H.E.R.D Human Equine Relationship Development by Tamara Svencer - HTML preview

Chapter 10

Aggression

I thought I would address aggressive

behavior in horses later because I wanted to deal

more with normal behavior first. Once we

understand what normal is, we can start to

understand what abnormal is.

Normal horses are by nature timid, fearful

prey animals, who when given the choice between

fight or flight, more often will chose flight. Horses

do possess some aggression naturally, such as a

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -209-mare protecting her foal, or a lead mare defending

her role to a newly introduced horse. For the most

part it is defensive aggression.

Aggressive behavior and dominant

behavior can be easily confused. Aggression is

when a horse is going after someone or something

with extreme physical force. Aggressive behavior

can be displayed by chasing, stomping, biting,

kicking, bucking or raring up. There is a normal

level of aggression that keeps balance within a

herd and maintains the hierarchy and then there

is an abnormal level. This chapter is about

abnormal levels of aggressive behavior.

Normal levels of aggression will not pose a

problem for the human. Normal levels can be

corrected by reasonable means. Abnormal levels

will require more work and expertise and can be

very dangerous. It is easy to know when the limits

have been exceeded because a horse is trying to

inflict serious harm to humans on a regular basis.

Even a normally timid horse under

extreme stress may resort to fight. That is

important to understand. If a horse feels that it is

either die or fight back, it will sometimes chose to

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -210-stand its' ground and fight. Not always, but often

enough that you should be aware that it can

happen. Usually it will be an isolated incident,

instead of the habitual aggression we will be

discussing.

Extremely aggressive horses are not

normally born that way. They can be, but it is

rare. Normally horses are born with the normal

attributes of a horse. Timidity & flight. Aggression

is something that is learned behavior for most

horses. Horse to horse aggression is learned

within the herd. Horse to human aggression is

learned from interactions with humans. Horses

possess a minimal amount of aggression to

survive and use it mostly as a defense mechanism.

They are a prey animal remember, you see more

aggressive behavior coming from predators. This

is not the aggression I am talking about. The

exception would be stallions.

If you ever have the opportunity to watch

foals interact with each you will understand

better what I am talking about. They will romp

and play, sometimes they will show dominance

over each other. But you won't see one attacking

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -211-the other with the ferociousness that I am talking

about when I say aggressive behavior

The exception to that rule would be a

normally timid horse that is in severe pain for

some reason. Pain can cause a horse to act out in

aggression because he is extremely afraid of the

pain that he is in. But even then, a horse can

tolerate a high threshold of pain before reverting

to aggression. When dealing with an aggressive

horse rule out the possibility that his bad behavior

is not being brought on by pain. Colic, toothache,

back pain, leg pain etc.

For the most part aggression is learned

because an animal has been pushed to the

breaking point at some point in their lives. They

had to make the decision between fight or flight,

and they chose fight and it worked to relieve the

pressure that they were under at the time.

It is the same rule used in training,

pressure release is a reward. By fighting the

pressure was relieved and thus they learned some

really bad behavior. This happens because of

human error.

Realize how easily it is for a horse to learn

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -212-something new, be it good or bad. They make

behavior connections rather quickly.

So understand that if you are teaching a

horse anything and they react aggressively

towards you and you do nothing or give in to

them, they will soon repeat it because it worked.

Most aggression in horses thus is a result of

fear. The initial fear triggered the response of

flight, when that was not available, fight was left.

Once this worked for the horse to relieve the fear,

he learns a new behavior pattern. Instead of

fear=flight=release of stress produced by fear

now he has this pattern fear=fight=release of

stress produced by fear. Pressure and stress can

be one in the same.

Here is an example. A mare is being

worked for the first time in a few years. Her owner

walks out to catch her and put her halter on. She

had some training in the past but not a lot , for

explanation purposes lets say she is a 5 year old

mare who has lived most of her life out to pasture.

Her owner decides to start working with her a bit

more and she goes out to halter her. She backs the

horse into a corner of the fence and manages to

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -213-put a rope on her, as she nervously fiddles with

the halter the horse displays signs of discomfort &

fear, the slight pinning of the ears, but the owner

pays no attention to her warning. The mare

increases the intensity of her initial warning, the

pinned ears, and nips the owner in the side. The

owner who lacks confidence and skill, flees from

the horse in pain. Giving up her plans of haltering

this horse on this day. Well that worked out for

the mare and she thinks hmmmmmmm

interesting.

Soon the mare is pinning her ears and

biting everyone for any thing she feels threatens

her. Haltering, grooming, leading. Now the owner

has a big problem. A horse that she fears because

it is a biter . The owner who is now fearful will

unlikely nip this bad behavior in the bud.

Horses can learn to paw at people with

their front legs, they can chase people, bite

people, and of course kick people once they learn

that they can successfully scare away the “stress”

brought on by people by using fight instead of

flight.

This is a secret most horses will never learn

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -214-because aggression goes against their inborn

instincts. But some will learn it, and when they

do, watch out because it can become a habitual

problem that can be very dangerous if not dealt

with correctly.

