He’s just evil

[Sadie.AndTheMini]

Ok so I just got a new mini from a man I work with. Never been handled hardly walked on a lead. He is walking on a lead now just have some distance. My main issue is he kicks bites and paws. He’s just evil. I only took him because he was gonna be put down because no one can handle him for vet care ext. he’s the cutest thing looks like a little bear but he’s just not fixable. He’s an adult not a colt or a yearling. Idk if this training is possible but I’m up for tips and tricks. He LOVES cookies and treats maybe I can use that
(Pic of the evil little booger trying to kill me when I unloaded him.)

 

[Kelly]

Oh wow! I am so glad you saved him and he is too!! How long have you had him?? How old is he? Is he gelded? If not, I would geld him ASAP! I would hold off on any treats if he bites, kicks, and paws as treats might reinforce the behavior. I’m not a big treat giver anyways… maybe with an extremely shy horse I was trying to warm up to, but that doesn’t sound like the case with him. You’ll need a firm hand, training is possible but it is going to take lots of time and consistency. Don’t let him get away with anything, no matter how cute he is! And “Little Booger” is a CUTIE!! I would also carry a whip with me at all times and I wouldn’t be afraid to use it.

Have you had horses before? If not, maybe find a trainer or a new friend who has some experience.

I had a little devil pony a few years ago, he hated me. I worked with that little SH$T for over a year and finally sold him to a kid who devil pony absolutely loves! Match made in heaven! So if he doesn’t work out, PM me.…Louisiana can’t be that far from TX, I’d be happy to take him off your hands

 

[JFNM miniatures]

Oh wow! This is just like my 7 yo stallion’s story! Except he wasn’t going to be put down… but he was in such a bad condition! And yes training is possible, but it will be time consuming at first and probably hard, to be honest. But it’s possible! My stallion was the most wild horse ever. He couldn’t be caught with a halter, couldn’t be walked with it and couldn’t be brushed. Sum it up, i couldn’t do anything with him. After 6 months of working with him, he will let me brush, clean his hoofs, lead him etc. Now I’m in the process of training him by lunge. I’m still not sure what to train him for, but I think he would make a perfect jumping horse, hence his name Jumper.


1. what I would not stop stressing is the importance of being patient and calm. Even if at times you need to raise your voice, stay calm, never scream, it just makes things worse ( i know by experience). Reward him even for the littlest progresses. His confidence will grow and he will trust you more.

Monty Roberts used to say: “do as if you had only 15 minutes and it will last a day. Do as if you have a whole day, and it will take 15minutes” not the exact words, but that’s the idea. I always use this principle and it works, so amazing!

2. try to find something he likes doing, and use the fact that he likes treats to encourage him whenever he does that thing well. It could be coming to see you, being scratched (you’ll need the find that special spot that he likes being scratched).

3. By any chance, did you try brushing him or something? My stallion just loved being played in his mane, so I would endlessly comb his mane, just for him to see I was not bad after all and he could trust me. I would even comb him with his brush and eventually, he saw the brushing motion was nothing to be afraid of. Today, I can completely groom him and pick his hooves and he just loves it.

4. give him time to get adjusted in his new home and observe him in everything he does. Watch how he reacts to things and don’t intervene. Those observation times have helped me so much to get to know my stallion and to understand why he was so scared and fighty with everything.

And finally, thank you for giving him a second chance! He is quite handsome and looks like Jumper, my little stallion!

 

[MaryFlora]

First I want to say, Welcome! Awesome you are willing to give him a chance!
You are in the right forum for great insights, experience, and advice!

Agree with Kelly, if he isn’t gelded that has to be the first step. If you have the vet out, I’d have his teeth checked at the same time, just in case there is an issue.

You will probably get lots of feedback and it may seem overwhelming, but as you read through the posts, see what advice or tips make sense to you, your stabling, and your new horse and go from there!

One more thought, horses react according to their instincts, without the intentional malice people can bring, fight or flight being two primary instincts. He could have excellent reasons for his behavior, as in off loading from the trailer. Did he load willingly? Was he forced in? He could have been quite scared.

As Kelly said in her experience, your little horse may take months of consistent patient work. Be safe!

 

[chandab]

As to gelded or not... Even if he appears to be gelded, perhaps a vet check is in order, perhaps he's cryptorchid, retained testicles can make some more difficult; or if not crypt, perhaps still producing too much testosterone. Worth looking into.
Only thing I have at the moment.

 

[Abby P]

Good advice so far, I would just say, a lotta lotta these little guys have been manhandled and forced and who knows what-all to get them to do things. I find with my guy that he has the potential to leap straight into being combative if something makes him anxious. So unless your guy is combative to the point of charging you or coming at you if you enter his area, I would consider just spending a lot of quiet time there while he eats or whatever, not asking him for anything except to be calm in your presence. Start with a fence between you if he's not safe. Don't ever allow him to be pushy or invade your space in a rude way - but when you send him out of your space, focus on owning your space, not on chasing him out or punishing him. Just make it clear that the space is yours and he can come in respectfully if invited, otherwise it's off-limits, but you don't want him to feel that you're coming after him in any way. I find using a rope to smack the ground with my focus on KILLING that spot on the ground (like there is the yuckiest bug I've ever seen there) really works well - it isn't about them, but it gets their attention and has the desired effect, and also piques their curiosity (what is this insane human doing).

