Agressive at feeding ( with people)

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JadeWisc

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How would you handle this ?


4 yr old horse is calm and easy to handle in most ways. He will tie calmly,allows you to hose him down and bathe him ( again calmly) Clip him, saddle him, wonderful at ground work ......Ok, you can do most anything with him and get the expected level of respect with a good attitude.


BUT

You bring out any type of feed and he appears to turn insane??? Horse has NEVER been lacking in food. He will become very aggitated and the impression that I get is that he is sizing me up as competition for the feed?

He will even try and swing his back end around to me. Today when I was trying to bring him a hay net while he was tied I thought he would have me pinned against the fence! I know that at feedings some horses can get excited but I have never had a horse behave like this before

advice on how to deal with this appreciated.
Also....anyone have an experience with a situation like this before?
 
walk away. i leave them alone while eating, its their 'special time' so tht wouldnt bother me tbh.
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but if he went for me while i handed him the bucket
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i would belt him with it.
 
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walk away. i leave them alone while eating, its their 'special time' so tht wouldnt bother me tbh.
smile.gif
but if he went for me while i handed him the bucket
mad.gif
i would belt him with it.

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I'ts not that I am pestering them while they eat. It happens when I bring him the hay or feed.
 
Mine has always been this way inclined - and as he does his job, I figure I don't like being disturbed at meal times, so fair dos...

I feed him by shoving his feed bowl under his door chain, having first insisted he allows me to stroke his face - I simply stand their calmly behind the chain until he lets me. As for nets, I have him tied out the way whilst I do them, and he knows there is a rule of no eating with the bit in or when I am tying up nets - a simple 'errr' in the right tone of voice reinforces this!

Mine's never been short of food either, I bought him from his breeder - it's just the way he is.
 
hi wen i first goy my mare she was like this, i tried everthing but the only thing that worker was i started just giving her a hand ful of feed in the bucket instaed of a full one. also get a bottle with stones or rice in and wen he starts bieng a bully shake it just once, at first stand neer the door way so if he reacts badly your not stuck in a corner.it does take a lot of time and patiance. also if you have an exact feeding time try and do it a little earlier and supprise him good luck
 
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walk away. i leave them alone while eating, its their 'special time' so tht wouldnt bother me tbh.
smile.gif
but if he went for me while i handed him the bucket
mad.gif
i would belt him with it.

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Cant add any more than that really
smile.gif
!!
If he good for everything else leave him alone with food!As said above,if he came at me whilst i had bucket he would get a telling off,just avoid that situation,chuck it in with him and walk away!
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walk away. i leave them alone while eating, its their 'special time' so tht wouldnt bother me tbh.
smile.gif
but if he went for me while i handed him the bucket
mad.gif
i would belt him with it.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'ts not that I am pestering them while they eat. It happens when I bring him the hay or feed.

[/ QUOTE ]
Can you not tie him up somewhere whilst you do this?I know it is a pain but saves the agro
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tbh a horse should never step over the mark by trying to bully you. i didnt put up with it and now my 19 month old daughter picks her ponys feet out wen shes eating, 5 months ago she would of killed her.
dont stand for it and i dont agree to leave him alone
 
my 3 year old started doing this. at feed time she goes mentall in the stable bucking, squealing, kicking, generally throwing herself around. i started by making her back up in the stable before she was aloud her feed and now she does it without me asking her. though she stills throws herself around while waiting. for her it is a respect issue and she kept questioning other things that she had been fine with. i ended up sending her for some ground work and she is a different horse. she is a much nicer person and i can go in and do things while she is eating.
so basically not that you want to send him away but for mine it was definately a respect issue so i would address it now.
 
i wrote it before bowt the bottle. dont pussy fut around him dnt just throw it over the wall if he knows he can get away with this he push his luck with other things. i see hes only young nip it in the bud now. if he wont even let you in the stable use ur bottle even if it seems to frithen him ur the boss and at the end of the day hes obvisly scaring you. arnt horses meant to be a pleasure????????????////
 
it will come in time! just dont put your self in a corner! i cant belive ppl will put up with this behaviour . do try n suprize him it works as there never sure wen to be ready to bully you lol
 
I am sure parelli would have a solution to this problem.
I don't agreee with belting a horse. Rather he needs to be put in his place in a language he can understand. I suggest he feels the most dominate at this time as do you think that the herd leader would allow a horse below them to eat first. Definatley not! He would be put inhis place with a swift kick or bite or chased off.It is not just about training at feed time it is the whole communication thing. Practice backing him up on a long rope and placing object between your self and him. He must walk forward to the object ( I suggest an empty feed bucket) on your command and back up on your command. Repeat this often. Then gradually add a small bit of feed into the bucket. Back him up and when he is quiet invite him forward his reward is the food. Should he rush or not listen to you remove the feed until he does then start again. You could try lunging with the feed by you, because the food is what he wants so use it against him. Lunge him first then invite him forward to the bucket quietly if he rushes send him away again keep doing this over and over . The second he gets difficult send him back out on the circle he will soon realise that the only way to get to the food is to behave otherwise you won't let him have it. Watch out for licking and chewing this is an indication that he is relaxing and that he is begining to understand what you want from him. The most important thing is to be consistant.
 
