20 month filly suddenly gone ga ga and abit aggressive

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hopppydi

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Hi, I have a fair bit of experience with horses though not with a horse quite this young.
Basically we have had her at home for 2 weeks and for the previous 2 weeks we spent time getting to know her at the dealers yard. In that time she has shown no bad behaviour or aggresion and was actually remarkably well behaved. I even started to have my doubts that the dealer had got her age right she was so well mannered. On the first day we turned her out and took her old headcollar off. Later that day we put her new headcollar on and though she didnt want to be caught straight away the worse she did was break into a very slow trot. I have kept her headcollar on and she has been very easy to catch, she just stands there and waits for you to clip the lead rein on. She stands nicely to be groomed and is fine having her feet done. A little wary of the rug we put on at night but nothing to bad and my 9 year old who holds her while i put it on is perfectly safe. Me, my 9 and 10 year old even felt safe to sit in her field yesterday and have a picnic. She is a very curious pony and even things she is abit wary of like the tarpaulin i have put in her field are soon treated as just another boring object.
Today however i have seen a totally differnet side to her. I went to check on her and noticed she had managed to get her headcollar off so i went into the field to pick it up. Before i got anywhere near it she pinned her ears back and did a little rear and tried to barge me. i honestly think if i hadnt reacted as quickly as i did she may have actually gone for me. I do not scare easily and have experience with ex racers and horses which other people wouldnt go near. I tried later on in the day to get her headcollar on but she pinned her ears back again and galloped around the field several times while bucking and farting!! She then stopped in the opposite corner to where i was glared at me and pawed the ground before charging for me. luckily i was close enough to the fence to avoid getting trampled. What on earth should i do know??
Could it be a bad reaction to her being in season? Im not 100% sure she is and there arent any horses near by for me to get a reaction. Yesterday she was getting a real good massage from me in her field (not tied up) and she loved it but i did notice her tail move to the side when i was rubbing around her bottom.
Sorry for the really long post but i want to get as much of the story as possible!
Please can anyone offer any advice
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Please can anyone offer abit of support and advice, i think i might cry. We had such a good start and now she wont let me anywhere near her.
 
I dont have a massive amount of experience in this, and Im sure someone with more will be along, but i didnt want not to reply at all!.....

I would say she is probably just settling in, hence her being so quiet to start with.....she will probably start trying it on a little now, to see how the pecking order lies with you in 'her' field. I would carry a stick with you in the field and make her go away from you and observe your space, so that she doesnt get the idea she can chase you away. I would deliberately get into her 'space' so she knows you are in charge (wear a hat, and dont take your 9 year old though!!!!).

She could be coming into season, and it could be because of the spring grass (a little). Her routine is all new......

Give her a while and I'm sure she will settle, but I would make sure she doesnt think she can boss you about.........
 
That is exactly what i am thinking. I went in later on with the lunge whip and made her know i wasnt scared of her (though i was abit) i didnt waft it about or try to scare/intimidate her and she let me get quite close to her, all the time with the lunge whip pointing downwards and the headcollar in full view. she let me give her a little stroke and she had her ears pricked in the normal friendly way she does. the second i tried to get her headcollar on her ears turned back and the aggresion started again so i touched (not hit) her with the lunge whip and stood my ground very firmly. she galloped around the field as before and then just started eating again. Its such a shame cos up till today she was brilliant with the children, really gentle and very affectionate. My 10 year old who isnt used to horses has fetched her in on his own and she was so well behaved. it seems that getting her headcollar off has sent her wappy!!
 
She's testing you out but you need to get on top of this behaviour immediately and remind her that you're the boss.

Take a stick into the field with you and don't be afraid to use it if she charges you.

Horses are too big to mess around like this particularly when there could be children around.
 
I would be inclined to use a smaller whip rather than a lunge whip tbh.....I am not sure that you can reprimand the bad behaviour sharply enough with a lunge whip.....it could all get very confusing for her!

