Question: My 3-year-old gelding has developed a habit of dipping his neck down, then shaking his head at me at feeding time. He didn't do this over summer, of the two youngsters he was the most respectful. I assume his attitude says he is more important than I am, and wonder how to correct him. He is second to the mare in herd status, she is just 4 but very dominant over him, but accepts me as the lead mare. Why has my lovely Chinook taken such a turn? Had him since he was a baby, and the only difference is, its Alaska and its winter so I don't spend as much time with them.
Answer:
There could be multiple contributors as to why a horse "suddenly" starts to behave in a certain manner. I would guess he did not start this overnight, but perhaps he initially offered subtle mannerisms that you may have not noticed.
Instead of being distracted by his head tossing (which is a symptom of stress and defensiveness, and not the issue itself), you may have to investigate and "break down" the bigger picture to understand why your horse is offering the unwanted physical response at feed time. Head tossing is the dramatic behavior that masks the insecurity he is probably experiencing, so the real question is, "What is contributing to the emotions causing the unwanted behavior?"
If he is the second horse in the herd hierarchy, perhaps he views the human as being below him, and as a trickle-down effect offers aggressive behavior as a consequence of what the lead mare is creating in his environment. If there is stress in regards to accessibility to feed, he will display impatience at feeding time if he is continually concerned that he will get run off by the lead mare before he is finished.
Some questions to help you better assess the situation: Have there been any changes in diet, feed times, feed locations, herd setup (pasture vs. stall) that attributed to the change in his behavior.
Many people present scenarios with their horses in an unintentional challenging manner, "Let's see if they can get _________ right or tolerate ______..." Rather than approaching with an empathetic, "Let me see how I can HELP my horse get through this with support and not critique."
The time to address his head shaking, worry, and/or anxiety is not when he is feeling peak concern (currently at feeding time,) rather start to assess, communicate and interact with him during a less stressful time. If you have access to a round pen or small and safe area to work with him at liberty (because a lot of times horses "keep in" bad feelings when they are on a line as this is what they have been taught to do.)
When he is loose in the pen you can practice noticing does he acknowledge you, seek your help for leadership, mentally check-in with you for guidance, "ask" vs. "tell" you in what he will do next, physically impose himself into your personal space, show similar aggressive or frustrated signs towards you as he displays at feeding time, etc.?
The goal of working with him loose is to incrementally build mental availability in the horse (do not get distracted by what he is physically doing- this is a reflection of his brain and emotions.) During the non-stressful times, he needs to learn how to participate respectfully in a conversation with you- whether it be when presenting himself to be caught, being led, worked with loose, etc.. He will learn to check-in with you for help when his apprehensions begin, (such as the case during feeding time,) rather than reacting aggressively and defensively once he is overwhelmed. The more he experiences you offer to support and help him, his confidence in trusting you will increase, and his aggressive behavior will dissipate. This will take practice on both your ends to learn.
If you have the opportunity to interact with him at liberty, do not focus on having your horse physically near you, rather use it as a time to practice awareness of his posture, movement, stance, breathing, focus, etc. This gives you an honest evaluation and starting point for the conversation with him on that particular day.
Learning how to redirect his thoughts, and then watching the initially physically "tight" and rigid horse "deflate" as his emotions drain and his thoughts slow, can help you learn to recognize what being mentally, emotionally, and physically present in the horse looks like. Unfortunately, most horses people see, aren't in this state, so what the human has come to expect as "normal" is not a quality starting point for the horse.
Many times when working with a horse people get distracted by setting their sights on having their horse accomplish a specific task, rather than remaining clear and focused on HOW the horse feels when addressing a task. If he is having a problem, the task is no longer important, rather changing how he feels about what he is being asked to do is. If he can start to see you addressing his feelings and worries, he will start to trust you and change how he outwardly is acting towards you and eventually the other horses.
Once you've established the "tools" to communicate with the horse to have him let go of a particular thought or distraction, move away to a spatially respectful distance, learning to stop and think through a scenario rather than just react, you can experiment with him alone in the pasture at feeding time. Practicing being able to walk into the pen with feed, and asking him to "wait," then signaling when it is okay for him to come to approach and eat in a slow and intentional manner. Then practice "calling him off" his feed, where he learns he can leave it, address you, and go back to it again, without getting emotional.
This isn't about him obediently responding, but rather the quality of the conversation. You'll have to address any initial defensiveness thoughts and have him learn to let go of those, before ever coming over to feed. You will see a massive emotional rollercoaster as he searches for what thoughts and behaviors work, and those that do not. As he learns to think and respond reasonably, then you can reintroduce him eating with the lead mare, but with you still present and offering the same conversation, irrelevant to her presence. Eventually, they will be able to be fed together in a "normal" scenario.
