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Stall Aggression

I got a new horse a couple months ago and I’ve noticed that she has some aggression towards people in her stall. She’s been treated for ulcers and she’s on regumate and is in great health. She’s fine if her head is being pet but if I stand at or behind her shoulder on either side both touching her and not, she pins her ears and bites the air. She is perfectly fine though if I’m squatting down putting stuff on her legs but if I stand up and walk near her shoulder or behind it, she gets really upset. This happens both at home and at shows. She’s a lot more friendly in her stall though than she was at the beginning since she used to swing her butt towards everyone that came in her stall and would threaten to kick but that lasted only a couple days before she got used to everyone. I’m assuming she just likes her space while she’s in her stall since that’s her safe space but I’m wondering if there could be something else that’s upsetting her?

You will get about fifty replies about repro issues incoming in his forum.

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What’s her lifestyle? How much time is she spending in the stall? How much riding are you doing? Also, there is no vet work up that will declare your horse “In great health”. It’s great that you’ve ruled some things out it sounds like but that doesn’t mean there’s not an issue, it just means you haven’t found the issue.

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EquKelly has some good questions that we need answers to before anything can be assessed. If she is overstalled, and overfed, it could cause some inexcusable behaviors like this. I would like to assume she’s been evaluated by a vet as she is on Regumate, and she is new to you. What did the PPE tell you? Has her routine changed?

Assuming she checks out completely fine by a vet, this is how I would handle this:

Her stall isn’t her safe space, and I would stop treating it as such. She needs to be respectful of anyone who approaches her, no matter where she is. Stall, pasture, while tied… everywhere. All of my horses learn to be moved around in their stalls. Pretty much, stand there quietly until I ask you to move. When I ask you to move, you do. I will be fair but will up the anty if they get aggressive. It’s inexcusable behavior. Ear pinning, giving two heels instead of two eyes, biting or even thinking about it, getting into my space… it’s all bad.

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This sort of situation can often be “defensive” instead of “aggressive”. If you can see her as “defending herself” FROM YOU, you tend to need to “soothe” her rather than “discipline” her. Why she may feel that she needs to defend herself in her stall from you, or any human, is always the question that you may not know the answer to. But if a horse is being defensive, and you “attack” her for the behaviour, she will only become MORE defensive, and her behaviour more ingrained. To a human, “defensive” and “aggressive” behaviour may look quite similar. But inside her head, it is quite different. It doesn’t mean that she is any less dangerous to deal with for you or other humans who need to enter her stall, but how you work with the situation to attempt to rectify the problem is different. If she is being defensive, you won’t “discipline” her thoughts out of her. Good luck.

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She is consistently ridden 6 times a week and goes outside for at least 8 hours (weather permitting). My barn is very quiet and there’s not a lot of hustle and bustle that could be causing stress. Her attitude has definitely improved since she arrived and she now loves to be cuddled. When I say she’s in “great health” I mean that she’s not sick, not lame, likes to be worked, has proper farrier work, and shows no signs of pain in her day to day life.

Her routine has definitely changed from her prior life. She came to us overweight since she was only being ridden by the trainer 2x a week since covid and the owner no longer wanted to ride so she wasn’t doing a whole lot. I would definitely say she was over fed and under worked when we got her but she’s been on a diet and exercise program since. She’s turned out for 8 hours but maybe she needs more time outside?

She only acts this way in her stall and I’ve been letting her get away with it since I’m not sure what I should do and whether it’s behavioral or something else is going on.

That was a great story above, but I have one that didn’t end as well.
At a boarding barn I was new at, they had a stunning horse who had been schooled for high level dressage. But now he was just standing in his stall or turned out for a couple hours per day.
Because he was next door to my horse, I was warned by several people that he was stall aggressive and not to fool with him or even get near him.
The back story on this horse was that a trainer had pushed him to the brink and " fried his brain" is how it was described. He apparently shut down and refused to even move or train.
Another trainer took him to her farm to re-start him using ground training and her special voodoo. Didn’t work.
Last I heard he was taken to another farm and field boarded and allowed to just be a horse.
Sad story, but these cases do happen. Something to consider since this horse is new to OP.

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Thank you for your advice! I’m not exactly quite sure what to do. I haven’t disciplined her for this behavior since I don’t know what’s triggering it. I don’t like hanging out in her stall for fear of being injured. You may very well be right that she is being defensive instead of aggressive.

How would you handle the situation if it’s a defensive behavior?

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Thank you for sharing your experience! I’ll have to talk to my trainer about some lifestyle changes we can make for her. She doesn’t sound quite as aggressive as your mare was. If you walk by her she wants to look in your pockets for treats and will come up to the door to be brought out. She really likes attention but just gets weird about having someone stand next to her in her stall. Maybe more turnout time could be beneficial for her.

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IMO, I would not discipline for the behavior. I mean if you’re going to get bitten or kicked do what you got to do. My guess is that she feels insecure with someone in her space when she has no place to go so it makes her feel cornered and threatened. If you punish her for that, it’s only going to make it worse because you’ll be giving her a reason to feel threatened.

If it were me, I’d get her out of the stall. I’d switch her to either turnout, a small paddock, or even a stall with a run where she can exit if she feels uncomfortable.

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Sadly, I don’t have the option for a stall with a runout. I haven’t disciplined her since I didn’t know what was causing it. Would avoiding hanging out in the stall and doing somewhere else like in the field or cross ties be better? Or should I work with getting her comfortable with someone else in the stall? Or do you have another suggestion?

