Re: OT kinda: Horse bites

Posted by wyod on November 13, 2007 at 10:09:54 from (204.227.221.184):

In Reply to: OT kinda: Horse bites posted by Kent in KC on November 13, 2007 at 09:25:22:

Hey Kent,
We have 4 quarter horses and 2 drafts... biting and scuffles around the feed are not uncommon. When ever you have a "herd" you'll find that one (or more) horse(s) tries to dominate... the others will (eventually) submit. Our horses have been together for many years now and have worked out their "pecking order", as horses in any herd will. It's important to note that each time you add to OR subtract from any herd, the dynamic changes and a new pecking order (sometimes with a different leader) will emerge. Having said all that, it's not at all uncommon to see horses biting at each other as a form of "play". 2 of our quarter geldings have been together most of their lives and, although they occupy VASTLY different positions in the heirarchy, they "play" together regularly by biting and with other maneuvers that can resemble aggression. You can tell the difference between playing and fighting by paying attention to the "body language" displayed by each horse involved. Whether playing or jockeying for the dominant position, that situation will work itself out.
Aggression at feed time is another story. A few winters back, one of our quarter geldings (the most submissive) was continually being pushed off his feed. Since I feed early mornings and late evenings year round, I went a few weeks without seeing him in daylight. When I finally saw him, he had lost quite a bit of weight. I had to build a temporary corral and confined him for the rest of the winter so he could eat. More recently, the herd dynamic changed again... now they leave him alone and he's doing fine... even during winter. One thing that helps at feed time is to always put out one more feeder than you have horses... and seperate them as much as possible. That way, when one horse is feeding and another pushes that horse off the feed, he simply moves to the next open feeder... there's never a conflict over a single feeder. (NOTE: do not put a feeder deep into a tight corner or position it so avenues of escape are limited! ...my missus fed one evening and thought shoving a feeder into a tight spot would give that horse more "privacy" while eating. What happened was that another gelding came up to claim that feeder and the first had no escape except through a fence... fortunately NOT barbed wire... that Vet bill was an expensive lesson and,fortunately, the injury was relatively minor). The horses may move in circles from feeder to feeder, but this keeps 'em busy longer and helps to keep 'em out of trouble. Sorry this is so long, but hope it helps! D

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