As you spend time with him you'll figure out what he likes and what is hardest for him and use those things to inform how you move forward. For example if he loves to have his withers scratched, but doesn't like a person around his hind end, you can give scratches in exchange for incrementally standing nearer and nearer to his trouble area. It may seem incredibly, incredibly slow and like you're doing nothing but every minute you spend you are doing something! Some of them need a lot of thinking time in between sessions and sometimes if you give them that time you'll be amazed how they seem to just start "getting it" when you may feel like you never really worked on "it" per se.

 

[Taz]

All good advise. If he's had almost no handling and what he's had probably wasn't good your working with fear and no reason to trust. Training is always possible no matter the age or how bad their background is, if a mature mustang can be gentled and turn into a pocket pal anything is possible. You need to take as much time as he needs, it's all on his timing not yours. Spend lots of time just hanging near him being super relaxed, let him come to you and always touch you first, if he wants to move away let him. The kicking and biting is defensiveness, the pawing is anxiety. Work on the relationship the two of you have and don't worry about 'training' him, that's the easy part once you have his trust.

 

[Marsha Cassada]

People frequently assume a bad acting animal was abused. Not always the case. Some are born with a short in their brains somewhere. But it is true that miniature horses are frequently man handled and abused by people. Twisting ears, smacking their heads, jerking, yelling--
You may need to just consider him a yard ornament for a while, until you can figure each other out. For vetting and hooves, maybe you can get a sedative to top dress his feed from the vet.
You can learn a lot from this guy, even if you don't keep him.

 

[Cayuse]

He's probably fixable with time and patience. You've gotten great advice from everyone. I'm just going to add one thing I noticed from the photo and I know a photo is capturing just one second of time, but it reminded me of something I did/still do with a difficult mini that I own which is holding him close to his face. For some reason he hates this and it brings out the worst in him. It triggers his biting and dominant behavior and sets up a battle. Also if he pulls back, I have learned (actually was taught by my vet) to give him his head and go with him. That way it does not turn into a pulling war. Please know I'm not criticizing your handling, it just reminded me of me.

 

[JFNM miniatures]

He's probably fixable with time and patience. You've gotten great advice from everyone. I'm just going to add one thing I noticed from the photo and I know a photo is capturing just one second of time, but it reminded me of something I did/still do with a difficult mini that I own which is holding him close to his face. For some reason he hates this and it brings out the worst in him. It triggers his biting and dominant behavior and sets up a battle. Also if he pulls back, I have learned (actually was taught by my vet) to give him his head and go with him. That way it does not turn into a pulling war. Please know I'm not criticizing your handling, it just reminded me of me.

Ditto to Cayuse

I had the exact same problem with Jumper! And when I stopped the pulling war, all was peace! Instead of focusing on resisting his pull,I taught him to follow me and now I don’t need any tension on the lead for him to follow me.

And yes, never hold him too close to his halter and leave him his space, and he will leave you yours. I find horses are very reciprocal to us in their reactions.

And yes, please don’t think we are criticizing your handling, because I know how frustrating it can be when the horse doesn’t seem to understand we are not trying to hurt him. I’m just pointing out that I’ve experienced the same thing as Cayuse…. And with some work, your little boy will calm down.

 

[HersheyMint]

So much great advice for you here.
Thank you for saving him.

 

[Silver City Heritage Farmstead]

4. give him time to get adjusted in his new home and observe him in everything he does. Watch how he reacts to things and don’t intervene. Those observation times have helped me so much to get to know my stallion and to understand why he was so scared and fig

Everything everyone has said is good advice. In my opinion, the above quote by JFNM miniatures is the key one to start with.

Unless it's ABSOLUTELY necessary, for the next week or so I'd do this. Every time we are within our animals' (including pets) AWARENESS we are training/communicating with them whether we're aware of it or not. Science never ceases to amaze me when the consensus is that animals are dumb. They're a zillion times better at learning to speak "human" than we are at speaking "animal."

Observing how he lives in his world will be a great help to you. If something spooks him, does he leap and get as far away as he can? Does he startle, snort and turn to look? Run at what spooks him..."I'll get 'it' before 'it' gets me?" How quickly does he calm down? Is he always on high alert, or is he calm when he thinks he's not being observed? Does he immediately become tense once he's aware of people close, but only curious when nature is in his awareness area?

The answers to all these questions will be of great help when you begin formal training.

In closing, I want 2nd dibs on him! North Carolina is further away than Texas...buuuut....

 

[Marsha Cassada]

I agree about holding too close to the head on the halter. Give him some space to feel he can flee if he has to.