help please, aggressive horse.

S

Solstar

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Solo is in a stable that is in a narrow-ish(6ft) alleyway.
His box is at the opening end of the alley(the other end is closed), so the two horses that are stabled next door and opposite that one have to be led past sol to get out into the yard.
Opposite solo is my other horse, red.
Solo has always been quite a dominant horse and is also head-shy, so slapping him will not work.
This morning, before i got to the yard, the horse next to him was being led past and he tried to attack him over the stable door.
I got to the yard at 7.30 and the horse that lives next to red was being led out. Solo leapt at this horse and got hold of his rug.
Last winter he was pulling faces- this winter he is attacking other horses.
He isn't stressed in his box, has plenty to eat, and doesn't do it when the others are being bought in at night. He doesn't do it to red either.
I cant get to the yard any earlier that 7.30 on a morning. the horse next to him goes out at any time between 6 and 7 as his mum works strange hours.
I bring my two in at 4ish- neither of them mind and solo hates going out anyway.
He isnt fed any cereals, just hi fi lite and pony nuts.

So, my question to you is- how can i stop this, or prevent him doing it again?

The YM says if he doesn't stop this he will have to have a grille on his door- i dont want this as he likes to look out.

Please help!
 
Either move him to a stable where he can see more going on, or closer to the entrance door OR a grill. They can't have your horse lunging at others when they are leading in and out.
 
Sorry but put a grill up! Some of the anti weave ones can have the central 'V' opened, so it could just be closed an the mornings.
 
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Sorry but put a grill up! Some of the anti weave ones can have the central 'V' opened, so it could just be closed an the mornings.

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Good idea
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ETS: My mare likes her space too !
She adopted similar behaviour due to a similar situation to yours last winter
frown.gif

I grabbed the chance to move her to an outside stable with plenty of space around it
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this year , she's much happier now she doesn't have other horses and people hanging around her house. LOL
wink.gif

 
In our inside barn the horses hav door grills. Not just grills that are fixed but ones that open and close like a door. (top door) So when people bring their horses in/take out, the aggressive horses have their top doors closed (but can still see out through the grill/wire mesh) then re-opened when the horse/s is safely in its stable. Could you ask YO if you could have one of these instead of a permanant grill?
 
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So, my question to you is- how can i stop this, or prevent him doing it again?

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You can't. Absolutely agree with putting a grill up. It only needs to be closed when horses are being led past.

My mare was exactly the same.
 
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If you really dont want a grille could you not put your two at the closed end of the barn so no horses would have to be led past them?

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Exactly! That is the logical and less stressful way of doing it if the other owners don't mind changing boxes, or even just the one with noughty in it.
 
He is at the open end of the alley, and can see all the comings and goings.
Looks like he'll have to a grill up, because im really good friends with the other owners and i don't want to fall out with them.
I'll ask them if they'll swap boxes- im sure they wouldn't actually mind.
Thanks guys!
 
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Looks like he'll have to a grill up, because im really good friends with the other owners and i don't want to fall out with them.

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It's also about looking after your own horse, not just being worried about falling out with people.

Ever seen a horse rush back at a rate of nots, throwing it's head up at the same time and cracking it's head on the door frame? Not great - and one increasingly likely with a horse that behaves as yours does. It only takes one person to get seriously p*ssed off and chuck something at him for that to happen. (If it hasn't allready....)
 
beau does this too, he would pull faces and try and bite any horse that walked past his astable, it annoys me though because we have 2 doors yet everyone uses the one right next to my stable! im at the end.

He started it when i first got him, he was half starved and was just worried about other horses getting his food, he isnt as bad now as he isnt hungry, he just pulls faces, but like you our gangway is so narrow that if he wants to he can reach the passing horses.
He hates indroor stabling though if he has a neighbour, he is very jealous of his space, so the bars to see through next door dont pease him at all!

Hence part of the reason why he lives out!

People would shout at him as they passed with their horses, which did work a bit, but Tbh with him its more a food thing, now he knows he always has food he has chilled out.
 
If your horse is safer and happier at the end of the stable block then this does sound like the best option. I bought a horse from a livery yard I was on and she had been shoved down at the end of the block and was a very depressed and aggressive horse there, however when I moved her to where she could see all the comings and goings, she became a totally different and happy horse and I didn't have any trouble from her.

It's not nice to be the owner of a horse such as this because even though it isn't your fault, people do tend to blame you because of how your horse is; so finding out what works for you, the other people and your horse is paramount.
 
The top of the stable door is about 6ft higher than his head.
The other owners, Rod and Heidi, both know he's really headshy so i know they wouldn't hit him.
We do shout at him but it doesn't really do anything.
He wintered out when i first got him and did well, but four years later he isn't happy going out at all and he suffers from terrible mudfever so sadly this isn't an option for us.
 
Where my boy lives the corridor is very narrow, it is a bit like running a gauntlett! No room to manouver but you have to do the best you can, the horses there are all settled and content but just can't resist (nearly all boys) trying to take a chunk out of each other.
 
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