Horse kicking out at other horses...

Dottyfordylan

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My horse is rising five, bolshy know it all cob. A couple of times has threatened to kick out at another horse on a hack when they come past him or visa versa. I took him to his first show last weekend so first time in a warm up and he was very excited to say the least, he got rather uptight and defensive when other horses came past him and again threatened to kick out a couple of times.

He is also a bully with the big shire cross mare in his field and she now backs down and runs away, do you think turning him out with something that may knock him down a peg or two would be a good idea?

Apart from putting a red ribbon on to warn others is there anything else I can do to calm him or make things better.

Also does anyone know what might cause this is it just because he is young...or just him in general.

Any ideas opinions welcome :)
 

Witchy

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Joe kicks out with his front legs at horses that he doesn't know, it's just him trying to assert his ranking. It's normal I think but is he bolshy with you too? Joe can be a bit of an arsey darcey with me and I think its because I'm too soft on him so he thinks he's boss (currently in the process of pulling rank).
 

Dizzydancer

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I will probably get alot of jip for this but i would put him with something to make him relaise he isnt top dog all the time. We have always done that with any bolshy youngsters they soon learn obviously if he doesnt back down and it gets too rough then seperate and you may just have to live with it.
Although some horses just dont like crowding so yes red ribbon definately, you could give him a calmer before a show if you think its because he is stressed. My pony is like this when i used to show i warmed him up at home before travelling and then tried to find a quiet place away form the warm up ring to ride if there was one.
 

Dottyfordylan

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Joe kicks out with his front legs at horses that he doesn't know, it's just him trying to assert his ranking. It's normal I think but is he bolshy with you too? Joe can be a bit of an arsey darcey with me and I think its because I'm too soft on him so he thinks he's boss (currently in the process of pulling rank).

Yes very bossy with me! In my face all the time while doing his rugs up barging out of his stable which has got a lot better.... For the most part. I've tried the nice approach and ive tried being boss he has got a lot of slaps on the chest as he is always in my personal space!

As far as I know he was kept as a pet at one point so has probably been able to get away with murder in the past, it's just proving very tiring to correct him all the time.
 

fidleyspromise

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Mine used to do this. Her first few hacks out, when a horse went past her and what I did was growl and ask her to leg yield away from the horse passing. After this happened a few times, she settled down and simply pulls faces when another horse passes.
She is another bolshy horse!! She was very low down in the pecking order at this point.
I would def go with red ribbon when you go out to shows.
 

ladyt25

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I think he will get betterb with time once he gets used to certain situations. Some horse however just do not tolerate horses in their personal space well at all and you have to appreciate that and try and work with them to lessen their stress.

I have a 14.2hh who is the same and has always been this way. He is the boss and is pretty dominant although he gives others plenty of warnings before he gets mad! However, he is an angel as far as stable manners are concerned (albeit prone to being a bit nervy). He used to get stressed at shows and also does not like other horses passing him too close out on rides but as long as they don't stop he is ok. If they did stop near him he will get very uptight, squeal, reverse etc etc. Before i knew he was like this I let him say 'hello' to a friends horse once when i met her on a hack - well, never again as he went in for a full lunge and striking out withhis front feet!!

I have had him tested as I suspected he may be a rig as he displayed very stallion like behaviour. Apparently he is not a rig but I am not totally convinced. He is rather an impressive type and even now aged 24 he looks pretty darn good. Maybe he was just cut late.

I would possibly suggest having yours tested in case he is a rig. He may well not be but worth ruling it out. Maybe yours was cut late? At the end of the day though someone's got to be the herd leader but working on his attitude at shows is probably most important. I would certainly put a red ribbon in his tail as it's only fair on others.
 

Kenzo

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My horse is like this, but he’s always been aggressive with other horses anyway, he’s getting a bit better but still you have to be on your guard with him and make sure other horses are not too close to him with hacking out with others, he’s worse with horses he knows at it happens, doesn’t seem to bother with strange horses, like passing on hacks or in a warm up (but I do keep him away from them to just in case) but I can tell when he’s gets his cocky head on.

He’s always been top dog even from being a 2 year old, he been in with various other ‘alpha male’ geldings while he’s been growing up to bring him down a peg or two but that didn't work, he fears nothing! :rolleyes:

He gets a sharp belt with the crop and a loud growl as soon as his back comes up and his ears start to come back, trick is to catch them before they do it, send them forward into trot to quickly take their mind of it but at the same time if your horse is pretty sensitive and has a big attitude you have to pick your moments wisely and remember to praise for good behaviour.
 

Dottyfordylan

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thanks for all the replys its good to know im not alone. I will be taking out a lot more from now on so he can be in warm up situations more often. Will also be having a group jumping lesson every few weeks so will hopefully learn how to deal with it better although he doesn't behave as bad group schooling at home.

ps...the red ribbon has been bought:)
 

Damnation

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My last little diddy 15.2 was bolshy in the field. So I moved yards told the YO who said we have a livery who's mare will bring her down a peg pr two if the livery agrees.
Well My mare put HERS down a peg or two!!
In the end it was my mare put in with other bolshy things because she would assert herself.
However with other horses under saddle and stable manners were fine. I made it quite clear i was incharge!
Your granny could lead her round the yard no problem!
Try putting him in with something that will bring him down in the rankings but it doesn't always work.
All you can do is ensure that YOU are incharge and in theory it should go for riding too. YOU are incharge whether ontop or in the saddle!
 
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