Ickabod Bit My dad

[Whitedresswind]

I cant believe it, this is so awful. My dad didn't like Ickabod to begin with, and then Ickabod does this. I was brushing the horses, and dad was talking to me from behind the gate, and Ickabod was just sorta looking at him, sniffing him. He let dad pet him, and stuff. So I went to brush berma, and I look over and dad is holding his shoulder, and I asked what happened and he said Ickabod bit him. And it was not a little bite, it was really bad, like if dad didn't get away, Ickabod would have broken his bones. I saw the wound..it was really bad. It took me a while to figure out what happened, because I couldn't believe Ickabod would do something like that, he has NEVER bitten, or even nipped. I didn't get a chance to correct him, and he knows he did wrong. Dad threw a piece of wood at him, but that doesn't really count. :( I am so so miserable, dad says he is going to get rid of him, that he cant have a dangerous horse like that. There was no indication that Ickabod was going to bite him, no ears pinned or anything, I just can't believe it. :( why would he do this? he has never done anything like that towards anyone...

[HeartofSteel]

My old horse bit my dad but never ever attempted to bite me. She also tried to bite my boyfriend :hysterical: lol. I figured out that she likes women more then men. She didn't like farrier but she would tolerate him, just pin her ears at times.

[IrisGreen]

Horses are not stupid. I'm sure Ickabod can tell your Dad doesn't really like him. Plus, you going over and brushing another horse might have made Ickabod jealous that he gets stuck with the guy that doesn't like him so he bit him.

Ickabod could be just testing your Dad. Depending on what Ickabod was doing before the bite and how your Dad was petting him it might have been avoided. If Ickabod was testing and giving little signs to your Dad but he didn't pick up on them to correct him before Ickabod decided to test him farther with a full bite.

Muffin doesn't bite but I wouldn't put it past him if someone kept petting him or letting him lip at there clothes. All you have to say to him is "no" and he stops but some people don't even pay attention and the nibbling could turn in to a bite.

Sounds like Ickabod tested your Dad in a big way. Ickabod can tell your Dad doesnt like him so when you turned away he bit him to get him to move back. Ickabod showed his dominance and made your Dad move back. He doesn't bite you because he likes you and is comfortable around you.

You Dad needs to spend more time with Ickabod and show him that he is not the dominant one over a human no mater what. I'm not saying beat him I'm just saying go out there and pet him and if he trys to bite, Slap his nose and say "NO", or if haltered back him up and make him stand. Making horses move is a way to show dominance over them. Ickabod made your Dad move away for a reason. Figure out why and fix it.

[shewasmyshadow]

Well, Icky is still young in my opinion. Young horses do weird stuff sometimes and parents that don't understand horses usually freak out about it (I'm speaking from experience here). Your dad is may not apart of the herd and so Icky was probably testing him out to see if he was dominant or not. Sombra would do that to my dad, but NEVER tried it with me. I told him to punish her by shouting and try to swat her if he could, but I don't think he was ever fast enough. I don't know if your dad was standing in "Icky's personal space", but that might have something to do with it. It's a bummer when stuff like this happens. Ignorance is our worst enemy in the horse world. I'm not saying your dad is ignorant, but I'm guessing he's not spending his evenings reading Monty Roberts or anything. :D

[walkinthewalk]

Back around 1961 when I was 14, the horse I ended up owning for 29 years did bit my dad.

"My Sweet Sundance" was a yearling when he bit dad and hadn't been gelded yet.

While everyone blamed it on Sonny not being gelded, the REAL reason was he did not like my dad because he sensed my dad hated horses after having had to farm with them for many years.

My parents were divorced when all this happened, so it never occurred to anyone to send Sonny out the driveway.

From that point forward, dad would stay clear of Sonny when he came to visit me, but Sonny always pinned his ears back at him - lol lol lol

Sonny never again attempted to bite anyone clear up until the day I laid him to rest with cancer when he was 29.

I hope your dad changes his mind about selling Ickabod and just plain stays away from the horse.

In the words of my very Southern and sweet boss, it's obvious Ickabod and your dad "just don't gee-haw" and they'd both be a lot safer keeping their distance from each other:whack:

[Whitedresswind]

Yeah, I think your right about the testing thing, maybe. Ickabod knew he did wrong, I made him move when I figured out what happened. My dad doesn't understand about horses, and he has revenge in mind instead of correction, which the correction point has long passed. I wasn't really paying attention to what Ickabod was doing, because it looked he was just looking at dad. Ickabod dosnt lip or anything, I am pretty sure he wasn't doing that, and he dosnt really care about being brushed, he was interested in dad, because he went up to him, several times. I doubt my dad would go and spend time with him, I don't even know if he will let me keep him, I just need to make him understand somehow. =(

[Whitedresswind]

It wasn't his personal space, because Ickabod went up to him, but yes, my dad thinks he knows about horses, but honestly he really dosnt, at all.

