My main interest is field trialing pointing dogs. I have gaited horses in order to participate in trialing but I do enjoy the horses as pets as I do my dogs. I enjoy riding for it's own sake. I have a new 3.5 year old gelding. He is pastured with my older horse. The new horse, Smurf, is the alpha gelding. I have witnessed biting and kicking by him in battles for space or food. He is extremely friendly and loves any kind of attention but he is very jealous of the older horse. If I pet, talk to, groom or do anything with the older horse he sets his ears back and runs the older horse off. As I was cleaning the hooves of the older horse he tried to kick him. Obviously I will need to tie smurf in order to do anything with the older horse in the future. My real concerns are about trailering the two together, tying them to the trailer and staking them out. Any instructions on precautions or training would be appreciated.

Does the younger horse get this aggressive when you're not in sight? If not, I would say he is trying to assert a "possessiveness" where you're concerned. If I were you I would take a crop or whip or bucket in with me, and when Smurf turns aggressive don't hit him w/anything, just swing it and yell loudly and make him move away from the two of you. He needs to realize that YOU are the herd leader and if you say he can't pick on someone he just can't!!

How are his ground manners? Does he nip, get into your space, etc...?

On an unrelated note, my grandpa was a well known trainer of English Setters and Pointers. He got dogs from all over the country to train and he was said to be one of the best. Ever heard of Jim Carter?

Smurf has great ground manners around me. He loves all the attention he can get. Even though he is the alpha horse he is not near as aggressive when I am not there. I will do as you suggest and make him respect me working with the other horse.

Lots of great field trialers, especially in the south. Jim Carter probably was an American Field trainer and I am in AKC. Not unusual that I do not know of him.

Thanks.

Howdy!

Welp, I can only tell you what I would do. It sounds as if he has quite a possessiveness issue. My Aunt also has a horse like this. He is actually so possessive he is sometimes dangerous. He stands all of 17+ hands tall and when you approach any other horse than him in the pasture, he barges through the entire herd, kicking, biting, running over everything and "herds" you away from them so he can have his own "private time" with you only. I will not tolerate it, my own horses know I am the alpha and to act respectfully when I'm in the pasture if they want their food. It's only fair.
Alot of times I see in a possessive horse, a bit of disrespect also (like my Aunt's horse), he alot of times will turn his butt to you, ears back, in a warning to "move away" (This is one of his herding-you-away antics), I DO NOT put up with that EVER. This is a phase-4 action of disrespect (phase 5 would be the highest, which would be kicking me) and I will not sit and holler or yell at a horse that is at this point. He is about to get a sound smack with a lead rope/stick.
If he is only driving your other horses crazy, as soon as he starts to torment one, run at him boldly, swing a lead at him, pop him a little with a lunge whip and let him know that it's not allowed. He will understand in horse-lingo that you are telling him it's not acceptable. When he spooks away from you then turns, head up and respectfully asking "why did you do that to me?" then take the pressure off by turning, taking your eyes off of him (eye-eye contact is actually a threat) and slowly walking back is telling him "ok, you stopped, so I'll stop." You are taking the "pressure" off of him which is his reward. Horses are flight animals-their reward is release. Predators reward is meat.

So really, all you are doing is exactly what he was doing and will be speaking his language right back to him. He told another horse that 'something' was not acceptable and punished him and when the other horse did what he asked, he stopped.
Watch him as he drives another horse away by kicking or biting. AS SOON as the other horse has submitted to him and is out of the scene, he takes off the pressure which is like the other horse's reward.

If you are concerned about his kicking the other horses and hurting them, you could always seperate them, or, there are "Kicking rings" made to discourage this. One design was made by Monty Roberts (Professional horse trainer/specializes in the wild horses and starting horses). They are fairly simple, Iron bar in the shape of a horse-shoe, with string/clip to attach in the back. You clip it around the horse's pastern and when they kick hard, the bar gives them a good bump in the front of the pastern causing discomfort. You can probably do a search for them online, get some pictures, or make your own fairly easily.

Sorry for the long one, I hope it makes sense. It is quite late and my eyes are getting glazed haha. I do hope you are able to solve the problem! Good luck!

I am having the same problem with my 2 that i just bought.The older one is being picked on by the younger one. He is not kicking but he nips at the other. He will not let the older one eat. He protects both pans. He only does it with the grain. I have tried putting the pans far apart. As soon as the older one starts heading for a pan the younger one will run him off. I have even put the pans where they can not see each other but that dont work either. I literally have to stand between them so the older one can eat. I also need some advice.

TinaBaby,

I think that you're going to have to separate the two, or tie the younger horse up while the older horse eats.
However, if you want to try and resolve this, my best suggestion would be to assert your own dominance in this situation. Let the younger guy know that the feed bowls are *yours,* not his, if he tries to run the older horse off, run him off instead, being very careful to show no aggression towards the older horse. If you need to, carry a whip or lead rope to smack the younger horse with, but pet and love on the older horse. Be *very* careful about ending up in the middle of a nipping fight, don't allow the younger horse near you when you are rewarding the older horse.
When I work with my horse being aggressive or pushy about feed I stomp, twist my hips as though to kick, or (as ridiculous as it sounds) bare my teeth, and Sham backs off from the feed till I turn away (as AQHA Breeder was saying, "take the pressure off"). I've "bitten" my horse before though (sneaking my hand up to pinch so he doesn't realize that I didn't actually close my mouth on his coat) and he does respect my mouth and space.
Like I said at the beginning though, it sounds like you'll need to separate the two for feedings, unless you plan on standing out there every feeding for awhile. Even then, when you leave the two alone again, the picking is likely to continue. The lady who boards my horse while I'm out of state at school has to separate him from all the other horses at feeding time because he simply will not let the other horses eat.
Just something to consider.

Snuffy:
For trailering, I would try to get a divider between the two horses, keeping Smurf's face/hind away from the other horses as much as possible.
It is also possible that Smurf will have no problems trailering with the other horses as long as you aren't around (Up in the cab). See if you can load them in the trailer (Smurf last so he doesn't feel ignored), then leave for awhile (find a place to watch where they won't see/hear you). When you return, unload Smurf first and put him aside so you can take out the second horse.
Make sure you hang out close enough that if a problem develops you can step in and intervene before something dangerous happens, being willing to let them get a squeal or two out of the way and see if things settle down (I'm sure you know the difference between a "Leave me alone" and "I'm going to kill you!" action! ). Other than that, I like AQHA Breeder's suggestion! Let us know that that works for y'all!
~*Naira*~