Does she have any company in the field with her? If not, does she have any toys or anything?? My youngster *loves* his jollyball!!
 
has she got a field mate? she has probably got over the shock of moving and now testing the water as to how much she can get away with.
 
Sorry to hear this, our 20 month old home bred has been a bit grumpy recently (she is normally very sweet), I have put it down to her starting to season, growing pains maybe? If you post this in breeding, you may get a better response, there are many people there who breed and deal with youngsters. Hope you sort it out.
 
Hi, I've got a filly a month older than yours and she's exactly the same when she starts coming into a season. Once she's actually properly 'in' (i.e. winking and squirting obviously) she settles down. Back to her normal affectionate and sweet self. It's the preceding week when she's moody, distracted, irritable and unaffectionate. Prone to becoming difficult to lead to and from the field, and a biatch to catch. TBH I don't take it personally. I handle her firmly but keep it to the minimum during the lead - up days to her seasons. I am hoping she'll settle as she gets used to having her cycles.

Another thing, have you altered your filly's feed recently? I tried mine on regular molassed sugar-beet and another time, on oats. Eeek, she turned from being the sweetest most affection horse EVER, into a complete demon. Lunging over the door at people, weaving, kicking out, etc. As soon as I cut out the offending feeds and put her back onto her diet of stud balancer, chaff and unmolassed beet - she reverted back to her normal loveliness almost immediately.


Ultimately, your filly is almost 2. They tend to go through a bit of a 'stage' at this age. They have a lot going on in their body and mind, so whilst you do have to be firm and keep strong, please do not loose heart and think "This is it. She's going to be horrible". She wont. I bet within 6 months she'll have settled back down and be her normal pleasant self.

This time last year - my filly broke my ankle and for the following 4 months no one could handle her. She was awful. It was just a phase. Once I was back onto my feet and she got a bit of firm handling, the whole episode disappeared and she went back to behaving nicely again. Well, until THIS Spring now her seasons have started up
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But at least I know what the problem is
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No she hasnt got a field mate at the moment though she will in the next month or so. We have been giving her loads of attention while she has been in her field and though i know its not the same she was in a field on her own previous to being at the dealers and it wasnt a problem.
How long would you expect her to carry on like this if it is just her testing the waters. I know what your saying about the lunge whip but her level of aggresion and how quickly she was moving around the field made me think a long whip maybe better!
 
I havent altered her feed but im pretty certain she is coming into season. Her managing to get her headcollar off is what seems to have set her off though or maybe its a combination of the two?
 
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No she hasnt got a field mate at the moment though she will in the next month or so. We have been giving her loads of attention while she has been in her field and though i know its not the same she was in a field on her own previous to being at the dealers and it wasnt a problem.


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SHE'S BORED!!! You've been spending time messing about with her and playing with her and she's starting to view your arrival into her field as "Woopie. A plaything!" Not quite what you want! Whatever happens, she needs to view you and ALL HUMANS and being different to her horse companions. You cannot fulfill the role of her sole play mate, and expect her to respect you as 'the human' as well. Well, not at her age, anyway. She's full of beans now Springs come and she needs another youngster or preferably youngester<u>s</u> to bash about with. It's natural and how she'll learn horse manners and be put into her place within a group of horses.

You can manage, keeping a baby on it's own. But it's a tough journey for both the horse and the humans in its life. And one more likely to end up with mistakes being made and bad lessons being learned.

I expect once her season is out of the way and the company arrives, she'll become a lot more settled. Also, getting her headcollar off excited her. She knew she'd done something a bit naughty and was feeling full of herself and showing off. A bit too dominantly! She sounds a little tinker
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Thanks spyda. I see what your saying about the fact she may be bored but i really dont think she is and though we have spent alot of time with her i dont think she sees us as her playthings. I think what is bothering me more than anything is what she may do to the kids who up until today have been able to groom, catch and lead her in a very safe manner. Even after all her fits today she was still stood by the fence being soppy and calm with my 9 year old (who was on the other side of the fence).
 
