We just bought our first horse about 5 weeks ago. For the first 4 weeks she stayed boarded at my daughters instructors house until our barn was done. We’ve done multiple lessons with her there since we’ve got her and she was always so sweet and calm. She came to our house about a week ago and since then she has had an attitude. She paws at me all the time, she only cares about feeding time, balks when I’m leading her back into stall, and when we first tried to ride her she would not listen and would take off trotting without being asked. I’m not sure what happened to her sweet temperament? Several other issues we’ve had is she will not stay out of my space. She walks on top of me and I have to move her away from the stall door to come in. Once it stops raining I plan on pulling her out of the stall for some ground work to teach her she is not the dominant. Any suggestions on the best excercises? I’m still very new to all of this.
Also, her previous owners of 12 years would let her throw her butt around and back up to the fence and they would scratch her butt. I’ve given in and done it a few times but I would like her to stop doing that. Can I correct the behavior if ive allowed her to do it several times?
Could be a lot of factors. Change in routine, change in diet, change in exercise. Is she there alone?
Yes she is alone, but she doesn’t like other horses. Not matter who you put beside her in the stall she would kick and bite at them through the fence.
Her diet has stayed the same, in feeding her exactly what’s she was fed before. She was stalled all the time at the boarders, except for weekly lessons and 2-3 total turn outs in the last four weeks. She never seemed to mind it at the boarders, not sure why she’s acting out so much here.
Yes she is alone, but she doesn’t like other horses. Not matter who you put beside her in the stall she would kick and bite at them through the fence.
Her diet has stayed the same, in feeding her exactly what’s she was fed before. She was stalled all the time at the boarders, except for weekly lessons and 2-3 total turn outs in the last four weeks. She never seemed to mind it at the boarders, not sure why she’s acting out so much here.
You need a trainer to help teach you how to handle her and recognize the subtle displays of dominance that you need to nip in the bud. She needs to move out of your space, not push you around. No letting her move you for any reason even a head rub. Carry a dressage whip or crop or use the excess length of lead rope to enforce your request to get out of your space, with vigor and force if necessary.
You really need in-person help with this. Every interaction with this horse needs to reinforce your position as leader instead of the other way around.
Horses are herd animals, even if they don’t “like” other horses they all do better with another one around, even if its on the other side of a fence.
Without another horse, her stress levels have probably increased, and could easily lead to ulcers.
The barn staff at the professional facility were likely subtly keeping her in check and so she was good for you.
This happens a lot to new time buyers. Have someone come out weekly and help you correct the behaviour and she definitely needs a buddy.
Is she the only horse at your house? She likely needs a companion or two to remind her of proper herd behavior, instead of making you her herd. Also, at home we tend to be more relaxed in our schedules and behavior expectation than a trainer - she may benefit from a more rigid schedule and explicit expectations.
Is she stalled or turned out now?
She’s stalled. It has been raining non stop. Once it stops and dries up I will turn her out for a couple of hours. She will normally be stalled during the day and let out for riding or turn out time a couple of hours a day.
OP:
You changed a lot of things at once for this mare.
And given her just 1 week to acclimate to the changes.
If only horses worked that way… :rolleyes:
Even if she “doesn’t like” other horses, she had the ability to interact with them.
Now she’s on her own & working out who is in charge.
Every instance of what you perceive as bad behavior/attitude is her testing the waters to see who’s in charge.
Every time you back off you are giving her the idea that she may be The One.
If you do not want her backing up to you for scratches, ignore her request.
She will figure out pretty soon that this behavior does not work w/you.
Every time you give in & do what she is asking the behavior gets reinforced.
Agree with those who suggest getting someone - DD’s trainer? - to come over & help you work out how to help the mare settle into the new routine.
And Time, give her more!
A week is an eyeblink to expect things to be as they were someplace else.
Patience is going to be your most important tool once you can recognize what her behavior means & learn how to effectively deal with it.
she’s been home 5 weeks, and the honeymoon is over. 3-4 weeks in a new place and most animals are on their best behavior, but who they are becomes more evident as more time passes.
Can the trainer you boarded her with come to help once or twice a week?
If not, I’d recommend looking at Warwick Schiller.
free youtubes here: https://www.youtube.com/user/WarwickSchiller/videos
he has a very active FB page and also a subscription to real time videos of clinics and training.
