Aggression is something that pretty much all horses resort to toward other horses at some point in their lives. It usually doesn't amount to much toward humans, a few unpleasant results and they kind of abandon further attempts. But if they get a pleasant reaction, it produces results the horse likes, they tend to fall back on aggression to get their way. There are some horses who will eat your lunch no matter what it takes. I have come across three such horses, and been threatened with a number of others in my life. Finding yourself in their sights is not where you want to be. They will do incredible damage to you and won't lose a moment's sleep over it. In fact, they'll do it as often as you want to get in their way. Once is much more than enough.
A hyper-aggressive horse is one that will not change course or show any reluctance to stop advancing in an aggressive manner no matter what you do. An aggressive manner is pinned ears, snaked neck, low, swinging head, gapped mouth, fixed gaze in any combination.
I make no bones about my feelings about the matter. If you have a hyper-aggressive horse, get that thing to an Elmer's factory ASAP. If for what ever reason you feel compelled to keep it around you must do what it takes to stop the aggression. Problem is, you better be right the first time.
Horse to human aggression must be stopped, period. It is in your best interest and it is in the horse's best interest. If anything happens to you, that horse, and every other horse you have, will be on its own in a world where even the nicest horses have a hard time.
I have stated that if I was forced to deal with a hyper or super aggressive horse I would even resort to buying the mother of all stun guns and jury-rigging it on a pole and would use it on the horse at the FIRST sign of aggression. Hopefully it would drop him to the ground for a few minutes. I would continue to apply the gun each time he repeated the aggression until he stopped.
I have not ever used a stun gun on a horse. If the conditions were right I sure would consider it.
I'm sure you won't be shocked, ooops, sorry, stunned, ooops, sorry again, to hear some people think Hitler was a better person than I am for even suggesting such a thing.
Here's an email I received from some one who read one of my pages...
I was skimming around the internet - my focus was my school horses being wonderful responsive and respectful creatures with more experienced handlers but being very rude with various students, and I found your article about the tazer / stun gun. MarvWalker.com/attack.htm
I am a middle aged female who participates in english sports.
Several months back in one of my 'intro to horses' (non riding) classes I was describing how horses function on a social level, and how their 'rules of society' work - and how this is something you really don't 'get' until you actually live on the farm and see them nearly every moment of every day.
I was explaining to them the idea that horses rarely coddle one another (save for a mare to foal, or best buddies who may groom or exhange tail swatting services for fly defense) but that their biggest 'praise' or 'reward' for being functional is a quiet, peaceful heard situation. Quiet group grazing, resting together, etc.
When I got to discpline I explained to them that physical discomfort IS how the heard functions (they don't bribe, plea, beg)- and the basis of one of the best fencing systems you can have, electric fencing.
But this always comes as a 'shock' (no pun intended) to people. I know I certainly would be calling animal control 10 years ago.
But that was before I lived on the farm with them, took care of their every need, in all weather, every day - and still have the responsibility to care for my human loved ones. :)
Horses are not stuipd - why is it they are 'self disciplining' when it comes to the electric fence (they work it out pretty quickly) but people seem to think that humans acting like an electric fence is terrible? The electric fence harbours no hate, ill will, anger etc. The electric fence is emotionless, and the electric fence does not seek out to attack. The horse must be the offender in that situation. And just like you said, horses understand this brand of justice. How can I prove it, because I have never witnessed a horse on my property (probably over 60+ now over the past 9 years) get shocked and then remain deathly afraid of the fence. Most do not even act 'suspicious'. They just stay a respecful distance and get on with their day.
Well ok maybe the tazers the cops use with the prongs might be over kill... and the though / sound / scene of them hitting the ground would be fairly traumatic for most to watch - but so does the sound of the human body breaking.
But what about a cattle prod?
I wouldn't use a Tazer because the prongs are connected to the sending unit by wires and things might be moving too fast to keep out of the way of the wires.
I really don't know a cattle prod from a tooth pick. I'd want to be sure it had more than goosing power.
So while it may read terrible that you'd want to put a tazer on a stick (and it reads unconventional) - people have been using E-collars for years to discipline dogs, or prods to move live stock. It's not like you took a green horse and used that technique for teaching. You are trying to impress upon a horse that delivering death threats will indeed lead to his eventual death sentence.
What else would you do with a horse that is so hostile, feed it treats and try to love it into peacful existence? Horses DO NOT respect bribery. They may do your bidding once, or twice but soon after that they begin to claim power over the situation and once they do so it is a difficult tide to turn.
Anyhow... I will not work with such offending horses because it simply isn't worth it to me (risk wise - I have a family that means more to me than that), but those would would really go off the deep end about the punishment suiting the crime, would probably be the ones who created such a mentally unbalanced/ unstable creature to begin with.
Mine - the reason I went skimming the internet - will pin their ears in response to a begginers clumsy, crude handling as if they are demanding the precise interactions they've been tuned to with their more experienced handlers. I believe I just need to intervene during the students learning processes until they are capable of reading not only the horses 'signs' but seeing their own projects. :)
Nothing is worse than a half attempt to punish an offending horse (note I didn't say instruct a horse thru the learning process). Half attempts to discipline, and nagging attempts at discipline just create a more empowered horse.
And honestly, I love horses, I love that I have made a living in the horse industry - but I love a sense of balance even more. And yes, I value my own life.
But yes, good luck trying to sell the tazer gun concept to the general public. I believe you may be up for a public stoning. :)
Cheers.
Cheerios to you too, thanks for writing.
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