I guess it depends what school of thought you belong to. My youngster has started being a bit aggressive and I received advice to take an empty rubber feed skip in to the stable and clobber her with it. The theory is she will start to think that you and the feed bucket are a bit out of control and not take you on. i haven't decided to try this yet, as I actually think it is directed towards my other horse. But that said, the other day she came at me with her ears back and teeth bared - and she got a thump in the gob for her effort
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I do agree that genuinely threatening behaviour has to be instantly disciplined - but I'm also not sure that i would start hassling my horse while they are eating. As long as they don't hassle me going in and out while they were eating, I can tolerate the odd face at feeding time - as long as that's all it amounts to.

Oh dear - not much help really
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I think it stems from over-excitement rather than him having to fight for his meal with other horses.

My youngster started behaving a little like this, so I carried a whip with me a few times and flicked it and gave her a gruff 'no' to get her away from me, also made her 'back up' and 'move over' - voice commands she understood.

If she tried to bully me she got a thwack. I wouldn't give her her feed until she stood still and out of my personal space. It took about a week. Now she stands patiently in the field shelter for her feed and doesn't encroach me.

She's bottom of my pecking order so gets her tea last.

But she never turned her bum on me which is more difficult to withstand.

A previous gelding I owned was very aggressive in the stable and ten times worse with feed. I thought I'd got on his side until one day he turned his bum on me and pinned me against the wall.
I was so enraged I just grabbed his tail and yanked it as hard as I could in a 'do or die' sort of way. Well, I was lucky.

He shot forward, snorting and looking wide eyed and then turned round for a cuddle and some reassurance!!

I was soooo surprised.

So, it's often true that bullies are wimps!

Wouldn't want to try that one again though!
 
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I feel it is repsect too. I just am not sure why he has no respect for me at feeding but does in every other sense.

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Mine is the same - can you live with it? If you can, then fine, avoid the situation. Personally it doesn't bother me coz my horse is not a pet, and it is pretty much his only problem area, so I don't really care. It hasn't spread into any other areas of handling him, in which he is meek and mild to the extent that he will back up on voice command, pick up his foot on voice command and hold it for you, move over on voice command, drop his head for brushing on voice command and opens his mouth for the bit.

If it does bother you, then deal with it - growl every time he does it, tie up for nets being put up and make him stand and accept your presence when he is eating - start by making him let you touch him before you give him the feed and stand over him when he eats, then stand in with him, then run your hands over him, then change rugs etc etc. Will take ages! I can do stuff with mine when he is eating, but he hates it, just tolerates it, so why would I want to?! I wouldn't want someone brushing my hair or changing my coat when I was eating!

Interestingly all the professionals who run competition yards who I've mentioned it to have at least one the same....and do you know what, they don't give a stuff and they leave them alone to be fed, just shove it over the door or whatever.
 
My horse was like this.First I asked him to back off if he didnt I raised my arms until he moved back.There was alot of whinnies and squealing and stamping feet but I stayed calm and stood my ground.I didnt give him his feed until he moved to the back of his stable.After a while I could put his feed down and ask him to wait and when he comfortable with that I tried taking it away only the once but he now trusts me enough so that in a emergency I can take from him .I dont interfere with him when he is eating I just pat his neck if he has been good I feel its his time and he loves his food .The rest of the time he is brilliant I can change his dressings or put bandages on in the stable and he stands still and lets me without tying him up.He will also let me change bandages in the field so its not a question of trust or confidence just greed possibly heirarchy.He is extremely food orientated once the grass is through in the summer and he is stuffed his meal times are not quite so important to him.
 
There was an article not so long ago on this subject and the advice given in that was the horse is feeling threatened for some reason... and it is best not to react to them, belt them or make a big fuss......

I also have a TB that is an absolute sweety in every way possible, but god helpyou at feed time!!! But we just go in, ignore the face pulling, the teeth lunging at me and put the food down.... I now make a point of going in and giving him a good scratch on the neck/poll whilst he is eating to hopefully teach him that I am no threat to his dinner!!!

