Food Aggression?

[Ariesgrl131]

I fed my new horse Remy the other night after I rode him, and when I was brushing his back (while he was eating) he was kicking and grinding his teeth at my. So I made him flex his back and he got P.O.!! I didnt address it because I thought maybe his back was sore. So for the last few days I have been check his back (while not eating) with no reactions. So last night I feed him and while he was eating I was brushing him and he stomped his front feet and pinned his ears and reached around to bite me (very aggressively). My first reaction was to throw my brush at him. I missed...:innocent: then I backed him off his food and finished brushing him.

Has anyone else experianced food aggression and if so how do you stop it? This is the first time I have owned a horse that is so sensitive with his food. Most of the time the dont share their food with each others but I have never had one go after me.

[Equine_Woman]

Definitely time to teach him respect. You should be herd boss so that he doesn't try to be the boss. Food aggressive horses are showing their dominance over you the same as food aggressive dogs. When you are the leader without question there will be no food aggression.

[ImaBronsonBear]

Bronson has mild food agression - i suppose. Sometimes when i go over to pet him while he's eating he'll get irritated, but since he knows i'm the boss and he's not allowed to do anything to me, he'll lash out at Brig who is lower on the totem pole. I think it's kind of funny, actually.:D I also dealt with another horse who nearly nailed me with her back hoof because she was eating and didn't want me around. I got my lunge whip out and made her MOVE! Then i stood on top of the hay pile and made it very clear that it was my hay and she could have some if, and only if, i let her. She shaped up after that.

What you need to do is establish dominance and the fact that it is your hay (because you're the boss) and only because you are nice enough to let him have some is he allowed to eat.

[alittleoffkey]

It's not termed "food aggression" in horses - it's a respect issue. He thinks you're beneath him in the herd and shouldn't be allowed near his food. Next time he tells you to back off of his food - make him back off of his food. Be prepared though, horses use their feet in these fights - go in with a lunge whip nearby, a riding crop handy, and do not get cornered. :nono: Better to let him get to his food than get your arm broken. You can always try again, but if your arm's broken, then it'll take a couple of months.

Legacy knows I'm in charge, but once (a couple of years ago) he lost his mind and decided to go head to head with me over piece of a small squash my grandmother had dumped over the fence (I can think of better things to pick a fight with me over, but - whatever). He lost. But he (and I :doh:) wound up with quite the workout before he realized that he'd lost. He hasn't tried for a rematch. Generally, once they learn who the lead mare is, the challenges only reoccur with their own physical growth. If he's full grown you should only have to teach him once. Should being the operative word. ;)

You just have to be the boss mare. Remember, that food his in bowl is yours and you are granting him the priviledge of eating it - and he should be thankful. Good luck!

[Dakota Sunrise]

Although I've never dealth with that kind of thing before (I usually lean on my horses and give them hugs & kisses while they're eating, lol:p), I agree with everybody else that it's a respect issue and he thinks he's the Alpha male and should get to keep all the food to himself. You'll just have to show him that you're the lead mare and he has to share.;)

[IrisGreen]

You have some very good advise and they are right. It's disrespect not food aggression.

With Muffin I make it a point to make him stop a few feet from his food dish and wait, every time I feed him. Now it's a habit and he does it for anyone with food. I dump the food and he stays there tell I put my hand in the food, shake it around and signal him "OK". That means that I am ready for him to come eat.

Back him up, smack him in the chest with a crop, tell him no and put your hand in his face to back him up. What ever you need to do to get the point across that is YOUR food and he is not allowed in to your area unless his is respectfully.

Muffin is a Stallion and he knows his place. He does not take food from me, push me, or get aggressive. He has learned if he wants what I have the best way to get it is to stand 3 feet away and wait for me to notice how good he is being and invite him to eat MY food.

Once you get the point across that you are letting him eat YOUR food he will be more then happy to be brushed, or fussed over while eating because he knows you can take that food away at any time if he gets an attitude.

Practice backing on the ground. Make sure he's good at it. Then practice backing him away from his food. If you think he will get aggressive then stand behind a fence with his food in front of you in a feeder or bin (not holding it, put it on the fence) and tell him to back and use a crop to enforce it. Make him wait a few seconds before shaking his food and asking him to step up and eat again. Pet him through the fence and tell him "Good boy", let him eat for a little bit then repeat and back him away. Once he's good at it then you can try it while in his pen.

[ImaBronsonBear]

Back him up, smack him in the chest with a crop, tell him no and put your hand in his face to back him up. What ever you need to do to get the point across that is YOUR food and he is not allowed in to your area unless his is respectfully.
.

With all due respect, i would be very very careful if i ever tried this method. The horse that i was dealing with that i talked about in the above post was not above biting me, and tried to do so several times. By being right next to them when they're angry and trying to smack them on the chest to make them back up puts you in the perfect position to either be bit, struck at, or for them to spin around and nail you a good one with their hoof. With the horse i was working with, i used a lunge whip and kept out of kicking and biting range and made her move away from her food with that to gain respect. Once she was OK with me around, i went and stood next to her while she ate food and she was fine, but i still had a lunge whip handy in case she decided to go after me and i had to protect myself. With some horses (like mine;)) i can move them around with my body language, but with her...heh, i always carried a whip when i first started working with her because she did turn on me a couple times and respect of a whip was the only thing that stopped her from running me over.:)

[Miracle Whip]

Depends on the horse. I'd probably smack the horse with a well placed elbow or something. Usually my voice gets their attention if I want them to back off from their food. The mare can be a snot about sharing with the gelding, but if I am anywhere nearby she is nice and treats him with respect. They eat out of the same feed tub, and its not very big. They can squeeze 2 noses in it but they usually rotate, grab a bite, chew etc...

[luvs2ride1979]

Just keep working with him and make him back off his food when he gets aggressive. Show him that YOU are the boss, no matter what. Carry a Dressage whip if you need to. Just don't let him back at his food until he's submitted, then keep grooming him while he's eating. If he acts aggressive again, then correct him, back him off, and repeat. Keep doing it until he's good for you while eating.

[IrisGreen]

Any Update?

ImaBronsonBear,

I agree with you. That's why I typed out the last paragraph in that post. The horse does need some discipline but if she thinks the horse might get aggressive then put a fence between her and the horse to start off with so he can't paw or push in to her or bite. Then once he is backing away from the food nicely, try it in his area. Just hang a bucket from the fence and use that with some grain or something to teach him to back away when you give the command or cue. But, stay safe behind the fence at first.

[TheRedHayflinger]

I've worked with some horses like this...best thing to do..put them on a lead rope and hold it while they are eating...and then lead them to and from the food at your will...do your other stuff like brushing and such...that way if you do have to get after him, you can keep the hind end from coming at you by pulling the head toward you and thwart a kick. It is also good protection to have if he decides to get really nasty...if you have control of the head, you can stop him from doing a lot of unwanted behavior towards you while you work on his respect issue.

[Ariesgrl131]

I have ran him of his food about 10 times now and so far I think its working. Time will tell. It was just weird i've never seen a horse that agressive about their food it was like he thought he was a lion.

[Palogal]

As with any disrespect issue you have to teach him space. If you put good ground work on him and teach him that you can and will make him move he will learn that you are the alpha. When it comes to feed time, tie him up until you put the feed in his bucket and then lead him slowly to it, backing him up and making him listen to you. He has to understand that he eats with your permission only.