Hi folks,
I'm fairly new to horses and fairly old to be just getting started. Be that as it may I need some help and recently lost my mentor so I don’t have a place to ask questions. We have thoroughbreds that we mostly want to breed but do entertain some thoughts of riding some day. My wife’s horse is 4 yo and has always been very assertive about keeping other animals (horses, chickens, ducks, dogs) away from her meal. I read Monty’s advice about giving a horse their own space at feeding time some time ago and we do that. I think the root of the problem is that she does not respect me as her leader. I think it is important that you understand that we do not yet have a round pen or any training area but hope to have one sometime this year.
About 10 days ago the weather was terrible and the paddock very mucky and we had all the horses in their stalls. I was bringing an armload of hay to the horses. The stalls have double doors, the outer door is solid and the inner door is one of those metal bar gates with space below and a V for the horse to stick her neck out. I threw the flakes of hay under the inner door and she grabbed me on the left deltoid hard enough to bring some blood to my tee shirt sleeve and now I have a large bruise covering about half of my bicep, indicating internal bleeding. I’m not trying to be overly graphic nor seeking sympathy but to let those of you that know more that me than a playful nip. She has never done anything like this before, bot even a playful nip and we have had her here for over a year and owned her for 2 years. Since the bite I make her go to the back of her stall before I approach the stall door with food but I miss being able to relate to her at the stall door. She has always been a smart, friendly horse with a sense of humor, she will take things out of your pocket or pick up things that I drop and play keep away and figured out how to get her stall gate and doors open until we figured ways to keep her in.
I’m asking for two things in writing to the group. Do you think I have a good understanding of what happened – that the bite was about her food? And am I doing the right thing to make her move to the back of the stall to be fed and when and how do I reestablish trust and a working relationship?
Kru Heller
Powhatan, Va.
I can't speak to as to why your horse bit you but I would say that you're absolutely right in sending her to the back of her stall while feeding. I would also say that she has some boundary issues judging from what you said about her taking things out of your pockets. Sometimes we allow behaviors from our horses because we see it as funny or playful but in reality it ends up (excuse the pun) biting us in the butt, or in your case the deltoid. Some dually work and a round pen would go a long way in establishing a more respectful relationship between you and your horse and also establishing trust again. Good luck, I hope this helps.
Totally agree with Klienne here. Definitely send her away until you have fed her. She sounds quite dominant by her behaviiour and these mares are more challenging than others. My Tricka whom I bred and broke in my self is one of these too. They want to be close to you and need your love but are forever testing the boundaries. They are also extremely bright and would become the lead mare in a herd situation. They need consistent discipline and Monty' s methods work best for them. They will fight back if traditional type training methods are used on them and these methods are rarely effective - they are the horses that are most likely to be ' broken' by these methods. It is a pity that you do not have a round yard or menage yet as I believe that your mare would really respond to join-up. It worked wonders with Tricka and I still revert to a join up session if she acts in a disrespectful way even if it is in a playful manner. Have you a smaller field/paddock that could be used to try join up? If you have no suitable area then you can achieve a lot by sending her away from you if she acts in a dominant manner i.e as you now are prior to feeding. Plus spend time with her teaching her to
respect you with the dually - walking in the sweet spot, lots of backing up and moving her around to demonstrate to her that you are in charge of her hooves and movement. It is best to avoid feeding these dominant natured horses treats by hand. I do feed treats - bits of carrots to my Tricka - but I agree with Monty that I shouldn't with her. It is just that I have always used treats and have had great success with them. All my other horses get treats as they are very gentle and well behaved doesn't seem fair to have Tricka miss out if she is being good. I do try to insist that she does not look for the
treat but just stands passively before receiving it. All the best with your mare. She is only young so should respond well to Monty's training. It will be great when you have your round yard!
Thank you Maggie and Kleinne for your responses. Daisy and I are getting along better and there have been no attempts at biting. She has been very good on the lead in spite of very frustrating weather. We have to keep them in during rainy weather because the mud in our only functional paddock gets awful and dangerous when they play. I believe our relationships with both of our horses will improve when we get the round pen and the path to it completed. We began work on it last year and ran out of money but the clearing is done and the round pen and other fencing should be complete during this calendar year. Unfortunately, everything of a training nature is going to have to go on hold while I have some overdue and necessary surgery. I should be back on my feet by Christmas and maybe have a round pen. Thanks again.
Sorry to hear about the surgery, krudell,. All the best with it.