And really, none of this is about "feed," it is a reflection of emotional triggers in his emotions, and then the dramatic and unwanted behavior that follows. What you see now at feed time, could easily transition into other non-food related scenarios if he experiences similar stress. So you are actually teaching him the understanding and availability to become a reasonable and respectful horse for whatever may arise in the future as you continue his training and expand his experiences.
Answer:
There could be multiple contributors as to why a horse "suddenly" starts to behave in a certain manner. I would guess he did not start this overnight, but perhaps he initially offered subtle mannerisms that you may have not noticed.
Instead of being distracted by his head tossing (which is a symptom of stress and defensiveness, and not the issue itself), you may have to investigate and "break down" the bigger picture to understand why your horse is offering the unwanted physical response at feed time. Head tossing is the dramatic behavior that masks the insecurity he is probably experiencing, so the real question is, "What is contributing to the emotions causing the unwanted behavior?"
If he is the second horse in the herd hierarchy, perhaps he views the human as being below him, and as a trickle-down effect offers aggressive behavior as a consequence of what the lead mare is creating in his environment. If there is stress in regards to accessibility to feed, he will display impatience at feeding time if he is continually concerned that he will get run off by the lead mare before he is finished.
Some questions to help you better assess the situation: Have there been any changes in diet, feed times, feed locations, herd setup (pasture vs. stall) that attributed to the change in his behavior.
Many people present scenarios with their horses in an unintentional challenging manner, "Let's see if they can get _________ right or tolerate ______..." Rather than approaching with an empathetic, "Let me see how I can HELP my horse get through this with support and not critique."
The time to address his head shaking, worry, and/or anxiety is not when he is feeling peak concern (currently at feeding time,) rather start to assess, communicate and interact with him during a less stressful time. If you have access to a round pen or small and safe area to work with him at liberty (because a lot of times horses "keep in" bad feelings when they are on a line as this is what they have been taught to do.)
When he is loose in the pen you can practice noticing does he acknowledge you, seek your help for leadership, mentally check-in with you for guidance, "ask" vs. "tell" you in what he will do next, physically impose himself into your personal space, show similar aggressive or frustrated signs towards you as he displays at feeding time, etc.?
The goal of working with him loose is to incrementally build mental availability in the horse (do not get distracted by what he is physically doing- this is a reflection of his brain and emotions.) During the non-stressful times, he needs to learn how to participate respectfully in a conversation with you- whether it be when presenting himself to be caught, being led, worked with loose, etc.. He will learn to check-in with you for help when his apprehensions begin, (such as the case during feeding time,) rather than reacting aggressively and defensively once he is overwhelmed. The more he experiences you offer to support and help him, his confidence in trusting you will increase, and his aggressive behavior will dissipate. This will take practice on both your ends to learn.
If you have the opportunity to interact with him at liberty, do not focus on having your horse physically near you, rather use it as a time to practice awareness of his posture, movement, stance, breathing, focus, etc. This gives you an honest evaluation and starting point for the conversation with him on that particular day.
Learning how to redirect his thoughts, and then watching the initially physically "tight" and rigid horse "deflate" as his emotions drain and his thoughts slow, can help you learn to recognize what being mentally, emotionally, and physically present in the horse looks like. Unfortunately, most horses people see, aren't in this state, so what the human has come to expect as "normal" is not a quality starting point for the horse.
Many times when working with a horse people get distracted by setting their sights on having their horse accomplish a specific task, rather than remaining clear and focused on HOW the horse feels when addressing a task. If he is having a problem, the task is no longer important, rather changing how he feels about what he is being asked to do is. If he can start to see you addressing his feelings and worries, he will start to trust you and change how he outwardly is acting towards you and eventually the other horses.
Once you've established the "tools" to communicate with the horse to have him let go of a particular thought or distraction, move away to a spatially respectful distance, learning to stop and think through a scenario rather than just react, you can experiment with him alone in the pasture at feeding time. Practicing being able to walk into the pen with feed, and asking him to "wait," then signaling when it is okay for him to come to approach and eat in a slow and intentional manner. Then practice "calling him off" his feed, where he learns he can leave it, address you, and go back to it again, without getting emotional.
This isn't about him obediently responding, but rather the quality of the conversation. You'll have to address any initial defensiveness thoughts and have him learn to let go of those, before ever coming over to feed. You will see a massive emotional rollercoaster as he searches for what thoughts and behaviors work, and those that do not. As he learns to think and respond reasonably, then you can reintroduce him eating with the lead mare, but with you still present and offering the same conversation, irrelevant to her presence. Eventually, they will be able to be fed together in a "normal" scenario.
And really, none of this is about "feed," it is a reflection of emotional triggers in his emotions, and then the dramatic and unwanted behavior that follows. What you see now at feed time, could easily transition into other non-food related scenarios if he experiences similar stress. So you are actually teaching him the understanding and availability to become a reasonable and respectful horse for whatever may arise in the future as you continue his training and expand his experiences.
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