[Trixiesue]

hi
my name is jessica and i have a problem. My horse is extremely aggressive, but he is only aggressive when he wants to be. is there anyone with a suggestion.

[BornToRide]

can u be more descriptive.. what is he doing that is aggresive ?? how does he act ?

[bay_blnd jmpr07]

What is he doing?(ears back, biting, chasing, kicking at etc...) What are you doing when he becomes aggressive?

[dakota's_sable]

A little more explanation would be helpful. What exactly is he doing?

A horse can be aggressive because of many things - it could be that he's not respecting you, or that he is in pain, or lack of training and he doesn't know any better, etc.

[CrazyHorse]

How old is he? When is he aggressive? Is there something that seems to trigger these episodes?

[Blistering Winds]

Age of the horse,

gender (stallion, gelding, mare)

And exactly WHAT is he doing.

What are you usually doing about the time he acts out.

What have you done so far to correct it?


Different issues will require different methods. Just saying he's aggressive, that could be something as simple as pushing you out of the way to down right trying to kill you. Both I would take 2 TOTALLY different approaches.

[Trixiesue]

I see my daughter has posted a thread on here, so I will try and explain the situation a little bit better for all. She has a 8 year old TWH named Joe. We have not owned him for very long mabey 6 months. My daughter Jessie and my Mom and Dad trail ride with their TWH's, I do not ride with them because A) I have Quarter horses and Paints (hard to keep up with those walkers) & B) I cover the hours at our Family run business when they trail ride, so I am unable to really help her with this horse because we usually ride at different times. I will try and give you a run down on the problems she has been having
1- He is very aggressive and he is a gelding
2- He does not like children (didn't believe her until he pinned his ears back when in the pasture and charged the fence when my youngest daughter was helping me feed one day (she's only 5)
3- She also told me that when she tries to reprimand him for being aggresive he only gets worse, for example will try and kick and nip at her.
Odd thing is that when he is being ridden he is fine, no problems of aggression at all actually out of the 3 walkers we have he is probably one of the nicest to trail ride on.
I think most of all is that Jessie is looking for some help that is not from me (sort of like most kids she would like to do this one on her own without moms help) Hope this helps you all give her some good advice.

[Blistering Winds]

This is my first thought.

he knows children cannot do a darn thing to him. So you should teach your children how to protect themselves when anywhere NEAR him as a precaution.

Personally, because you have young children and he's THAT aggressive, a trip to the sale barn is in order.

Round Pen work with respect training as a goal is key. EVEN For the 5 yr old. YES, with you, your 5 yr old can do a lot in the round pen. It may not get a GREAT basis, but he'll get the idea once he sees the small one is the one wielding the whip or rope and not momma. My 5 yr old has begun working with my horse (but he loves kids). It is easier to teach a child with a GOOD horse before moving to the bad horse.

But my first thought, sell the snot if he's great with adults but hates children. This is VERY hard to fix as children have a hard time moving in time, understanding what they should do etc.

NOt knowing how old your daughter who asked the question, she may be old enough for you to allow her to do some round pen work by herself.

But personally, if no one knows what to do in the family, enlist a trainer to help her through this. Or if ya'll know how to do round pen work for respect, she needs to listen to ya'll and do as you say, but you also need to let her DO it or the horse will NEVER respect her. He'll get her when you aren't around if you are assisting her too much and not giving her the chance to perform the proper manuvers without your intervention. He must know who is in charge, not just momma, but the child as well.

[Just_me]

Was he like that when you bought him or did he become like this during the 6 month?
Maybe he just needs to gain some more respect.Could it be that he has had bad expierince in the past with little kids?
I would do lots of ground work.Do you have a round pen?then you could work in there for a little while.
If he trys to nip just tell him to cut it out.You could also put some venegar on a towel and everytime he trys to bit you hold it in front of his nose or let him bit in there&tell him no at the same time(my trainer used to do that with her horse,it helped,but I`m not a huge fan of that!).You have to do it whithin 3 seconds though,cuz otherwise he wound`t remeber for what he is getting punished.
I would probably als ask my mom or trainer for help,just because a horse like this is a danger and needs someone who knows how to deal with it.

[salemvot]

It is possiblr that kids have thrown rocks or otherwise taunted the horse, in which case his aggression is probably a fear reaction. If he was punished for being afraid, he has learned that kids hurt and is using fight rather than flight to handle it. It would take tons of ground work and patients but he can be re trained to see kids as a good thing.