[MistyFawn666]

I took the two kids that sometimes ride my horse Buddy to visit him today. These kids are a girl that is 9 years old and a boy that is 7. They are both really gentle and nice to the horses. Anyway, when I approached Buddy he was all like, 'Hello, my Lady! What can I do to please you?!'. But when the kids starting petting him he turned nasty. He was most agressive towards the boy. I could tell he did not want them in his space at all at least when he was in the barn. Outside the barn he was a little better, but not much. I did a little ground work with him after he was nasty to the kids, but since I was working with him he was a perfect gentleman and I even taught him how to come to me when called in all of five minutes. So thing is he respects me and most other adults, but he doesn't like the kids. Which I find very strange for his pervious owners were two girls who were 14 and 11 and they had him for 4 years. I have also noticed that Buddy is very protective of his barn and very very protective of my mare Fawn. If they are in the barn together (I have an open barn were they are both in the same area) and you try to approach Fawn, Buddy will sometimes turn aggressive. This really isn't a herd bound behavior for when I take Buddy riding alone he is fine. Also when I bought him he was really skinny and I have put quite a bit of weight on him so could have that made him this way? He doesn't get grain everyday for he is out to pasture most of the time. When he does get grain he gets a half a scoop mixture of sweet feed, oats, and a biotin supplement and absolutely NO sugar. Should I change his diet? Most of all how do I get him to not be so possesive of Fawn and nicer to kids?

[MistyFawn666]

You know I had never thought that he might be that protective of me. Because I was holding Buddy on a lead rope to let the kids pet him and he was still being nasty to them, but Fawn was no where around. Hmmmm..... He will sometimes get nasty to me when I approach him in the barn, but he is getting better with that at least with me. He did push me around a few weeks ago, but I just did what Fawn did when she first met him and gave him a scolding. He has not shown any disrespect towards me since. Hmmm....if only I could teach him that disrespecting other people offends me.

[Bruce Wiley]

There is a thing with some horses where they won't allow kids or adults get near their owners and its a social thing in horse's society, and he make come around soon, and learn to trust being around kids, be sure to mention to the kids not to run up and make loud noise or whatever,and be slow around the horse and be careful.
I hope this helps.

[joker1]

Hi there,
Your situation sounds similar to a problem we had when we bought our first pony- he had previously been used as a lead line and lesson pony and was ridden by lots of different kids with one thing in common- they all loved to feed him treats. As a result when he passed to us he was quite nasty and pushy with kids and would become really agitated upon finding that there was no food in anyone's hands. He was nippy and would be really 'bargey' about searching your 'person' for any hidden treats. But things cleared up after realising that the behaviour was not acceptable - he was ignored if acting 'nasty' and given heaps of love and brushing (and scratches in his favourite places ) if he was displaying 'good' behaviour. It worked for us but then again your pony's problem may be totally unrelated Good Luck though

[spyro1]

HOw much do you know aobut his history? Just because he was owned by kids for 4 years, doesnt mean that he was treated nicely. I have found that some ponie's HATE kids. They are used hard by children, kids are learning with them, most of the time, the hard way. (Hard on mouths, hard on sides when kicking, etc.)
I like the idea of ignoring when he is being nasty, unless he is trying to bite or kick. That should NOT be ignored. Maybe having the kids spend more time loving on him and scratching him would be a good idea. I wouldnt do any treats though.

[CowGirlUp1833]

Originally Posted by spyro1

HOw much do you know aobut his history? Just because he was owned by kids for 4 years, doesnt mean that he was treated nicely. I have found that some ponie's HATE kids. They are used hard by children, kids are learning with them, most of the time, the hard way. (Hard on mouths, hard on sides when kicking, etc.)
I like the idea of ignoring when he is being nasty, unless he is trying to bite or kick. That should NOT be ignored. Maybe having the kids spend more time loving on him and scratching him would be a good idea. I wouldnt do any treats though.

This is an excellent post. I think involving a professional trainer or behaviorlist would be a great idea as well. There is no room for a nasty horse around small children...better safe then sorry. I do believe tho that MOST horses can be brought around from behavioral issues like this. You'll have your work cut out, but patience is a virtue! Good luck and keep us posted!

[dockeramb]

I agree with not knowing how the previous owners may have treated him. I had a mare that was really gentle with kids. I had her boarded and the camp kids would brush, feed, and love on her. Then I took her to my husband's grandfathers place. So she could learn to be a horse. (She was a total barn baby) One day a month later, the kids and I went to the barn to feed. Well, Penny charged my son!!! She never did anything like that before. She usual went to the kids first before me! Well, here to find out, some neighborhood boys were sneaking around shooting paint balls at my horses!!!!! And that's why she turn aggressive towards kids. I worked with her, and my kids so she knew that not all kids are rotten. She never charged again at my kids, but those other boys got in so much trouble for what they did. I don't know if my story helped, but sometimes horse just won't forget. And if your horse was more aggressive towards the boy, my bet is that another boy might have done something mean to him.

[MistyFawn666]

When I went to look at him before I bought him I met the kids who owned him and they seemed to treat him nicely. The 14 year old rode him before I did and she was pretty good with him. I could tell she had a lot of riding expirence. Buddy seemed polite to them back. The only problem is then he was very skinny. The lady had 18 other horses and not enough pasture to feed them all. It could be that he gets nasty in the barn too because he is defensive of his food. He doesn't want anyone else to eat it. The kids he was nasty to were also kind of afraid of him from the start. There is no reason they should be because I don't think Buddy would buck them. The little girl was bucked off a pony that we used to have so she is afraid of it happening again. She was still practically bawling when we finally talked her into riding Buddy. The kid's mother is also deathly afraid of horses. I have tried to get her on many times and she refuses. If mom is afraid than the kids will be too. I think Buddy probably senses that and decides to push their buttons and bully them into what he wants them to do. As for being nasty by being a pony that cannot be true because he is not a pony he is a horse. A QH to be exact.

[Lessica Jake]

I just made sure that the kids who visit my horse know to grab him some nice handfuls of fresh grass. He adores them now, because he knows that kids = treats.