You have to see what works with you but good luck!
 
Well that could make sense because he was ( up until January) in with another Gelding who bullied him. Maybe that is where the threat feeling comes from?


ets: It was more than average bullying. He was quite an agressive gelding with other horses and when he bit he meant business!
 
One of my TB boys does this,but as you said he is quite aggressive (ears back, nasty faces) I don't react to it, as long as he is only threatening I don't worry about. And definitely don't hassle them while eating, my horses stable is their place, if I want to do anything in it I take him out, and if I want to do anything to him I take him out.
Me laddo is also very coltish in behaviour traits too.
 
I am sure you will find what works for you both
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,plenty of ideas to go at!!
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He obviously is not bullying you or it would extend into other areas,he is obviously defensive with his food,and as you have said he was picked on,i can relate to that,my lad was,however now he has moved he is not(never was) aggressive with people but he WILL stand his ground huge time with certain horses and i have NEVER seen him kick another horse til now(and i have had him 12yrs),and i put it down to the bully he was out with for 2yrs,he thinks he has to defend himself huge time!
I still believe in leaving them to eat their grub though
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ovidius
Mines a tb too I wondered if he was treated badly at the racing yard or was hungry at times but hes lovely to handle in every other aspect.I do the same thing and he doesnt feel threatend any more
 
We had a welsh cob xTB she had been kept short of food and was a maniac when even hay was about. We were lucky as the yard we kept her on had a walk way at the back of the stables with a mesh screen between it and the boxes. We put the food in through a gap and stood next to the food, but in a safe place, after months of this we could, and did, hold a bucket with apple in it in the field for her, with no aggression. Eventually we could hold her bucket with hard feed and she even brought a mouthful of hay for us when she first came in for the winter.
 
My horse was like this when I first had him. I ignored his behaviour and made him back up from the stable door and then gave him his feed but he was still acting in a threatening manner towards me when he was eating, so i left him. Gradually he allowed me to be around him when he realised I wasn't going to pinch his food.
Now I can groom, change rugs, pick out feet etc and he is absolutely fine.
I think whacking and making a big deal out of it will just make matters worse.
Be patient and I'm sure she'll be fine.
 
Parelli's take on a horse turning it's hind quarters to you are that if it did this to another horse then it would be bitted. Therefore you are to stimilate this with a short sharpe smack on the bum, have a look at Parelli's hid the hiney game. If they turn their quaters to you they are showing dominance do the hid the hiney game outside in a field then in the stable you will have all the control you need because he will read you body language.
 
My horse is aggressive at feed times, and definitely sees me as a major threat to his feed. I usually take a large mixing tub round the stables with me and dollop out scoops, but once I have put one scoop in his bowl, he is so possesive, he almost fights me off putting in more because he thinks I am after taking it back!

I bred him and i think it stems from feeding as a baby. He started off sharing from his dam's bowl, and after a few weeks she got all aggressive with him and would not let him pinch any, so I gave him his own little feed asap, but he had already learnt to fight over feed and protect what he had.

Then my aged ponies decided to muscle in and steal his feed, so he got even more wound up and even though I then separated them all (which I should have done earlier but first foal-itis, steep learning curve) he had already learned that feed is to be fought for and protected otherwise some other greedy bastard will take it away from you!

So mine's behaviour is understandable, and I do stand my ground when he is aggressive towards me, and threatening to mug me for my feed bowl, but I also appreciate where he is coming from, and I don't antagonise him by making a big deal. I just growl and make him back up a little, then I put the feed down as quickly as I can and back off and leave him to enjoy his 'kill'. I am very careful putting hay out in the field as well!
 
My Connemara gelding is very possessive of his feed and will threaten me. He was at grass livery for 2 years before I had him with a large group of horses. I think hay was left out and it was a free for all and he was at the bottom of the pecking order. Now he is here with one field mate he seems to be making sure he has first dibs on the food. When he is stabled on winter nights I insist he stands back when I am bringing stuff into the stable - he must stand right over by the wall away from me and I can get him to do this by a very strict "over" and a growl. Once I put the food down he calms down. He's quite a dominant little individual anyway but a shout or a growl is enough to make him behave if he's trying to push me around.

His behaviour is much less aggressive in the field and I changed their routine this winter and left them out overnight unless it was absolutely pouring (i.e. the whole of January!).

Strangely his new companion who is from a welfare organisation and was found almost starved to death as a 2yo is a total gent about his food (although he chows down like there's no tomorrow). In the field I put out two piles of hay well spaced apart but Mr. Connie will go and snatch something from both piles before settling down as if to assert his dominance. I just let him get on with it!
 
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