My stallion is very well mannered, however in the past month he has started flattening his ears and making a really angry face whenever somebody walks near him on the crossties. He has always (ever since we got him) flattened his ears in his stall when people or horses were around and once he bit me when i was taking his grain away. He RARELY even attempts to bite now but I'm afraid he will start attaking people. He is very good to ride and handle at home or away and very sweet and cuddly when not on the crossties or in his stall. People always comment on how well behaved his is. I really don't want to have to geld him as he is not a mean horse. I am wondering whether he is being territorial or if he is in pain as he usually comes in from the paddock in a fairly good mood and gets crabbier as I progress in my tacking up. He doesn't get to angry with me, it's mainly other people that he does it to. I really would love some advice.
Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 11:59 am:
He is six. I have found that if I put him on a different set of crossties he is in a better mood, although whenever I take out my saddle pad he gets angry. I am going to try some other saddles to see if it helps. Someone once told me 80% of behavior problems are caused from bad saddle fit and the other 20% because of bad teeth.
Anonymous Posted From: 4.225.39.161
Posted on Wednesday, November 03, 2004 - 04:58 pm:
I believe the person who told you about behavior problems is probably close to being right. The other thing is that many times SOMETHING IS wrong and the only way they can tell you is with what is labeled as "bad" behavior. I would not treat this as a stallion thing, but a training thing. I had a colt like this, he still "greets" people with his ears back. He doesnt' like change and even going for a ride is a change in his mind and he was just grumpy about it. After ruling out any physical cause, we tried the usual ways to change his attitude about things because his nasty expression just turned everyone off, even those who loved him. We finally just got him gelded, but it did not change his attitude. He is a very athletic and mild mannered horse, he just has a sour attitude about life in general!NOt appealing to anyone wanting a breeding. I would suggest you try to be serious about getting him to know his manners, (stand still, not striking or biting, etc) and then just go on about your business. Try to scratch and reward him whenever you can. SOunds like you have him over the biting thing, but really, it could just be his personality. Then you need to decide if he is really stallion material, or if he is going to pass this trait on. Alot of horses will get beaten for acting like this, when they really won't hurt anyone, they are just sour pusses. But you don't want to breed sourpusses, you want to breed quality domestic animals! You are doing right by checking his teeth, back etc. first. Also inquire as to if his sire, dam or horses in his line tend to be this way. If he is 6 and has been handled since he was little, he probably wont' get over it if it isn't physical. If he has been left to his own devices and is at the experience level of a 2 or 3 year old, then he may get over it. Good luck, Z
He has not always be like this, it has only started about eight weeks ago, before he used to be the happiest horse to groom and tack up. He is very sweet anywheres still, but on the crossties and a little territorial about his stall. However with work he is being a very good boy about his stall greeting people with ears up unless he is eating. He stands still, doesn't strike or kick and doesn't bite. I was carefully observing my saddle today and realised that it was bumping his whithers, squashing his shoulders and bouncing up and down on his back and twisting. It also has some sharp points in the gullet. He has very sensitive skin and is prone to girth galls and saddle sores so I was using sheepskin in those areas, unfortunatly thee girth fuzzy shrunk in the wash and no longer fits my girth. My saddle used to fit him about a year ago and he was not crabby then but maybe his back/muscling changed. I
Anonymous Posted From: 65.142.16.5
Posted on Saturday, November 06, 2004 - 03:11 pm:
sounds like you have found the answer and will soon have a happy boy! Z
Rach Posted From: 158.223.37.55
Posted on Wednesday, December 22, 2004 - 09:41 am:
Hi - Agreed, this sounds like a saddle fit issue. Saddles should IMHO be checked as a matter of routine every six months.
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