# Angry Neighbor



## Sophie19 (Apr 13, 2009)

So a woman recently brought two extremely emaciated horses into the barn I board at. One of these horses lunges out of his stall window everytime I walk my horse by and tries to bite him(and has succeeded once or twice). I assume he is trying to protect his food. Anyway I have to cross by his stall many times a day when I am hot walking my horse, and so I have started(when no one else is around) to give the angry horse a little yell if he seems to be about to come and get us. Just a little 'Hey!". It works, he's gone from lunging out at us every single time we walk by to only doing it about 25% of the time. Am I out of line to yell at someone else's horse? I feel bad doing it because I assume his aggression stems from abuse but I also don't like having to worry about him sinking his teeth into my animal every time I walk by.


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## Chavez (May 18, 2009)

If the owner is not there it handle the sisuation i do not see any harm in giveing a stren "hey" you are doing no harm to him and just letting him no that biting is not going to make any friends.



Sophie19 said:


> So a woman recently brought two extremely emaciated horses into the barn I board at. One of these horses lunges out of his stall window everytime I walk my horse by and tries to bite him(and has succeeded once or twice). I assume he is trying to protect his food. Anyway I have to cross by his stall many times a day when I am hot walking my horse, and so I have started(when no one else is around) to give the angry horse a little yell if he seems to be about to come and get us. Just a little 'Hey!". It works, he's gone from lunging out at us every single time we walk by to only doing it about 25% of the time. Am I out of line to yell at someone else's horse? I feel bad doing it because I assume his aggression stems from abuse but I also don't like having to worry about him sinking his teeth into my animal every time I walk by.


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## LeahKathleen (Mar 5, 2009)

I agree. You aren't hurting him or hitting him or anything. You have a right to protect your horse, and a firm 'no' or 'hey' isn't going to hurt him.


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## Jillyann (Mar 31, 2009)

Agreed with everyone else. Your not hurting him in anyway, and if it seems to be working. Its probably a good thing.


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I make that "EEEAACK" sound when other peoples horses are being naughty and they arent around. I think it would be way worse if you left the issue to escalate until it actually got a person or horse... You are doing the right thing....


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## reining girl (Jan 30, 2009)

i agree. i would do the same


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## Sophie19 (Apr 13, 2009)

Okay good, that helps my conscience feel better.


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## Eolith (Sep 30, 2007)

Lol, I'm evil in comparison. If a stern 'hey' doesn't do the trick... out comes the dressage whip which gets casually tapped against my leg. I never actually touch the horse with it or even wave it in his face. The mere sight of it usually clarifies my point. Then again, I know this horse's owner and his past and I know that this is perfectly fine. Half of the reason it works for me is because she actually will go after him with the whip if he doesn't cut it out.


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## Tazmanian Devil (Oct 11, 2008)

Sophie19 said:


> Am I out of line to yell at someone else's horse? I feel bad doing it because I assume his aggression stems from abuse but I also don't like having to worry about him sinking his teeth into my animal every time I walk by.



Out of line? Not at all.

There are plenty of lungers and nippers at my barn.

First time, I notify the barn manager that they need to put up a stall guard to prevent this from happening.

If a stall guard isn't put up, I give the offending horse a stern look when walking past. If that doesn't immediately make him retreat into his stall, I tell him to get back (speak, yell... whatever it takes to get him well back into his stall.

If he actually does bite at me or my horse, I wouldn't hesitate to give him a good smack across the mouth. I would do the same to my horse. Biting is very serious, and should never be tolerated.

Keep in mind that horses doing this to passers-by from their stalls is very dangerous. Other horses learn the behavior and pretty soon they all do it. Horses also learn to expect it as they walk by and will start to "jump" out of the way. Not a behavior you want from horses walking down an aisle.

If an owner or barn manager will not put up a stall guard of other restraint, it becomes your responsibility to insure the safety of you and your horse. If this means yelling at the offender, you are well within your rights.


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## Joshie (Aug 26, 2008)

Sophie19 said:


> One of these horses lunges out of his stall window everytime I walk my horse by and tries to bite him(and has succeeded once or twice).


Have you talked to the barn owner about this yet? I think it's important that you do this. It's a huge liability issue for the barn owner and the horse owner. Knowing about this issue and not telling the barn owner puts you in a sticky place too, I think.

