Bad Behaviour

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Accy

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Looking for some help if possible, I have a 4yr Old Polish Warmblood who has started to try and dominate me i think, bolshy to handle stable and field and last night turned on me and kicked me, he is in a field with our other horse who he also trys to dominate, Please any advice i love this horse and dont want to have to get rid.
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Sounds like you need to do some ground work to let him know who is boss. Is he ridden at the moment? How is he to ride?
 
You're going to have to get firm with him. Use strong body language and if necessary carry a whip or a lead rope so that you can flick something at him if he lunges at you. He is basically testing what he can get away with. You have to assert your seniority, not by beating him into submission, but by acting senior. Ie - he must learn to step back from you if you tell him to (eg from a gate, in his stable etc).
He must only have food as a reward - if he is being fed at the moment, you must make him feel like he has earned it even if it is a tiny task such as having his feet picked out. this way he will learn that all treats and feed are for good behaviour and because you choose to give them, not because he demands it.

You could try working him in a round pen - a 20m circle made with electric fencing (not electrified!) would do. This way he will learn to respond to your bodylanguage and learn that you can control him without touching him. this doesn't have to be fast work which might damage his young joints - walk trot and halt transitions will be prefectly constructive.

Good luck - I'm sure you'll get him back into line. Just be consistently firm and he;ll get the idea.
 
To ride he is 90% of the time very good, comes out stuffy then relaxes and gets on with it, another time he will comeout with a terrible attitude and nothing you do will change it, he gets a varied workload but i agree i am going to have to be tougher on him, and stamp this out.

Its breaking my heart as ive never really felt like this about any other horse, it makes me think he is trying to dominate me as he is gentle with other people... I hope we get through this
 
I'm sure you will get through it - alot of youngsters try it on at some point. Be unbelievably strict with him and his behaviour should turn round pretty sharply. don't beat yourself up about it tho, he doens't sound like you're a bad mum or anything, just that he is a cocky know-it-all youth!
 
well im 100% he is not in any pain, He has had back teeth checked, saddle is spot on bridle fits lovely, well fitted Myler bit, lovely comfy stable tons of turn out, varied work pattern good routine and is fed well, I hope its just a touch of the Kevins or the like !!!! I just dont want him to hate me.
Thank you for all the help.
 
He's 4 so it's hardly unexpected to have a few bumps along the road. He's feeling full of himself, testing his place in the world, and expecting that if you don't set boundaries he will be expected to do so. Horses live in hierarchies, so someone has to be in charge.

Do you have someone experienced with young horses who can offer you advice and assistance? Riding and training are not the same thing and I feel it's far easier to learn from other people's experience! Someone very experienced with young horses who is willing to work with you a bit, as needed, can make a world of difference to both you confidence and ability to maintain authority. Usually knowing exactly when and where to draw the line is more important than the force involved. You can experiment but honestly it's often easier, safer, and more fair to the horse to have someone facilitate the process a bit, especially with a teenage boy on the make!

I'm sure some will disagree but the common feeling (supported by studies) is that food is not a great reward system for horses, except in very specific circumstances. Horses are grazing animals and are therefore "hard wired" to see food as just part of the environment. "Treat" training is based on work with carnivores, like dogs (and people) who equate specific effort with tangible reward. Horses, like all herbivors, are motivated far more by comfort, the necessity for easy operation, and social pressures, with a little bit of flight response control added in. Horses live in the "now" - they cannot make the connection between their behaviour a few minutes ago and whether their perfectly expected feed appears or not. In fact, withholding feed can often make the situation worse by increasing anxiety. I'm not saying feed the horse just when he's doing something undesireable, rather tailor your management and training to avoid problems. Horses certainly do associate people with food but WE teach them that by necessity - I prefer to keep feeding and training seperate. "Space invasion" is completely different but I have never seen a horse that ONLY does this while feeding so it is much more a basic management problem (a horse NEVER comes into my space without invitation), and I've seen more than one get worse when feed is withheld inconsistently or in anger.

"Clicker" training is a rather different process but if you're going to embark on that do your research thoroughly.

Yes, your horse has to accept you leadership and yes, that involves being firm about your expectations. Horses respect leaders. But they respect good leaders who make good decisions. Young horses naturally test their boundaries so you have to be very clear and consistent, often far more so than with an older, more "set" horse. Sometimes this is tough if the horse is a pet as well but in the end it's essential for a good relationship. What you're experiencing is nothing of the ordinary and not even a "bad" reflection on your horse, it's just part of the process of having a "baby".
 
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