My 5 yr old horse, Luke, always paws/digs while being tied up. He's in a large pen 24/7 with 2 other horses. I'll bring him up and tie him, and he'll start pawing once I leave to go get the tack from inside the barn. I cannot correct him because he does it when i'm not around. If he paws while i'm standing there I give him a quick slap on his hip and say no loudly. Then he'll stop when i'm there. I have no idea how to get after him if i'm not in a reaching distance to smack him. I've tried clapping and yelling from a distance, bt he still does it. He's leaving annoying holes in the ground, and my boarding owner is getting mad because he's ruining the tie area. What in the world can I do?!

Man I wish someone would have posted to this. I read it because my horse does the same thing. I think we both know it's the most annoying characteristic! Bump! Anybody got ideas!? I do the same thing, slap him on the leg, but he does it when I'm not around also. Really I dont think there is a way to control it when your a distance away, I tried carrying a lunge whip with me so when I was a bit closer I could whip it but it got in the way when I carried grain to him and other times but I also found that sometimes when I was several feet away I would whip it in the air and he'd stop but thats partly because my horse is whip-shy. Good Luck and handsome boy!

I don't know how to stop it from a distance... maybe have a friend stand near and when he starts you yell or clap and she pops him? That just popped into my head while I was writing so have NO idea if it's a good idea. As for ruining the tie area, if you can't fix the problem of pawing, maybe get a large mat to put down (I'm assuming there isn't one already)? Just a couple otw ideas.

I know Foxy paws the ground when he's impatient or wants a treat. Sorry, I don't know what to do and I know I'm not being helpful.

My boarding owner suggested a mat too. Do you think he would stop pawing with the rubber mat because there's nothing to dig up? Are the mats really expensive?

The mat won't stop the pawing, but it will stop the holes Just a suggestion go get your tack before you tie him up. Then you can be there to correct him as necessary.

I second the suggestion you get your tack out first, then use a mat if necessary. You really can't stop him when you aren't there. I suspect he feels he has trained you to return by pawing. He paws until you come back, right?

At the risk of sounding inhumane, I'll tell all of you what I did to stop this problem. Pawing wears at the joints and can cause hoof damage, so it is more than just annoying. Correcting the symptoms (i.e. putting a rubber mat down so no holes can be dug) will not prevent the joint injury and hoof damage. I bought a pair of hobbles (not breeding hobbles) and kept my horse cross tied (two trees work wonders) where he couldn't see other horses, but I could see him, and left him there for a few hours. I read a book so that I could keep an eye on him. The only thing was, he mildly pulled a shoulder muscle when he tried (repeatedly) to step out of the hobbles. Two days later the pulled shoulder was healed, and the pawing was cured. Now I just have occasional lapses to deal with, but a stern tone of voice corrects him for weeks at a time.

Hope this helps.

I have a couple of suggestions that may help.

First, pawing in general is a sign of boredom and lack of respect where the horse is concerned. It's pretty much the same as kicking or other undesirable traits.

How much groundwork do you do with your horse? Most of the time this kind of behaviour happens because they have nothing else to occupy thier time and minds, and they do not respect you enough to behave.

My horses do this occassionally - every time it is because I have not worked them in awhile - it's almost as if they are saying "Mom, I need some training time with you". Sure enough, when I put in a little training time, the behaviour stops for quite awhile. With my horses that get worked regularly, I never have issues like this happen.

I agree with the person who suggested hobbling - that can also help teach patience and respect - as well as just tying them up and leaving them - and I mean for a long time, not just a few minutes. They lose interest in pawing if they try to do it for hours.

I would highly suggest watching any of the videos by Clinton Anderson - he is an expert in resolving these kinds of issues.

Just remember the next time your horse paws - "Idle hooves are the devil's playground"

I hope that helps you

your horse has not been taught to stand tied. he doesnt pull back by the sounds of it, but he gets frustrated with standing still for so long, away from his buddies.

