# aggression towards other horses



## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

Unfortunately, it sounds like your old gelding did not do his job of instilling herd skills and manners in your mare when she was little. Adding a single horse to the mix is always going to be problematic as your mare can single him out and run him into the ground. If you need to change her herd skills, remove her from the situation where she's the dominant horse and put her out with a band of established mares (putting her in a mixed herd will complicate the issue). It will have defined structure, be pretty peaceful and rarely if ever result in injury. She will be isolated and held away from the herd for a period of time until she is contrite and accepts their terms. She will work up the ladder with some time but in the process she'll develop skills to make her a better leader. 

If that's not a road you can go down, at the very least under saddle and in the presence of another horse, she can't even be allowed to make a face at this point. You have to be ready for her to misbehave and reprimand her before it escalates into a kicking match. What if she'd connected with your friend? What if she'd broke the other mare's leg? There are warning signs that we must pay attention to. If you have a friend with a solid, unflappable horse I'd set her up to misbehave. Spend a ride having your friend invade her space as as soon as she thinks about making a face, WHACK. Just once. Have the other horse come back into her space, face?, WHACK. She'll pick it up that it's not the place and time when she's with you. 

It is "normal" when they're turned out. Someone wants and needs to be in charge. Unforunately I think it all comes down to who has herd skills and who does not. The ones that lack in skills are the ones who are the bullies.


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## thesilverspear (Aug 20, 2009)

Left-Hand Percherons has great advice. Just the caveat I want to add is that the established band of mares-solution *might* work for a horse who is aggressive, but doesn't really want to be alpha and who's horse-aggression hasn't become a completely ingrained habit. 

The mare I have owned for over 11 years has horrendous equine social skills and really cannot be turned out safely with other horses. She's never quite grasped that one can be dominant and move another horse with fairly subtle body language -- rather, she charges other horses, chases them, and then whirls around and tries to double-barrel them. Sometimes she's been able to go out with one (extremely submissive) horse she likes and been okay, although she'll have days where she chases the horse around. You can't increase the herd number to two or more other horses, as she'll select one as "her" horse and be dangerously aggressive about driving the others away. Putting a horse like this with an established herd with a strong but fair alpha mare just makes her act even nuttier and more aggressive, as the alpha mare is unlikely to back down and run from her. 

However, when she's being ridden or handled by people, she's a perfect angel. Provided something else doesn't provoke her by trying to kick or bite first, she wouldn't dare make a face or lift a leg. That's the best you can do, in my experience, with a horse-aggressive horse. Train them that they cannot behave that way when humans are around. Horse-aggression when you are in the way is about as serious a NO as it gets, just short of being aggressive towards you. My horse has always been sweetness and light towards people but when she threatened another horse while I was in the position to get caught in the cross-fire, I went batsh*t crazy at her, yelling, jumping up and down, chasing her into a corner of a stall, thwacking her with a lead rope, basically making her think she was going to die. She never did that again.


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## apachewhitesox (Dec 9, 2010)

I agree with the two previous posts. I have a gelding who is almost exactly like what thesilverspear describes he simply can't be in the same paddock as other horses because he is so aggressive (especially towards geldings). He is also the sort to pick one horse and not let anyone else near it and that is not helpful when there are three horses. So he can still see and touch other horses over the fence but he can not share a paddock with them. But he rarely behaves that badly when someone is handling him and another horse gets to close and when he does play up he gets in trouble. Whereas I have seen other horses that simply needed a more dominant horse to show them the rules of behaviour.


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## SissyGoBob (Oct 17, 2010)

Agreed. My 2 year old mare is starting to get mean to other horses. I am doing my best to WHACK when I see the face or the feet (lol)


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## dakotahawk (Jul 8, 2015)

Okay, so I have a big 14 year old percheron gelding. He is VERY aggressive especially towards my other gelding, I think it may because I show him a lot of affection, but I show them all affection. The only horse he does not be aggressive towards is my top horse who refuses to let my percheron push him around, but even my top horse is no where near as aggressive as my percheron. I currently moved my percheron away from my other horses, but I hate to do that. I have been looking for some suggestions, does anyone have any?


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## ducky123 (May 27, 2014)

How long were they together before you decided to separate them? Were there any chunks of fur missing or injuries suffered while together?


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## dakotahawk (Jul 8, 2015)

They have been together for about a year or so now and yes he leaves marks on my mares and other geldings all the time I have separated him before then put him back and he was okay for a lil while then went really aggressive again. My other horses just started kicking back at him not to long ago but that doesn't stop him at all, just gives them a minute to run away from him.


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## ducky123 (May 27, 2014)

You did what I would have tried. Cannot offer any other advice.


