Aggressive/dominant horse help!

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Lurds

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Hello all this is my first post, after a couple I months of reading I thought I would post :)

I have owned my horse for 9 years now and it's only been recently that this has been happening, but he gets fed hay in the field and when I'm putting it out if I don't let him have mouthful out of the wheelbarrow then he will charge at me ears flat back and heading straight at me! I don't run away but I don't know why he is doing it.

He has always been a dominant horse but nothing like this! Has any one any advice on this or past experience?
Thanks in advance :)
 
he's definitely thinking that he's the boss, personally i would fix this by taking a schooling whip in (not to smack but as an extension) and bloody chase HIM away until YOU choose to let him have the hay

i'm afraid i won't put up with that behaviour in the slightest- it will just get worse if not dealt with

good luck :)

ETA i dont mean chase randomly across the field- i mean if he does it, then you chase him away from you and carry on putting the hay out- just keeping him out of your personal space really.
 
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What does he do if you stand your ground, growl and wave a rope around? If you relent and let him have hay then he's learned that all he needs to do is look scary to get what he wants.....
 
Lurds said:
No he is out with 2 others, he lives out with them
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Odd then - could it be he is really hungry and desperate for the hay? Do they all get a good share or do they have to fight for it?
I have 2 recently turned out together and I am feeding them a bale of hay a day between them - they are out 24/7 with no hard feed yet. I have been surprised at how nicely they share even from the same pile as I place on both sides of 14ft field shelter, but they eat together.

Has nothing changed like his workload to make him hungrier? It's a strange one.
 
His workload has stayed the same and his feed has just up'd as he feels the cold he gets 1 large hard feed a day and is out in a 4 acre field with loads of grass still they all get 2 sections each twice a day and they all share nicely

If I stand my ground he will turn his back end at me and get rather close before I move out of the way but I still don't let him have the hay - his only done this since we moved yards about a yer ago but he seems more relaxed here. :/
 
Another one that wouldn't stand for it. I would take a rubber skip and aim for his backside with it, if he turned his rear on me.....just making sure you are out of the way should he kick out.
 
Lurds said:
His workload has stayed the same and his feed has just up'd as he feels the cold he gets 1 large hard feed a day and is out in a 4 acre field with loads of grass still they all get 2 sections each twice a day and they all share nicely

If I stand my ground he will turn his back end at me and get rather close before I move out of the way but I still don't let him have the hay - his only done this since we moved yards about a yer ago but he seems more relaxed here. :/
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^^ he's getting cocky, and even if cold and hungry there is no excuse for this.

as i say, take a whip and dont let him get so close he can kick you. stand your ground and make lots of noise!!! :) he thinks he's boss- simple as lol


it's easily fixed, you just need to to be more assertive in the field :)
 
To be honest, as you've owned him that long you know him and he knows you and I think you need to remind him who's in charge. I would take a whip with me to get him out of your personal space. he's probably acting like this to keep the others out the way as opposed to coming at you but it's still not acceptable and f you just need rom the sounds of it he knows it, you just need to remind him!
 
IMO, he's doing it because he knows he can. I would take a highly visible rope, rather than a whip and swing it in a circular motion, long before the horse gets anywhere near the barrow.
 
Agree with Cadfael&Coffee. Excellent advice .... you need a longish whip so you can use it from a distance too. He's just showing normal herd behaviour and this weather doesn't help ... but this is NOT ON with you. May be worth doing some ground work in the field too in the future, a few days after you've put your foot down with him.:)
 
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If this has started since you began giving the hard feed, I would have a good look at what the feed contains, having had one in the past who was intolerant of cereals and molasses and currently have one that cannot cope at all with alfalfa, I tend to always look at what the horse is eating as my first port of call
 
YorksG said:
If this has started since you began giving the hard feed, I would have a good look at what the feed contains, having had one in the past who was intolerant of cereals and molasses and currently have one that cannot cope at all with alfalfa, I tend to always look at what the horse is eating as my first port of call
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Sensible suggestion. There is always a reason for change in behaviour. The horse suddenly deciding that they are going to challenge a human for ownership of hay - when they have never done this before - is not a very good reason.

A much better way to look at the reason for the change is to examine what else has changed recently. Logically, if possible, if you can then return things to the way they were before (i.e. cut out the hard feed for a while) this is a good way to test causes of the change.

it is also a good idea to defuse the situation in the meantime. When we have had herd difficulties in the past (one grumpy horse due to ulcers), we would bring all horses into a holding area before putting hay out, and then release them back to eat their hay in peace. Don't be running the gauntlet of snappy horse, just don't give him the reason to be snappy in the first place. Carrying a rope or a whip may well help a bit, but it won't get a determined horse off you and it may annoy them enough to get defensive double barrels aimed at you. The rule of sensible safety says don't deal with the situation when it arises, instd do something to make sure it doesn't happen at all.
 
Some fab replies, just my 2 cents in general about going out into a field with bolshy horses (not mine). I would take to carrying a lead rope and walk confidently swinging the lead rope so if any horse did invade my space it would get a whack from the lead rope but the horse would have inflicted it on itself iyswim. Plus rather than having to desensitise your horse to the whip afterwards most horses are used to lead ropes being used everyday so is a good little training aid. I agree with the replies about getting to the root cause so you do not put yourself in this situation in the first place. My filly is only 17 months but I've trained her to back up before I enter her field and she knows where to wait for her hay to be placed down, routine, consistency. Goodluck x
 
He has been having the same feed since last year so not much has changed there just slightly increased it

Great ideas and advice, I may give him his hard feed outside of the field while I put the hay out, that way he has no chance to do it! x
 
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