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Thanks spyda. I think what is bothering me more than anything is what she may do to the kids who up until today have been able to groom, catch and lead her in a very safe manner. Even after all her fits today she was still stood by the fence being soppy and calm with my 9 year old (who was on the other side of the fence).

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I know exactly what you mean! I've got 4 children under 11 and most of the time I trust the two older boys to lead her in hand to her field and back, groom her and come into the field/stable with her. But at other times, when I read her mood being 'wrong' I keep them away at a safe distance until she is calm and contained, and I know I have her under full control. Sometimes, I just explain to them that she's having an "off day" and "best just leave her alone today". Better to be safe than sorry where the children are concerned. She's still just a baby (albeit a 16hh one already!) and still very unpredictable. As all horses are to one degree or another, regardless of age, I suppose.

And I STILL think she's bored! How can she not be if she's being kept on her own ATM?

I bet once she's got some horse company to let steam off with, she'll become a lot better. In the meantime, keep up the firm handling but if she's being irritable about it ATM, don't push it. Give her a bit of a break. Do the minimum with her (being firm and in control) and then leave her be. No point in fighting with her when she's in a moody. Maybe just let the kids stroke her through the fence like you said she enjoyed?
 
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Thanks spyda. I see what your saying about the fact she may be bored but i really dont think she is and though we have spent alot of time with her i dont think she sees us as her playthings. I think what is bothering me more than anything is what she may do to the kids who up until today have been able to groom, catch and lead her in a very safe manner. Even after all her fits today she was still stood by the fence being soppy and calm with my 9 year old (who was on the other side of the fence).

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Sorry, but she's your first youngster. They NEED other horses to play with - it's how they learn social boundaries etc.
 
Thats what i told them both today, my girl is very upset that she hasnt got her rug on and its quite nippy tonight but i wasnt going to wind the situation up anymore so im afraid she will just have to be cold. How long would you give her if she was yours, bearing in mind i have bought her for the children, not me? I am very prepared to put all the work in but if she carries on showing aggression like today for long i really dont think i will beable to keep her which makes me feel very sad.
 
Sorry posts come in while i was still typing! Ok i will accept from people who know more about youngsters that she is bored though she really has seemed very happy until today. I am getting a horse which will be in the field next to her until i know they get on and then i will prob turn them out together. I would also like to clarify that we had had a really nice walk on the lane (leading obviously) and she was fine, it was her getting her headcollar off that sent her crazy.
 
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How long would you give her if she was yours, bearing in mind i have bought her for the children, not me? I am very prepared to put all the work in but if she carries on showing aggression like today for long i really dont think i will beable to keep her which makes me feel very sad.

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It's very early days and she's young. Please do not give up on her right away or panic that she has suddenly become totally unsuitable. Rather like young children, young horses go through phases. Some nicer than others, I am afraid. That's why many people dont choose youngsters to bring on. Simply because they are too much aggro. Better, they think, to get one which has gone through all the stroppy baby stages and those horrible pubescent stages already!

You sound like you're doing a great job so far. Handling her, taking her out for little walks and getting her used to things. I'd really urge you not to panic.

Once the new horse arrives and providing they gel, she should become better. However, if you add just one other horse to the equation you may be asking for some trouble when it comes to separating them. My 22 month old filly jumped out over a 5ft x 6ft hedge and ditch on Sunday afternoon, when her paddock companion was brought in early. She's now in with cuts to her head, knees and hocks for her trouble. But I don't think she'll be trying that again in a hurry
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However, separation anxiety may be something you will need to anticipate and have a plan for, before introducing the other horse.
 
Please dont laugh but what about getting a couple of sheep along with the new horse. i cant have more than 2 horses so the seperation anxiety thing could be a issue but maybe if she makes friends with a few sheep it might help?
 
