my horses flank area alone except
for grooming so I don't make a pest of myself.
Horses pin their ears because they are annoyed with the
human. Often they have become a bit spoiled and lack respect
for their humans. This happens with relatively new horse
owners. The new horse owner is spoiling them with incorrect
handling. We may think they all like being petted and patted
and fed treats all the time, but truthfully, many then lose
respect for the human instead. A person should never make a
habit of feeding treats to any horse by hand. They soon learn
to care only for the treats and may start biting when they
don’t get the treat. PLEASE remember no two horses are
created equal. Where one might like this constant pet, pet,
pet, another might not.
To put him in his place, when his ears go back, give one
sharp tug to the lead shank attached to the halter. And firmly
in a no nonsense voice say "QUIT". A sharp sounding
word that he will soon associate with his display of bad
temper. Of course, keep what is annoying him to a minimum.
