l have a 12 year old arabian gelding among other horses however he is the only one giving me trouble....he is very well mannered with my children but when l attempt to tie him up weather it be in cross ties or a hitching post he flips out bucking rearing up and so on yesterday when l was cleaning his stall he actually had gotten himself tangled in the cross ties and almost choked himself out l had to unhook him quickly and bring him to pasture while l cleaned the stalls... also he has an issue with his back feet being touched and almost broke my farriers wrist in the process...i wanna keep him because l will never get what l paid for him without lying and l wo not do that also my children especially my son appears to have a very strong bond with him...what can l do to calm him down??????HELP!!!!!!

A friend of mine has a palomino gelding that is sensitive on his back legs because his previous owners hit him repeatedly with a crop there. He has cow kicked her a few times. But she has learned if she runs her hand down the side of belly towards his legs he calms down. You can try that. For tying up l would practice tying him outside. It could just be being tied inside that freaks him out. It is going to take time tho.

Kicking and spooking are serious matters that should be addressed by a professional horseman or woman with experience. It can be dangerous even with a small pony, to try and 'fix' a vice such as pulling back when tied or kicking and it is much safer for you and your children if you seek professional help. l suggest looking locally for a trainer with good references and qualifications.

is he only like this when tying up? is he bombproof when it comes to riding? have his back feet been checked for any soreness or stiffness.it sounds like he needs some more ground manner training..maybe even bring in a local trainer who works with horses gently not harshly.how long have you had him

My Guess on the crosstie issue is that he has never been crosstied & is afraid. His back legs could be sensitive because he mabye got them caught in something or does not like them picked up. mabye he was a cart horse?

l would suggest getting a lead line & rubbig nit all over him until he is rrelaxedthen take the cross ties & drape them over his neck while someone holds him.

my guess is that he had a freak accident & is afraid of crossties. Mabye he was beaten in crossties?

My first horse was a 12 year old Arab gelding & l was thirteen then he loved young kids & really bonded with me.

Arabs r known to bond with one human.

l personally do not care for the cross ties. I've seen many horses get hurt from flipping over, etc.. Often horses r put on these before they r taught to properly stand. l would back up the training a bit. l would work on the hitching post. Get a strong halter & rope & make sure he is tied to a very secure post. Make it short, so he can not get tangled. He might fight a little at first, that is why u must make sure the rope is strong.
If they break free, this starts an on-going habit that is even harder to break. Stand near by at first to make sure he is ok. It would be good to have a hunting knife handy in case u need to cut the rope in an emergency. Ad some time to his standing & always reward him for good behavior by untying him. l hope this is helpful.

This horse probably has a significant hole in his foundational training. Ideally, u would have a trainer work with him on ground manners & obedience.

These behaviors r probably from a variety of issues relating to fear, & only training can help this horse learn to self-control his fear.

This is not a job for everyone & it is not even a job for all trainers. l am working with a horse right now that has this kind of problem & he has been to two trainers, one of whom was so intimidated she gave up on working with him.

The horse l am working with has made significant progress in the last two weeks, but it has taken a lot of contact, investigation & timing to even get this far.

l would suggest working with a trainer who has a great reputation for establishing ground manners, & that, even though this horse is 12, he be approached in training almost like an unbroke weanling.

In the meantime, make sure to fit ur cross-ties with breakaways, keep ur children away, & consider always putting him out when cleaning the stalls.

l wish l had more immediate advice for you. But if u fail to find a trainer for him, he will continue to be dangerous in unpredictable ways. And, frankly, l think horse owners should think of training as an obligation they owe their horse so that if the horse has to be sold he can find a good home & live a long & productive life.

Good luck & best wishes to u & ur horse!

Did u ever train him to stand on cross ties or did u just assume he could do it? Many folks do not bother to train a horse to stand & then when they ask the horse to do so, it freaks out. Training a horse to stand ties is not hard but it does not happen in one day. You need help & do it quickly or u & the horse could get seriously hurt. l saw a horse who the owner said ''oh, he did not like to be tied''. She nevertheless tied the horse to a tie rail, whereupon pull back & then attempt to jump over the tie rail, flip upside down, lands on the railing with his back hitting the rail, then fall on the ground onto his back. However, he is still tied to the rail so he is hanging upside down, with flailing legs, broken back, etc. The horse was so damaged he had to be put down! l blame his owner.

The foot issue is actually more common than u think & horses r more sensitive on their back hooves than their front hooves & again, this requires patience & time. Allowing him to kick out at u is very dangerous & VERY DIS-RESPECTFUL! Do not allow it.

Bottom line.. get help or get rid of this horse!

