The Ozzy Diaries

Don't feel rubbish @Nancykitt , you have been feeding Ozzy the same way for months, today he was extremely aggressive, you weren't to know he was going to 'flip'. As others have said, he warned you with ears, but hindsight is wonderful, and you have said he can put his ears back with no follow through, today it was an aggressive ,extreme reaction. You have given Ozzy so many chances, and come such a long way, however having an unpredictable, aggressive horse around, I would be having a serious discussion about his handling and future.
 
tristars said:
Sorry Nancykitt, I meant to say, so sorry this happened and hope you recover quickly

I got bitten once in my lifetime, many years ago, by a very docile mare, who had been fed over the fence by passers by, when a horse bites the nature of the teeth clamping is pretty serious, the mare are never did it again, thank god!


This is just a personal view as I have never handled ozzie, but I would treat him as dominant, I'd be quite strict about upping his time to react to demands on the ground and not let let him have too much thinking time, his brain sounds busy and switched on

Hope i haven't said the wrong thing, sorry!
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No, you haven't said the wrong thing at all. And I think you're right about Ozzy being dominant.
It's sad because he can be so gentle.
 
nagblagger said:
Don't feel rubbish @Nancykitt , you have been feeding Ozzy the same way for months, today he was extremely aggressive, you weren't to know he was going to 'flip'. As others have said, he warned you with ears, but hindsight is wonderful, and you have said he can put his ears back with no follow through, today it was an aggressive ,extreme reaction. You have given Ozzy so many chances, and come such a long way, however having an unpredictable, aggressive horse around, I would be having a serious discussion about his handling and future.
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Realistically, I don't think Ozzy has a future in another home. I wouldn't feel comfortable passing him on and tbh I don't think anyone would get him on a wagon or in a trailer again - he is terrified of them.
But straight after a nasty incident isn't a good time to be making future plans. We'll see what he's like over the next few days. OH was planning to ride him on Wednesday and says he's still going to do this unless Ozzy has turned into a permanently super-aggressive monster - I suppose we'll know tomorrow.

I'm quite prepared to accept that Ozzy's behaviour was, in part, due to my own behaviour. Perhaps I shouldn't have insisted and I didn't take enough notice of the warning.
But I had grown very, very fond of this little cob, in spite of all his issues, and it's difficult to cope when something like this happens.
OH says rest, recover, take time - and leave the feeding/handling to him.
 
I'm so sorry this happened and I can understand how much it's shaken you up.

When feeding horses in the field I have always placed the feed on the floor and moved directly away. Absolutely no fuss, because even the best behaved horse should never be trusted in that situation (I believe). Obviously I agree that we'd want them to respect the process of food being placed on the ground prior to dropping it. But that can be easier said than done in group turn out (which I'm assuming is your set up).

I had a mare that could be food aggressive and as a result was never fed in the field. She was always brought out and separated a good way from her fieldmates as she'd direct that aggression at whatever was nearest be it horse or person. Once separated she was fine.
 
I absolutely agree you couldn’t have known he’d escalate like that, and hindsight is always clearer.

The only thing I’d add is that although the routine felt the same, it wasn’t the same every time, because you sometimes ask him to step back and sometimes don't.
With a horse who has a history of food aggression, those small inconsistencies around feed can matter more than you might expect.

You’ve clearly put a huge amount of work into him and made real progress. It’s just one of those awful moments where a difficult horse reminds us how fine the margins can be.
 
AmyMay Again said:
I'm so sorry this happened and I can understand how much it's shaken you up.

When feeding horses in the field I have always placed the feed on the floor and moved directly away. Absolutely no fuss, because even the best behaved horse should never be trusted in that situation (I believe). Obviously I agree that we'd want them to respect the process of food being placed on the ground prior to dropping it. But that can be easier said than done in group turn out (which I'm assuming is your set up).

I had a mare that could be food aggressive and as a result was never fed in the field. She was always brought out and separated a good way from her fieldmates as she'd direct that aggression at whatever was nearest be it horse or person. Once separated she was fine.
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Yes, I think putting the bucket down and moving is definitely the way forward.
We organise it so that I feed Ozzy and OH feeds Snoopy and AJ further down the fence. This works well; the other two don't go near Ozzy when he has his bucket and they all just get on with their own feeds. We had a lot of trouble with hay before we got the haybell and both Snoopy and AJ were victims of Ozzy. But since they have ad lib hay it's all been remarkably peaceful (until tonight, obviously).

foxy1 said:
I absolutely agree you couldn’t have known he’d escalate like that, and hindsight is always clearer.