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Sorry to hear about the injuries to your filly, must have been a shock for her and you

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It was! Was just glad I wasn't there to see it happen. Liveries have been 'visiting' my filly's stable all week regaling me with stories of what happened and who saw what. I gather she cleared the whole obstacle with her front feet but didn't quite make it with her hinds. Ended sprawling on the road with blood coming from her nose, not moving. Everyone thought she was dead! I got a call from YO to say my filly had jumped out and had hurt her knees and I was imaging the worst of the worst broken knees on my drive over to the yard. I was almost relieved to count the many bald patches of scraped skin, because none had broken below the top layer. Phew. She was VERY lucky. She was definitely in shock when I arrived up there. Very dazed and subdued. Just stood there with her head resting on my shoulder for about an hour. If I moved, she followed me and laid it on me again. It's moments like that that make all the aggro worth it. Within an hour she was eating hay and feeling better.

Still haven't a clue why she decided to jump out when she did though. She's been settled into the current routine for weeks now and other horses were out with her. Just hope it's put her off trying that trick again.

I think getting a couple of sheep would be a good idea. May help provide a bit of companionship and will certainly help the worm situation in your paddocks by keeping it from getting too horse sick. Good idea, I think. A friend of mine has just ordered a couple of rare breed lambs, ready in June, to keep her moody mare company.
 
The worm thing had crossed my mind to and we have been toying with the idea of a couple of sheep so i def think i will get some. I know its a hard question but how long would you give her showing this sort of aggressive behaviour. Im a bit worried if i cant catch her soon she is in danger of being neglected but though i will be firm i am not going to risk my life over her. Today she was so difficult to read, coming up ears pricked and friendly and then suddenly ears back and rearing. Im fairly sure she was showing off cos she had gat her headcollar off but how long should i let this situation carry on. She was galloping that quickly that at one stage she nearly fell over.
 
Is she displaying this behaviour specifically with the headcollar? Could it be that the headcollar got caught in something and she panicked and got it off? If that is possible, maybe she is now scared of the headcollar and this is leading to problems. Try changing it to a different one, or handling her without trying to put the headcollar on to test whether the problem is the headcollar.

I also agree she would be better off with a companion or two, to allow her to run around, play, be told off, etc.

Not wanting to be rude but why do the children have to be involved in handling a youngster? Young horses are unpredictable and need experienced handling. I can see why the kids would want to be involved but perhaps an older, been there done that, pony would be more suitable for them.
 
No its not the headcollar that has made her aggressive and i know she wasnt tangled up in it or anything scary like that as i was in the field next to her and would have noticed, i think she got it off with some very vigorous rolling! The children dont have to be involved and they are never on there own with her, i am always there. She has been very good with the children though i am very aware how unpredictable any horse/pony can be and am always careful. They will certainly not be doing anything at all with her till i can sort this out.
 
do you have an old mare you could run with your youngster, that should sort out her pecking order. as the old mares run a heard. or can you keep her in for a bit, she will find out were her food and water comes from that way, and handle her in the stable, quiet possibly testing you. plus spring grass is like cheap cider to teenagers sends them stupid
 
If it's a 'season' issue, you should see a difference in her behaviour within a week or so. If she calms back down and become affectionate and consistent again, then I think it safe to assume it's a hormonal blip. One that she might have recurring regularly throughout this summer as her seasons come and go, but one which she will hopefully adapt to as she matures and becomes used to what happens. My poor filly didn't know what the heck was happening during the worst day of the season she had a couple of weeks ago. She was practically sitting down in her stable as I was trying to rug her. She just froze in this awkward low down squatting position, and looked totally bermused about it all. I don't think she had any control over what she was doing. Poor thing.

If the behaviour lasts beyond the time of a normal season, then it may be a 'phase' she's going through. A belligerent phase! Depending on how these phases are handled, they generally last a few months and then die off. BUT it depends on how much of an 'issue' is made of them at the time, IME. If my baby horse is acting offish and crabby, I leave her alone. No point in asking for an arguement. Better to walk away and leave things for another day. If the horse is not given the opportunity to 'get the better of you' or use its size and strength against you, then bad habits are less likely to form during these transient obnoxious stages during which they flex their muscles and test their boundaries. It will be the same once she starts under saddle. Some days are better than others for schooling and pushing issues. On other days, it's better to leave the schooling and simply go for a hack instead!

