Some background info: Standardbred gelding called Rocky, owned by Sam. Welsh Cob gelding caled Phil 
p).
These too are quite friendly in the field, had no issues with each other or anything. They're not the best of buddies, but there are certainly no issues. Phil is boss, but I've never seen him kick or bite another horse. he is a quietly dominant horse, puts his ears back, pulls a face, and for some reason the horses all give in, and are happy to.
The problem is when I have Phil in-hand.
A few months back, Rocky's owner and I were riding in a large field together. I was on the outisde edge and she passed us (in the same direction) and overtook, no problem, we were only walking and she was trotting. Rocky decided to nap to Phil and when close enough, he cow-kicked. The sound was vile. Luckily he doesn't have shoes, but Phil paniced and nearly ran straight through the fence (as in his eyes he must have felt trapped between the fence, and the horse that just kicked him). Rocky caught Phil on the thigh and made quite a large cut. I will say here; Rocky showed no signs of being aggressive expect maybe napping. He had his ears forward etc which is confusing
When I first started riding down there, Sam and I were walking into the field to ride and rocky kicked out at Phil, for no apparant reason. After that he was happy to work in close-quarters (although not too close lol).
Now this is the problem; whenever I have Phil in hand he ducks behind me if we go anywhere near rocky. We were both lunging in a field, and everytime they came close (within about 10ft) Phil was spooking and looked very scared; head up, ears back, whites of eyes showing. He also kept hiding in the stable, when they were in the corrals next to each other. I don't blame him. Turn them back out; if Rocky gets too close, phil is the dominant one again, and Rocky backs off
However I would like to be able to hack out with Sam etc without getting worried that Phil will get stressed over who he is with. I'm not hoping for miracles, but I'm also confused as to why they are different in the field, compared to on the yard.
Any idea why?
p).These too are quite friendly in the field, had no issues with each other or anything. They're not the best of buddies, but there are certainly no issues. Phil is boss, but I've never seen him kick or bite another horse. he is a quietly dominant horse, puts his ears back, pulls a face, and for some reason the horses all give in, and are happy to.
The problem is when I have Phil in-hand.
A few months back, Rocky's owner and I were riding in a large field together. I was on the outisde edge and she passed us (in the same direction) and overtook, no problem, we were only walking and she was trotting. Rocky decided to nap to Phil and when close enough, he cow-kicked. The sound was vile. Luckily he doesn't have shoes, but Phil paniced and nearly ran straight through the fence (as in his eyes he must have felt trapped between the fence, and the horse that just kicked him). Rocky caught Phil on the thigh and made quite a large cut. I will say here; Rocky showed no signs of being aggressive expect maybe napping. He had his ears forward etc which is confusing
When I first started riding down there, Sam and I were walking into the field to ride and rocky kicked out at Phil, for no apparant reason. After that he was happy to work in close-quarters (although not too close lol).
Now this is the problem; whenever I have Phil in hand he ducks behind me if we go anywhere near rocky. We were both lunging in a field, and everytime they came close (within about 10ft) Phil was spooking and looked very scared; head up, ears back, whites of eyes showing. He also kept hiding in the stable, when they were in the corrals next to each other. I don't blame him. Turn them back out; if Rocky gets too close, phil is the dominant one again, and Rocky backs off
However I would like to be able to hack out with Sam etc without getting worried that Phil will get stressed over who he is with. I'm not hoping for miracles, but I'm also confused as to why they are different in the field, compared to on the yard.
Any idea why?
