Hi Liezel,
Where in SA are you? one can find the bitless bridle in Dee’s in Johannesburg near Fourways if you are in Gauteng. I’m in Mpumalanga. Good luck.

Greatest advice ever! thank you so much. x

Imho this little filly is not insecure,she is just finding her place in your herd of 2,she is being disrespectful and you are correct in behaving like the mare..Sadly,many people make the assumption that horses think things through like we do..this is not the case ..they live in the”now”and by making excuses for their behavior,we can only add to the problem..by keeping “cuddly and lovable” at arms length you will stay safe and also send clear messages on what is acceptable.Horses are full faculty learners from birth..treat her like a grown-up..she will soon become one!!

your horse sounds like she has been led by the snap..hold the lead about 2 feet away..if she crowds you ,without turning to look at her, lift your right foot(like you are trying to slap your rear with it)twice ..if she doesn’t back away take a step back and repeat..she will yield. Don’t acknowledge her,walk forward..if she doesn’t follow walk off to the side..this will unstick her feet and she will follow.I use a simple exercise with my horses to remind them who I am..walk forward,stop(stamp your foot and flap elbows at first)turn in towards his neck 180 degrees and walk purposefully back swinging the lead,bending forward and looking at her rump..she should yeild her hind away..if she doesn’t..you are allowed to “tag”her with your rope..never pull on her head..do not look at her but continue to walk in that direction..very soon she will become respectful and attentive and will mirror your movements.I bought a 12 yo abused unbroken show arab who spent her life on her back legs boxing and who was so dangerous she was kept behind two gates instead of one.Today 3years on, she is happy and well balanced.Engage her curiosity..give her a ball..tarp,poles, platform..ask her to put her nose on things(even better do it with another horse in front of her and let her want it!)..dont try to lunge her into submission,unless you are doing a very technical “Join Up”, Arabs can run forever before they get tired!

I had a similar experience when I was walking into the paddock to catch my horse. We own about 19 horses. The herd leader charged at me with his ears back and his teeth bared. My horse, Snoopy, put himself between me and the leader and reared up. They both reared up at each other, Snoopy then took off at a run and the leader chased after him. It wasn’t until they were about 100metres away from me that Snoopy turned on his heels and lashed out at the leader. Both only had minor injuries afterwards.
Ever since that day, the herd leader has not charged at me.
Snoopy protected me in two ways – by putting himself in between me and the leader; and by making sure that the fight occurred a safe distance away from me.

I live in South Africa, I have been riding since I was about 10 but after getting married and moving to a farm in the Limpopo Province I stopped riding for a while, while having babies and raising kids. However as you all know once horses are in your blood they never leave. My daughter is 7 and loves horses and riding, I thus decided it is time to get a horse again so that we can ride together. In September 2014 I found two horses at one of the neighbours. We have severe African Horse sickness in the area and it is always better to get a horse from the area than to try to bring one in from another region. Although I am not a very big fan of mares I bought two mares, a 3 year old and a 8 year old. The 3 year old is a Welch pony Frisian cross (don’t ask)a piebald, she is about 13 hh and definitely the more dominant one of the two. The big mare is a 8 year old Boerperd mare, about 14.3 hh and often get chased away from food by the youngster. They came from a herd of about 11.

Recently the big mare came in in the afternoon with a nasty bite mark on her neck. The horse roam free during the day and come to a small paddock for feed and check-ups every afternoon. I was livid, thinking that the little mare bit her. However about two months after this happened the little mare came in with bite marks all over her sides and neck. I asked the staff if they knew what happened and they explained that they happened to be working on the road when they saw the zebra stallion attack the little mare. According to them he latched onto her neck and she was dragging him around kicking him all the time. Even when she got away from him he would chase her and bite her tail or sides. She kicked him so badly that he went down and rolled over. Eventually giving up.

Luckily she only have superficial bite marks, but I now believe that the bites on the big mare also came from him. I guess he was trying to get the mares to submit and become part of his herd. I have seen a Zorse (Zebra horse) before so I know that they can interbreed, however she did not want to submit.

The aggression and the attack of the Zebra however reminded me strongly of the Keith’s storey and I guess that this is what the Mustang was doing too.

I am worried to ride out with the mares on the farm now, since I am not sure if the Zebra will attack again and if he will be put off by me being on the horse.

Emily, you can use a bareback pad. That is what I use. Some of them actually have a lot of padding.