To answer your question, I would guestimate (and it's really impossible to say really, as she isn't my horse) but if you were to drop her off with me tomorrow I'd expect her to push the boundaries for a few more months. Probably no more than than 3 or 4. As summer starts, the grass becomes less inclined to fizz them up, and she'll have the company of another horse and a couple of sheep; I'd expect her to calm down mentally. In the meantime, I'd only handle her when she was in a civilized mood. Not to say I'd let her rule the roost, but if she seemed placid on one day - I'd do a bit more with her on that day; conversely, when she was irritable and crabby - I'd just walk away from her BEFORE she had chance to interact with me. I've found by doing this, the young horse is able to pass through their awkward patches without being able to make too much of anything. And then before you know it, the phase is over and no harm is done.
 
Not popular advice I guess but tell dealer to come and get it!!! It sounds like it has frightened you so move on and try again with an older more accomplished animal before someone gets hurt
 
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No she hasnt got a field mate at the moment though she will in the next month or so. We have been giving her loads of attention while she has been in her field and though i know its not the same she was in a field on her own previous to being at the dealers and it wasnt a problem.
How long would you expect her to carry on like this if it is just her testing the waters. I know what your saying about the lunge whip but her level of aggresion and how quickly she was moving around the field made me think a long whip maybe better!

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Thats the problem, a not yet 2yo on her own, she is seeing you as another herd member and is trying to be top dog, no youngster should be on it's own and how do you know she was fine on her own before she went to the dealer - did the dealer tell you this?

Sorry but you need to get her some equine company asap, in a month or so just won't do I'm afraid, it is totally unfair on her to be solitary, horses are herd animals, and youngsters need to learn herd behaviour.

Regarding her testing the waters, some youngsters continually test the waters, others only need telling once or twice, it is a suck it and see situation, but you do need to be one step ahead.
 
Diane - sorry hun, and I don't mean to be rude or upset you in any way but have you had a lot of experience with owning horses? I ask because (sorry again) the behaviour of your filly, the fact that you expect young children to safely handle such a young and inexperienced horse unsupervised, your nervousness and hesitancy around her all seem to suggest you haven't. Your filly is just being a filly. A very new home and no other horses to give her a bit of security is bound to make her flighty and edgy. What she needs more than anything at this time is leadership and someone to boss her around so she feels safe again. Take a crop (not a lunge whip) and don't be afraid to use it, even if it's just to wave it at her or smack the ground hard in front of her. If necessary, tie a Tesco carrier bag to the end of it, which will give her something to think about. Take care about that because you don't want her to be afraid of you, just respectful. What would her mother/other horses have done if she'd been behaving like that in the field? Flattened their ears at her, snapped at her, ran at her, put her in her place. So you have to do that too. Release your inner brood mare lol! Be assertive round her, wave your arms in her face and "grow" a foot to show her you mean business. I've known the tiniest of ponies to be the herd leader amongst the 16.2 hunters! Another thing that will help her settle is routine. Work out a routine that suits you and stick to it so she knows when you will turn up, what happens next, etc etc. Take polos, a chair and good book (along with the crop) into her field and just sit there reading quietly. Give her a polo if she's polite round you. Leap off the chair and scream loudly if she isn't. But remember, you have to be totally consistent with her. No good letting her do something one minute and yelling at her for it the next - you'll just end up with a very confused and worried horse. You've got the crop if absolutely necessary. I know it's not me dealing with your filly but I honestly don't see this as anything other than what you get when first you buy a youngster. You can't possibly give in after 2 weeks - owning a horse can bring much more fun and games than this! Do you have an expert friend who can come round and give you some tips?
 
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