Mares Who Just Don't Like Certain People

[EAY]

Have you ever known a mare, or a gelding for that matter, who is picky about which humans that she likes, who is sweet and loving with those she cares for but is witchy or even dangerous around those she doesn't like?

My mare seems to have issues with one of the other boarders at our barn and it's hard to correct the behavior since I'm not right there when it happens. Today the woman was passing by her stall and my mare bit her pretty hard but by the time I got there half a minute later my mare was standing there with her ears forward acting as if nothing had happened.

She has been on stall rest for three weeks now and though for the most part she's handled it really well she has had some cranky moments so I know that that is part of the problem, but I'm getting the feeling that she has taken a dislike to this person.

[sublimequine]

How did the lady get bitten, exactly? Did she stick her hand in the stall? Does the horse have a stallguard up and the lady walked by "in bite range"? :confused:

[Hilltopfarmva]

It happens, we've had some that just don't like certain people in the barn. Especially on stall rest, it seems to bring out a bit more unhappiness and anger. I've got one on stall rest right now and she is not a happy camper with certain horses and people passing by. Maybe a "beware, may bite" sign might be posted on her stall? I had to do this with one of the stallions in the barn since we have kid and adult boarders here. It was just something to get people to make a wide bearth from her stall.

[ChocoMare]

Ohhhh yes. Twas an ugly straweberry/roan gelding at a camp I went to: Theo

Out of the four groom-aides, he HATED one of them. The other three of us could enter his stall, groom, tack up, ride, jump....whatever we wanted without a hitch. But should Judy try that? Uh, no.

He disliked her so much, he "conveniently" moved over in the stall just enough to catch a glimps of her foot.....then slyly moved back over to stand on top of her foot. As she's shoving him off, grunting in pain, he looks at her like "Oh, did i do that?" and then "conveniently" rotates as he gets off her foot, breaking 3 bones and pulling all the tendons.

Nasty lil sod.... She never went near him again.....much to Theo's delight.

[Catersun]

. I have one of those.

[EAY]

Does the horse have a stallguard up and the lady walked by "in bite range"? :confused:

Yes, but she was not in her own stall but in someone else's while hers was being cleaned. Her stall does not have a guard on it so the door is always shut.

[Go Fish]

My mare's obsessed with my trainer. She acts like a freakin' whore around him. With me, not so much...and I RAISED her!

[JGHIRETIRE]

I have a gelding that is like that-if he doesn't like you..........DUCK - the feet will fly. I have to wonder sometimes whether the people he doesn't like have done something to him that he had to retaliate for.
I've never had a horse do this before.

[thatsnotme]

My girl loves everyone on the ground. She will let you know pretty quick if you don't have her permission to mount up. Several trainers, etc have gotten the boot. I am about the only person she will 'work' for. Anyone can hack her, she'll do 'pony rides' all day, but if someone she doesn't like tries even one 20 meter circle on the bit, she'll either tell them off or hold a grudge to me for a week.

[Chall]

Both of my horses dislike people for a reason. The TB gelding, loves men (go figure). But when he shied away from a groom and started shaking I knew the groom had done something to him. Another groom confirmed what my horse was telling me. The other horse is tolerant of all people, except the girl who dissed him (she disliked him and his breed) and pretended she liked him. That horse bared his teeth at her and took a fake "air snap" at her once when she she shook her finger at him. Never seen him do it before or since. Both my guys have good people radar and they both are tattle tales, I know when someone's not doing right by my guys, they tell me.

[esdressage]

My mare gets extremely grumpy when she doesn't get worked enough. I can't even imagine what she'd be like if she had to be on stall rest! I think we might get asked to move to a different barn, actually… ;)

When I was away for a week recently, I heard that she got progressively more agitated by the day, even with turnout. One of the employees at the barn actually complained that she got "dangerous" and she feared for her safety working around her (seriously though, it's all a show. she'll pin her ears, act like she might bite, but she doesn't do anything.) This is the second barn I've had her at where employees have complained about her when I've been away. At the other one the stall cleaner said he thought she was going to bite his arm off. Of course, she didn't… she's very good at looking mean when she's grumpy! :lol:

However, I'm generally out every day, and then she's an angel! She's happy, relatively friendly to staff, etc. They can tell if I don't make it out even a single day.