The only thing I’d add is that although the routine felt the same, it wasn’t the same every time, because you sometimes ask him to step back and sometimes don't.
With a horse who has a history of food aggression, those small inconsistencies around feed can matter more than you might expect.

You’ve clearly put a huge amount of work into him and made real progress. It’s just one of those awful moments where a difficult horse reminds us how fine the margins can be.
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Regarding the routine - it got to the stage where Ozzy would step back without being asked, as if he knew I was going to ask so pre-empted the request. If he did this, I didn't always give the 'back' command, which I should have done. Obviously now I will just be dropping feed and moving straight away.
 
Nancykitt said:
Sorry, no, I can see that it read like that but he's asked to step back before being fed.
After 6 months of no problem/no aggression at feed times I thought we had established a routine. Evidently not.
I will now just drop the bucket and run. Or rather, OH will, as I'm too wary at the moment and feeling utterly crap about all this.
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It was this bit I took..

Today I gave him his feed and he looked a little grumpy. I asked him to step back, he then went ears back.

I don't think you've done anything wrong, I think aggression can be worked on but it's not something that ever goes away completely. Some new methods maybe. And safety things so he's never taken for granted.
certainly don't doubt yourself you both just spoke a different language in that moment.
 
Nancykitt said:
19th January 2026
What's up with Ozzy?

Ozzy has been doing fine. None of them have been ridden much due to the vile weather but we had plans for a friend to come over this week, which means we can take them all out as a group of three - Ozzy loves this.

Every day when I feed Ozzy, I put the bowl down and give him a little pat, then walk away. This has been going on for months, no problem.
Sometimes, before giving him his feed, I ask him to step back and he'll step back no problem.
Today I gave him his feed and he looked a little grumpy. I asked him to step back, he then went ears flat back and refused to move. I asked him again and completely out of the blue he lurched forward at me. He bit me on the shoulder, went straight through the padded coat (which now has a shredded shoulder) - he then sort of threw me over and I hit the tarmac. I had a gilet on, which was a good thing, as it's not really broken the skin but I have a massive bruise from the bite just below the shoulder.

This is pretty serious aggression - he's been quite objectionable in the past but this was on another level. And I've no idea why. He's showing no signs of pain or problems with movement. He has free access to hay. We thought all the food-related aggression had gone.

Still in a bit of shock to be honest and not really knowing how to deal with this in terms of next steps.
He clearly needs a lot of groundwork but I'd be worried for OH because even though I'm in pain, he was actually on the other side of the fence...goodness knows what might have happened had he been on the same side.

Not wanting to over-react but obviously this is a bit of a setback, esepecially when he's been so gentle and doing so well.
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Oh dear, hope you’re feeling a little better?
At least he didn’t rip hold of your face, and not surprised your OH is upset.
I had to go in hospital last month (not related to the horses, hasten to add!), but no one needs unnecessary injuries, also puts so much extra pressure on the rest of the household.
Please don’t start looking for more excuses for this cob - like, he is in pain, is hungry, we looked at him the wrong way - that level of inexcusable aggression was simply because he can.
Ozzy is merely treating you like another horse in the way of his food, and basically Ozzy already knows neither of you are going to do anything seriously deterrent.
In contrast, a dominant other horse would absolutely react, level him up sharpish, and kick him all round the field. Unfortunately Ozzy is uncontested top dog….
If you’re going to persist with Ozzy, he’d benefit most from some proper work. Suggest you do not hang around and delay access to his bucket; always take a schooling whip with you and make certain that Ozzy knows you:
a) have the whip
b) will forcibly use it.
Biting and lunging at humans is unutterably dangerous, utterly unacceptable, and certainly not in a pleasure-hack.
Warm bath and some witch hazel, meanwhile!
 
Clodagh said:
It shouldn’t happen. And if he were mine he’d be on a final written. Attacking humans, be you mouse, cat, dog or horse, is not acceptable.
Don’t feel bad. There was no need for him to do it.
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Thanks - he is probably on a final written, but I have to take some responsibility. I've not had a horse like Ozzy before and I underestimated how quickly he can revert to negative behaviour (although tonight was peak aggression).

We've been talking about the things that might have been different tonight. One thing was that I ran out of oily herbs last week and only replenished the supply tonight. He adores the oily herbs - perhaps he could smell them and wanted his feed extra-quick?
Also, OH pointed out that when he wouldn't respond to the command to step back, I used my voice and sounded very assertive. This might have wound him up more.

