Dangerous horses; where do you draw the line?

[meandmyself]

Where do you draw the line for a dangerous horse? Will you put up with a grumpy horse who threatens to kick/bite etc? What are your views on horses who bite? Would you have a horse PTS for biting? For kicking?

Sorry, just interested what people will put up with.

 

[serena2005]

no i wouldnt put a horse down for it, i would try my hardest to retrain the horse, or if it was exceptionaly bad, for example there was a hand reared horse at a yard i use to go to who lunged at children picking them up by their coats, while he was still in the stable!

he didnt understand how to behave with humans as he lost his mother during his bith, he is now happy in a santuary where he is looked after by people who knows how to deal with his problems.

 

[Blizzard]

I would say biting is manners, as is kicking, to an extent, most things like that can be retrained, I would only consider a horse dangeous if it was throwing itself on the ground with you on, excessive persistant rearing etc etc

 

[Blackhawk]

No, not just for kicking and biting. Don't all horses do this at some point?

I would have every medical and professional avenue explored before thinking about something like that. Perferably, if I knew I could ensure it, I'd keep it as a companion.

 

[Natalie_H]

When I got my TB he was severly underweight & very quiet. As he put on weight, he started to become very aggressive. He would try to bite & kick me when I groomed him, he bit my Mum on her chest & on her leg (quite severely) in 2 feed related situations, & bit me severely on both forearms in similar scenarios (permanently scarred!).

I was close to getting rid of him, but I persevered with him & worked through it. He pulls faces sometimes when I groom him, but he has not once showed his teeth or attempted to kick me in 2 years. I think he was quite traumatised as a youngster, but I had the patience to deal with the situation.

 

[Blackhawk]

You sure you don't have the same TB as me there Natalie?! Sounds VERY familiar. Had multiple people telling me to have him put down. He's a lovely horse now.

 

[clipertyplop]

i had a pony 13,2hh from auction stunning sec c very talented ride and drive but not a kids pony even though he was small. sold him on telling new owner what he was like....they in turn sold him on, also informing new owners of his temperment.....unfourtunatly they sent a teenager to catch another pony that was in the same field as him and he bit the lads face and ended up having reconstructive surgeery pony wat pts....but you could tell instincktivly (sp) that he was a badun....if its a case of a pony who has too many titbits then it can be stoped...with a bit of retraining as an old boy told me once a bite for a bite a kick for a kick.....not very intelligent horsemanship i know ..but it has worked for me in the past

 

[Natalie_H]

Very possibly Blackhawk!!! Is he a 15.3HH black beastie???? Vizzy is still a grump at times, but the work has paid off as he is very bright & has a wonderful ability to learn things super quickly. Everyone told me how "dangerous" he was, but this type of behavioural thing is really re-trainable in my opinion! What was yours like??

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

No, not for that, as others have said it's manners really. Not very pleasant but it can be trained out of them. Invariably it's something in their past that makes them do this. If they could speak it would make things a little easier though.

 

[Onyxia]

If they cant be taught to stop and are putting people in danger then PTS IMO.
But do EVERYTHING possable to find the cause and retrain.

 

[GTs]

I think where you are not in a position to take care of yourself - biting you can take care of yourself, kicking you can take care of yourself, rearing you are at their mercy, being charged at and attacked in the field you can not care for yourself, etc.

 

[vicijp]

IMO everything can be cured with patient handling/riding, except maybe a habitual rearer. Saying that my horse was a serious rearer, he went over backwards 6 times the first day I led him across the yard. He took 6 months to break in and has never even thought of rearing in the 3 years I have been on his back.
I think if a horse goes over backwards more than once it is a confirmed rearer. Im not saying they cant be cured, 99% can, but unless I could guarantee that no one but a very competent rider was going to be involved with the horse I would PTS.
Above horse was also very aggressive, kick, cow kick, strike out, bite. Now only does that to my dad and one particular farrier so not a problem.
One of the best horses in my dads yard is very nasty. As soon as you go in the stable he starts leaping towards you with mouth open, ears back. If you react in any way he will turn round and put 2 barrells at you. If you ignore him he just continues the face pulling and doing little bucks/kicks. What we will do with him when he retires from raing I dont know, but PTS wouldnt be an option.

 

[pottamus]

As most people have already suggested, I feel biting and kicking can be trained out of most horses. You have to find out what triggers it and why they are doing it (management, pain etc). And then work on positive reinforcement.
My horse gets grumpy in bad weather and when I first had him this tranpired itself in nipping at me when doing rugs and leading him. I made sure he was always warm enough and insisted on good manners, whilst moving the head away from me when he invaded my space. This knocked it on the head after several months. He gets nippy every winter when the weather changes but it is minor now and just repeat the same exercises and he gets the message after a couple of days.
Patience with horse is a real virtue.

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

For me its simple, ridden, if a horse has no self preservation, it is a dangerous horse (rearer that goes over etc)
On the ground im not so sure i would say a horse that is permanently threatening with no exception, always biting, lunging at you, kicking etc.

It is unfortunate that my last horse had both the ridden and ground aspects of a dangerous horse.

 

[Forget_Me_Not]

I dont belive in bad horses, full stop.