Ickabod is so smart, I believe that he did it because he dosn't like men (maybe bad expierances) or just didn't like dad. And even though my dad said to stop sticking up for him, I know Ickabod wouldn't do it for no reason, even if the reason isn't good enough in human eyes.

[cloedoll]

As IrisGreen said, horses are definitely not dumb creatures. My sister highly dislikes Cloe, she thinks she is the most evil pony in the world. So whenever my sister is around, Cloe is even more pony-ish than she already is, but just towards my sister. Cloe will threaten to kick her, bite her, "booty bump" her (yeah, she's a turd), etc. Whenever my sister wanted to ride Cloe, Cloe automatically bucked her off. She isn't really experienced enough to ride her anyways so I thought she was just going to walk her in the roundpen - wrong! She wanted to canter her. :rolleyes: Anyways, Cloe isn't exactly the same as she is towards me around others, but she definitely isn't demented like she is with my sister. I don't repremand Cloe for doing any of that because I think my sister assumption is totally unfair and honestly, I don't like her near Cloe. Whenever I was deworming her, Cloe tried to nip me (this is still when she was new and I corrected it of course) and I had the dewormer in her mouth, guess what my sister did? Ran up to Cloe and smacked her right on her nose! Cloe reared and was totally ticked off after that and yeah, I don't blame her. So my sister knows to stay away from her now. :p

That was a long story, sorry!

Ickabod knows your dad doesn't like him and after this incident, I don't think your dad is going to start liking him and I don't think Ickabod is going to want to like your dad. I'm worried that Ickabod is going to bite one of your younger siblings next because they walk around him a lot and Ickabod might want to test them. Then if they show that to your dad, what is he going to do? If he threw wood at Ickabod for biting him, I am worried what he'll do to him for biting his kid...

[Whitedresswind]

yeah, thats what I worry about, if he bit one of my siblings, it could be bad, not only that Ickabod would be gone just like that, but that he could hurt someone, and that is not good at all. It was just wierd because Ickabod didn't act like he didn't like him. idk

[cloedoll]

Eh, I really do hate to bring it up because I know how much you adore and love Ickabod, but have you considered selling him? I know he means a lot to you, but he is just sounding like he's turning into a huge handful and things aren't getting better and since you can't afford a trainer and things are just getting worse...I think it's just a matter of time before someone gets really hurt. I really, really, really do hate to bring that up, but just wanted to see if you considered that or what...

[Whitedresswind]

No, that hasn't been a consideration yet, I just couldn't. He and I have bonded so much. But your right, I can't have him hurt anyone, I just have to be extra cautious, everyone knows to stay away from him. Its just weird, he has never done anything like that before..

[Vegashorselady]

From what it sounds like, Ickabod was being disprespectful and testing your dad out. You say Ickabod entered your dad's personal space? That was a test right there. A horse shouldn't move into a human's personal space unless invited. If they do, and the human allows it, the horse knows this human isn't dominant or else doesn't know anything about horses. Once he was in your dad's space and your dad didn't shoo him away Ickabod just decided to take it a step further and bite him.

Have you seen horses play dominance games before? They will face each other and nip at one another until one of them moves and runs away. The one that moves away first is the loser.

I think Ickabod just one that game with your dad. Try and educate your family if you can. Let them know that for their safety they shouldn't allow the horse to approach them unless invited. If the horse moves into their space without being invited they should wave their arms and shoo them away. Oh, and it would probably be a good idea if they don't feed the horses treats, don't know if they do that or not but, that is a recipe for disaster. Horses can be big brats about treats and non-horsey people won't know how to read the signs and recognize if the horse is being dominant or respectful.

[Toodlestoo]

Torie, when we first got Icky and Dr. Shine was going to give him a shot in his neck, he tried to bite her. She said that if felt like someone (the old a$$hole dealer) was giving him penicillin shots himself and that area was really tender and lumpy. I know (but I can't remember what side) he was really cautious when someone tried to pet him there. Not sure if this helps. I wish you would call Jody--you have 3 lesson still paid for and she could really give you some good advice with this too.

