Under-Saddle Aggression

Aggressiveness in a ridden horse should never be ignored. Learn the causes plus some fixes you can apply from the saddle.

- Sandy Collier, With Jennifer Von Geldern

Does your horse ever seem aggressive when you’re riding him? Does he cop a surly attitude, or even act out, posing a danger to other horses and riders around him? Here, we’ll examine why some horses act aggressively under saddle and what you as a rider can do to begin correcting it.

Roots of Aggression

Surly and aggressive behavior in horses has many potential origins, including the following.

Pain. Because pain and discomfort can cause a range of bad manners and dangerous behavior, it’s important always to rule it out first. It’s not hard to imagine how an aching back or throbbing feet could make you feel and act snappishly. More subtle ills can be to blame, as well. A full veterinary exam is well worth the price if it can explain and potentially solve your horse’s issues.

Nature. There’s a percentage of the horse population—just as there is with the human population—that tends to have aggressive personalities. Aggression can appear in stallions, mares, and geldings, and horses of any age.

That said, in general stallions tend to be more aggressive than mares or geldings. Nature designed them that way with an eye toward successful procreation. Without their testosterone, geldings lose that desire to dominate in order to breed.

Second most likely to be aggressive are mares, as they’re also breeding animals and often rule the roost in a herd. Mares are in charge of putting adolescent horses in their places, and can therefore perfect a stance of warning or a well-timed nip.

Younger horses will test limits until they learn where they stand in the hierarchy, just as children do. They haven’t had years of human-induced good manners under their belts as older horses have. If young horses aren’t kept in line, they learn early in life that they don’t have to behave.