Undoing learned behavior is very hard.

Once you know something, you can't just forget it.

The horse can't either, it becomes a new skill.

Over time it can become worse because a horse

learns through repetition, so the longer the

problem has been allowed to persist, the longer

and harder it will be to cure.

You can avoid teaching aggression to

horses by always giving them the option of flight

to some degree. Pushing a horse into a corner and

saying do or die is a good way to ensure that you

will trigger a fight response if overdone.

We see this clearly in the case of breaking a

horse to a ride. Most horses will be pushed past

the limits in this scenario. A horse is usually in a

round pen where he can't flee the stress and fear

of the man on his back. The horse then resorts to

aggression in bucking and throwing himself

around, trying to fight the man off of his back.

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -215-The man persists until the fight has been lost by

the horse.

The horse may try the bucking around a

few more times in the future, but as long as he

repeatedly loses that fight, he will give up and

accept it as a lost cause. BUT if he somehow does

succeed in releasing the stress by displacing the

rider, and the rider does not get back on, well he

will fight it out every single time thinking he can

repeat his former success. That is why some jobs,

should be left to some people. Breaking a horse is

one of those jobs. The rider must never give in to

the horses fight or breaking will be unsuccessful.

Learning when to call it quits is as

important as knowing when not to stop.

Sometimes calling it quits is the correct course of

action but it has to be done correctly to work. Do

not wait until the fight instinct has been triggered

to make that call. Make sure you have enough

horse awareness to make the call before the fight

trigger is pulled.

Lets face facts, in a fight with a horse, the

human is going to lose. The horse doesn't know

that but he can learn it really quickly if you allow

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -216-him too. Your job is too never reveal that secret to

your horse. If you are up against a horse that is

about to boil over as I like to say, turn down the

heat before he does. You will not be able to

control him once he does, and everything that he

learns will be bad.

Before he reaches his breaking point, and

time will teach you to see it coming, let off of the

gas and revert to something he can and will

willingly do. Slow it all down, take a breather, but

never leave unless your life is in true danger. You stick it out, because if he thinks his behavior has

caused you to leave, he will repeat it again. Revert

back to a simple command that puts you back in

control, like backing up, standing still, or turning

in circles. Try to stay clear of moving him forward.

Forward motion triggers flight. Give him time to

cool off with you. Then try it again but don't push

too hard.

If you are having that much of an issue

with a horse then you may need to take another

look at what you are asking him to do. Perhaps

instead of taking baby steps you have asked him

to make a leap that he doesn't quite understand.

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -217-You may also need to do some gentling or

other fundamental work with them before

proceeding on to what you are trying to teach.

This will apply to every horse other than a

stallion. A stallion has an entirely different make-

up than mares and geldings. He has other

instincts and hormones driving him around.

Stallions are best left to people who have expertise

in working with them. Unlike normal horses

stallions can be aggressive by nature, therefore

they are to be handled entirely different than the

normal timid mare or gelding.

There are also extremely dominant

individuals within the horse herd. You may

encounter a handful of these in your life. Some are

horses that have been kept “wild” for too long and

they have reverted back to a more raw state of

mind. They can be down right mean and nasty

and they don't make any difference between being

aggressive with a man, or with another horse.

This type of aggression is not what I have

been talking about. It is more of a “wild” streak. It

is extreme dominance that has been left

unchallenged for far too long. This aggression

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -218-does not come from a bad experience with

humans, it comes from the lack of experience with

humans. It is fear based to some extent, the fear

of the unknown.

This type of horse will be harder to train

because he is so set in his or her ways. Coupled

with a dominant personality a horse like this

should be left to the professionals to start laying a

safe foundation. A horse of this sorts can easily

kill a human who lacks the experience to

understand and deal with its dominant

personality. This is one reason early socialization

of a horse is so important, it makes everything so

much easier.

Once a horse is displaying regular

aggressive behavior it will take time and effort to

correct it. As a responsible horseman you must

correct it before someone becomes seriously

injured.

Keep in mind that all horses may show

aggression at certain points of their handling.

Pinning of ears when you are cinching a saddle is

a common example but we are talking about

animals who have developed a “habit” of being

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -219-aggressive. They have consistently shown

aggressive behavior over and over.

Biting is a really nasty behavior that can

become very hard to cure if it is left unchecked for

a long period of time. The best way to correct it is

by instantly causing the horse discomfort the

moment he even thinks about biting.

A horse will normally pin its ears before a

bite is delivered. Move the horse out of your space

the instant he even thinks about biting. Carry a

whip if you must, and the second you notice he is

even thinking about it, drive him out of your

space. That is not to say you need to hit him with

the whip, often it will not be necessary, make a big

fuss and drive him off with the threat of the whip.

If he starts to understand that the thought gets

him in trouble, well he will quit thinking about

biting, if he stops thinking about it, he will stop

doing it.

If he just comes at you open mouthed and

ready to take a chunk out of your arm, then

quickly and sharply reprimand him instantly.

