OT kinda: Horse bites

[Anonymous-0]

My quarterhorse Rock, is biting his alleged girlfriend Twenty-Nine. The kids say they're seen him do it. She has marks, even some blood, on various spots over her body and seems generally unhappy. I've seperated them until I can find out what to do about that.

He gets a bit agressive at hay and grain time, trying to eat it all even her share.

Not being a competent horseman yet, I once again turn to the advice of my august friends here. (I also have a call into my vet). Whadya do with an otherwise high-spirited but likeable horse that likes to bite? Is this abnormal behavior?

There are no other horses around, just our goat, a timid little old feller that thinks he's 29's kid.

Thanks.

 

[Dick L]

Kinda normal activity for a stud I think. My stud only gets more than a small bite he then gets the slats kicked out of him by the mare. They still stand togather and softly bite each other a lot on the mane. When I bought my miniature mare she was the only miniature in with 4 quarter horses. The people I bought her from said that she ruled the hay put in the lot and if the other big horses got to close she would kick the slats out of them.
Might be the mare is not agressive enough to be with the other horse.
I am not an expert by any means. Just my thoughts

 

[Anonymous-0]

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

 

[Anonymous-0]

Maybe if you didn't have 29 girlfriends and didn't feed her hay and grain she wouldn't be generally unhappy. ; )

 

[Spook]

We had horses for years. Some biting is normal, they kind of groom each other too. We always had to have multiple feeders for the 2 horses we had. It looked like a merry go round, the mare would run the gelding off a lot. We had to feed him seperate at times. Btw, don't get between an animal and its feed, they might knock ya down.

 

[Mike (WA)]

Rule of thumb- with horses in together, split feed into # of horses plus one (3, in your case). The abusee will soon figure out she has to stay on the move, but can get a bite each time- the abuser will soon figure out that there's no future in chasing her around, 'cause he won't get any feed, and will soon settle down. Also, use minimal grain (none, if the hay is high protein and horses aren't being worked much). I'm assuming the male is a gelding- if its a stud, you've obviously got to separate them, or put a vet on retainer.

 

[JML755]

"Halter tag" is a favorite game of horses on turnout at the barn where we keep our gelding (TB). I don't think you can guarantee one won't bite at another in play or as part of the "social" protocol when there's more than 1 horse in an area. Others are right about the pecking order. Size doesn't seem to matter, either. It's attitude. My 17.1H is a "sissy" in the paddock. Get used to putting on medicine and the occasional stitches from bites/kicks. Heck, mine has had cuts from kicking himself. Funny thing, in our experience, the mares generally "rule the roost" and it's the males (geldings) that get their butt kicked.

 

[buickanddeere]

Dog training collar. Give the offender a few blasts when he thinks nobody is watching the biting.