The solution is to find a place to tie him that is safe, with no obstacles in the way. tie him high if you can. lead line not so loose he can step over it. and walk away. just leave him there. dont approach him, speak to him, or look at him. check on him every 15 minutes or so, and eventually he will get tired of pawing and be happy to stand there. he may even rest a hind leg.

only when he is standing quietly should you approach him, pat him, and maybe give him a small treat. then untie him and take him back to his buddies.

yelling at him wont fix it. you are giving him attention when you yell, and he thinks the pawing got that attention, so he stops. then paws again to get more attention. just leave him tied to work it out for himself. repeat this a few times, and you will soon have a horse that stands quietly when tied.

you can do the same thing when mounted. just stop, and stay seated on him. dont let him move around. ask him to stand, and eventually he will stand quietly under you. its all good training and pays off in the long run.

Might I suggest that if you choose to go the hobble route - get the Clinton Anderson video - Horses need to be taught to hobble - if you want it to be successful, without injury - he does a good job teaching how to it safely.

I also Suggest getting the Clinton Anderson DVD on hobbling, I've seen parts of it on RFD-TV. However, just any old hobbles won't necessarily help the situation. My 4 yo mare paws, and I have a pair of nylon(padded) hobbles, the "elcheapo" type and they are too long between the hobbles and cannot be adjusted. To emphasis this point, I'll tell you what my mare did. She was tied, shoulder high, arms length, like she should be, and hobbled. She had been hobbled earlier in the round pen. While tied, she figured out how to paw with both feet and rear with her head down low enough to get her feet over her lead!!! NOT A PRETTY PICTURE! Fortunately, she had a Clinton Anderson halter and lead on and I was able to get it undone without chasing down a knife to cut the rope,etc. She had "Rope" burns around her ankles and up the inside of one leg, (not that she didn't deserve it!) and was quite sore for about a week! I'll be purchasing Clinton's rope hobbles and side hobbles before I hobble her again! I did tie her the following day, and she didn't paw like normal, but then she was sore too! It's a good think I like her!

Here is a suggestion for all to try with a pawing horse...it doesn't hurt them, but it will spook them pretty good, so make sure they are well grounded in the basics of tying and moving forward when they feel pressure on their head.
You didn't say how far away you were when Luke starts pawing, but try to let him start pawing while you are within throwing distance. That's right...throwing distance. Your goal is to bean him on the nose with a rolled up polo wrap and yell "NO!" at the same time when he starts pawing. Even if you don't touch him with the polo wrap, just the action of something flying at him will spook him, and he will start associating the "NO!" with something mildly "scary" happening to him. The best thing is, horses don't associate things being thrown at them with the person doing the throwing. You can immediately go over to him, calm him down, and praise him for standing still. Just make sure he is tied securely and on good footing before beginning. He should be cured within a week or less and you should be able to stop him in the future with a quick, loud "NO!" and nothing else. If you don't have a polo wrap, anything will do, preferably something soft for the time you do hit his nose :-)

BTW - for anyone who thinks this is abusive - I think the hobbles are more abusive and could cause a horse to panic and hurt himself. I've done the throwing thing for pawing and dancing while tied and have never had a horse injure himself.

All VERY good Ideas, THANK YOU BUT what about this?

Cosmo is good and ties very well he "usually" doesn't paw but the ocassional times here and there I wouldn't consider it a "issue" BUT when you feed him his suppliments (grain beetpulp stuff like that) he paws, he's in his stall, it's not that he's concerned about anything or "antsy" he doesn't paw while waiting for it? So why the heck would he do that? I *think* it is because when he was a baby (4mo old) I brought him home and he'd never seen anything like grain, salt block ect because he was a PMU so to check it out he'd paw it kinda like "whats that... let's kick it and see" lol So I stoped using a feed pad on the ground 'cause he'd paw it and dump it all over and I feed him now in a feeder up above the ground but he still paws? Not hard and with both feet lol.

So my suggestion (which I haven't tried yet but should) is kick chains, it's basicly a hobble type thing or a braclet with chains that are annoying when they paw (just on each ankle not connected)

I agree with what BlueFilly wrote, but in addition you could spy on him while you are in the barn and when he starts pawing, go out and lunge him. After the session, go back in the barn and wait until he starts pawing again, then lunge. When you go into the barn and can wait 3-5 minutes beyond the time you originally waited and you notice no pawing, go out and praise him lavishly. Then go back into the barn and wait even longer. This is an idea taken from Clinton who I'm sure addresses this topic in one of his training manuals. Unfortunately, it will take up alot of your time, but hopefully helps you problem.