09/05/2026
I was talking with a couple of our volunteers about the video circulating of the horse who violently attacked a trainer.
First, I want to be VERY clear about why I’m posting this.
I’m not posting it to diagnose this horse from a video, and I’m not claiming that a lack of boundaries or the way she was raised is necessarily what caused this attack. An attack this extreme could have other contributing factors that none of us watching a video know about. We don’t know everything about this horse’s physical or neurological health, her complete history, or even what happened immediately before the clip we’ve all seen.
But I do think what happened can be an incredibly important teaching moment for horse owners.
There was one question I immediately wanted to know:
What was this horse like as a foal?
My understanding is that she was pastured with her dam. When I asked about her behavior, the answer I got was, “She was pushing her mother off food before she was a year old.”
That answer was incredibly telling to me.
Foals learn boundaries from the horses around them. Watch a mare correct a foal that has crossed a line. She doesn’t negotiate with it. She moves it away. Horses communicate through pressure, movement and release, and youngsters learn very quickly where those boundaries are.
So hearing that this horse was pushing her own mother off food at less than a year old immediately made me wonder what boundaries she was learning—or wasn’t learning—at that age.
Then there is the human side.
By the owners’ own account, she was spoiled. She was spoiled, hand fed lots of treats, and her behavior progressively became worse. Eventually it became serious enough that they called a trainer.
Again, I’m not saying that explains this attack.
I’m saying there is a lesson in the history leading up to it that I don’t think it should ignore.
I have my own much less extreme example with Bella.
When Bella (in the picture)came to me, she was extremely pushy. She bit me several times and tried to kick me. Within our little herd, Bella was unquestionably the boss, and she treated me like I was another member of that herd who she could also push around.
Then one day her hoof came within inches of my head.
That was it.
I grabbed a lunge whip,not to hit her; I never touched her with it, and moved her away from the herd. When she wanted to go left, I sent her right. When she wanted to come back to the other horses or the food, I moved her away again. I controlled where she moved.
This went for 45 minutes!
Eventually Bella approached me quietly and respectfully, with her head lowered. I released the pressure and let her come back.
That was 12 years ago.
Bella has never bitten me or attempted to kick me since.
That doesn’t mean Bella suddenly became a different horse. She’s still Bella. 😂 And treats are STILL her weakness.
Today, on the ground, Bella is one of the most well behaved in the herd. But everyone here knows the rule: Bella gets her treat last, and then you WALK AWAY. Or her treats go directly into her feed pan.
I’m certainly not saying horses shouldn’t get treats. Mine do!
But there is a huge difference between giving a respectful horse a treat and repeatedly hand-feeding a horse that is already crowding you, pushing you, biting at you or demanding food.
And this is the teaching moment I hope people take from what happened:
What seems cute or harmless in a foal(or even in an adult horse) can become dangerous behavior in a 1,000-pound adult horse.
A little foal pushing into you may be adorable. A youngster mugging your pockets for treats might make you laugh. Letting them shove you out of the way because they’re small might not seem important.
But they’re not going to stay small.
I am in NO way blaming the trainer who was attacked. And I’m also not comfortable simply blaming the horse.
I don’t know why this horse attacked that trainer, and I’m not going to pretend that I do.
Maybe there were additional physical, neurological, behavioral or environmental factors involved. Maybe something happened before the portion of the video we’ve seen. I can’t confirm any of that, and neither can anyone else based solely on that clip.
What we can take from this situation is a reminder of our responsibility when we’re raising and handling horses.
Set boundaries with your horse, whether you get them when they are young or as an adult.
Don’t inadvertently reward behavior you don’t want from an adult horse.
Don’t confuse allowing a horse to walk all over you with loving them.
And when behavior starts escalating, don’t wait until it becomes dangerous to address it.
Setting boundaries isn’t being cruel.
Correcting dangerous behavior isn’t being mean.
Sometimes loving a horse means telling them NO.
Because those boundaries don’t just protect us.
They protect the horse, too.
If you have never studied herd dynamics, I highly suggest it! We can learn a lot by watching how they interact with each other!