Exasperated said:
If you’re going to persist with Ozzy, he’d benefit most from some proper work.
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This is really important; Ozzy's groundwork and ridden work have been very sporadic over the winter when it's been too icy/snowy/gale force winds/torrential rain (and we've had a LOT of that up here). His improved behaviour in the past coincided with plenty of work. This is our first winter with him and it seems that he is lapsing. \
Not a lot we can do about the weather and the field is too muddy for consistent groundwork. We will need to find a way round this.
And for now, 'drop the bucket and run' is the best feed time solution.
 
Don’t feel bad Nancy. I would also want my horses to step back and not crowd me when I’ve got their buckets and often ask mine to.

I guess in hindsight you maybe should’ve made your second ask much stronger so he didn’t have time to be aggressive first but that’s easy to say after the event. I’d be gutted if my horses behaved like that too.

I would be very wary now of letting him off with anything. Whatever his reasoning was for the aggression today you don’t want to give him another chance to do this. I absolutely know that it’s easier said than done when you don’t know when it will escalate again and you’re working with them everyday and usually things are perfectly fine. I hope you recover very quickly
 
Nancykitt said:
Thanks - he is probably on a final written, but I have to take some responsibility. I've not had a horse like Ozzy before and I underestimated how quickly he can revert to negative behaviour (although tonight was peak aggression).

We've been talking about the things that might have been different tonight. One thing was that I ran out of oily herbs last week and only replenished the supply tonight. He adores the oily herbs - perhaps he could smell them and wanted his feed extra-quick?
Also, OH pointed out that when he wouldn't respond to the command to step back, I used my voice and sounded very assertive. This might have wound him up more.


This is really important; Ozzy's groundwork and ridden work have been very sporadic over the winter when it's been too icy/snowy/gale force winds/torrential rain (and we've had a LOT of that up here). His improved behaviour in the past coincided with plenty of work. This is our first winter with him and it seems that he is lapsing. \
Not a lot we can do about the weather and the field is too muddy for consistent groundwork. We will need to find a way round this.
And for now, 'drop the bucket and run' is the best feed time solution.
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Nancy - re-read this - you’re just looking for more reasons to excuse him, yet again.
Stop it, or basically agree that you ‘deserved’ the assault - of course you didn’t!
Get the awkward little sod into some serious work, as consistently and as strenuously as you both can.
 
My cob is a of bit of a thug sometimes but his companion 16. 2 hh very agile bullfighting horse clocks him one when he goes too far, all with no shoes, he will try to dominate me at times, bad idea little man, I correct instantly and always set up for success

Having said that, soon as he's tied up to groom and get ridden he is an adorable angel, he loves to be ridden!

His pride is so big, he wants to show what a good lad he can be

I think these working horses need work, they are canny and come from horses who probably worked 5 or 6 days a week, went for miles and had interesting lives So its bred into them, mine infact gets quite angry and frustrated if I don't work him

They worked despite the weather, time of year etc, so let's hope the longer evenings, better weather will allow a lot more riding, and lunging, and some open fields cantering to alter his mind set and use up his energy
 
I don’t think she’s excusing him or saying she deserved it, it sounds like she’s trying to understand what happened so it can be prevented. That isn’t the same as minimising how serious it was.

It was a serious incident and does need addressing going forward, but analysing triggers and consistency is about safety, not blame.
 
I think Steve Youngs take on it is stallions in the wild do not get food taken from them. Thats why he does not hand feed. I take this as meaning with horses like Ozzie , take him to the food not the food to him. I know its not ideal but if you are going to keep him you are going to need safety measures in place. I hope you feel better.
 
Ceifer said:
Does he really need a bucket feed?

is he fed in with the others?

If he is this is a massive no no for me.
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Yes, he does need a bucket feed - it's only grass pellets and non-molassed chaff with some oily herbs, but he does need to have Marigold and Cleavers to help with his CPL.

They are all fed along the fenceline, well spaced out. I feed Ozzy, OH deals with the other two. There have been zero problems with this arrangement; the horses don't go for each other's feeds and since getting the haybell the whole thing is (usually) very calm, tonight being the exception.
I would not go in the field to feed as it's almost certainly more dangerous. Admittedly, he 'got' me over the fence - but I'm sure it would have been a lot worse if I'd been in there.
 
