# Pawing the ground while I groom?



## LoveofOTTB (Dec 7, 2014)

Pawing is a sign of impatience, and so is moving around. Pawing is also very rude behavior, it gets under my skin when i see a horse paw. lol So I would put a stop to that right away, when she paws, give her either a little smack or give her a 'eh eh' noise and clap your hands. Also for her moving around, I have heard people will just leave their horses tied up for a long time, because she needs to learn to stand still. I actually had to put hobbles on my old mare, because she would paw and would not stand still, no matter what I did. The hobbles did work wonders, but for me that is a last resort.


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## boots (Jan 16, 2012)

I consider it poor manners.

When I am working with a horse it is to behave. I don't care what else is going on around us, or where we happen to be.

I thump them with my open hand and growl at them. If they continue, they get a tug on the lead.

I really appreciate tying one for long periods of time and letting it learn patience.

It's just rude to you and anyone else in the area for a horse to do that.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Undo her and back her up, at least 30'. Don't pet her then put her back. Repeat if necessary, backing twice as far the next time. If she refuses them make her move her hindquarters in two complete circles. She may want to quit after 1,1/2 half but make her finish the circle then put her back and start grooming. Take the time to fix this in one session. Often it takes three times for the horse to realize "momma makes me work when I do this". If she's in cross-ties she may feel trapped and anxious. Horses worry about predators lurking about and by being tied know they can't escape.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

Agree with Saddlebag. If your horse is tied while grooming I would think it's a tieing issue and you need to stop it.
It's rude and annoying. A couple of years ago a close camper in horse camp had her horse tied to her trailer. That horse pawed and struck at the trailer. Didn't seem to bother the owner...sort of like some people and their obnoxious kids. After about an hour I wanted to go shoot the darn thing!


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## TXhorseman (May 29, 2014)

Taylorwood said:


> I just got a new horse yesterday, and while I groom her she seems antsy, she paws the ground repeatedly and is constantly trying to move around. Is this just her way of showing that she's nervous or not accustomed to the new area yet?


You state that this is a new horse. This broadens the possibility of causes.

Of course, you could just deal with the pawing and make her stop doing it. This, however, would not address the cause.

The pawing could be an established habit unrelated to the current circumstances. However, it may also be a sign of nervousness due to a new handler or new surroundings. Additionally, it could be a sign of physical discomfort if this horse has been taught not to express its discomfort in other ways.

I would certainly give a new horse more latitude than another horse with whom I have already established a relationship. You don't want to spoil the horse by not disciplining it when necessary, but you do want to get to know its individual personality.

Before simply starting to handle a horse, talk to it. Think of this as a new doctor talking to you before he starts handling your body when giving you an examination.

Perhaps this horse is not even accustomed to being groomed or to being groomed in the fashion you are using. For example, if you have the horse in cross ties and it has always been groomed while unfettered, it may feel vulnerable and nervous.

Rub the horse's withers where its mother used to nuzzle it. When you begin to groom, do so with a firm but not rough contact. Too rough a contact may seem aggressive. Too light a contact might tickle.

While you don't want to reward bad behavior, you should want the horse to be comfortable in your presence. You also want the horse to trust that you will treat it kindly while grooming. Try talking soothingly to the horse as you groom. You might even try humming or singing softly as you groom. Soothing tones may help the horse relax. It may also distract its thoughts from anything that may be causing it anxiety.

Watch for other reactions of the horse beside the pawing which might give you a better feel for both the horse's state of mind and the physical sensations it is experiencing.


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## BreezylBeezyl (Mar 25, 2014)

Impatience, at least the majority of the time. And I agree with everyone else in regards to that it is rude and annoying. I used to ride a lesson horse that did this, and I would carry a crop on me and tap his leg or stomp my feet and make noises at him. He was old and set in his ways at 23 and he never really got over it, but it worked almost immediately with my current mare when she tried it on with me.

Now she will only do this on the rare occasion that she is alone in the barn and I disappear from her sight, to go into the barn or tack room or something else. She will stop when she sees me again. All alone, the barn is a scary place! She just wants some company. :lol:

Also, TXhorseman has some good points. If you don't know much about the horse, it may be a variety of things. Chances are if you discourage the pawing and there is an underlying cause, the horse may act out in a different way. If she doesn't do it ALL the time though, I'd rule it out as a behaviour/habit issue.


