Horse behaivor question

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Well heres my kick...

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This one you really cant see to well

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My boot would have gotten to know her hind end instantly!!!

She could have seriously injured you, more than "just" bruises
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I bet that it still hurts
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Okay, let me get this straight - you consider putting a fence between Polly and Titan "cruelty," and yet you are talking about using a cattle prod on Polly and "chasing them around with a whip?" Ummm, something's not quite getting across here.
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Polly wants to be the boss mare. She has Little Titan firmly under her hoof, and she's trying to put you there, too. I don't think it's a matter of her liking you or not, she is assuming that she out-ranks you. It may have something to do with your age, I've noticed that my animals relate differently to adults than they do to young people. No matter, she needs to learn to respect you.

First of all, I would be feeding this horse in her stall. She can be as excited as she likes about the food, but won't be able to hurt you (nasty bruise, by the way!) When she charges you in the paddock, she thinks she's running you off from the food. Put her in the stall. If she's nice, she gets fed. If she threatens you, tell her "No!" and leave, with the food. Give her another chance a few minutes later. It may take a while, but she'll get the message about who's really in charge of the feed bucket!

You want to teach this horse to respect you, not to fear you. There is a big difference! One horse disciplines another by kicking or biting, this hurts, but it is something a horse understands. A smack from your hand or a riding crop is rather similar. The shock from a cattle prod is not. She'd "get out of your space" all right, but she might decide your space included anything this side of the county line!! Don't go there.
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Have you ever free-lunged a horse before? Have these horses any experience with it? There is a huge difference between free-lunging and just chasing them around with a whip (actually, it can be done without a whip at all.) It's all about putting mental pressure on the horse, and backing it up with physical pressure only as a last resort. You need to know how to increase pressure, how to decrease pressure, and when to do each one. Your body language is much more important than the whip in your hand. Lunging can be a great tool for teaching a horse to listen to you, but you need to do it right. (I wish I could post a link for you to show you what I'm talking about, but I haven't got the hang of that, yet!) If you just go out there and chase them around, without rhyme nor reason, all they will learn is to avoid you. It borders on abuse, and you will make them impossible to catch!

I'd start working on basic ground manners with this horse. That means walk, whoa, back, respecting your space, that sort of thing. I'm sure she already knows this stuff, she just needs to understand that she takes orders from you, not the other way 'round. I'd then move up to lunging her on a line. Minis are small enough, you don't have to have a 20' lunge line. You can lunge them on a long lead, you just have to cover more ground yourself! I'd stick with walk and whoa at first, it's her brain we're exercising at this point. She's learning to listen to you, and they do that better when they aren't tearing around. You can add speed later, first, you need control.

It's a fine line we walk, dealing with animals. You have to be firm enough, that they don't dare cross you, yet soft enough, that they trust you. Good luck with Polly!
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Follow Jill's advice. It works
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And to clarify, if your horse is agressive get in with the crop to the shoulder loudly, and then get out. You should get your point across quickly and be done with it....every time she's agressive. Would be great if there is someone in your area with some expertise, a trainer, the mare's former owner or just a knowledgeable friend or neighbor. Sounds like you need reinforcements - just temporarily, to help get her attention and get her to focus on you.

The solution is the same, but one other thing that may be bothering her - if she's been in heat and her colt is a yearling now.......he is going to behave like a stallion towards her, and she will respond accordingly. Some mares are terribly witchy in heat.
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Good luck - and stay clear of those heels, I've had my knee whacked too and I know it hurts!

Jan
 
Yes ivedused the crop on her just a few minutes ago nshe still had her ears back but she backed off, and i wasnt exactly meaning chasing i meant more like going out there and giving them some motivation to gallop around a bit they oinyl seem to do it when its extremly muddy which worrys me becase i do not want them crashing through the fence becasu there is a decline that gets soaked and then all churned up, and thanks you for all fo your advicew and Polly may still be in heat... oh and it is not always food aggression I whish i knew what she was thinking becuase sometimes she just randomly goes out there and makes me njump the fence, ill try the tow paddocks but i hope it works
 
Yep, this needs to be handled now.

When my horses act out, which is just about never now, I deal with it right away. If they kick me, I have been known to kick them back. The last time one of them bit me, I bit him back on the ear.

This may not work for Polly. But it worked for my horses.

If you have extra fencing, just cut the orginal paddock in two. My four horses used to have one big pasture for everyone, room to run etc. Well, I had to separate the lowest ranking from the higher ranking horse so I cut the pasture in two using the extra fencing. Now they share a fence line and are just happy like that.

When it comes to food...My first horse Blue used to be terrible with food. So, I made him back off, then go around me, with no pushing. He learned how to get food without the aggressiveness very soon. Now, to this day he is never aggressive with food. None of my horses are, because I don't let them.

The horses still love me, and respect me. They know that my space is mine, and not theirs. It works out well for everyone involved, and I have not had a problem in years.

As for Polly, I think the biggest thing is she needs to know that she needs to respect and listen to you. Once you have that established, you both will be much happier! And no more bruises!

As was said, mares can sometimes be witchy in heat, but as was also mentioned, that is no excuse for her behavior.

Good luck, and I hope you will use the wonderful advice given to you by previous posters.
 

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