miniatures

Question
Hi my name is chelsea and i just bought a miniature horse yearling gelding. Im hoping to showhim next year but i jut need some training tips on what we should work on that wont hurt his growing he is willing but likes to eat and i have no place we can train without grass around and he does NOT like to stand still and when we doesn't get his way he will rear i get after him for it but he is known to bite and let me tell ya is aint no little nip lol. He loves to jump over things but to show him in halter will be a problem what are some tips to get him to stay still and stop biting me.

Answer
Hi Chelsea,

You have bought yourself a little brat!  Sounds like he needs to get some respect.  Mini's are smart, like ponies, so you have to get them to work with you.  If you aren't familiar with Pat Parellie's games get either a book or better yet a video on them.  It's a form of round pen training that can be done without a round pen but will get the horse to respect you without having to worry about damaging his still growing bones.  A lot of it's done at liberty.  I would suggest figuring out how to get some area without grass.  That will most definately make it harder to get him to focus on you if he's running around on food!  Once you get him focusing on you then you'll get a lot further with him.  The nipping you can work on along with everything else.  That's a sign of utter disrespect and once you get him working with you I suspect it will stop.  If not you'll know how to deal with it.  The same for standing still.  That's a hard thing for horses to learn and he's still very much a baby.  He's actually the equivalent of a 6 yr. old child so you have some idea of what you are dealing with.  Most 6 yr. olds would have a hard time sitting or standing still and he's the same way.  But he will grow up mentally much faster than a human child.  By the time he's 2 his human year equivalent will be 12 which will make him easier to work with.  Get him to focus on you first and the rest of his training will come much easier.  Pat Parelli's games are the easiest way I can suggest to someone to do this.  They do take patience, but it takes patience to work with any baby, and get good results.  Give it a try.

Lyn