Jealousy in horses?

Question

ok well my that i am having the problem with is 5 yrs old i had her for 3 years and for those three years she was the only horse that we had and i spent all my time with her. but last month i got a new barrel horse and i take them both to shows....now i know that horses can be jealous but since i got my new horse my mares performance has dropped quite a bit, she used to be an excellent pole horse now she will only trot through them even if im kicking her and only sometimes she will do alright on the barrels....could me getting my new horse have ruined her performance and what is a way i solve the jealousy?

i spend lots of time with her still i havent just forgotten about her but no matter what she is still angry with me?

Answer 1

My horse's jealousy has the oppsoite effect on her. I make it a point to let her see my riding other horses, then when I ride her, she tries really hard to be the better horse!!

Answer 2

Horses do not feel human emotions like anger and jealousy.  You should look for the cause of your problems elsewhere.  Another horse in the pasture will not instantaneously produce  a loss of performance in another horse.   As an aside, you should not kick your horses.

Answer 3

Yes, horses do get jealous, but I would sooner think that she is getting too fond of your new horse, as you stated, your new horse also goes with you, so there never is a time that your horse isn't with her.  You also stated that your mare was the only horse and you were part of her herd, now she has another horse in her herd and may just becoming herd bound, not wanting to leave the other horse and not giving you her attention, her mind is on the other horse and wanting to get back to it....If there is any way to separate them, out of sight of each other for a while, it would let you know if that was it or not.  Go back to giving her lots of attention so that you are her herd again.

Answer 4

Give your mare all the attention first then take care of the new horse last....feed her first the feed him groom her first then groom him ride her first then ride him...and on and on

Answer 5

Yes, horses do get jealous!  I had an old Quarter Horse gelding who would allow me to "school" another horse but heaven help me if I rode one for enjoyment!  He'd go stand in the back of his stall and ignore me.

Of my troops now, my 18 yr old QH gelding runs everbody else off when I enter the pasture or arena.

Your mare feels like you are HER people and she doesn't want to share.

Answer 6

When we were boarding our horses and my friend asked her to take care of her gelding for me, my gelding got quite jealous.

I solved it by doing the following:

Always ride your mare first. Always attend to her first, groom her first, etc.

Don't let her see you working with the other horse. If you intend to work with the other horse, get someone else to bring him in, or make sure that your mare can't see you with him.

If those don't work, call your vet. Maybe there's a medical reason why she isn't performing properly.

Good luck.