Young horse problems with hind legs?

I'd go with Bubbles on this one. She pretty much has advised the same approach I would have advised.

Greater than the fracture and arthritis i would be watching into the bone ailment. Finding out exactly what it is and how dangerous it's would be the deciding factor on wether or to not retire your horse. Do not ever asume cause you can't see whatever that your vet is wronge: however in the event you do have your reservations about it- get a 2d and 1/3 opinion and be aware of for definite what you might be dealing with and what to count on before you panic. Fractures will and do heel with at any place from a number of monthes to a yr of stall rest relying on the severity. Definately now not out taking part in within the hills, and driving is out of the question unless you get a easy x-ray. Your vet must have cought the fracture the primary time, that has handiest prolonged you therapy time. You have to be careful of ache killers. Your horse wants to feel sufficient agony to stay off that leg so it can heel. Anti-inflamitorys would support though. Also, it helps to rap him in quilts and stable bandages to offer the opposite legs help in bearing the additional weight. Arthritis just isn't a death sentence. Despite the fact that you can't remedy it, you could experience again. There are plenty of joint supplements out in the marketplace. They don't seem to be affordable, but they make a difference. Anything containing Glucosamine and Chondrotin (within the absolute best miligrams possible) will aid generally. They aid the physique produce the fluid that's missing within the joints that intent the soreness of arthritis. That is utilized in people and pets with first-class success. That is provided that the bone disorder will not be the underlying root of all his problems. I desire you the great of good fortune.

This behavior can be quite common in young horses. They love to "test the waters" and see what they can get away with. I'm guessing this isn't a medical issue since he's only 3 years old; I believe he's simply trying to establish who is the dominant "horse" in your relationship with him. I would definitely bring a whip with you and give him a good smack when he even threatens to strike out.

If you observe horses in the wild they kick the living daylights out of each other to establish dominance, and once dominance is established the horses at the low end of the totem pole are respectful to the dominant horse.

Kicking at you is NO excuse no matter where your horse is. At a show, a new stable...anywhere. That behavior is unacceptable and as you know, is very very dangerous and someone could get seriously hurt. Give him a smack when he threatens, and if he kicks out even more give him another smack, eventually he will learn that behavior is not going to be tolerated and he won't do it anymore. If you don't address the issue he thinks he is doing nothing wrong and the problem will get worse if not corrected.

Good luck!

ok i agree with a couple answers on here. first you should make sure there is no medical problems. idk why there would be but you never know. horses do everything for a reason, they don't lie. someone on here said that but they said he isnt acting up. well the first part is true %100. but acting up is a reason. my 2 year old does that same thing( well not that bad) all the time. drives me up the wall. he doesnt try to get away but he will try to bite me or walk from left to right or he will pick it up and stomp it down. so it sounds like a respect issue. i think he may be testing you which is what babies do, its normal. i also don't think a whip is going to help. it will just work him up more. i think you shoud work him in the round pen really good so he's got some energy out.and then have someone hold him as oppose to tying him becuase you do not want him to think that if he's tied and he doesn't want to be all he has to do is throw a fit and he gets away. so go to where ever you tie him and have someone hold him that can handle it if he freaks out. try to pick up his foot and be firm with him. if he trys to run away or somthing. try having the person hold him in front of a wall or in front of something that prevents him from going forward. just whatever you do don't give up if you can't get it ask one of your trainers for help but you want to make sure that you lift up that foot or he's going to learn bad habits. I hope this helps good luck

oh great. your brilliant trainer says to whip the horse? that'll get you a good kick out for sure.

the horse doesn't just "act up" because he feels like it. so, if he was 100% perfect at picking up his feet, he would.

horses don't like to argue with people. it's stressful.

that said....

Did you pick his feet up before you bought him? was he 100% truly perfect then?

if so...then maybe he was off balance or he was not comfortable where you were, or you were being rude when you asked (pinched or grabbed or startled him)

((hope you got a vet check before you bought him!)))

if not...then that's the problem, he's not 100% trained to pick his feet up.

either way...

Solution:

don't punish him. simply test with a lead rope and toss that around his hind feet and if he's great with that, then put the rope around one leg and ask him to "lead" with that (lead him around by his lead rope attached to the halter as normal, but also add some tension on the rope around his leg)

if he's great with the rope around his leg at a stand still and while being led around, then you know he's ok about his feet being handled.

so...

step 2:

ask him to square up, and then ask for the hoof, pick it up, hold it for a second, rub his leg, and then release it and give him a treat (or just praise)

using a treat to reward him for letting you pick his foot up can be a very fast way for him to want to pick his foot up and let you handle it easy. rewards lead to better understanding instead of punishment.

I would do the round penning or whatever else you were going to do...(but please don't just chase him around in the round pen. that's not round penning, hope you know that already).

Then pick his feet up when he gets a chance to relax.

He might have just had some energy and asking him to stand still at that time was not something he wanted to do.

Whatever the reason, just pick his feet every time you handle him and be gentle about it, but not wimpy. Praise for good behavior.

This youngster needs to go off to a professional trainer if you're coming here about getting his hind feet picked up. Not picking a horse's feet is NOT good horsemanship. If he's testing you, you should already have the solution in your head if you've "worked with young horses before".

You're headed for trouble and this horse is doomed if you need YA! for help.

The horse could've been drugged, could have a lameness issue, could have a behavioural issue, or could simply be testing you. What would YOU do in each of these situations? You should know those answers like the back of your hand and if not I suggest selling this horse to someone who CAN handle him.

So long as it's not a medical issue, then I'd punish him for his behaviour. He's picked his feet up for you before, so this is probably him just testing you to see what he can get away with. He needs to know that this behaviour is unacceptable to you.

Next time he threatens you with a raised leg, pawing, ripping his hoof out of your hands, etc, give him a smack. But make sure you only react equally to what he deserves. Over-reacting will make him anxious and afraid of you. Under-reacting won't teach him much.

Id work with him in the round pen, theres no reason to really smack your horse with a whip... in my opinion, a whip is a training aid, not a correctional aid. work with his feet in the round pen too.. chaise him off until hes licking chewing/ being submissive, give him the ok to let him in your bubble, then play with his feet.. if he starts to be disrepectful chase him off until hes being submissive again. seems like hes just being a disrepectfull baby.

horses don't just act up. they do what ever they do for a reason. in this case there was probably something in your approach to picking up his feet that caused his instinct for self preservation to take over. maybe he wasn't balanced right when you picked up his foot. none of this is cause for punishment. go slow, he's still a baby. work on gaining his trust with ground work and getting him to where you can put your hands anywhere on his body with no grief. when you go to pick up his feet make sure his feet are arranged to where he'll be able to balance himself on three feet. try not to pull his foot up, instead teach him to pick it up himself.