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## Dontworrybeappy (Jul 21, 2014)

My gelding does this- it drives me crazy!
I thump him on his shoulder and give him the uh uh noise that usually does the trick
And then every one in a while I will tie him to the tree of knowledge" and leave him there for a while


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## Taylorwood (Jan 2, 2015)

You all are life savers! Today I spent awhile backing her up and making the uh uh noise, which really helped! She still did try a bunch of times but definitely not the extent of what it was yesterday.


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## SummerBlaze1 (Jan 3, 2015)

Impatient!


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## ecasey (Oct 18, 2013)

I agree with TXhorseman. If it's a new horse, give it some latitude. You're going to see all kinds of temporary behaviors until he settles in, and until you wait for that, you could be punishing unnecessarily. Lots of those nervous behaviors will disappear on their own without the stress of slaps and so on. I know others will disagree with me, but I'm not one to punish my horse for just acting normally. When I have a nervous horse just expressing a little anxiety and I smack it for that, it tends to make the horse more anxious in my (limited) experience. Give it time and then see what to do.


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## Serendepity (May 16, 2014)

Thanks for asking this question. My hot red does the same thing. I do give her and open palm sharp thump to her shoulder to get her attention and and a firm no. Seems to help for a while. I'm going to try the back up and circle method now too. 
Glad it worked for you


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

Often a horse will try something and if it gets what it perceives as positive results it will continue to do this. I boarded one that started banging on the gate as I approached with her grain. I stopped turned my back and started walking away. A sneak peak revealed that she was walking away from the gate so I returned with her grain. After a few times she figured out that by walking away when she saw me approaching that she'd get her grain.


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## BreakableRider (Aug 14, 2013)

I address pawing while grooming pretty much like I do tying a buddy sour horse up. 

Lets look at most people's schedules, the majority of people will groom a horse before doing anything else so their horse will be fresh and may not be paying much attention. With a new horse, i'm the opposite. I'll pull that ****** out of the pasture and do some groundwork till I have that horse in tune to me, and if a horse is out of shape, a bit winded. 

Then i'll groom my horse untied while just holding the lead rope. At this point a horse is going to want to stand still and a good grooming will be nice. If my horse goes to paw or move around, that's fine, i'll take advantage of that energy and put my horse back to work for a couple minutes. After that i'll go back to grooming. 

It's all about taking advantage of what you've got and making the right thing really easy. A horse will learn very quickly that standing is the much more pleasant thing to do. After a couple days of this, I can generally then tie a horse for grooming. I may still work the horse before hand, but i'll tie to groom. When the horse is great with that, I go straight to grooming.


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## Hayden69 (Mar 19, 2014)

Has anyone tried the pawing bracelet? Was thinking about giving it a try, but didn't know if it was worth buying.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Not a fan of making a horse move when the objective is for it to stand still.

I don't let them get started, if an older horse, will work with voice, and may tap leg with whip that is doing the offending.

I also suggest teaching a "be still" command, use whatever wording you want, I've used anything from "be still" to get on your feet, park out, stay, quit it, plant 'em...and a combo of all if needed.

But horses are perfectly capable of standing still for hours if the boss mare wants to. They can do it for you.


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Hayden69 said:


> Has anyone tried the pawing bracelet? Was thinking about giving it a try, but didn't know if it was worth buying.


Can do it, but the root is still going to be there, as horse will know when it is on, and not on.

Best to deal with it and stop behavior.

And if the pawing bracelet you are talking about is what I think it is? Gimmick.


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

We humans try to correct unwanted behaviour in a language horses are unfamiliar with. Yelling and smacking don't cut it. Key amongst horses is getting another to move away. This is how the hierarchy is established. When asking a horse to back up or move laterally you are telling it to move away, that you are the dominant one. A reward to a horse is leaving it alone and asking nothing of it. If you teach your horse to be patient and stand while at liberty it will stand quietly almost anywhere. Understand that a tied horse knows it can't escape that predator that is lurking about and wants him for dinner. Often just tossing the lead over his back instead of tying him helps him relax. Knowing he can escape a horse will often stand still. One of my horses will stand with his feet glued to the ground. I can leave and come back two minutes later and he's still waiting, even in the pasture. He will wait until given the "all clear" signal. One day I forgot to do that and 15 min later he was still standing on the same spot, waiting.


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