Please let the barn owner know what's going on with this horse.


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## Barrelracer Up (May 22, 2009)

I was having the same issue with a horse in a paddock. The alley way went between several paddocks and that was the only way I could go.

My poor boy, I took to swirling the end of the lead rope as I approached this horse's paddock and my guy finally figured out I was protecting him. The other horse would go to the back of the paddock, but would also try to get my colt's rump once I was clear of him and my colt's rump was left ungaurded. Did some fancy backing a few times with loud HEY!!'s and he learned to not try to those last ditch sneak attacks.


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## Fire Eyes (May 13, 2009)

_I agree with what the other posters have said. So long as you're not hitting him, I __don't think there is anything wrong with what you're doing. _


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## Tayz (Jan 24, 2009)

When I tack up Sonnett, a riding school horse, he always swings around and tries to bite me. When he does that I always yell "Hey!" and put my hand up to slap him and he backs off. If you have to do that to get this horse to stop hurting your horse, than do it. You should not have to put up with it...


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## ChingazMyBoy (Apr 16, 2009)

I would have done the same thing as you in this situation, because when I am controling a horse I think its like I am protection the horse (and myself) so in my opinion if you keep walking your horse past a horse that bites him/her. Your horse may loose trust in you. 

Although that is just an idea I randomly had so it is probely wrong but whatever.


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## Appyt (Oct 14, 2007)

ChingazMyBoy said:


> I would have done the same thing as you in this situation, because when I am controling a horse I think its like I am protection the horse (and myself) so in my opinion if you keep walking your horse past a horse that bites him/her. Your horse may loose trust in you.
> 
> Although that is just an idea I randomly had so it is probely wrong but whatever.


Actually you are very correct. When you are handling a horse you are the "boss" horse. Other horses need to know this as well. Using the least amount of pressure necessary to get the job done is how the horse would do it in a herd(ok, most horses).


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## shesinthebarn (Aug 1, 2009)

farmpony84 said:


> I make that "EEEAACK" sound when other peoples horses are being naughty and they arent around. I think it would be way worse if you left the issue to escalate until it actually got a person or horse... You are doing the right thing....


Pffftt! I use the "GIIIITTT OUTTA THAT!!!" or the "EEEAACK", depending on the offence. Funny how the sounds are universal....

No, verbal correction is not gonna do any harm, giv'er.


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## starlinestables (Nov 24, 2008)

You have every right to yell! Horses at my facility like to crowd the gate and occasionally attack the horse coming through.. I care a whip and whomever gets close to me gets a good whack on the butt or shoulder. I've gotten ran over BAD and its me or the horse! I don't care whose horse it is... If its attacking any horse I'm leading.. they better run. Same for the isle way! Your horse could run you over or strike you because some other horse is trying to attack you!


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## jemulchia (Sep 20, 2009)

When I was riding at a barn back in the day, the whole rule was if a horse is lunging at you or is going to bite you, you give it a warning and if that doesn't work you give it a smack. You could always talk to the owner of that horse and tell her what he is doing, you never know she might even be like "BEAT HIS BUTT" ..


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## mls (Nov 28, 2006)

starlinestables said:


> You have every right to yell! Horses at my facility like to crowd the gate and occasionally attack the horse coming through.. I care a whip and whomever gets close to me gets a good whack on the butt or shoulder. I've gotten ran over BAD and its me or the horse! I don't care whose horse it is... If its attacking any horse I'm leading.. they better run. Same for the isle way! Your horse could run you over or strike you because some other horse is trying to attack you!


If this is an outgoing issue, Joshie is correct - the BO needs to be notified for more than one reason.

My boarders are not allowed to correct other horses. If there is an issue, they need to come to me and I will handle it. Some folks have zero tolerance for a horse showing an interest in a human and over react to the point of creating an issue (head shy or whip shy, etc).

This is an issue the BO needs to address. Perhaps this horse was starved due to a history of overt aggressiveness and previous caregiver scared to feed? In this case, the horse needs a good exam by a qualifed vet to try and determine if there are physical or mental reasons for the aggression.


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## kevinshorses (Aug 15, 2009)

You're all a lot nicer than I am. I would have no qualms about whacking any part of that horse that came close to me or my horse. I would use a wooden dowel if I had to but I wouldn't put up with it.


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