My suggestion is a new management plan. I get that it’s not what you want to hear and I get that it would complicate your life, but she is not happy stalled. She’s telling you she’s not happy stalled, so I wouldn’t stall her. Some horses do fine some do not. Yours does not. I’m sorry that’s my best advice I can offer.

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I appreciate your advice and you’re probably right. While it’s not ideal, I can make it work and if it helps her than it’s totally worth it.

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“Not disciplining”, yes. “Not doing anything to redirect the horse”, no.

The horse needs to be confident with you, or anyone, entering her space at any given time. Otherwise she is unsafe to be around. I don’t agree that the mare can’t be stalled, but I do agree that increasing t/o time would likely help.

I might try the following with this horse: upon entering her stall, allow her to greet you, then halter her and keep the leadrope loose and tucked in the crook of your elbow. Go about your business - whatever that means, be it some gentle grooming, picking her stall, etc, but keep your eye on her. The moment she displays any kind of defensiveness, pick up on the rope and ask her to turn and give you her attention. When she does, let it slack again, pet on her and go back to your business. Repeat as much as you need to. What you’re doing is interrupting her every time she feels the need to defend herself and asking her to focus on you, after a period of which she’ll start to realize that A) there is no threat to her, and B) allowing you in her space AND offering you her attention can be a pleasant experience.

The other option is working her with a flag inside the stall as a means of redirecting her thoughts when she gets to being defensive, but I wouldn’t feel comfortable advising someone how to do this who hasn’t had extensive experience working horses with a flag as it’s really easy to “do too much” in that small of a space and get yourself hurt.

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This is pretty much your entire problem right here. She needs to be told no and proper boundaries need to be set within which she can learn to communicate her needs, desires, feelings, etc. to you in an appropriate manner.

I just think what my super cuddly horse could have become (probably worse than yours!) if she had landed in the hands of someone afraid to set boundaries and teach her more appropriate ways to interact with humans.

Something I repeated just a few weeks ago when talking to another horseman about horses and how so many love to work and to interact with humans, “If the horse doesn’t come to the stall door to greet you when you open it and call them over, you are doing something seriously wrong.”

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I met a mare once that was downright nasty in her stall and when tied. If a person was holding her lead rope, like say holding her for the farrier not tied but held, she was fine.

No amount of turnout, stall with attached paddock, professional handling or exercise fixed or improved the issue.

I suspect at some point the mare was uncomfortable / in pain and felt trapped by the stall walls / ties and resorted to defensive behaviors in an attempt to protect herself. I think it’s a plausible theory that your mare may have a similar story. Pending the initial cause of pain / discomfort is resolved this becomes a behavioral issue. Obviously do what you have to to be safe, but “getting on to her” will not help.

In the case of the mare I knew, I don’t believe the initial cause of pain was ever fully addressed. I highly suspect hind gut ulcers, but that is neither here nor now.

I think you have a good shot of improving your horse’s issue as you state she’s already improved. If you’re interested, Warwick Schiller has some fascinating ideas about using CAT H type principles to help horses overcome similar behaviors like you describe with your mare.

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Define “hanging out in her stall?” What are you doing in there?

I took a trial lesson at a barn once and there was someone sitting in their horse’s stall in a lawn chair. Literally “hanging out” in the stall. You mention she now “likes to be cuddled” - but maybe she just wants to be left alone?

If you need to be in there - to groom, put a blanket on/off, check feet, etc. - I would be efficient and expect not to be kicked/bitten or I would definitely discipline if threatened (although I would probably be in there with a halter and lead until you get a better handle on things.)

But - I would only be in the stall when necessary - no “hanging out” when the horse is just finished working, for example, and wants to eat.

Obviously there could still be other issues, and I wouldn’t rule them out. But I would be sure you’re not just annoying your horse until they lash out.

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My definition of it is just standing and petting. That’s it. My guess is that she’s uncomfortable with it from all the advice I received. She likes to be cuddled ex: resting head on your shoulder and likes her face to be hugged and petted but only in the cross-ties. I try to only go into her stall for necessary things and don’t spend extra time in there bc she gets annoyed.

Would the best solution be only going in there to do necessary tasks and avoid spending unnecessary time in there?

I agree with the posters who think your mare is maybe feeling defensive in her stall, and punishment is not the way to go. You’ve only had your horse a couple of months, and she still hasn’t had time to really settle in to her new life. When I got one my of guys, he would pin his ears and turn his butt to me every time he saw me, in the stall or out. I thought at first he just had a bad attitude but I gradually realized that mostly he just didn’t quite trust me yet and felt threatened. I spent a lot of time just walking up to him in the field to scratch his withers or offer a treat, but I always made sure that I was the boss mare. Not a mean boss mare, just a boss. We did ground work to establish that I could make him move his feet, but I would not move for him. I stayed out of his stall unless I had to go in for a specific reason. Over the months we gradually got to know each other, and now I can go in his stall and brush him without him pinning his ears. He comes to greet me when he sees me walking across the field.

Let you horse get to know you, and give it however much time it takes. That doesn’t mean you don’t correct bad behavior. You have to be boss, and your horse needs to trust that you will take care of her. With my guy, lots of ground work and making him pay attention to me and move his feet this way and that did more to establish trust than just petting him.

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