ornery 2 yr old

Question
I bought a RMHA/KMSHA colt at 1 month old, and have spent HOURS with him, desensitizing, backing, grooming, cleaning feet, disengaging, getting him used to a saddle, etc...  He will be 2 Feb. 22, and if he passes his vet check I will start him under saddle.  From day one,(when he tore the walls of his stall down) he has been an extreme busy body.  When he was a weanling, he was a vicious biter.  I did everything I could think of, and he is MUCH better, but he still wants to nip at me for attention.  He is a very dominant little gelding, and rules his fellow coming 2 yr olds with an iron hoof.  His mother was an alpha mare, so I expect a little dominant behavior.  He can open doors and gates, and after using bailing twine, bungee cords, key clips, a knotted lead rope, and a double ended brass clip that he broke in half I finally had to buy a padlock so I could keep his feed bucket on the wall! He destroys any hay bag I put is his stall, and pulls the heaters out of the water troughs! As strange as it sounds, he is orally fixated.  I can't even leave him standing w/out being right there because he will chew and pull on the lead rope until he unties it.  I am not inexperienced, I have been teaching groundwork, breaking, and finishing young horses for several years now, but I have never encountered one with such and overabundance of personality.  He is VERY intelligent, which I believe is part of his problem.  I love that little colt more than I can say, and I definitely belong to him too, I am not sure, however, how to redirect all of this energy into a productive outlet.  I have been told that once he's finished I should teach him to be a trick horse because he's so smart and mouthy, but I don't want to encourage an undesirable behavior.  What are your thoughts?

Answer
Rick Gore:  Horses learn by curiosity, testing and exploring.  This is a great trait and shows intelligence.

Hi Jennifer,  sounds like you got a great little guy there.  The worst thing to do is knock or discourage curiosity from a horse, especially a young colt.  His personality is great and I have not even met him.  I love horses that keep me thinking and challenge me.  This horse is going to teach you will and force you to think like a horse.  I am very anti stall.  Without a second thought, this is the major problem of most horses today.  Stalls create more bad behaviors and cause more problems for horses and owners than any other thing.  If you have a turnout or pasture available, let the 2 yr olds and older mares out as much as possible.  Stalls, or Cells as I call them, teach a horse to be bored and they have to create ways to stimulate their mind.  In the wild horses eat and graze 22 hours a day, this keeps them busy, they walk, play with other horses, watch for danger, and relax.  In a stall all that stimulation is gone.  If you don't have this option, spend some time with the little guy not working.  Take him for a walk, let him graze, play with him, and let him know that there is more to life than, being put in a stall and being out of a stall working.

A lot of this behavior could be fixed by older mares.  That is why herds are so beneficial to horses.  It provides structure, discipline and respect, which make them better for us to handle.

After answering questions on this site, I made a web site with suggestions for the most common problems I get asked.  This helps me not to type the same things over and over and makes the information available for periodic review.  It is free and I get no money, I just put stuff that will assist horse owners to understand the horse.

Go to my site and go to the page Horsemanship.  I cover sacking out, herd behavior and some other topics.  You used words like he is a busy body, vicious biter, mouthy, he destroys things, orally fixated, overabundance of personality, very intelligent, etc.  All of these human terms are really normal horse behavior.  Mouthy is how horses test food, feel things, show affection and defend themselves.  Most of the issues are from boredom and that can be fixed by spending time and keeping them busy with work and changes in their environment.

As for tricks, my little three year old will pick up my hat, pick up his feed bowl when empty, will buck once a while (playfully), will let me crawl and lay down under him and let me stand on the saddle and crack a whip.  I keep him busy and focused on me so he is constantly reminded I am the leader.  I don't use spurs, bits, or other pain devices.  I am working on bowing and laying down and he is getting it.  But, he is a pain if I try to do anything without him.  He kills me with his acting out, but I totally understand it and never correct it, unless it endangers me or him.  

Any time spent with your guy will help.  I have website with lots of info about the horse and how it thinks. Feel free to check it out, I am sure you will get something out it.

On the biting issues, my guy searches me like a cop for treats and carrots.  As long he does not use teeth I don't care, everyone seems to want to tell how bad it is and how he is going to bite someday, I don't mind it, so my guys are always lipping me.  I let my guys eat grass with I ride or lead them, I give them treats by hand and I do other things that lots of people say I should not.  I understand the horse, I think like a horse, and I treat my guys like I would want to be treated, if I were a horse.

Enjoy the little guy and cut him some slack, move him frequently (back, sideways, forward, up and down) to always maintain your higher position.

take care, happy New Year.

Rick