Horse Problem - Change in Behavior - Radical change in behavior in horse suddenly
QUESTION: Dear Sylvia, I enjoy your web site very much. Thanks for sharing so much of your knowledge. I have an 8-year-old thoroughbred who has changed his behaviour radically recently. He lost his best stable pal about a month ago with a broken femur and that no doubt has some bearing on how he's feeling now, but the change actually started before this loss. He was a very quiet guy with, I hate to say it, not a whole lot of personality. Sort of a bland, anybody-can-ride-me or work-with-me-kind of guy. Now when we are in the stall with him he yawns widely several times, works his mouth, and then lays his ears and lunges to bite. I don't understand why he displays the typical signs of accepting us as a friend and leader and then tries to bite. He means business, too. Any ideas as to what might be going on or how we can handle him? He also bucks now which he never did before to my knowledge. We've had him in our stable since June. Thanks for any help you can give.
REPLY: Thanks for writing. It's really hard for me to tell from a distance and without seeing/working with this horse personally to know exactly what is really wrong (deep down), but he's clearly unhappy about something! I would want to rule out physical causes first by having a really thorough equine vet exam, telling the vet everything. If your horse is unwell or in pain somewhere, that can totally change the temperament of any horse.
I also wanted to point out a couple of things there. First...yawning is not what you think it is there. It's a release of uptight tension and you can read more about yawning here on my web site:
I also wanted to suggest that you don't stall your horse. And here I want to direct you to another link on my web site where I go into all the reasons why I feel stalling horses unnecessarily (except for unavoidable medical layup reasons) can lead to lots of behavior problems that a lot of people sometimes don't know about:
After you completely rule out physical causes with a vet, then you are left to know this is strictly behavioral (or even "boarding/stalling") issues. Since he lost a best friend recently, don't underestimate how long that grieving process can take, but I would proactively get involved to get him past that grieving process faster re allowing him to live outdoors/pastured ideally 24/7 with other horses (or even just with one other horse if that's all you've got available). His social needs will then be met and he'll "pair bond" with another to help him get past losing his pal, he'll be able to live life freely as a horse outside of your time with him, and he'll start to become happier.
Once you've changed that (which I think will help multi-directions), to deal with the bucking issue (again, rule out pain issues with the vet there first!), you might think about getting my DVD set, the Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System, because as you follow the steps in my DVDs there, you will step by step be closing up foundation holes that were probably previously hidden from you, and in the end, create a quieter, more compliant and far safer horse. You can get that DVD set here: CLICK HERE
Or you can get my Complete Package that contains my Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVD set, plus my Round Pen Leadership DVD, as well as all the tools you'll need for my program (the natural horsemanship halter with 12' lead rope, the extendable-retractable training wand, the training string, and the handy pocket card that lists the 12 steps) and you'll have all you need to retrain your horse the natural horsemanship way, all by yourself. You can get that Complete Package here: CLICK HERE
And if you ever have questions as you go along applying what you learn in my DVDs, I'm always only an email away for quick answers for backup support!
I hope this helps and good luck to you there!
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