Bitting and Kicking

Question
Rick, i have a Morgan gelding who will be 3 this coming June. Ever since he has been born we have been real hands on with him and only has some issues with nipping and biting before he turned 1. He is in a pasture (with a run in barn with stalls) and is accompanied by his mother who is 20 and another gelding who is 5. His mother has always been the moody mare and the so called "leader of the herd" but has always been very gentle around us, just not the other horses. She kicks, bites, and chases whoever is in her way and I'm afraid my 3 year old gelding is picking up on that. Recently, i went out into the barn to feed the horses and i walked by my gelding and stood at his side. He turned his head around slowly and looked right at me, and then he swung his rear end around and kicked me. I tried to scold him but he just ran away and i had no time. So i began to pay more attention around him, although he has never done this before. Now every time i come near him he pins his ears back and i reach out my hand to his face and he will nuzzle it but looks like he hates me! He just looks like he is unhappy all the time. He doesn't get out much because its winter, but i have started taking him for walks to get him out of the pasture and away from the other horses. After he is much more happy and acts very different. How can i stop or reduce this problem? Should i continue to take him out all the time?

Answer
The horse is just being a horse, all horses try and be higher in the herd, he sees you as a herd member and since you don't make him move, he sees you has lower so he moves you.  Being with other horses is good for him, he and you mare need to see people has higher and know they cannot kick, bite or pin ears at you, all of this tells you they are trying to tell you back away, I don't respect you as higher and are warning you.  You need to move these horses when they show any aggression or ear pinning, trying to kick or bite.  Make them move, put pressure on them, swing the lead rope, hit them on the butt if they move their butt to you.

You want them to think, if I put my butt to her, I will get hit with a rope.  If I pin my ears, she will make me move away, so, you tell them in horse talk that, you are higher since you make them move away.  In the horse herd, the horse that makes another horse move away is higher, once they learn this they will stop challenging you and will stop this aggressive behavior.

hope this helps,

Rick