reasons for (alleged)aggressive horse behavior - Rick Gore horsemanship

Question
Hi Rick, I know the answer to my question,but I still want to confirm this with you. My horse is definitely NOT aggressive and when he thinks he is in danger ,he has a strong flight response, not an attack response. A woman at the ranch where I keep my horse in a 1/2acre pasture,claims my horse"attacked her for no reason ",after putting hay in his feeder, &was walking out of the pasture. She showed me some injuries where he allegedly knocked her to the ground and tried to run her over. Today she added "bites" to the list also. Can you help me with any advice on this?My horse is a15 yr. old gelding,and I've never been told by anyone that he has been trained,boarded or handled by, that he may be aggressive. Thank You.

Answer
Any horse can be aggressive especially when it comes to food, hungry, under fed, low in pecking order, too many horses to fight over food and or a weak leader or a person who is scared or nervous around horses.

You combine any of those factors and you can provoke an aggressive response, which is nothing more than a horse being a horse.  The horse is not being mean, it is showing dominance and doing normal herd behavior pecking order.

Like most horse problems that are really people problems. I would bet the lady feeding is scared, lacks confidence, is insecure around horses and his intimidated by your horse, all of this will show and she yells it to the horse, she does not know she is doing it.  Any horse will chase anyone that runs from them, it is their nature and natural instinct.

I would this feeder, probably life long horse owners that if she is too scared and insecure to feed horses and if she can back down a horse with food she should keep her ass out of the pasture and away from horse since she is causing them to chase her.  She will say she did nothing, it is not her fault, she did nothing wrong and it is all the horse's fault, this is the first clue that she has no clue.

She needs to carry a stick, whip, plastic bag, rocks or cattle prod with her and after she corrects this horse once it will stop, but she is probably so scared and insecure that she can't correct it so it is easier for her to blame the "stupid" horse.  I say "stupid human".


http://www.youtube.com/user/horseawareness


http://www.thinklikeahorse.org/