"That horse is very aggressive to women and around food"...

[Chickerdoodle13]

So we've had this horse Sedona since May and I've really come to love her. She's easy to work with, not crazy, and hasn't shown any nastiness towards me at all. We got her as a freebie from a friend of a friend and I hadn't seen her until the day we picked her up. That day, the guy who owned her began telling us how nasty she could be to women. We sort of shuddered and wondered what in the world we got ourselves into.

So four months have gone by and I haven't seen her pin her ears once. She's never offered to kick or anything. While she's not so good with letting us pick up her back feet yet, she's getting there and usually just stamps her feet.

The other day we went back to this guy's house to help a friend get a corrective shoeing procedure done on his foundered horse. I was talking to the daughter and telling her what I've been doing with the horse and how much I've enjoyed her. The daughter, who was about two years younger than me began saying how afraid she was of Sedona and she was so happy to see her leave. She said she would spook and would be extremely nasty at feeding time. She said she was fine with her mom for awhile, but then became nasty with her also.

Now, I find this extremely difficult to believe. It sounds like they are describing a different horse! I've rarely seen her spook and she's been here four months now. Usually if they change, its after the first week or so when they are settled. My dad is getting worried that her personality will just change on us and we'll have a problem horse, but I find that hard to believe. I think maybe their issue was lack of respect with her but idk. They say she "chose" me, but she seems the same around my dad and a friend I had over one day. They did give her treats ALL the time and we rarely give them treats, so maybe this had something to do with it.

Has anyone else ever had this happen with a horse they purchased? I was out with her today hugging her and petting her all over after riding. She really seems to just enjoy contact. I'm not really afraid that I have a jekyll/hyde horse, but I always watch my back regardless. I know my dad (who can be somewhat of a nervous nelly) is wondering what she will do.

 

[lupinfarm]

It sounds a lot to me like they were just plain scared of her, maybe she spooked once and it escalated and they lost confidence and let her walk all over them. I had a scare with my pony a while back where she spooked walking from the paddock to see the farrier and she reared, I rarely touched her after that and let her walk all over me and abuse me. Recently I've gained a lot of confidence and I've been working with her more and more and now I don't let her get away with anything, she gets a swift smack if she misbehaves, and she is now on a shank when the farrier comes because she kicked out at the farrier one day.

 

[()relics]

you never know when a crazy mare will take advantage of you....But since you already know there is a the possibility of a bad reaction; you can be ready to handle it or at least get out of the way...Most likely your mare at her old home knew that if she "acted up" everyone would think she was crazy and just leave her alone....You make sure you never give her the idea that this behavior will work with you...It may be scary if she ever does blow up...just move out of her way...for your safety sake...then halter her up and put her to work or just tie her to a post...do something that sends her the message that you aren't happy with her and her bad actions WILL NOT BE TOLERATED...left unsaid I will never hit a horse PERIOD...Other than to protect myself.....I believe that when you hit a horse you are telling her/him that being physical is OK...which it is not....You will teach a horse more by working him, tying him,not letting him come in the barn but rather stay in the pasture over night, than you will ever teach him by hitting/scaring him...You probably aren't able to hit him hard enough to hurt him anyway....But he surely can hurt you and you don't want that....
Sorry JMO....but when I work with a horse I expect him to treat everyone in the same way he treats me....If I get physical with him he thinks thats the way the game goes then he looks for someone that he can push around....Like the former owners of your horse....So by "hitting" him I have taught him to look for someone weaker than me...My kids? the next owner?....yeah NO..."Fix a horse in the head, Its easier on your back/backside"....I said this, you can quote me.

 

[lupinfarm]

I don't know, You can't always be gentle and wait to "train" the horse to behave, if she misbehaves at that moment and it is putting me at risk not to act against her, then I will act against her. She needs to know who is the boss, and I expect anyone handling her to treat her the same way. I don't believe that I should let a horse push me around, and I don't believe that anyone else should let a horse push them around. This is not about weakness, this is about putting her in her place, and her place is lower than mine. I would never be mean to her. These days she's acting a lot better, but I will not let a pony push me around.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

The funny thing is that the worst thing she has done is nudge me in the back when I am round penning her. She was obviously testing me and I expect that, but before I could even turn around, she had taken off running in a circle. She knew she was wrong and she basically reprimanded herself.

She's been so submissive with me that I find it difficult to believe that she would ever turn nasty. Her change in behavior could be due to several things though, and one of them could just be that she's happier here than at her old home. I also think that she was top mare there, and here she is sort of in the middle. My ranch gelding rules the roost.

