Re: [RC] food aggression/respecting my space - Kristene Smuts
I'll relate what has worked for me consistently - take from it what you may.
Growl, hiss, kick dust, make yourself BIG, when you have the foodbowl and only when it is OK for the horse to approach, make yourself small and don't move. If the attitude is still not what you want, then up the pressure again until you get the desired result. I feed my own horses - at the moment 4 of various ages and can't afford to have flying hooves and teeth around me. They are stabled at the moment (for security) and will go stand in their respective stables and wait to be fed - not in stable, no food. Even the thickest of the lot - a 7 month old colt with dubious ancestry - has cottoned on to the little routine. It did take a bit longer than with the Arabs, but hey, I can't have it easy with everything in life, can I? ;-)))
I've only once had to take a lunge whip to a horse and that was my Anglo Arab. He came to me with incredibly poor manners - can't believe people actually don't pay attention to little things like that - and one day, about 3 days after his arrival, actually kicked at me, missing me by a hair's breadth. Next time, I took the lunge whip - he was also very quick so I had to be able to reach him before he took off - and I gave him a hard wallop on the rump as he turned to kick at me. He never kicked at me again and was very respectful after that. So take what the horse gives you - a little disrespect, then a little pressure from you; a lot of disrespect, then lots of pressure from you. Remember that they can maim with a bite and kill with a kick within an instant - keep yourself safe, now and the future.
Smiles
Kristene
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