kara
New BB Member
Posts: 3
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Post by kara on Sept 12, 2009 18:18:33 GMT -5
Hey everyone i have a 2 year old miniature horse (Rita) and she has been getting really mouthy lately, she also is very food aggressive when i bring them their evening grain. she is in a pasture with a 11 year old Morgan gelding and a 5 year old miniature gelding. i am not sure how to get her over being so aggressive toward the other horses and toward me and my family. its getting to the point where you cant be any where near her when she is eating. any advice will be greatly appreciated
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Post by hooti4me on Sept 13, 2009 19:04:47 GMT -5
I have a BIG 16.3 hand WB who is food aggressive. I am not sure where it came from. The gal I got him from said he was never this way. But he has been this way since the day he came to my place. He pins his ear around food time, and is very antsy while eating, and just irritable. What I have to do, is when I go into his stall to put grain in his bucket, I take my whip with the flag on it. If he pins his ears at me, I won't put the grain in his bucket til they are forward. I might have to flap the flag on the whip a time or two. He gets the point. When I put hay out, even though I only have 2 horses, I make 4 piles. It gives my other horse somewhere to go, when Phil is being a brat. But they just go pile to pile. I would suggest having a flag and carrying that around, and if you need to use it, use it. Your safety and your family's safety is very important. Around feeding time I make sure they respect me and my space... as I AM THE FEEDING LADY. I also had a horse that was aggressive at feeding time, and I used to catch him, and tie him up give him his grain in his bucket and then lead him to the pile of hay and let him go. It got better after I handled him more at feeding time...
Another thought is, make sure you are working on manners with your mini, on the ground, and he has your respect on the ground.
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Post by mymercedes on Sept 13, 2009 21:49:01 GMT -5
My recommendation is to catch him before feeding and then feed him while he is either tied, or you are holding the lead, possibly with whip in hand, just as Hootie indicated. It's easier for you to be intimidated and for them to intimidate you when they are loose.
I know with dogs who are food aggressive, they recommend you feed them their dinner by hand just a few pieces at a time, until they take it nicely from you. It may work the same with your mini. Ground manners and food manners go hand in hand. Can you lead her away from the others when she has her grain? You may need a helper at feeding time to remove her from the area and hold her while you are getting the others fed and getting her grain ready for her. Good Luck!!
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lisam
Full BB Member
Posts: 178
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Post by lisam on Sept 14, 2009 10:46:28 GMT -5
I sold a mini as a weanling. She came back to me as a 2 year old, unmanageable--she had been spoiled and let do her own thing. She was very food aggressive, and would even charge you without food. A friend of mine took her on and worked with her daily on her manners.
When you say she is getting mouthy, do you mean while being led, or groomed, or petted? Or just at feeding time? And by mouthy do you mean nipping or trying to bite?
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