iidala wrote:
I have a problem. And the problem is not my own horse, but someone elses. My shoulder is blue as she has bit me almost every time I walk to the pasture. She has galloped over me about 10 times and reared in front of me landing on the place where i was just standing about 4-5 times. She is 3 years old and not been taught to respect the persons space correctly, I think. The thing is...she does all those things with everyone else, but not her owner. At least I haven't seen her biting her owner.
You have a small part of the problem. The owner has a much larger one. This horse has injured you. The owner and the BO both are now subject to legal action. Both and injury and mental suffering would be appropriate to explore with an attorney.
I understand that barn politics being what they are you have as yet not made a choice to pursue this, but a simple letter from an attorney (yours) to the BO and the horse owner stating the circumstances and the liability issues would likely quickly bring this horse to a separate holding area.
Your safety and that of others is being ignored.
iidala wrote:
I have used the windmill (she ignores it and bites me instead). I have shut down my energy (ignores it and bites me or runs me over). Most of the time I try to make clear that "this is my space" I'm already too late, cause she is long gone, taking turns for next "runover" or grazing in the distance like nothing happened. All too often I find myself on the ground, groaning in pain.
Never ever take that risk again. This horse could easily kill you let alone seriously injure you with this behavior.
Sadly, this horse believes she is doing the right thing and getting the desired results.
iidala wrote:
All the other horses have learned "who is who" as when a particular person comes, she/he comes for a particular horse and others basically continue doing what they do. Only she is always greeting everyone by running them over. I am getting really worried, cause me is me, but from time to time I bring some visitors to my horse and I really don't like the idea that they have to watch out for their life while finding their way around to see Ronja.
Those folks, and you as well, should never be in the presence of that horse without it being restrained by the owner (give you any ideas?).
iidala wrote:
So I have been thinking that I should let the owners see this particular topic and ask them to do something about it, but I don't know if they see the problem, cause the horse behaves really differently when they are around.
Chances are very good the owner knows. Since you are not the only boarder with this experience it's unlikely the owner doesn't know. The barn owner at the very least has heard from others. Have you talked to the barn owner? What has he or she said to you?
iidala wrote:
But is there any suggestions what I can do to protect myself, so I wouldn't get bitten from behind unexpectadly almost every time I go to the pasture. (And this can't be just me doing something totally wrong, because almost every other person who goes to the pasture, experiences similar things).
I can make no suggestions about being unexpectedly attacked, but I can about horse training.
The owner should be approached about training sessions with you and the horse - for that matter, others and the horse as well, where you and they take control from the ground, the horse being handed off by the owner. Even if that isn't one hundred percent a cure it is a starting place.
One will need to observe what takes place at that point, with both you and the owner on separate lines. I come from a cowboy background originally and we often trained (green breaking it's called) very reactive and dangerous horses, and it was common for two or three of us to put a rope on a horse while one person worked him from the ground. Even then there is risk, but this doesn't sound like one of those bangtails I worked with.
I hesitate to offer this one, but if I personally knew I MUST, absolutely MUST enter that field to get my horse for an emergency, I'd carry a boating air horn, fully charged, new.
I'd welcome the horse to come at me, just waiting. A series of quick blasts of the horn (don't make it continuous, that can provoke and attack) will turn just about anything. I, for instance, don't care much for protective sprays (other than for bears) but prefer the boat horn. I live in mountain lion country. I can assure you no lion would come through that wall of sound.
It's likely to be three or four times louder to a lion, a dog, and especially to a horse considering they all, and the last most, extremely sensitive hearing.
I would, though I don't suggest it to anyone else and in fact would caution against it unless you have either or both very fast legs and or a great deal of horse knowledge, pursue the horse about the pasture (never ever cornering it of course) and use the blasts to move it about a bit. I would control it's feet for it. That is how mares teach foals behavior. Discipline is usually a matter of mother mare moving the foal about. Moving tends stop other things from happening or ends those behaviors in the moment.
This is NOT training. This is punishment. You would be saying, essentially, "I am a bigger stronger horse than you and you will move when I say so."
You will have taught the horse nothing but to be afraid of you. NOT necessary desireable new behavior to replace the old behavior. Other animals might respond more with a desire to find a new behavior, but the horse will simply use their instinct, and run away when they hear this noise.
If you have never heard a cannister boat air horn you will be most surprised at the volume.
I run elk out of my gardens with it. I could move them with other means but in the Rut and bull elk in full antler I'd be taking my life in my hands to just run at them and yell. The air horn always moves them. Those bulls run up to 1,500 lbs and more. And have a lot more of a temper than that horse.
Now if I were the barn owner I'd offer the horse owner a little bargain - either move out or let old Uncle Don train that mare. To do that I might use the air horn, but I would have assistance and I would use it to "suggest," to the horse that approaching me safely is what will make the horse go away. That we can be quiet friends.
I wouldn't try to teach another how to do this, but operant conditioning would be my method. Positive reinforcement quickly replacing the punishment of the air horn. In fact I'd not likely even use an airhorn. I'd use a fence, some feed, and a little horsey teasing of the animal.
Let's say I'd use the old cavalry method that green horses were taught to not only tolerate the roar of battle, but to welcome it.
The bottom line?
Stay out of that enclosure entirely until you have safety insured. Get the barn owner thinking about their liability. Get the horse owner thinking about it as well.
Or, probably better, though I'm less socially responsible suggesting it, MOVE.
Find a better barn/pasture situation.
Where, may I ask, in the world are you located?
Who knows, you might be down the road from me. I love these kinds of challenges.
Donald
PS I fully agree with Birgit on the risk issue. This is a very dangerous situation. D