naughty toddler

Question
QUESTION: my gelding is 5, so i exoect him to be a bit naughty but he is also violent, it scares me! im only 13 and really want to work things out with my horse, how can i get him to stop biting me? he also charges at me in the stable why is he doing this and how can i stop it?

ANSWER: Rick Gore:  Horses expect leadership or they will take charge. They need direction and not correction.

Hi Heidi,

Your horse is not mean, he is a horse acting like a horse.  You need to read read read about horses.  If you want to help your relationship with your horse, you need to learn about horses.  Once you understand them, then you can fix this very easy.  Read everything you can about horse behavior.  I have site with a lot of info about the horse, you can start there and read it.  After you read my entire site, write back and let me know if it helped or you still don't understand.


Be careful and keep your distance from your horse for a while until you understand what he doing and why?  I will give you a hint, this is related to herd behavior...  :)

Rick

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: this helps but last weekend my pony cow kicked me, i nearly went to hospital, there was nothing to upset my horse, and now i cant ride at all!

i tried riding Charlie (my horse) again yesterday and he was fine! hes perfect to ride he just needs to learn some manners in the field and stable.

so far Charlie has cow kicked me three times and now I'm in bandages from my waist to the bottom of my ribs. either i need a new horse or i need pro help with Charlie, i love Charlie i don't want him to go but i cant keep getting hurt, he also cow kicked a stable worker, and if that worker hadn't have been a goof family friend Charlie could have been taken away, he kicked her in the head and broke her arm.  

Answer
Your horse is being in charge.  He is pushing people around him because he does not respect them.  A horse will not kick another horse that is higher than he is.  If he is kicking he thinks he is higher and since you people who are lower and not respecting his space, so he kicks you to teach you.  He probably pinned his ears, tossed his head or moved his butt to warn you and no one noticed his warnings since they don't understand the horse.  The horse is NOT mean, he is being a horse, that is the only thing he knows.  People need to teach him that they are higher and he has to respect them and then he will stop kicking or trying to push people around.

Read and learn the horse before it is too late for your horse.