[Whitedresswind]

Kathy, I forgot about that, I didn't know he tried to bite her, woah, I guess that would be the second time. =( I have been so busy latly with work, and school, but yes, I need to call Jodey, things have been busy, but once they slow down I defiantly will, thanks



well, my dad was on the other side of the gate, and Ickabod was just putting his head over it. I don't feed treats, and I tell my siblings not to as well.

[Annasmom]

She also tried to bite my boyfriend :hysterical: lol. I figured out that she likes

Lol this is hillarious! Once I brought a guy I liked to ride my horse and Anna wouldn't go she just stood there :):p it was funny anyways I'm sure Whitedressed , Actually Anna did this to my dad also. Something with dads. I know Anna isn't too fond of men in the first place when I first got her and this was just weeks into having her. I'm sorry though thats tough

[Joey A]

I have a mare that only bites women. Never bit me or my farrier before me. She's been around more women than men, but only bites the women. (3 to date)

The worst was a similar scenario, I had just got done cleaning stalls and bushing my mare out. I was sitting on one of the stall panels talking to a couple of people and she reaches over the panel and picks this lady up off the ground by her shoulder. Small woman, but still.... off the ground! (she had been kicked 5-6 weeks prior and isn't really the most attentive person around horses, although she would claim differently)

She's been known to be girthy and sometimes might snap her teeth in protest (yes, I know how to check saddle fit, no need to comment, she's just a rotten grouch) never bit anyone over it. But 3 times now has bit 3 different women.

[AppyLover]

From what it sounds like, Ickabod was being disprespectful and testing your dad out. You say Ickabod entered your dad's personal space? That was a test right there. A horse shouldn't move into a human's personal space unless invited. If they do, and the human allows it, the horse knows this human isn't dominant or else doesn't know anything about horses. Once he was in your dad's space and your dad didn't shoo him away Ickabod just decided to take it a step further and bite him.

Have you seen horses play dominance games before? They will face each other and nip at one another until one of them moves and runs away. The one that moves away first is the loser.

I think Ickabod just one that game with your dad. Try and educate your family if you can. Let them know that for their safety they shouldn't allow the horse to approach them unless invited. If the horse moves into their space without being invited they should wave their arms and shoo them away. Oh, and it would probably be a good idea if they don't feed the horses treats, don't know if they do that or not but, that is a recipe for disaster. Horses can be big brats about treats and non-horsey people won't know how to read the signs and recognize if the horse is being dominant or respectful.

I agree, Vegas said this well.

[Vegashorselady]

well, my dad was on the other side of the gate, and Ickabod was just putting his head over it. I don't feed treats, and I tell my siblings not to as well.

Even just putting his head over a fence or gate is still entering your space. Horses have a big ol' head and they can bite or knock you down with it and Icky knows it! Teach Icky that even stretching his big old head towards you isn't allowed unless you invited him to do it.;)

That's good your family isn't giving treats to the horses, that is a very smart rule!

I hope your dad cools off and forgets about the threat to sell Icky. I know how much you love him.

[alittleoffkey]

I'm sorry Torie. Icky was being a brat - Leggy's like that with my Dad (who also thinks he knows everything about horses :doh:). El Padre likes to scratch the end of his nose and let him lean all over him and then he gets mad when he gets nipped. The horse hasn't set his teeth on me since he was weaned for a reason - I don't allow it.

My parents threatened to sell Leggy when he chased my brother as a yearling (who was antagonizing him and, as Vegas mentioned, was backing off of a dominance game he didn't know was happening... even though I told him several times if he didn't leave Leggy alone he was going to get hurt, 'cause he was asking for it).

The short of it is, Icky challenged your father, he ignored it and he got bit. I hope he stays away from the horses. Your Dad is a little right - his ignorance can allow bad habits to start and that is dangerous. I don't have any real advice other than educate your Dad... but I know how that goes (Nuhuh! I obviously know the only way to deal with horses even though I've never been around them because I'm your father and I'm threatened by your ability to know more about me on any one subject, so that's just the way it is! :whack:), so I'm just glad I've aged out of your shoes. :( Prayers up for you and Icky.

[Joey A]

You know I just read the limping thread. I'll bet you dimes to dollars that the two are related.

I can't tell you how many times I've seen a horses personality change (drastically) after getting shod. (Like immediately) Mean aggressive horses calming down. Headshy flighty horses becoming rock solid. (I shod one that did that last tuesday)

I wouldn't be surprised if he's limping again tomorrow.

[cloedoll]

Huh, interesting thought walkin fool!

[Ryderd65]

My horse doesn't like my husband at all. Sarge is very smart :innocent: