Question: What do you do with a mare that pins her ears when you feed her?

Monty’s Answer: If a horse should own any part of the day, it’s when they’re eating. When you feed a horse, leave them alone. Get the feed to them as easily as you can without mixing in at all, and then leave them alone. If they tend to get impatient when you feed them, take them out of the stall first, feed the stall and then return your horse to the stall. This is not a time to train your horse.

This is not a time when they ought to be pleased with having you in their lives. Horses that are cranky when they’re fed are cranky because they want you out of their territory and they want the tranquility of being able to eat without being bothered by a human being. You wouldn’t want them coming and hanging their head over your table when you’re having lunch, and they feel the same way. So, it is best to leave your mare alone when you feed her.

Get free training tips from Monty by email or submit your question for his weekly question and answer column. Email: askmonty@montyroberts.com

Tags: aggressive, ask monty, feeding horses, territorial

This entry was posted on Tuesday, December 27th, 2011 at 5:46 pm and is filed under Monty's Blog, Twitter. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.