Fearful and aggresive horse
Oct 8th, 2008 by Carolyn
Hi again. Today’s post is another question, which I think many of you might find interesting and valuable. It concerns an arab mare that is alternately fearful and aggressive and is generally uneasy around other horses. Tami writes:
Hello
I have really enjoyed reading through your posts about making learning fun for horses. I took your quiz and the question on keeping her attention no matter what stood out to me. I wonder if you have any techniques or any reading material you would recommend for this issue:
I have a lovely 17 year old arab mare who I acquired as a green-broke 10 year old and have spent lots of time working with over the last 7 years. She is very bonded to me and when I moved the east coast and then up to Canada from San Diego a few years ago she came with me. She lived most of her life very happily on a farm where each horse stayed in an individual paddock and only socialized over fences.
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How about if the horse charges when is asked to move away from me and kicks when asked to move forward from behind?
The horses I have worked with in the past always moved away from me when asked to with very little movement from me, but this one mare will charge me and kick at me. How does one deal with that? She always seems friendly and curious most of the time, only certain days she will act this way. I need to establish that it’s unacceptable at all times. I have worked with her for three weeks now and catch and release was easy until now.
Thank you,
Martie
Thanks for this blog entry – it helps clarify some of the Rituals and how to do them.
Hi Carolyn,
I have just got your DVD Introduction to the waterhole rituals and Naked Liberty book – so a biginner in your tecneque, I am so excited to finally come across a trainer who genuinly loves horses for what they are and who can show us how to have the kind of relationship with horses that doesnt involve violence and disregard for the horses emotions. I carnt wait to get started!
I do have a question regarding my youngster a 2 year old filly. She lives with my other three horses, 2 mare and a gelding all 15 – and who I have a good relationship with. I have only had the youngster for 2 weeks and although the other horses keep her in line she is very pushy with me – she does not respect my space and when I have tried to insist, waving my stick at her and making contact with it, she just ignores me, she is not easily detered and is not affraid of anything as far as I can see. She is very curious and actually quite friendly, but in your face if you know what I mean! I was interested in you explanations of young horses in your DVD and I do find at the moment she is untrainable, although she always wants to be around me, I feel thats more about youthful exuberance rather than actually wanting to make a meaningful connection with me. all I am looking for at this point is for to accept me and show me respect, at least the respect she shows the other horses. I wonder if you can point me in the right direction.
Many thanks for your wonderful DVD and book and Blogg
Louise
Dear Carolyn,
It is lovley to have this blog to read, I am happy to have found it.
My problem is that I have a very dominant horse since about a month back. He is a gelding of eight years and he has not been doing much the last years because his owner was a girl far to young to handle him.
I have started the Rituals, sitting in the paddock (it is freezing, I can tell you, we live in Sweden).
Sharing Territory: He comes to me but only to say hello. After about two seconds he walks away to stand on his own. He is very uninterested in me.
Saying hello: Gets better all the time. At first I couldn´t come up to him without sullen looks, but now as he knows that I most of the time will retreat he looks more friendly.
Eye contact: I am careful, and I don´t do much of that.
Taking territory: Now here is my problem. He rushes away but there is no sign of submission like the other horses show, like chewing and ears pointed to me. Shouldn´t there be signs like that?
He goes off to stand as far away as he can get and glares at me in the most unfriendly manner. He waches me, though, when I leave him. Should I be satisfied with this or shoud I contnue to push him further?
Leading from behind: Just about the same thing goes on here. I drive him very nicely and friendly and he moves on but I have the feeling that he´s just waiting for a chance to get back at me. When I stop he stoppes and looks mad and when I leave him he will look at me some of the time but not always.
That is as far as we have come and I would appreciate your help with how to get a better relation. This horse is not at all fearful, and with this I mean that he will not back away if he gets a chance to fight. Of course he doesn´t trust people and I would really like him to find a good leader in me because I think he needs one.
I thank you for this possibility to get answers to all the special questions that we all have, I am really grateful.
My very best wishes
Sigrid
Dear Nicole,
Always ask for one second more that what she would naturally comply to. I teach a horse the head up and head down exercise. She needs to learn that to stand is a trick that gets a treat and to make the periods longer and longer acording to her attitude in the moment. Work on halt, wait and carrot.
Sit down in a chair and have carrots at your side when she comes, stand up and step towards her and say whoa! When she responds by halting, pause for a moment and then reward. Routine will give you the results you are looking for. If she continues toward you drive her away and the go back to the chair and set down and wait for her return and repeat. Make sure your horse is getting enough exericise and relaxation with you in walk and halt around the property will also help.
Hope this helps you,
Carolyn
Hello!
I’m so glad someone asked this Q!! I have recently bought a new mare and she is a very sweet, curious, friendly and SOCIABLE horse… so much so that I have a hard time keeping her attention on ME! I’ve been trying many ways to increase her attention span, including some of the rituals mentioned above. I work with her in her paddock, where she is most comfortable, and less easily distracted by new sights/sounds/creatures/ plastic bags, etc! So far her attention span has greatly improved with me and any NEW stuff I teach her I will only do after I know I have her focus, and she is comfortable with me… in her paddock.
However, I have yet to figure out how to transpose this increased focus to our work OUTSIDE her paddock. I change my position lots so she has to adjust her body position and look towards me but the change is only for the instant I change. One example of an exercise am trying to teach her is to ground tie (which means she needs more focus and less aware of everything everywhere!) and of course… she want to nose EVERYTHING around her and the more she noses, the more distracted she gets and then of course will eventually forget she was just standing there and wander off! (All this within a few seconds!) The problem with correcting this is there are 2 ends of the extreme for her- teaching her in her paddock where there are no distractions or outside her paddock (be it the arena, the grooming/tack area, pasture) where there are ZILLIONS of distractions and so its all or none. I can’t figure out a way to increase her focus without things being TOO easy or TOO hard for her! I could see how her lack of focus outside her own paddock may become a bit un-safe towards me because if I am leading her and she is not focused on me and something exciting happens, guess who she is NOT going to look out for when she decides to go check out (or run away from) the interesting new something! My desire for her focus is for our safety as well as her trainability.
If I continue working in the paddock with the rituals will that eventually translate into more focus everywhere we go, or am I missing something along the way? Also, does it make a difference that this horse is 5 years old and has NEVER been taught ANYTHING except to wear a halter and receive scratches all over her body when she presents a part for grooming? I wonder if because she’s never HAD to focus on her human partner that the concept itself is so BRAND NEW to her and that it will also improve as she understands more??