agressive,trying to bite,being very dominant

Question
hi im 39yrs old,had older horses when i was a teenager.i have a 2yr old gelding,ive had him since he was 6months,he has always lived out on his own.he is very domanant towards me,he comes up into my face all the time,when i stand in front of him and try to get him to move back and out of my space he firmly plants his feet and doesnt want to move back,he then tries to bite at me,i firmly say no!!! i really dont trust him  because he gets a nasty look in his eye.he also likes to strike out with his front feet,when hes getting his feet cleaned outand when he gets inpatient,im worried that he will strike out when im trying to back him away from me .it seems that anything i ask him to do he just wants to fight me all the way.i dont want to hit him ,he is really wearing me out and i dont know what else to do.he is not like this for my friend as she has her own horses,but she cant be with me all the time.ive never beat him and i dont want to,but i feel like giving up.i do have a back problem and im not as strong as i used to be,he was supposed to be a plaesure but hes turned into a nightmare,please help,ive read alsorts of behaviour  books.

Answer
Well, whatever books you have read must not have been about horse behavior.  You, like many new horse owners, got a young horse and should not have.  This horse is not mean and is not aggressive.  He is simple a horse.  YOU are the problem.  You do not know how to talk to him so he is taking charge.  You are sending mixed signals so he ignores you.  You are not confident so he does not see you as a leader.  You are not assertive enough, so he is pushing you and thinking he is smarter.  I agree with him, he is smarter about being a horse and he knows it.  You have taught him well, just taught him the wrong things.

Why do you think he is not this way to your friend?  Either she is special with special powers or she knows how to act around a horse and you don't.  This is a you problem and not a horse problem.  I can't fix you, I can give you info so you can fix your self.

First thing is I would get him another horse to be with.  That will fix a lot of your problems, he will have a buddy to play with, a buddy to horse around with and a buddy to get rid of his excess energy.  I can tell from the problem that you do not spend enough time with the horse.  You are not comfortable so you avid him and when you are with him you are scared and nervous.  The horse KNOWS this.  Get him a buddy and he will settle down a bit, but he will continue to act this way until you learn how to talk horse and learn to think like a horse.  He is under Five and all males are this way until about five.

So get a buddy for this horse, number one priority!  If you can't do that or do not want to do that, then I suggest you get ride of the horse before you get hurt and before you ruin the horse and set him up for a tough life because of your lack of knowledge.  Horses need attention and handling, you can not do this enough and are not confident enough, so you are teaching the horse bad and unsafe habits.

If you get him a buddy both horses will teach you better how horses interact, that way you will learn from the horse.  Right now you have a young horse alone with no horses to teach him how to be a horse and you have you who does not understand horses and can't show him, train him or teach him since you don't know your self.

If you keep him and get another horse, you need to learn, read, study and really commit to growing with horses.  Read my site and it will get you in the right direction.

Your biggest tell here is you said you got the horse for pleasure!  A horse is not a toy or pet, it is a life style and way of of life that requires lots and lots of work and attention, it is not something to fill in your spare time.  So you may need to rethink if you really want to have horses.

Hope this helps,

Rick