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Training barn making horses aggressive

From: Concerned Horse-Mom

Dear Jessica,

I'm having a hard time - I don't want to be a neurotic horse-mom and I believe in trusting people who clearly know a great deal more than I do, but I also think I see a very large and dangerous problem looming on the horizon with my horse. I trust your sound and objective judgment & I hope you can help us out.

I moved my horse to a training facility in January. The training here is top-notch, but when I arrived, I noticed that *every single horse* was aggressive. And I mean *aggressive* - biting, kicking, and even charging - and REALLY meaning it. I also noticed that many of the horses were showing signs of depression - standing with their heads hanging down in the back corner of their stalls, poor coat condition, just ...it just made me nervous.

The conditions here are ...less than ideal. There is no turnout, period. The horses are kept in 10x10 stalls with no windows, no circulation, and not being able to see the other horses in the barn. I've managed to get a few hours of turnout in the round pen every day when the weather is good. But doesn't being holed up put stress on their muscles?

Also, most of these horses are being fed 12-14 lbs of 14% protein grain *per day* plus hay, and some don't get worked every day. That seems ...excessive to me. My horse gets 1 lb of sweet feed and 1 lb of oats total (broken into three feedings) in a day, plus hay. He's only being lunged and lightly ridden (15-30 min). I'm no expert, but I've worked at a couple of barns, and even the big-time competition event horses in full work and with turnout didn't get anywhere near that much grain. And I've never seen so many horses that I would classify as "dangerous." Maybe I AM a big chicken, but being around or riding an angry, aggressive horse doesn't seem like a smart idea to me.

My problem is (sorry it's taken so long to get to it), before my horse came here, he was nervous, but good-tempered. Now he pins his ears back when I open the stall door, has launched some kicks at me in the round pen, and tries to bite me even during routine grooming. I've had the vet and the farrier out and he doesn't have anything physically wrong with him, he's not being mishandled (in fact, he's being very well handled, and is quite calm and happy once he's working in the arena), and *I'm* not doing anything differently than I ever used to. The only thing that's changed is our environment.

I think I'm answering my own question, which is: we should leave, shouldn't we? I know that when I don't get out enough (I'm a writer, so I get holed up for days sometimes), I get cagey and nasty, I can imagine how frustrating it must be for my horse, especially in such conditions. I think if I get him back to a barn where he has turnout, company, and LIGHT, for goodness' sakes, he'll probably be okay. No amount of training is worth making him miserable, or, if not worse, dangerous. Bad habits are hard to break and better not formed in the first place, I think.

Or am I just being too sensitive?

Thank you again for your time and wise advice.

Sincerely, A Concerned Horse-Mom


Hi, Concerned Horse-Mom! Beginning at the end, NO, you are NOT too sensitive, you're not even CLOSE to being neurotic, and you HAVE already answered your own question. You're being rational and sensible and balanced, you've made some good observations and come to some logical conclusions, and I suspect that what you really want from me is my blessing to do what you already know you should do I'm happy to back you up on this - GET OUT.

You've said it yourself: The horses at this facility are miserable, and they are showing it as clearly as they can. They are being confined in pony stalls, overfed, and under-exercised. Their health cannot possibly be good, and when you consider the lack of air circulation in the stalls, and the fact that the horses can't see out - what you have is a formula for creating unhealthy, miserable, neurotic horses. That's what YOUR horse will become if you don't take him away.

There is one point on which I am going to disagree with you. You say that the training is "top-notch" - I find that hard to believe, unless the horses are taken somewhere else every day for their training. Horse-training does not occur in a vacuum. People who train horses really well KNOW that much of the foundation for their work is created by the good management of the horses in their charge. These horses are not being well-managed. From your description of what goes on, there seems to be NO standard of horsemanship at this facility. I very much doubt that the caliber of the training is particularly good, or even good at all. The training may turn out horses that gain success in certain forms of competition, but that is not the same as good training. I know a lot of good trainers, and not one of them would ever allow horses to be kept in the conditions you've described.

You're right about the potential problem being large and dangerous, you're right about your horse being miserable, and you're also right when you say that if you get your horse back to a barn where he has turnout, company, and light, he'll probably be okay. He will. His aggression - like that of the other horses at the facility - is being created by the unacceptable conditions in which he is kept. Change the conditions to acceptable ones, and his attitude will change with them.

By the way - you already know this, but since you wrote and asked, I'll tell you again - horses do NOT react to good management, good handling, and good training by becoming aggressive or depressed. If you ever again think of taking your horse to a new barn, go by yourself FIRST and observe the other horses there. If you see what you've described to me - most horses unhappy, angry, agressive, and the rest depressed and unhealthy (by the way, what looks like "depression" in horses is actually likely to be signs of illness and/or pain), then turn on your heel and walk away. If you see THAT, then even if the stalls are huge, with light everywhere, and the hay and grain are being fed in proper amounts, and the people are all wearing custom boots, there is something VERY wrong, and your horse shouldn't be part of it - and neither should you. Take your horse to a place where he'll be treated right - even if the facilities consist of an old shed in a field - and then enjoy his company and let him enjoy yours.

Jessica

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