[HUS_WP_lovr]

Or playful lol. I am assuming its a respect issue and wouldnt be suprised if thats excactly what it is. He pins his ears when walking and trotting. Then when we go into a trot sometimes he squeals and kicks up.He gets mad at the pivot too. He is not a naturally good pivoter lol and sometimes I have to give him a wack on the shoulder to get him around during practice and he will kick out in the front no rear but kind of throw his legs out and pin his ears.

He is also very mouthy in SMS and halter. I do feed him hand treats but I also know that horses can be fed hand treats and not be mouthy.Jackson eats tons of hand treats and never is mouthy with me.

Any ideas? I currently have like no time to work on ground work but when I do get time i'd like some things to use

Thanks

[2spotslast]

Oh, boy. What jumped into my head right off is here's a horse who is tired of what he is doing and is becoming resentful. How often do you show him and how often do you practice SMS with him? Do you always practice in the arena? Have you tried taking him for walks in his schooling or show gear without practicing with him? Sorry about all the questions, but it would be helpful to know this to try to get to the bottom of his unhappiness.

[ridetolive]

Id say either unhappy with what your making him do, or more likely it sounds like he is in pain.
if he's willing to go and performs with your persuading, but puts up a fuss like that id get him checked by a vet or a chiropractor. thats not right.
I think the treats sound like a seperate issue. But the ones you described riding would greatly concern me, then again its impossible to really say without seeing it first hand

[2spotslast]

I agree ridetolive. Anytime there is an unexplainable change in attitude or performance, it's a good time for a checkup.

[AllAroundRdr]

There's 2 things that stick out like a sore thumb to me.

First off, if he's ALWAYS been like this and it isn't something new/different than he's always been when performing SMS, I'd say he simply doesn't enjoy his job doing it.

Second, you mention it's difficult to get around himself and it takes a slap to move him around...although some horses need a reminder now and again on properly moving around, this should not need to be done every time or near every time IMO. It may be difficult for him because it puts strain/discomfort or even pain in his body.

Granted we all love our All Arounders who can do-it-all, but some just can't.

As for him being mouthy, whether your other horse can take being handfed and not get mouthy, they all aren't like that. Perhaps the slight age difference also plays a role, though certainly isn't an excuse. I'd completely ditch the hand feeding.

[shyxpony]

Is this Felix being a naughty boy?! At least his cuteness makes up for it

[HUS_WP_lovr]

He's always been a grump with the little bit of SMS we do. We hardly ever practice it and hardly ever show in it to keep him fresh because I know alot of SMS horses go sour quick.And we dont have an arena.

Allarounder I think your right, SMS just isnt his thing.His pivots have always been hideous and I assumed he would grow out of it when he got more balanced but he never gets them right.

2spotslast and ridetolive-this is an in hand class not an undersaddle class

[ridetolive]

it makes no difference if its undersaddle or in hand. im not sure what your point is? if your horse is putting up that much of a fuss to do something and seems in the genuine of discomfort, why wouldnt you get it looked into?

[2spotslast]

The letters SMS were a bit of a giveaway that it was an in hand class. Now if I could just find the smiley faces, I'd put one here.

[HUS_WP_lovr]

I was just saying because you two were talking about my gear and equipment.

Ridetomlive said something about riding