Horse aggressive with others at feedtimes

[Kaggie]

Hi I have a new cob - he is very greedy and at mealtimes he gets aggressive with his fieldmate - he always gets fed first and then we feed the other horse at a good distance away but mine will even leave his bucket to chase the other horse away - he is also very intimidating to me and my friend (the other horses owner) if we try and make him wait for his feed - he is a lot better when fed in his stable but still hard to control - I usually ask him to back up a few paces and then wait for a couple of seconds before dropping his bucket which is do- able in his stable but impossible in the field - any advice gratefully received

 

[be positive]

If he is intimidating everyone then you need to stop feeding him in the field before he injures someone, I very rarely feed in a field and only if I know they will behave sensibly as this type of aggression usually gets worse rather than better. Making him wait will not help if the other horse is still there once he gets the feed he will still be the same if not worse so remove the feed from the equation completely, either stop feeding him or bring him in and feed him where he can eat without feeling the need to protect his feed, far safer for all involved and better for him to learn he does not need to be fighting off his field mate.

Is he genuinely hungry due to no grass, if so then I would give hay to top up his diet and keep him happy, if there is enough grass and he is a typically good doer cob then he probably doesn't need a feed at this time of year and is just being greedy because that is his nature.

 

[Shay]

Couldn't agree more. Feeding in the field is a recipe for disaster. Even the most placid can become food aggressive under those circumstances. Plus he is new to you and new to the field. He doesn't know what will be allowed and not allowed yet just increasing his need to defend his food. Plus if he learns he can intimidate you he will keep doing it because he's a cob!

Bring them both in and feed seperately in a stable. Its a good opportunity to re-enforce catching, do your daily checks and just spend some time with him (after you've fed him - don't interfere with him whilst he's eating!).

 

[HashRouge]

Some horses are very food aggressive - my advice would be to feed him in the stable and leave him to it.

 

[Kaggie]

Thank you everyone for your replies - I have taken your advice - I will not feed him in his field anymore and work on his manners in the yard instead