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## hollysjubilee (Nov 2, 2012)

I can't believe I'm suggesting this because I've never tried it on my own horses, and not sure what results you'd get, but maybe a "shock collar" that you can control from a distance. Whenever you notice him even think about being aggressive, shock him . . . 
I have heard of other people who use shock collars for dog and horse training, and it allows the person to discipline without the animal starting to fear the person . . . 
I'd ask to see what the experience has been for others. 
Sometimes, when horses don't feel well, they get grumpy. (ulcers) Is he ever aggressive or grumpy with you?


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## Saddlebag (Jan 17, 2011)

What is going on with the horses happens in all herd situations. It's the pecking order and there's usually one alpha that remains fairly constant, but will be challenged from time to time. The others change almost continually except for the lowest ranking horse. If a horse seems to bully another it's up to that one to get out of it's way or take the consequences - survival of the fittest. I found it interesting that my twh, who'd started to get rather nasty with his pal, softened when I made him move his feet in the round pen. Not run but mainly directed him at the walk for about half an hour. Two days of that and he seemed to soften toward his buddy. I'd reinforced that I was alpha and he wasn't.


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## dakotahawk (Jul 8, 2015)

Thank y'all for the suggestions! And no he has never shown any pain, or grumpy, or anger towards me. Of course when I first got him he "tested the waters" but that was nipped in the bud really quick! He has hurt me but not intended to but that can happen with any horse and he is so big so it just tends to be a little bit worse. I work with him all the time he knows who is in control. I know something else that I feel may take place in his actions is that he knows he is big! He is 2200 lbs and 18 hands and knows he is every bit of that. Although I am young and only 100 lbs and 5 ft he respects me more than anything!


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## ducky123 (May 27, 2014)

dakotahawk said:


> He has hurt me but not intended to ....


Getting between two horses that have decided to fight have been the only times I've gotten hurt by horses. So unless horses are BOSOM BUDDIES, I've learned the hard way to drive away the others before I mess with the one I want.

And if horses start fighting, don't even think about breaking it up.


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## dakotahawk (Jul 8, 2015)

Actually that's NOT what I meant. And no need to be rude about it. Me and my friends were riding and my mare spooked with bailey and she is BEGINNER and young and couldn't stop the horse, me and my other friend had got off to tighten the cinch when we went to put the reins back over is when the horse spooked causing our horses to spook and my they took off running my horse accidently pushed me down, and my big horse didn't see me and he ran me over. So once I got up and gasped for air I called and got help. So does that really seem like it was anyone's fault, NO! It was not mine, nit my friends, and most certainly not my horses fault!


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## dakotahawk (Jul 8, 2015)

And I have been near horses fighting and I didn't go near it! I made loud noises and hollered at them and they got away from each other.


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## ducky123 (May 27, 2014)

Wow! You take offense easily. Good luck with your horses.


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## dakotahawk (Jul 8, 2015)

When it comes to me and horses I don't like to be looked down on. I know what i am doing and how to handle them. And I also didn't see how that has anything to do with the post.


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## Rainaisabelle (Jan 2, 2015)

I remember one day we got a horse in the paddock next to ours he must have been about 2 years old and I had taken my horse out for a walk to meet some new people who moved into the Agistment. He jumped my horses fence so my fiancé went and grabbed him and put him back in his own paddock. As I put my horse away and was refilling his water trough this little horse jumped back in my paddock at first Roy ignored him until he came and tried to pick a fight with him then Roy started kicking and biting at him. I almost had a heart attack so I picked up the lunge whip and start waving it around they broke apart and the owner had to move him further away as he wouldn't stop jumping into my paddock.


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## Rainaisabelle (Jan 2, 2015)

dakotahawk said:


> Actually that's NOT what I meant. And no need to be rude about it. Me and my friends were riding and my mare spooked with bailey and she is BEGINNER and young and couldn't stop the horse, me and my other friend had got off to tighten the cinch when we went to put the reins back over is when the horse spooked causing our horses to spook and my they took off running my horse accidently pushed me down, and my big horse didn't see me and he ran me over. So once I got up and gasped for air I called and got help. So does that really seem like it was anyone's fault, NO! It was not mine, nit my friends, and most certainly not my horses fault!


I don't mean to be rude but in my opinion yes you can blame your horses for that.. it doesn't matter if they are scared they need to be mindful of where they are and where you are!


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## dakotahawk (Jul 8, 2015)

I see where your coming from, I just don't like to blame them, but that's also me. The horse that accidentally pushed me down is blind and then big man didn't see me on the ground.


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## ducky123 (May 27, 2014)

Rainaisabelle said:


> I don't mean to be rude


Me either! But if so it's just water off a duckie's back.


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## dakotahawk (Jul 8, 2015)

I'm sorry. The way I read it, I thought you were being. But I took it different then how you were trying to get me to take it. I truly am sorry for speaking without understanding.


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