Aggressive Behavior in a Horse

Aggression in horses has a number of causes and manifests itself in a few ways. Aggression in horses can be subdued when the causes are understood by the trainers, who can then take the necessary measures to correct the unacceptable behavior. This will prevent the horse from hurting a person or another animal, or damaging any property.

  1. Causes

    • There are several common causes of horse aggression. These include pain, mental illness, fear and disrespect, according to Marvwalker.com. Pain reflects the physical well-being of the horse. A horse that has recurring issues, such as neck or back pain, can be consistently irritated and lash out. Mental illness is hard to diagnose in horses, though erratic behavior and irrationality are common symptoms. Fear is an obvious cause of aggression; horses can be afraid of new owners and unfamiliar places. Finally, disrespect stems from a horse's perception of its owner and who is in charge.

    Types

    • The most common types of aggression in horses are biting and kicking. While biting can bruise and even break the skin of a human, kicking is the real danger. A kick from a horse, depending on where it lands, can break bones and even be fatal to humans and other animals. Other types of aggression include disobedience, ignoring commands and attempts to escape.

    Prevention/Solution

    • According to Equusite.com, the most common form of enforcing obedience in horses is through training. If a horse shows aggression while being commanded to turn left or right, or after any other basic commands, the trainer must discipline him to assert dominance. The most common way of doing this is using a whip.

    Misconceptions

    • The biggest misconception is that aggressive horses stay that way, or that it is an inherent part of their personality. In fact, aggressive horses are most likely just as afraid as those toward whom they are hostile. Aggressive horses can be trained to be kind and gentle with enough time and effort.

    Considerations

    • While attempting to correct a horse's behavior, it is important that the owner and trainer take several things into consideration: The cause of aggression is obviously important, though so are the horse's age, where it came from, treatment by previous owners as well as what type of horse it is.