Mares… they are definitely very clear with their emotions!

[FineAlready]

Yes, I've known both mares and geldings like this. I think it's more a matter of horses knowing when someone genuinely likes them and when someone is just pretending to like them. I think a lot of people either consciously or subconsiously dislike mares. I ADORE mares and think that they bond stronger than geldings if you get the right one (PS - don't tell my gelding. He's my number one buddy, mare-love notwithstanding). I've never found a mare that doesn't like me. Obviously, some like me more than others, but I've never been actively disliked by a mare (that I know of, lol).

I did know a large pony gelding once that absolutely HATED one of the barn workers. I happen to know beyond a shadow of a doubt that this particular worker was great with horses and always, always kind to them. I know that this pony was no exception. For whatever reason, this pony would aim for the barn worker whenever he was around - the pony once double-barrelled him when he was walking past the pony in the cross-ties! I was standing right there and there was absolutely no reason for it that I could see. The pony actually swung his hind end over to make the kick happen - i.e., he had to set up for it, so he wasn't just startled or something. I was the one who had the pony in the cross-ties; I was tacking him up to ride (oops, sorry!). We never did figure it out, but I suspect that it was perhaps a problem with men. We didn't have any other male barn workers at the time, so nothing to compare to. It was seriously odd, though.

[ReSomething]

Well, the school horses sure know who they can intimidate. My DD was tacking up and the gelding was making the MOST ferocious faces at her, enough to make her ask me to bridle him. He bit the ridle and hung on to it but did stop snaking his neck around.
They all prefer to have the BO tack them up. Lots less ear pinning.

So yeah, they know the difference between people and could take a set against someone, for whatever reason. I used to be rather popular and I personally think it was the diffuser scent that got on my helmet - Tuscan Herb it was called and I picked it because it smelled like new mown grass or fresh hay.

[mypaintwattie]

How funny- glad to hear others have had similar experiences. My mare HATED :mad:my former trainers groom. Flat out hated her, and soon came to hate the trainer. Would try anything to get out of work or get him off her back. Yes, some of it was due to her ulcers i'm sure, or the fact that she was roughed up by her, but even now when we walk by them if the groom is there she will pin her ears and curl her lip, if former trainer is alone she will pin the ears then flick them forward. We talked to a new trainer today about working with him, and I'm hoping it will work out because her ears were forward the whole time and she was gravitating toward him slowly. Maybe she knows he's a very BNT, otherwise she's just my silly girl.:yes:

[EAY]

My mare gets extremely grumpy when she doesn't get worked enough. I can't even imagine what she'd be like if she had to be on stall rest! I think we might get asked to move to a different barn, actually… ;)


This is definitely part of the problem. My mare went from 24/7 turn-out and being worked six days a week to stall rest. Luckily she spent quite a bit of time in a stall in her former life as a race horse-in-training so all in all she's taken her predicament pretty well.

[EAY]

I think it's more a matter of horses knowing when someone genuinely likes them and when someone is just pretending to like them. I think a lot of people either consciously or subconsiously dislike mares.

I suspect this might also be a factor. The boarder in question also does some work around the barn so the two of them have had plenty of opportunities to interact, and I have heard her (the human that is) make disparaging comments about the other mares on the farm.

[pixie]

It's called negative energy.....some people have it and mares pick up on it!

[Big_Tag]

It's called negative energy.....some people have it and mares pick up on it!


Negative how?

I am probably one of the most negative people I know and historicaly, i get along great with mares. better than most, in fact.

Just curious. I don't know anything about energies, really :)