My horse does not tie well either. We do not have cross ties at the barn where l board her so we have to tie them to rings in the arena. She would freak out for no apparent reason & pull back on her lead rope & attach it to the wall. What l did was get all of my stuff out before l brought her into the arena & what l would do is make her standStilll & say WHOA. If she moved, l would back her up hard, while hitting her chest with the lead rope. Then l would take her back to her original standing position. If l had to go & get Piece of tack she would come with me. Also if u r willing to try this there is a thing called the blocker tie ring. l have not tried it yet but it is supposedlsupposeded to release thpressurere just enough when the horse pulls back that they have the illusion of escape & calm down. Hope This Helps.

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Lots of gentle sacking out on the back legs.
Good luck down the road!

First of all, horses have to be TRAINED to tie & stand on cross ties, or they will panic & fight EVERY SINGLE time they r asked to do this. At 12 years old, this horse is WAY PAST the age when u can teach him to stand on cross ties- he SHOULD have been taught that as a yearling, the way we used to teach it to the youngsters at the breeding farm l worked on. THEY started cross tie training almost as soon as they were weaned, & when we would start them, we started by having them stand for a short period with ONE cross tie on at a time- & they were NEVER, EVER, left unsupervised. After the youngster became comfortable with one tie while being groomed or trained, then we would add the second one- & again, the yearling was never left alone under any circumstances- not even for a moment. l actually started a few youngsters this way myself, & the rule was always that if l had to leave to do something while a foal was cross tied, l had to get someone else to watch him or her & stay there till l got back.

Your mistake was in tying a horse who clearly does not know anything about being tied this way up, & then leaving him alone & expecting him to stand there while u cleaned stalls. NOT SMART, pal, NOT SMART. He could have been KILLED when he got himself tangled up- & worse, he could have seriously injured or KILLED YOU, or one of ur children, in his panic. Pulling back while tied to a hitching rail is a variation on this too- what it means is that u have a horse who is most likely addicted to pulling, AND WHO has NEVER LEARNED to respect the rope or recognize that humans r dominant. Such a horse is a HUGE, DANGEROUS liability, & ur children have NO BUSINESS WHATEVER being around him- and, unfortunately, NEITHER do you, unless u want to end up in the ICU or the morgue one day. ALL HORSES have to be taught to stand tied, whether to a post, a hitching rail, or on cross ties- & this horse has NEVER LEARNED THESE LESSONS. At 12 years old, it is too late to teach them to him- he is far too set in his ways. That would be like teaching a 40 plus year old person how to ride a bicycle, something which most of us learn as young children. By undoing the horse when he was tangled, & turning him loose instead of disciplining him, u unwittingly rewarded him for the behavior- & next time u try to tie him up, WATCH OUT, because he is going to get himself into serious trouble, because he now has it in his head that he can get rewarded that way.The issue over his back feet is tied into this as well- evidently, this horse has figured out that if he acts up enough while tied, he can avoid having anyone mess with his feet. This, combined with the fact that he has no respect for the rope or for human dominance ( & therefore, no respect for PEOPLE in general) means that he can & will try this whenever & wherever he decides that he does not like something. See why l say he is a liability? l am sorry to have to tell u this, but u need to either send this horse to a professional for retraining, sell him, or, if can do neither of these, then I'd give some thought to euthanizing him. Sooner or later, this horse is going to HURT SOMEONE, or possibly even KILL SOMEONE, with his behavior. He is a ROGUE, much TOO SMART for his own good,and the prognosis for horses like him is very poor. l knew a horse like this once, when l was in college- & he ended up DEAD, because he attacked one of my classmates & tore her shoulder open to the bone when she went to saddle him for a lesson one day. He was destroyed within hours of the attack, but my classmate spent MONTHS recovering- & she had to be airlifted to the closest trauma center, or she'd have BLED TO DEATH. Unless u want something like that to happen to yourself or to one of ur kids, then GET RID OF THIS horse or put him down.

l am sorry l do not have better news for you.

Everything Mark C said, and l especially like his take on training being an obligation to the horse. It is so true.

l think he has had some very bad experiences :(

the cross tie thing is hard to break, ur should practice holding him by lead rope where he ''would'' be Xtied. & just give him treats & tell him hes a good boy, & work ur way.
then try putting one cross tie on & still holding him, then switch sides (still only one) then try both while still holding him, then try both & walk away then come back, then try longer & longer. he may be very neverous.


the back feet could also be a bad expirience or stiffness ur just gona have to work for it & ask him to pick them up & be able to back up really fast.

what u need to do is just work with him, theres no tricks, theres no fast ways, u just have to keep trying until its not a big deal. :