Dominant pony...

[EllieN]

Our 14hh, 10yo NF gelding is sometimes grumpy and aggressive in the field. He has always been dominant with an 'attitude' but we want to address this difficult behaviour. He can be challenging, even with my daughter who is his main handler, and he has bitten and threatened her but she is confident and firm with him and she doesn't put up with it. He is fabulous when ridden but increasingly a pain to catch and bring in - when he sees the headcollar his ears are flat back and he almost charges at you - earlier today raising his front leg at the girl trying to bring him in. When it rains he's seriously grumpy and he is jealous of his field mate getting attention too. We have some young teenagers who help care for the ponies and I have now had to warn them not to approach him as I am sure he will hurt them. We understand that the confident, firm approach is what is required but this is easier said than done as his behaviour is intimidating to others and even my daughter has been hurt. We am looking for training/behaviour work to correct this - he is otherwise healthy and happy, and otherwise very relaxed. This behaviour is unacceptable but we are not sure what to do about it - any advice welcome!

 

[flirtygerty]

Invest in a dually halter and do some groundwork with him, let him know who is in charge and it shouldn't be him, I have two dominant horses, my trotter x who chases off the others when I'm around, so I chase him off, only letting him back when he's licking and chewing, my WB mare is built like a tank and uses her size to bully those not confident in handling her, you are in charge, not your pony, my lot are 17hh, 16 2hh (WB) 15 2hh Trotter x and 14 hh cob, they all know who is in charge, ME at 5' 6" and 8stone.

 

[ISHdaft]

i had this issue with my mare, dont be bullied by him if he charges at you ears pinned back chase him off make yourself look as big as possible. Granted i know this is easier said than done
when catching though try let him come upto you instead of you walking right on upto him maybe even reward him with a treat or whatever so he wants to come to you in the field
try bring him in for various things too rather than just riding (dont know if thats the case of course) but bring him in just for a groom to spend time with or so give him a feed ect should also make him more willing to be caught also dont always just go in to catch him go in a few time to give him a scratch or whatever so he doesnt always see you as "they are taking me away from the field!!!"

Good luck x

 

[Tnavas]

Find out why he is grumpy, many horses/ponies don't like to be caught because they are in pain, may just be low grade or more. Have a chiro check him over thoroughly and adjust if needed.

Check saddle fit and condition of teeth. It can be something so simple such as pulling back, or slipping over in the paddock.

Also check for ulcers.

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I agree with T.

There have been some interesting discussions on here RE how unhelpful and often inaccurate it is to label horses as 'dominant'. It makes it easy to dismiss their behaviour that could be caused by a genuine problem.