Thursday, December 9, 2010

Horse Behavior in Stall

Question
My horse is increasingly becoming more and more aggressive to people who walk by his stall. I have watched him gradually become more mean. He started by just pinning his ears. Now I have seen him try to aggressively try to bite people.

Do you know what might be causing this and what can be done to curb it?

He is ridden an hour 6 days a week and is out of the box 4hours a day with one day off. (Left alone) after I put him back in his stall I pour cut up apples and carrots in his food bin (no hand feeding)

please advise me.

Thank you
Kathryn

Answer
Hi Kathryn,

A couple of ideas and questions... Is there any way that your horse could be allowed to be outside much longer? As you know, being outside to just walk and graze and use their "seeking “mechanism, is the natural condition or horses.

Also, how are the riding sessions going? Does the horse find the sessions unstresssful? Does he go back to his stall relaxed and positive after the riding session?

Do you board him or keep him at home? If you board him, has the help changed who take care of cleaning his stall? It sounds as if this was not a problem and is not becoming one. You need to look for variables in his environment.

Does his tack fit well when he is ridden? Does he show aggression every time you are near his stall, or just when it is riding time? Have any horses changed in the vicinity of his stall? Are the same horses his stall "neighbors?”.

You can write back here or to my email address at Summersdressage@aol.com, www.MitziSummers.com

Thank You,

Mitzi Summers

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