Nancykitt said:
But I really just needed to know if this can be uniquely food-related or could be something more sinister. In other words - is a horse capable of doing this always going to be this aggressive? Probably an impossible question to answer.
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Yes. It can be and probably is just food related.

There are lots of horses that can't be trusted around a bucket. Loads of owners who just drop the bucket over the stable door and leave well alone.

His behaviour is not okay, but it just isn't worth the confrontation and getting yourself hurt. Give him the bucket and leave him alone.

Do they actually need a bucket feed with the amount of work they are in?

Perhaps I have also missed what you're feeding. From experience, high sugar feeds, especially mixes, can make horses absolutely ridiculous. If they HAVE to have a bucket feed, then I would keep it dull; unmollassed sugar beet and an unmollassed chaff or similar.


His behaviour was not okay, but you know food was the trigger.

In contrast, a friend used to have a cob type. He was unpredictable with people in the field and you couldnt turn your back on him, he would fly at people walking along the fence line and the final straw was when he attacked me on my way out of his stable after putting in a water bucket. Nailed me on my back, on my way out of the door. Luckily it was winter and I was wearing loads of layers so it was not as bad as it could have been. That was a truly aggressive horse. He was euthanised.
 
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Jenko109 said:
Do they actually need a bucket feed with the amount of work they are in?

Perhaps I have also missed what you're feeding. From experience, high sugar feeds, especially mixes, can make horses absolutely ridiculous. If they HAVE to have a bucket feed, then I would keep it dull; unmollassed sugar beet and an unmollassed chaff or similar.


His behaviour was not okay, but you know food was the trigger.
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It's only grass pellets and Honeychop Lite n' Healthy chaff. He does love the oily herbs too. It's really just a carrier for the marigold & cleavers, which is pretty essential for his CPL.

But if it's just food related we can be aware of this and see how he is being handled in general.
 
I know you have said the other two are far away but I still think that if you’ve got a food possessive horse that still thinks the other two horses maybe able to get his food and then you were there too. Maybe this might be the reason he went for you.

It’s just me personally but I never feed more than one horse bucket feeds in the field. I don’t think it’s great for some horses and it can be dangerous for people doing the feeding.
 
@Nancykitt it sounds as though you're doing an excellent job with Ozzie. There are always setbacks and like us, every horse is an individual with different starts in life that can affect their behaviours forever more.
No wonder there's so many horse trainers in cowboy hats selling us solutions on Facebook. I've had a few difficult cases myself (alway ponies!!) and each one was managed with it's own set of rules and modifications. I've also had my fair share of A&E trips cos you learn by mistakes.
Groundwork etc does help, but it's impossible to completely remodel every horse into a cookie cutter dope on a rope.
You're doing great ❤️
 
I've got one who was a proper biter when I got him. Lunging over doors etc. He'd gone through some difficult times as a youngster which made him very anxious, especially around food. I am fairly sure he had been hit for this in a previous home which hadn't helped. He's in general not dominant, more anxious / fearful, especially with other horses, he's always been at the bottom of the herd. He's OK now, not really your best friend type of thing but calm and respectful.

I agree with some other posters and would never have fed him loose in a field with other horses though, always in the stable. His problems stemmed from a lack of confidence and he was better in a secure, familiar environment where he could relax without being worried about what the other horses were doing.

I'll send you a pm with the longer story and some things which helped.
 
Ceifer said:
I know you have said the other two are far away but I still think that if you’ve got a food possessive horse that still thinks the other two horses maybe able to get his food and then you were there too. Maybe this might be the reason he went for you.

It’s just me personally but I never feed more than one horse bucket feeds in the field. I don’t think it’s great for some horses and it can be dangerous for people doing the feeding.
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I was wondering about whether they are fed together.
My boy would sometimes casually wave a leg at me if I was in his stable while he was eating.
He was in a stable with a half wall separating him from his neighbour. I think having another horse in sight while he ate (even though there was no way they could reach his food) was enough to make him food possessive.
We’ve since moved yard and have full height stable walls. He is now totally chilled while eating.

Eating in company might just be too much for Ozzy to handle and you were the unfortunate trigger.
Could he eat in a stable to make him feel secure?
I hope you heal up soon.
 
I completely understand how you feel about what happened. I have a biter so I totally get it.

