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Discussion on Do horses get jealous?
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Member:
jakobe
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Posted on Monday, Sep 28, 2009 - 1:33 pm:
I have been seeing an attitude in my 5 year old when I go into the pen with my young weanling to work with her leading. I will stop by the fence and talk to the 5 year old and she will pull her ears back, shake her head up and down and paw the ground when I try to call her over. She wants nothing to do with me. Even starts running around her pen and acting all mad. Every time I look at her over the fence she will put her ears back and just stare at me. When I go in the 5 year old's pen to clean up I can walk right up to her and can hug her and I have no problems with ears back or anything, she just acts like that when I'm near the young one who she hates, for we have to keep them separate because the 5 year old bites and tries to kick her. We've only had the young one for little over a week now. The 5 year old isn't even my horse, it's my husband who rides her and works with her, but she just does it to me not my husband. I'm the one that feeds her and talks to her during the day but thats it. We have the 14 year old also, but she doesn't care and she also bites the little one so we keep the 5 year old and the 14 year old together. So would anyone know what her problem is?
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Monday, Sep 28, 2009 - 2:59 pm:
I think what you are seeing is just herd bonding. Sounds like your five year old thinks you are part of her herd, and the weanling isn't.
We had a similar deal here when a new older gelding first came. My 20 year old, Sugar, would get along okay with him until I would come to the barn. Then she would calmly turn around and let fly with her hooves. Very embarassing when the old guy's owner was around! I had to keep reassuring her that he wasn't being beat up constantly. The younger mare didn't care, but the "boss mare" seemed to think it was her place to make sure that he knew he wasn't "one of us"!
It's much better now. But he's been here a year now. He is absolutely nutso crazy about her though! Go figure!
I know you had some problems with your older horses picking on the weanling before, didn't you? I think with time they will settle down, but in the meantime I think you are wise to protect her until she is big enough to escape or hold her own.
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Member:
mrose
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Posted on Monday, Sep 28, 2009 - 5:12 pm:
I think the 5 yr. old just doesn't like your foal. She might later on, but doesn't now. I wonder if the 5 yr. old has even been around a foal before. I think sometimes when a horse hasn't been around foals, they don't know what to think of them and are kind of afraid of them, and their first reaction is to strike out at the foal. I would just be very careful of the foal and yourself until the 5 yr. old gets used to the foal being around.
Out of curiosity, is the 5 yr. old the dominant horse or is the older horse?
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Member:
leslie1
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Posted on Monday, Sep 28, 2009 - 7:58 pm:
maybe 5 year old see you as chef/waitress...and when you go work with the foal, the 5 year old feels like foal is moving in on her "soon to be served' food?
food/waitress/pecking order thing. even tho your not feeding them.
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Member:
jakobe
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Posted on Monday, Sep 28, 2009 - 11:51 pm:
yes, the 5 yr old is the dominant horse. I noticed tonight that the weanling had a couple more bites, must of gotten to close to the fence,but I guess this way she will learn who's boss, she tries to snuggle up to them both through the fence, but it's only been a week. My mom suggested to rub the 5 yr old's saddle blanket over her to get her smell on the weanling, I don't know if that would help. Going in for her hernia operation tomorrow. Hope all goes well for her. Hope I don't get heck for all the bite marks on her, for I'm really trying to keep them apart, even had to buy a another horse shelter and water trough now that they can't be together.
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Member:
gramsey1
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 30, 2009 - 9:12 am:
We had a dominate mare quarter horse that seemed to become jealous. Honey, a large pony, lived in a small pasture with one or two other horses. Most of horse live in another adjacent pasture with another dominate mare. There were four,five or six horses in the large pasture.
Honey bonded to our daughter. They trained together nearly every day for a couple of years. But, Carrie grew to 5'8" and beautiful as the mare was Carrie was too tall for her.
So, we purchased her a horse. A 16 hand TB. He moved into the large pasture.
When Carrie would take him from the pasture Honey would run to the best vantage point in her pasture and cry out to her. She seemed to hate watching her work with the new man on campus.
Carrie tried to split her time between the two. We wanted her to help as a lesson pony. But, she never really took care of other riders like she took care of Carrie. And after Onyx, she distanced herself from Carrie.
We sold her to a loving family, a smaller girl. It took some time but now Honey is bonded to her new owner, just like she was to Carrie. She is a one person pony.
She is also picky about pasture buddies. But, is very kind,gentle and protective of those she accepts.
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Member:
erika
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 30, 2009 - 10:14 am:
Beautiful horse, beautiful daughter, Guy. I can see why they collected so many ribbons!
Nice story, too. Hope Honey has people who realize her loyalty and will have a great home for life.
Erika
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Member:
leslie1
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Posted on Wednesday, Sep 30, 2009 - 12:04 pm:
wow! So beautiful!!!!!
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