No wonder she’s pissed she’s stuck in a stall! If you have the luxury of having your horse home they should be outside all day. My horse and donkey are out all day every day. If its raining I’ll give them hay inside and when they’re done I know they will go outside and stand in the rain - because a horse almost always prefers to be outside. It is so much healthier, physically and mentally, for a horse to live outside. Ours are stalled only at night.
When we brought my horse home 2 years ago he definitely had some attitude issues. He acted like he could do whatever he wanted because it was his place. I’ve had to get very strict with him so he knows his boundaries. That means no pawing on the cross ties, no running me over to get dinner, and no charging out of his stall in the morning. You can’t get lax over manners or you will have a very difficult horse on your hands.
Finally your mare needs a buddy. It doesn’t have to be another horse. We opted to get a donkey for a companion. They eat much less, they’re feet don’t need to be trimmed as often, they make a great companion, and they’re adorable!
Agree, get a buddy for this mare, and buy a rain sheet if you’re afraid of her getting wet, let her OUT!
Do NOT do the butt scratches and just ignore her when she tries it. If you keep it up it could lead to her leaning on your fences and breaking/bending them to get her scratches.
As someone else said, carry a dressage whip, crop with you everytime you handle her and ask her to mind you.
And most of all - get the trainer out to your barn to help you!
It sounds like you are new to horse ownership and horse handling? You need help even on the ground to learn and understand the subtle cues of horse communication and boundaries and leadership.
Your horse needs a buddy. Even if she’s bitchy toward other horses, she needs a companion. Even if they never get turned out together but go in separate paddocks or pastures . . . she needs a buddy.
And she needs turnout. If she’s at home and you have your own barn, you have the luxury of doing whatever you want. She should be OUT as much as possible - more than just a couple hours a day. The longer a horse is out, the better it is for their brains and bodies - they are not meant to be inside 24/7. For their mental and physical health, they need to MOVE!
As far as feeding, is she getting the same hay as at the other barn? And when I say the same, I don’t mean "well she got timothy at the other barn and she’s getting timothy here . . . " Same hay would be same hay from same grower, same cutting. Not all hays are created equal. Some have more sugar than others, more protein, more digestible energy, etc. You don’t know unless you have your hay tested.
First things you should do are let her go out for turnout (and some horses hate to be stalled and never are), get her a buddy, and get some lessons for yourself on how to handle her.
She would be a lot less bossy and busy if she had more turn out…I suggest 8-12hrs.
In addition to the comments above, is your phrase, OP, “first horse”.
There is no magic instant when horses know how to behave and no longer have to be coached and guided. Their cognition does not transform as does a human adult. They are always horses, driven first and foremost by instinct and their immediate reaction to what is going on right now, this instant.
As I see it, the terms “made horse” and “trained” are misleading. There are horses that have a bank of really useful learning experiences, but that are going back to their wild instincts every moment those learnings aren’t being reinforced. The reason your mare behaves the way she does is because she can. It’s up to you to reinforce and guide, to keep reinstalling the software, as it were, in the proper way. And that builds a great human-horse relationship as well. 
Your comments are that the horse is doing these things as if the horse is not following the rules and being disrespectful in a way a naughty child might behave. But in fact, the horse is just being a horse. Everything you describe is absolutely horse behavior. It is up to the human to manage it every moment.
You need some knowledgeable in-person guidance. Just have someone who keeps well-mannered horses at home come out for an hour or so. Show that person your every complaint, and they will show you how to quickly and smoothly restore order.
And fwiw … whenever the remark is “sweet horse” at a previous place, but “bossy and attitude” at a different place – that isn’t the horse, that’s the human management of the horse. Horse is just reacting to their surroundings and inputs in the way that horses react.
OP, what part of the country/world are you in? Let’s remember, folks, in some areas like SoCal, the norm is no turnout or highly limited turnout in a sand pen. There may not BE turnout.
If OP can increase turnout, that would be great!
Lots of turnout will help immensely! Even if you have a smaller pen to save your larger turnout area, give her some space to move around and see the sights.
I live in Louisiana, I’m limiting turn out because her paddock is only an acre and with this rain and our red clay mud she will be sinking and slipping everywhere. Not to mention have all the grass walked down in a week. Once it dries up I will allow longer turn outs for her. Thank you all so much for your responses. I feel like I am constantly bugging my daughters trainer for advice and wanted some outside perspective. Any tips for best ground work excercises for us to do where she understands in the boss? She has lunged pretty good for me so far and will back up with a little shake of the lead rope.
