horse related enquiry

[onepieceoflollipop]

Hi, sorry if this is in the wrong place, but I am sure one of you will be able to advise.

I'm not a horse owner and have very little knowledge of horses.

We live on the edge of some public footpaths, one is very well used and happens to go through a field of horses. All has been fine until very recently.

One of the horses (there are about 5 in total) has started to get a bit nervous (I think) and this has led to him/her getting very edgy about people crossing his/her field. When we try to do it (it has happened several times, not to us but neighbours too) we feel quite intimidated by this horse. Sorry if this sounds silly.

My neighbour's daughter was bitten by the horse, we think in error because the horse was hoping for a snack and bit her through her glove. We did initially think that the horse wanted a treat but he did it the other day when the other horses were eating hay or whatever it was.

Last week we didn't go through the gate because the horse was leaning against it and kind of butting at us in an edgy/aggressive way.

The owners were there when my friend's daughter was bitten and just shouted to friend that it was because they were feeding the horse (which they weren't)

Any tips for negotiating with the horse please? I admit I am a bit nervous of him now. If he felt threatened (by us) would he be likely to get a bit more aggressive?

You don't sound silly at all. I've had horses nearly 30 years but I'm still wary of going into a field with strange ones.

This horse doesn't sound nervous to me, he sounds very bad mannered! I can understand him leaning against the gate getting agitated if it is getting near his feed time. Any horse will do that, especially at this time of year when there is no grass in the field and they are cold and hungry.

It's difficult, as it sounds as though people passing through his field have given him treats in the past and he is now bullying everyone in the hope of getting something. If anyone is giving him treats then he will just carry on regardless of what you do really. As it is a public right of way could the owner be persuaded to put up a notice, 'please do not feed the horses, they will bite' sort of thing? It might help in the long term. Or maybe someone else could suggest who this could be reported to, maybe council? Would they be able to do anything?

I don't know the horse so I can't be sure but most horses in this situation wouldn't get more aggressive if you stood up to them a bit. Personally I would take action before he got too close, wave your arms to make yourself look bigger and shout/growl. Hopefully he will realise he isn't getting anything out of you and lose interest. Once he has got right up to you and is being pushy you are in a more vulnerable position so try and discourage him from coming near in the first place. Obviously this is harder if he is at the gate!

I don't know what else to suggest really, hopefully someone else will have some better ideas.

Thank you Pixel, that is helpful.

Afaik these horses are regularly "treated" by people out walking with dogs/dcs etc. This I suspect is part of the problem. Likewise there is a nearby duckpond and the ducks are so overfed with bread that rats are becoming a bit of a problem.

We know a few local people who also use the footpath so will try and enquire if this horse is a problem to anyone else. So we will wait and see for a little while.

In defence of the owners, their public footpath is well used by a local secondary school. I have never witnessed the horses being ill treated in any way, but certainly some of the local teenagers are quite loud and lively which is why I wondered if the horse was perhaps nervous.

Friend and I turned back and walked the very long way home the other day which made me think I would get some advice on here.

Onepieceoflollipop, totally agree with Pixel's advice. Only thing I can think is, the public footpath should be safe for the public to use and it doesn't sound like it is in this case? Is there anyway the owners of the land could fence off the footpath part? Pretty sure if a public right of way goes across your land you have to make sure it is accessible and safe to use.

Appreciate that starts to get into 'official' territory and you might not want to go down that route.

And agree, you are not being silly at all. An alpha-horse can be scary even when you're used to them.

Agree with Pixel and Owls. I used to have a VERY aggressive horse and he just wasn't allowed out anywhere where there was a public right of way. He was even restricted around the yard he was in. You're so not being silly and I agree that he's been given titbits in the past and is trying his luck which is intimidating and very unpleasant. I'd try to get someone to have a word with the owners. It's a public right of way so, I would think, they have a duty of care to make sure it's safe. The last thing they want is an accident so, hopefully, they'll co-operate. I'm always very wary around cows, particularly with calves at foot.

Thanks also owls and sykes.

I also think that the owners aren't very happy about the right of way across their land. Along one path (nearer to their accommodation) they have quite a high metal fence which is leaning wildly to one side (the footpath side) which makes access quite tricky especially with a footpath)

I'm going to wait and see for now.

The advice re horses has been v helpful; I didn't know that they could be aggressive. I know that most aren't, but there is always an exception I guess. I would rather be a wimp (i.e. by quietly giving up and going the long way) then risk upsetting the horse and possibly risking the dcs safety. We had 3 little ones with us and friend is pg, due next month.

He did look rather miffed that we didn't immediately start looking for mints or carrots in our bags. In fact when my friend held her hand flat out to show him there was nothing and to gently try and gesture him away he was baring his teeth, and was nibbling quite firmly at the edge of her coat.

Would you be happy with a footpath if passers by were turning your lovely friendly horse into a food obsessed monster?
Two thoughts on this...
1/ An agressive horse should not be on a footpath. The owner should move the animal away from the public, or fence off the footpath. It is a total pain, especially if the horse is that way through treats from walkers.
2/ And more of an isssue with me, Members of the public/well meaning passers by/so called animal lovers SHOULD NOT feed other peoples animals. We feed our horses ourselves, on carefull balanced, specially designed diets, tailored to our animals needs. They could easily feed something dangerous or that the horse is sensitive to, it teaches the animals to be pushy and agressive re. the one in the original post, and if it is a childs pony, this could be very dangerous. A spoilt small pony could easily take a chunk out of its toddler rider for not delivering its expected treat!
People should look at it this way.. Would you walk up to someones dog and pass it a sausage?..Would they like me to walk past their garden and pass food to their child over the fence?
If you have to use the footpath, and it comes to pester you, try facing up to the animal and looking at it eye to eye, make yourself look bigger (arms out, hold out coat) and stamp your foot. In the wild this is a 'you are not welcome, bugger off' signal.

I have a thread in chat about feeding ponies, funnily enough. This horse is probably just mugging in the hope of getting treats, it's not exactly aggressive, but it's intimidating. He bit a finger because numpties have taught him that fingers hold treats.
He's just a horse being a horse, there aren't many truly aggressive horses that will attack people just because they're there, and those that do are generally quite determined about it.
Get a bit of firm rope, like a dog lead, and just whirl it in circles round your head when he looks in your direction. Don't go at him with it, or try to touch him with it, just the noise and motion should be enough to send him away. Don't persevere if he turns away, or have him running round the field, just do enough to have him turn his head away and keep him away.
Maybe some horse owners won't like that advice, but personally I'd rather my horse was turned away from walkers than injuring one resulting in me being sued.

Does the horse put his ears back when you are near? Or swing his hindquarters slightly towards you? I'm asking because it sounds like the horse is bad mannered but my two points here may suggest a bad tempered horse.

The advice of seeking the owner or asking the council is good. As is your wariness of the horse. I've been around horses all my life and used the "waving arms/ looking in the eye/ looking larger" method successfully on every but one occassion.

On the one occassion the horse spun round, backed into me and kicked me with both hind legs. I was lucky he backed into me first as it was more of a massive push. This response is highly unusual but it does happen. So please try to find the owner or contact the council as once a horse decides to hurt you there isn't much you can do about it.