My 1,5 year old filly is getting very dominant

[MSS]

My yearling filly is getting very dominant! She is happy to have cuddles and being very friendly, but when I start leaving the field she starts stopping me by walking in front of me and if I still try leave she starts pouncing her back end “threatening to kick”. I have last couple times chased her away, but last time she then gathers more speed and charges towards me. Unfortunately we don’t have a round pen and not sure yet how to stop this behaviour before it gets out of hand... any advice will be appreciated! 🤔

 

[Asha]

Is she in a herd ? does she have friends her own age to play with ?

 

[MSS]

She is out 24/7 with a 4 year old mare (who seem to be the boss)

 

[Pearlsasinger]

A round pen wouldn't make a scrap of difference. Don't put yourself in a position where she can circle you, call her to you, rather than you going to her. Take a lead rope and wallop her with it, just once, if she threatens you. If you must go into the field away from the gate, catch her and make her walk politely back to the gate with you. Don't let her dominate you!

 

[turnbuckle]

Suggest blue pipe rather than lead rope for wallop. Lead ropes have a habit of bouncing back and catching you in the eye! I speak from very painful experience

 

[AdorableAlice]

Stop the cuddles and any niceties. Keep all handling business like and to the point. Find the largest blue pipe you can and use it before you have a nasty dominant mare on your hands. A good point to remember is - you move their feet not the other way round.

 

[twiggy2]

Get some some sensible calm experienced help in.

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Suggest blue pipe rather than lead rope for wallop. Lead ropes have a habit of bouncing back and catching you in the eye! I speak from very painful experience

Keep hold of the clip end!

 

[Lintel]

Take a schooling whip in with you! Only has to be used once to have the desired effect. Or a blue pipe... Schooling whip carriers more of a sting but is easier to carry imo.

 

[cundlegreen]

Stop the cuddles and any niceties. Keep all handling business like and to the point. Find the largest blue pipe you can and use it before you have a nasty dominant mare on your hands. A good point to remember is - you move their feet not the other way round.

You took the words right out of my mouth!!

 

[Dave's Mam]

I learned the hard way. Scratches & niceties are reward, not normality.
Normality is doing what you're told, being a good pony & THEN you get a praise.

 

[Auslander]

I am not a fan of giving a horse a wallop, and the majority of mine are respectful without me having to get tough on them. One has a tendency to get too big for his boots periodically, tries it on with the other horses, and gets really dominant over humans who come into his field. I have zero tolerance for being run down, or for him squaring up to me when I tell him off, so I take a lunge whip into the field, and use it calmly, but with great feeling when he threatens to run me down, won't get out of my way, or turns his backside on me. He's a smart kid, so after feeling a sharp stinging sensation on his naughty little bottom a few times, he remembers his manners, and becomes a polite member of society again. Blue pipe isn't suitable in this situation, as he has been known to retaliate with a flying hoof. I prefer to be a bit further away during our Come to Jesus discussions.

 

[Denbob]

My boy was overhandled as a youngster so sometimes I have to remind him to respect my 'bubble' while i'm poo-picking, if he decides it's play time that turns sour if I don't want to go along with it (which consists of a 16'2 draught cross rearing and cantering towards you, talk about an adrenaline rush!).

I've developed a "scary mum voice" which is basically a growl accompanied with a quick whack with the flat back of the pooper scoop to the bum usually holds! It also means that when he hears the scary mum voice he knows I mean business. 2 or 3 of those and he's learnt that he can come up to me in the field but it's strictly a four-feet on the ground situation.

 

[MSS]

Thank you all for your replies! They are all totally appropriate, and I have had youngsters before, just never had one so a dominant. She has always be very much people person, being happy to come see you, but with that she also seem to have less of the respect/fear towards people. I am naturally very much practical no nonsense kind of person, but just wanted to hear from people who have experienced this kind of dominant behaviour from their youngsters (what worked what didn’t). 🤔

 

[fburton]

You're on the right track if you accept that "dominant" is just a convenient label for the behaviours your filly is displaying, and don't get seduced into thinking that it's linked to social dominance and that the solution must therefore lie there. Fortunately, no one's replies so far have suggested that. Everyone's advice has been sensible and down-to-earth - nipping the behaviour in the bud with appropriately firm responses, and avoiding encouraging the wrong behaviours by inadvertently rewarding them. As people have said, consistent, business-like (confident), and firm but fair handling is the way to deal with this.