After my husband’s father died, our daughter inherited his horse, Opie. Our dearest friends offered their place for Opie to be. They had four geldings already there. Three of them were badly mistreated and the fourth has issues as well. My children and I were new to the horse world and would watch the interaction between the four horses and Opie (Opie did not know how to be a horse, having never been around others). Then we would look up the information to learn more about their actions. We also learned what to do to re-socialize the horses. We had great progress with teaching them in that our hands were loving hands.
The other day Buster saved me from George, who wanted to play with me like I was horse.
I need to back up a bit to let you know a little about George. He was the hardest horse to work with, with regards to the abuse. I would touch his bottom and you could feel his whole body tense up in fear. It took him along time to trust us. Here lately his eyes have become glazed and out of the blue he’ll pin his ears and bite. I’ve told the children to stay away from him. I’ve been slowly trying to bring him back, but it’s not working. He is not our horse, so I’m just letting it be.
The past few days the four geldings have been blocking our two fillies and Opie from us. The other day we went out to get my daughters’ horses. I placed myself between the herd and the girls and their horses. I was enjoying watching George and Skitter play while the girls were dealing with their horses. George got the best of Skitter, he always does. Then, George came trotting and tossing his head left to right at me. I stopped him, but knowing he has shown signs of rearing up, I gave up my space. He continue to come at me in the same manner as he does Skitter. I did not give up my space, yelled to the girls to clear out and I screamed for Buster’s help. Buster left his post of guarding Opie and the fillies from us and came to my aid. He stepped in between George and I and began to breath hard into George’s nose. I did not move out from behind Buster until I saw that George had snapped out of it. Then I began to walk to my girls. Buster saw Opie and the fillies coming with me, so he left George to stop them. Now, it was George and Skitter coming at me. I’m running to get on the other side of the fence and they looked bewildered. There’s more, but the whole experience was like when a dog owner comes home from work and the dog is so keyed up that his out of control. This behavior has me confused. Therefore, my daughters and I will not be out in the pasture with the horses and some days we are not able to feed our horses. And we have growing fillies!
Anyway, my daughters are taking your online university course. The girls and I are enjoying learning the horse’s language. Not all of it works with Opie, but we are using it on Liberty and Gracie.
Any insight you can give us about their behavior (or any corrections we need to make) will be greatly appreciated.
Thank you for your time and thoughts.
Mary J. Mills
I've read your post twice to try and fully understand your circumstances. What I'm reading is that George and Skitter are becoming aggressive with you and your daughters. Horses, to show their dominance in the herd will move and boss other horses around. When they make you move your feet they become your boss. Monty says the one who controls the feet controls the relationship. If you are inexperienced with potentially dangerous horses (and these horses from your description sound like they are) you should not be dealing with them. Abused horses can be very unpredictable and dangerous. If it's possible to separate your horses from these others so that you and your daughters have safe access to them, I would. If you have to enter the pasture and are concerned about being attacked I would carry a stick with plastic bags on it to scare the horses away from you. Don't hit them with it just shake it at them to keep them at a distance. Plastic bags are scary to horses that have not been desensitized to them. Be careful and stay safe,
Kleinne
Hi Nary
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I completely agree with Kleinne. The plastic bags on a stick are a great idea, but your safety is first and foremost. It would be good to see if you can find somewhere else for your horses.
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Best wishes
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Gen
Hi Nary
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I completely agree with Kleinne. The plastic bags on a stick are a great idea, but your safety is first and foremost. It would be good to see if you can find somewhere else for your horses.
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Best wishes
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Gen
Thank you both for your help.
George is over 15 hands of unstable horse and he does not take kindly to objects or aggressive voice coming at him. He’s not a “flight” horse, he’s a “fight” horse. My concern with the bag is it would provoke him. I’ve had this talk with my husband. Yes, someone better than I is what George needs. The scars are deeper than my knowledge.
I see it now, thank you. George was treating me like the herd, in that “I’m the boss, move.” I’m still puzzled why the herd is blocking us from our horses. And this is not the first time the four horses have done this.
Our horses are not a part of their herd. When the fillies came on the scene, Opie scooped up the fillies and made his own herd. The first week was hard on Opie and us until things settled down.
Unfortunately, there’s no way to separate Opie and the fillies. At this point life is unsafe for us and our horses. We are going to have to evaluate our options.
Mary
Horses need to know where each new horse that enters their territory fits in the pecking order.If they are all together in the same field they are in some sense all part of the herd whether or not their humans see it differently.Horses also have their own preferences and best buddies that they like to hang with.They will try to keep other horses as well as humans away.One of my friends thought it was cute and affectionate when her horse would not let other horses near her but what he was saying was that he was the one in the dominant position, she was beneath him in the pecking order and he was the leader.Horses also want to know where humans fit in the pecking order.You said the first week when Opie scooped up the fillies was hard for him.He was having to settle his leadership and ownership of the fillies,proving to the other geldings that he deserved to be their leader.It's the same challenge they are presenting to you when they try to interfere when you go to take your horses.Think of it as smaller herds within the bigger herd.Doesn't matter if you are human or horse they will test you to see if you're going to be above them or below them and if they perceive you to be below them they are certainly not going to let you take part of their herd.Probably would be safer for you to have your horses separate from these geldings as you said you did not have enough experience for such challenging horses.Stay safe.
Hi Mary,
In your post you said that George would tense up with fear if you touched his bottom. Maybe if you go into the field take a long line with you? This may dicourage him from trying to chase you away.When he comes at you snap your eyes on his and pitch the long line at him, If he really is a 'fight' horse then he will ignore it and keep coming at you. Make sure you always have someone with you nearby so that if George becomes increasingly more aggressive then you won't be alone.
Also you said that 'out of the blue he would pin his ears back and try and bite you' have you had him checked out by a vet? Sometimes if a horse is feeling under the weather or if it is in pain then it will cause them to become bad tempered and change their personality suddenly.
Thanks,
Abi x
Been in this kind of pasture situation, take your horses somewhere else. That is the only way for you and your children to be safe. Find a new situation where you can remove the horses from there living quarters to work with them. Working with your horses where they live is not safe either. Have fun in your new location.
Cheryl, thank you so much for the insight. Thank you all for your time and help. The girls and I are ready to move Opie, Liberty and Gracie to a new home!
Sounds the best solution wife2bishop so good luck in finding a new location where they can be kept together by themselves. Is Opie also showing aggressive tendencies towards you now that he is leader of the fillies? If so you may need to separate him into a field next to the others until he learns some manners and is more responsive to you as leaders. If you have a round yard in your new location then Opie may need some join up lessons and dually lessons. Just read your original entry - sounds as if Opie is already very OK with humans but had not had the experience of being with other horses before. Do hope he settles in now happily with your fillies once they are separated from the other geldings. Keep us up dated.