 

[kayleigh_and_rocky]

Oh i dont believe any horse is ever born bad, like monty roberts said, no horse is born bad, its the circumstances it gets into that make it that way (ie humans and how they are treated) I know that the horse i gave up on, who i will say was a hopeless case (even kelly marks and ian vandenburg couldnt help him) i know he was severly mistreated before i got him, and it just did his head in and ended up wanting to kill himself and everyone around him. sad.

 

[casey2312]

No, I wouldnt have it PTS. Not unless it was savaging-thats different!

My youngster has just starting biting, (in the stable) although he gets a slap on the neck, he is so good everywhere else that I accept it as part of his personality. His sire was miserable as sin in the stable too. They all have their quirks.

 

[Blackhawk]

Mines a bay beast. Lovely soppy animal that no one could get near when he arrived. He's with me for life now though.

 

[Theresa_F]

I would consider PTS for a horse that even with the best professional help was a danger to anyone near it.

Fleur was very difficult to ride, would rear and nap but was an angel in the stable - my problem was easily resolved, and she is now a very good broodmare.

I have been very lucky in never having had a horse that kicked or bit. Chancer did try it, but I found a small kick back on the offending leg stopped him with a couple of weeks and he has never done it since. Ditto nipping - he was pushed very firmly away with a very loud yell, and put in the corner.

 

[YorksG]

We were within weeks of having our welsh cobx thorougbred pts many years ago as she was dangerous in and out of the stable, rearing when led etc, biting and kicking. She also had a cough, we read an article about a horse that had a cough as a result of feed intolerances and stopped sugar and grain. She went into withdrawl for three days and then calmed down. We kept her until last year when she was 26 and died in her stable, was only kept as a companion as we could never guarantee no one had given her a titbit in the field. She was the old appalloosa's best friend and they were happy together for a good fifteen years.

 

[Tia]

Biting and kicking are perceived by us humans as being aggressive behaviour however generally it is actually defensive behaviour.

No of course I wouldn't have a horse PTS for just kicking or biting. I try to figure out the horse and see why the horse is doing this. When I was a kid I had a 14.2hh which used to attack people that walked past her stable - she dislocated someone's arm.....then I got her and within no time she was an absolute dream - she didn't kick anymore, she didn't attack anyone any more......patience and kindness with a bit of firmness included generally sorts out most (but sometimes not all) undesirable behaviour patterns with horses.

 

[eohippus]

Would never considr putting a horse to sleep unless it was absolutely confirmed that the behaviour was a result of a brain tumour or other physiological problem that could not be resolved. Other than that all horses, no matter what the problem, need to be given a chance to develop their potential, and it could be that by simply changing the handler would be enough to turn it around.
regards
Dawn

 

[Christmas_Kate]

It depends on the circumstances. Most can be retrianed but will always have 'it' in them to bite, kick, whatever.
If it was a small kids pony that kicked and bit I would try to retrain it but IMO where kids are concerned you can't take risks.
YO had a lovely horse in. He was a dream to handle, but was a bit hollow being ridden. After he dumped a girl at the yard (I never rode him), YO sent him to be professionally schooled, thinking it was simply a bitting problem. The girl she sent him to is a very experienced rider. He was an angel for her, then on the last day dumped a jockey. She kept him on for a bit, and he did his bucking bronko with her. Not just little bucks...he MEANT it. He would have made a superb hunter for someone who could sit his bucks, as he only did it once with people, just to try it on, but his bucks were HUGE. But no-one was interested.
YO had him back, and thought of sending him to auction. Then one day in the field he just lashed out and kicked her. The kick was so bad YO decided she couldnt sell him, as she'd never sleep at night worrying what he might do.
In the end he went to a proffessional sj yard. It took him about a week to dump his first victim, but the owners knew what he was capable of and will never allow him near kids.

 

[Frazer]

I echo basically what everyone has said, espically eohippus! All horses can change, my livly tb today reared, bucked, backed up, the lot at a show! I dont consider this dangerous but just excitment, many people feel its dangerous because they are such large animals, but if a dog was kicking etc.... wouldn't have the same effect. I have never seen a horse that has had to me PTS due to bad behoviour! I think the danger line is different for everyone, and once your limit has been reached I think selling the horse on is possible the only optinion.

 

[MagicMelon]

I wouldnt "put up" with a horse who was nasty, I would do everything I could to try to sort it out. I think there are very very few horses in the world who are beyond help, they just need a lot of time, effort and understanding.

I have a horse who was pretty horrid as a 3yo - would charge off when he felt like it, crush you against walls if you were in the way, threatened me over his feed, bit, kicked etc.! BUT he just took a few months to settle into his new home with me. Once he did start to settle he began to trust me and understand there were ground rules. It took a lot of work (and bite marks, and near misses.....!) but he's so much better now and we have a good relationship. I think it depends on everyones idea of dangerous - Im sure a novicey person may have said my boy was dangerous back then! I know non-horsey friends wouldnt go near him!

I would never put a horse to sleep unless for a physical reason (under vets advise). Too many people are quick to kill a horse, which I think is totally unacceptable. Ill probably get shot down for saying that, but thats the way I feel!

 

[Skhosu]

I would not put a horse to sleep unless it had a physical problem (i.e brain tumour).
We domesticated them, it's our responsibility to look after them.