Resource guarding help!

[J_sarahd]

I need a bit of advice please!

My 6 year old connie is still a bit aggressive (he doesn’t actually bite anymore since having his PSD treatment. He just puts his ears back and glares at me.) He has been signed off by the vet a few weeks ago and I thought this behaviour might disappear too but I’ve noticed some interesting patterns.

He is out with another and normally, when I go and bring Shadow in, I pop a slice of hay in the field for his mate before I bring Shadow in. This is when I’ve seen him the most upset, even more so if he gets a bite of it before I put his headcollar to bring him in.

Yesterday, both of them came straight in together and he was genuinely super sweet to groom/tack up/be around.

Today, I tried to see if there’s any difference in not giving his friend hay before bringing him. Here lies the problem, in order to stop his friend following, I have to unclip Shadow’s lead rope and let him out onto the small patch of grass right outside the field so I can quickly close the gate behind me. It’s a slip rail so I can’t just swing it shut and his friend can move fast.

Obviously, he is getting grumpy because I’m taking him off food and this manifests into him thinking I’m going to take any and all food off him, being eager to get to food, grumpy to touch and being irritable to move around. I don’t take food off him in his stable and will leave him to eat any bucket feed in peace.

He always has hay and I’ve popped him on aloe vera juice in case there’s some digestive upset going on too. But the difference when he didn’t get “taken away from food” yesterday makes me think it is that. He is the bottom of the herd and does get pushed off hay in the field.

Also, as an aside, I am monitoring him for other signs of pain. He is doing so well out hacking and is actually feeling way more forward and bouncy than he did before the treatment, which is why I’m not going straight for pain and leaning more towards behaviour.

Any advice? I obviously go slowly with him and listen to him. No advice to just give him a smack please

 

[Amy May In A Manger]

Tie up friend, remove Connie. Release friend.

 

[DabDab]

Do you feed him when you bring him in?

If not then might be worth having a small hard feed (well, I would use a blob of beet and grass chaff) to bring him into.

Or if I didn't want to do that for some reason I would take a carrot or pear with me to the field and give it to him when you retrieve him from the grass patch after closing the gate.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Could you leave a tiny bucket feed outside the field, let him onto that and deal with the friend then?

 

[Lois Lame]

Obviously, he is getting grumpy because I’m taking him off food and this manifests into him thinking I’m going to take any and all food off him...

I don't think he's thinking that. I think he's thinking, hey, I want some of that. Why can't I have some of that?

He is the bottom of the herd and does get pushed off hay in the field.

Poor fellow. It must be difficult being in that situation.

Yesterday, both of them came straight in together and he was genuinely super sweet to groom/tack up/be around.

Any advice? I obviously go slowly with him and listen to him. No advice to just give him a smack please

Yes it's 100% behaviour. I don't mind saying that if someone gave my friend a whopping piece of pavlova or a giant lamington with freshly whipped cream and then told me to come along, I'd be very put out.

No no no, he doesn't need a smack. He just needs to be treated fairly. If you won't want to give him hay (and i can see why you wouldn't because you want to 'get on' and can't be standing about for half an hour while he chomps it down) would it be convenient to bring Shadow in first before giving his friend any hay? Then go out and give the hay when Shadow is occupied with something nice in a bucket? Or, could you bring them both in, then put the other one away and give him the hay then?

ETA: Well I made a bit of a meal of that answer didn't I? I think OP wants to give some hay to the other horse though without upsetting Shadow... and I think Shadow has a right to be upset if he feels he misses out. Where's that dropping-lower-lip-smilie?

E(again)TA: I wouldn't call this resource guarding btw.

 

[Amy May In A Manger]

With regards to him being pushed off hay in the field generally, always make sure there's more hay piles than horses, always well spread out.

 

[Archangel]

Could you make a corral inside the field. That way you can go in and out of the field without anyone crowding the gate.

 

[Sandstone1]

Could you make a corral inside the field. That way you can go in and out of the field without anyone crowding the gate.

Thats what I was about to suggest. Maybe just use electric tape to make a pen inside the gateway to make it easier to get out of the actual gateway.

 

[J_sarahd]

Thanks guys, some good suggestions here. It’s a case of wanting to give friend some hay whilst Shadow is in without Shadow feeling put out but also not allowing friend to escape and/or Shadow to get a pick of grass and then be grumpy at me for asking him off it. I will definitely try some of these suggestions. I know this seems like a simple thing to solve but sometimes when you’ve done something the same way for years (I did the exact same routine with Nova and never had any issue!) it’s tricky to think of new ways!

With regards to him being pushed off hay in the field generally, always make sure there's more hay piles than horses, always well spread out.

We do - we have 2 full hay crates and two piles of hay for 2 horses. But he is adamant that he wants to eat where his friend is, even when he knows there are other piles of hay. He will stand there and pick small mouthfuls in between his friend’s bites, or take it slowly from the edge until he gets really chased off and then he will go to one of the other piles

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

Could you leave a tiny bucket feed outside the field, let him onto that and deal with the friend then?

I would pick up the bucket while he is still eating from it and walk him away from the grass while he is still concentrating on the bucket, then there is no argument about moving him off the grass.

 

[tristars]

I would catch up daily take to grooming spot clip, then have waiting a pile of damp hay with a few oats mixed In, on top of a dustbin so he can get it easy, either ride or do something small

I'd make the coming in about reward, and pleasure, Do carrott stretches, teach him the word polos and use it a lot, buy polos, have one yourself! After hay stretches and work give a sliced up apple, then the magic polos.


I use the polo word a lot, specially after good work, a caress and say polos after good trot work during schooling, so they learn polos means good and a reward at the end

The idea being that eventually he sees coming in more interesting than a bit of old hay in the field

Put a strand of elec fence tape on the gate area

 

[frankieduck]

Can you give him a higher reward than the hay? I would chuck other horse hay, catch your horse, and give him a tasty treat once headcollar is on. Another tasty treat once you have him in the stable and then leave with a haynet for 10 mins while you potter around getting any other jobs done before you do what you need to do with him. I have on who is a bit of a fatty so always on quite restricted grazing but he is happy when he see's me he knows I will have something nice for him in my pocket, and he'll get another treat once in and a munch on hay before and after a ride, so he leaves his hay and pootles in quite willingly.