I admit, I have smacked a horse before, but this is a very very rare occurence. There has to be a very good reason, and usually my smack is accompanied by a loud shout. The shout itself is more scary than the smack. Hitting a horse excessively can definitely ruin a horse's mind, and I've seen a lot of crazy horses as a result. However, if I'm trying to become a horse, I have to treat my horse like a horse. If you watch them in the field, the way they treat eachother can be extremely physical. Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying hitting a horse is right or wrong. Its just that everyone has a different opinion, and there isn't just one right way to do things.

LOL, sorry I completely went off subject. Of course its raining today, so I cannot work her. I don't get the feeling that she's the type of horse who will just spontaneously blow up on you, but then again, anything could happen. It will be interesting to see if she changes at all in the future. It would be a shame if she did because I really enjoy working with her. I feel like we just really connect.

 

[Bronco Hollow]

I had a mare [part mustang] that I never had a problem between her and the other horses and she always had a sweet and respectful manner with myself and hubby. Her new home was a neighbor and she is a knowledgeable horsewoman with a different style of horse keeping. The mare was a total PIA at her new home. Destructive and a new nasty attitude. So much so my neighbor accused me of not being honest about her attitude before she sold her.

Why the mare did that - who knows. Different handling types, personal preference on the mares part, testing the new owner, feeding too hot, all of the above?

I do know that I asked my neighbor to continue some basics on the ground such as asking the mare to join up and giving her head. Its a respect thing. The new owner didn't continue to do these things and I think part of the problems she encountered with the mare was due to handling. I also don't think this is just a mare problem - happens with geldings too.

Just continue being consistant in your handling, Sedona seems to prefer your way....

 

[Cara]

I don't think it's uncommon for horses to act completely differently in different homes. I don't think the previous owners of our mare lied to us about her, she didn't have much expected of her and was happy with things the way they were. Now she has an attitude about having to work, rather than spending months on end turned out with the occasional ride. Some horses want stimulation, discipline, and boundaries, some want everything their way.

I also think some energies work together while others don't, much as they do with people. Horses pick their own horse friends in a herd, so why shouldn't they pick humans they like and humans they don't?

My DH find it intriguing which horses in the remuda hang out together and which don't, as it usually seems to go against our expectations. My bossy mare is always with my equally bossy old gelding. He's the only horse she won't pick on, but she's always right next to him in the pasture. She defers to him, rather than hanging around with the horses that she can bully.

I'd have thought that the gelding would be just as pushy as the mare with humans, but he is not at all. He might try his luck, but he soon backs down. He's all bluff and no fight.

The old gelding has a friend that is a submissive orphaned weanling colt. He will push the entire herd around at feeding time, but lets the colt share his feed and the colt is always with him grazing. Why I just don't know. Perhaps he knows the colt is no threat.

I honestly think finding a horse you get along with is like finding a husband. Some people and horses never have an argument, some are constantly rubbing each other up the wrong way.

I haven't completely overcome my fear by any stretch, but it is specific to certain horses. Again why, I don't know. Some just give me a bad vibe and others I have no fear of. Sure wish i'd gone with that gut feeling

ETA Just another anecdote. The riding school I attended as a child had many horses and ponies, I think around 40 or so. They were all turned out together with one exception, and got along fine. However there were two particular geldings that absolutely hated each other. They would go looking for each other and fight, and never resolved their differences. They could not be ridden together in single file, there had to be another horse in between them. If they got together a kicking match would ensue. They had known each other for years, but they would not get along.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

That's interesting guys, but I guess it definitely makes sense.

Years ago we brought home a gelding from auction. My dad surprised us with him and he was quite the show in the ring. For about three days he was a total sweety and then he turned into the devil himself. That was one NASTY horse! To this day we never found out whether he had been drugged or he had just settled in, but the whole thing was really a shame. He was excellent under saddle, but had the personality of a demon. I haven't come across another nasty horse like him, but we did have some issues with Stetson before changing his food. Now we feed all our horses Strategy with grass hay, and Stetson did a complete turn around personality wise.

Sedona can definitely be a lazy horse, but she needs to work and it looks like she enjoys it. I could see how easily it might be for someone to take advantage of her, or how frustrating it may be for her to go without work. I know the previous owners rarely work their horses. All of the horses are really well cared for, but they only ride every now and then.

So hopefully Sedona stays happy here at her new home, because as long as she's friendly, willing, and sound, she'll have a home here forever. She's only five now, so she hopefully has many many years to go!