Jealous Horse!?

[Samson45]

I was hoping for some advice on my horses jealousy issue. We have him in a paddock with horses on an adjoining boundary fence. If I happen to be near the fence line or other horses, he will come charging to the fence and start kicking etc at the horses on the other side. When he first did this it scared the living daylights outta me but as he runs straight past me, I'm starting to get use to it. He follows me everywhere and is not pushy or bossy in any other situation. I wonder if he is jealous and if anyone has any suggestions on how to deal with this. Appreciate your advice.

[Gypzywingz]

I have no idea about this issue but I have always wanted to know for myself if horses show jealousy or can get jealous.

Debbie H.

[DebO]

I'd say they do get jealous, I know my horse does. We've got a good bond there and if I make a fuss of our other pony or any other horse in the field, he doesn't like it, and will try and intervene.

He may also be protective towards you.

DebO

[Troi]

Troi is jealous of Tulipe and Tulipe of Troi. If I speak to one in the field the other pushes in, it can be quite dangerous as the field has a really steep hill and they gallop down it if I'm taking one out, and I have to be aware of where each is at all times. In fact when I bought Tulipe Troi huffed with me for weeks. She's beginning to be friends again now after a year!!

[AengusOg]

Are there any horses next to him on the other side?

I've seen geldings act like this if they are bonded to another horse(s) and wish to keep others away from it/them.

[ANN H]

Probably is jealousy. We have a new tiny horse in our mares field, and if I go out to bring him in first, Misty gives him daggers and then follows us up the field with her ears back!

[CrisO]

My old share gelding used to do it. When I bought my own horse and they were in the same gelding herd, he made his feelings very clear when I went to catch the 'wrong' horse. He would try and run him off. I would tell him off but not nastily - just a firm no so he knew he was crossing a line. And he still gets a fuss from time to time so he knows he hasn't been totally forgotten.

Sometimes I walked up to the gate leading my new boy on my right and the old one one (no headcollar) equally close on my left. We'd leave him at the gate watching us - how guilty did i feel? :(

[carthorse]

My ID does the same thing, anything in about 20 feet of me is fair game. He also guards his pony from any new additions to the herd. Unlike yours though he's naturally very dominant so the other horses tend to be wary & one look normally has them moving away very sharply. Where possible I try to limit his rottweiler tendancies - I don't go near other horses when he's in the field (if I want Little Un I always go to Jim first & make a fuss of him, if he's determined to come then I'll bring him in first & go back for LU) & if he goes to lunge at another horse I give a stern "NO!" & walk briskly away which actually works surprisingly well. The first may sound a bit like giving in to him but from a safety point of view I don't feel it's worth the risk of doing anything else - he's a big, fast & very determined horse & an accident could easily have horrific results.

Interestingly his behaviour isn't food linked. He'll cheerfully stand with LU & share treats but once the goodies are gone & all that's left is fuss and attention he moves LU off immediately - my attention is something he wants for himself.

[Jen_e_Jen]

My gelding is the same way! If any of the other horses approach me he comes with his ears pinned and his teeth bared! I must confess I'm not quite sure what to do about it either.lol. I feel bad though, the others just want some attention too!

[rianne21]

Pascal got so jealous when i got rodney evertime he walked past her stable she would launch at him to take a chunk out..i had to move him to differnt part of the stables in the end as it was really stressing pascal out!! :rolleyes:She then thought she had me back all to herself, till she saw me on him one day and she was like :eek: I thought he had gone :eek::mad:

[Samson45]

I haven't been on for a while but was glad to see all your comments and solutions with your horses. I have found with time this issue seems to have settled down. So i can only assume that as I had only had him for short time he saw me as "his" and saw the other horses as a threat. Although I have also tried to distance myself from the boundary fence and not have as much interaction with the other horses. Thank you everyone for your help.