I have tried everything...and I mean EVERYTHING to stop it. In my boy's case, it is a manifestation of frustration or anxiety. It mostly happens during the winter. He hates winter as much as I do, plus reduced exercise, results in a very grumpy pony. He has a busy brain and much prefers to be out doing fun things, and unfortunately i live somewhere where the weather often makes that impossible. At the moment he is bored to tears as I'm off games with a broken toe, and he has recently started biting again. Or at least trying to! As soon as he starts with his grumpy face I know to leave him be.

I suspect Ozzy is the same, and needs to have his brain kept busy. Can you do some inhand polework or little TREC obstacles with him a couple of times a week if you aren't able to ride?

With regards to feeding, i feed him in his stable and i do insist that he backs away from the door every time. Now he sees me coming with his food bowl and automatically backs up.

The main thing is not to take it personally, which i know is difficult because it does feel personal!

That said the aggression you describe is way above what my lad has ever done or would ever do. I'd be tempted to have a behaviourist have a look at him. And if you ever feel that he's not safe to be around, i for one would not blame you if you decided to call it a day. Biting is dangerous. I know someone who lost an ear. People who have never met an incurable biter are lucky!
 
Sorry this happened , so frustrating for you when you’ve been having such a good spell.

I know it’s wet/icy/miserable but can you take him out of the field to eat? Tie him up somewhere with his dinner ? I would try and do something with him most days , groundwork/walk out in hand/ even a groom and stretches , just things to keep his brain stimulated and respect earnt ?

My last horse was a bit of a sod like this , false sense of security , then just to keep me on my toes a curve ball would be thrown.
 
Some good points here…just a background on context/environment.
There are no stables and no field shelter, but some areas where they can get shelter from the elements. We applied for planning permission for stables & got turned down. I would like a field shelter this year if possible, just so we have somewhere for them to have their feet done if the weather is too awful to be out (this does happen!)

The field is deep mud and we have nowhere else to take them for groundwork. Riding is still a possibility but we often get 40-50 mph winds and it’s not safe to ride as there’s stuff blowing around all over the place. Then there was the ice…I couldn’t stay upright for the best part of a week!

Tonight was very much about Ozzy and me. After one or two early confrontations with AJ and Snoopy, they seemed to establish a protocol: Ozzie walks over to his feeding spot and waits for me. The other two stand further down the fence and wait for OH. Snoopy usually finishes first and will generally go to the haybell. They don’t wander over to each other and challenge for buckets. There has been no aggression at feeding time for months.

In some respects this is a fantastic place to live but I do miss having stables and all the other advantages of where we used to live. I miss all the riding we could do in the winter, I miss the hunting, I miss going for lessons. There are times when I think we probably shouldn’t have horses up here at all but we couldn’t stay where we were and there’s no way I would pass on a 20-odd year old horse to another home.

We have been lucky to have two excellent horses who didn’t mind if they weren’t ridden in the worst of winter. We could take them out after literally months off and they’d be perfect. We now have one who is different and this is our first winter with him. We are doing our best with what we have, but clearly we will need to try and get them out more, in spite of the weather.
 
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Clodagh said:
Those suggesting he should be taken away to feed, this is a genuine question, how do you safely catch a very aggressive horse who knows dinner is en route and take him away to feed him out of sight of his field mates?
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The layout of our place means that we would have to take him some considerable way to be out of sight - plus he’d be fed on a road, which wouldn’t go down well. And I wouldn’t like to try & catch/lead him if he’s in a mood!
 
I think you need to reframe "drop and run" in your mind as to me that reads like you are scared (and rightly so after tonight!) which in turn will affect your confidence when feeding. Imo knowing he has food aggression the less time involved with his food the better. Approach calm and confident, bucket down and leave would be the way I approached feeding a horse like him. If he offers the step back fine if he doesn't thats okay to. I wouldn't be engaging in any sort of physical contact with him.

I hope you aren't to sore 💕
 
I'm so sorry to hear that @Nancykitt I hope you're not too sore.

I hope it's not unhelpful but I'm afraid I wouldn't have a horse that I was afraid of on the yard. Unless I could quite quickly assure myself that it wouldn't happen again (or to anyone else) then I'm afraid it would be a red line.

We've had defensive horses who have acted aggressively because they have felt threatened or insecure but I've understood where it was coming from and I had something to work with. To persevere with a horse showing that much aggression, I would have to be able to quickly get to grips with what underlying causes were and have a plan to work through them rather than hope to avoid triggers. I couldn't live with walking on egg shells around a horse.

Sorry if that's not terribly positive x
 
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