Carry a crop if you must and whack him right on

the end of the nose, if you don't have a crop use

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -220-your hand. Then drive him away. Driving a horse

out of your space instantly puts you in control. Be

careful though, he may try to deliver a parting

kick in your direction. The whack to the nose will

sting, the bite to the arm will be much more

brutal. If you do not feel comfortable in correcting

this dangerous vice yourself consult a trainer who

can.

A lot of the problems people face with

aggression can be avoided by making sure that

your horses understand and respect your personal

space by asserting your confidence over them

constantly from day one. If a horse is only allowed

to enter your space with a submissive attitude

you won't have issues with aggression. Drive them

away anytime they do something you feel is a

show of dominance over you. Dominance is just

the first step to aggression if left unchecked.

This is where making sure you have

developed good communication skills with your

horse is of utmost importance. Good

communication can literally save your life when

dealing with horses. Remember communication is

not only speaking, it is also listening. You must be

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -221-so in tune and aware that even when the horse

whispers to you, you can hear the slightest

indication that aggression is about to be

displayed.

There are three options for the horse owner

who is dealing with extreme aggression.

1. Deal with it yourself. This will take a

strong and confident approach to be

successful. If you even have the slightest

apprehension about dealing with it

yourself, don't.

2. Hire someone else to deal with it.

Please do your homework though, there are

lots of horse trainers but only a few will

provide quality results. Some horse

trainers could actually make a fearful

aggression issue worse if they are too

aggressive in treating it.

3. Sell it and cut your losses. I know that

sounds so cold but a 1400 pound animal

that is threatening bodily harm is not

worth keeping if you are not willing to take

option 1 or 2. You are left only with the

option of cutting your losses and replacing

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -222-the ill behaved horse with one that has

better behavior. Selling it may be hard, but

keeping it will be harder. Be honest about

it's faults to potential buyers as this is the

responsible and honest thing to do.

That is all you can do. I have sold a horse

because of aggression issues because I have

children. At our farm I like to maintain a level of

natural existence with the horses. I like for my

children to be able to enter the pasture with the

herd and have no fear of them being harmed by a

horse. With an aggressive horse in my herd I can't

do that. As I am teaching my horses to be

confident in my leadership, I am also teaching my

children to be confident and feel safe with the

horses.

I can hear the boos and hisses now, I gave

up on a horse. I did, but because I have a bigger

responsibility to my children. As a parent I can

not keep an animal that I feel would harm my

children or even kill them given the chance. I

don't apologize for that.

I tried to teach the horse to stop biting. His

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -223-aggression seemed to center around his food,

which made the whole situation worse. Behavior

that is bad when connected with food is extremely

hard to cure because the animal believes that the

food is a reward for the bad behavior. In this

horses case, he thought he was bullying me to the

point of surrendering his food. I was told to take

his food completely away from him but I won't do

that. That goes against what I personally believe

about being a leader. I think starving a horse into

submission is wrong regardless if it would provide

results to some degree.

When you were about to feed he would pin

his ears and come at you with his mouth open. I

started to take the lunge whip and chase him away

and make him stand out away from the dish until

I allowed him to come in to eat. I started counting

to five, then after a few days to ten, then fifteen

seconds. He would calm down a little but I got the

feeling he was just playing a game with me. I

could tell he was smart enough to pretend to

submit to get his food. Because every day we went

through the same ordeal.

He was a tester. He constantly was testing

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -224-his status in the herd. He was always sneaking up

trying to push the boundaries and he never really

settled into any given spot.

Normal horses do from time to time try to

move up the social ladder, often this is when a

new individual is added to the herd. But in a well

balanced herd the members seem to filter into

spot and stay there until someone leaves or

someone enters. There are little attempts here

and there at seeing what they can get away with,

like a mouthful of grain out of a superiors' food

pan. But this particular horse tried it every day at

every feeding time with even the lead mare. He

tried to annoy his way to the top. He would stand

there after he gobbled down his grain and move in

closer and closer, inch by inch, trying to get in the

lead mares grain. She would have nothing of it, he

would push her to squealing and kicking every

day. And the next day he would just move in

again, inch by inch, until she was forced to run

him off. He was very persistent.

I tried join up and again I felt his efforts

were less than authentic. I swear he knew how to

pretend to give me what I wanted so I would leave

Human Equine Relationship Development

H.E.R.D -225-him alone to pester his way up the ladder. He

would submit in join up, follow me like a puppy

dog, and low and behold the very next day I was

met with pinned ears at feeding time or worse

sometimes an open mouth. Some days were

better than others and I had to assert myself

constantly with him to keep any ground I gained.

And he literally had no respect for the

children. They were all smaller, weaker, less

important beings to him. It took everything in me

to control him. I knew the children had little

chance of having a good relationship with him.

They could no longer enjoy spending time

in the field with the other horses. And after 6

months of gaining little more than an ounce of

respect. The respect wasn't even for me it was for

my whip. I said enough is enough and it is time

for you to go on to someone who has a lot of time

and no children.

I learned many very valuable lessons

through him. Buying the wrong horse can be an

expensive mistake. In my mind he remains the

prime