Sue McDonnell, PhD, Certified AAB
Sue M. McDonnell, PhD, Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist, is the founding head of the Equine Behavior Program at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine. McDonnell is the author of Understanding Horse Behavior, published by The Blood-Horse Inc., which is available at www.exclusivelyequine.com or by calling 800/582-5604.
Articles by Sue McDonnell
How Dangerous Is He?
September 01, 2003
This horse has some bad behavior that I'm afraid will impact my horses negatively. First, this horse strikes the ground, stall, water tank, and fence. I'm concerned he will hurt himself, destroy property, and influence my horses. Read More
Can't He Just <I>Drink</i> Out of It?
August 01, 2003
There are several possible explanations as to why your horse plays with his water bucket every night. Read More
Slow-Starting Stallion
July 01, 2003
We just started using a 3-year-old Quarter Horse stallion for breeding. He is sort of interested and will rub his head on the mare a bit, but he drops about half-way, then up, down, up, down. He doesn't seem shy or anxious, just lazy, like a Read More
Follow-Up: Carnivorous Horses
May 01, 2003
Last October, we shared letters from three readers describing horses killing and/or eating small mammals and birds (see "Carnivous Horses," article #3832 at Read More
Kicking Out at Feeding Time
April 01, 2003
My gelding is stall kicking. I'm not there at feeding time, but my trainer tells me the stall kicking occurs when it's feeding time. The same thing happened the last two places he lived. She has tried feeding him first, but that didn't help. Read More
Trailer Resistance
March 01, 2003
I've had my yearling filly all of her life. I trained her from week one to trailer load, and she was fine with getting in and out. However, this was with a four-horse slant load trailer that steps up. Now I need to load her into a two-horse Read More
Foot Work: Training for Hoof Care
February 01, 2003
My only horse finally lived out his days with me last fall. He died peacefully at the great old age of 32 years. He had been with me through thick and thin for 21 years, and was a sweetheart of a horse. He came to me completely broke and was Read More
Clusters of Aggression Problems
January 01, 2003
I have an almost 4-year-old Peruvian stallion, born and raised on my farm, living with only his mother and a sister. Because of my inexperience, I treated him as a pet. Since a very young age, he showed a strong will. When I started saddle Read More
Keeping a Stallion With a Foaling Mare, or Mares
December 01, 2002
We have a mare and stallion together in a pasture. We borrowed a stallion in August just to breed this mare. They have been together since then, and we just had the mare checked for the first time since they were together and found out that Read More
Fly Masks
November 01, 2002
When I am bringing fly-masked horses in from the field, I feel insecure, as if it's hard to tell what they are doing. I always feel better when fall comes and the masks come off. I've talked to other people who feel the same way. Do you know Read More
Truck Training
November 01, 2002
I recently had a difficult time trailering my horse to a show. While loading him, we had backed the trailer up to the barn, which resulted in a situation where he became afraid of the truck/trailer by the barn area. After returning from the Read More
Feeding Time Pawing
November 01, 2002
Do you have any suggestions for stopping a horse from pawing while he is eating his grain? This one is the worst I've ever seen. It's not just while he's waiting for me to get to his stall with the grain, it continues while he is eating the Read More
Carnivorous Horses
October 01, 2002
While taking questions from the audience at a one-day behavior program in New Zealand this May, a well-respected horse owner and trainer described behavior she had recently witnessed in a horse involving a scenario I had never heard or thought Read More
Stallion Mounting Behavior
September 01, 2002
I'm a veterinarian asking this question on behalf of clients who are standing a stallion at stud. The stallion isn't new to breeding or to this farm; he's in his third or fourth breeding season. He normally breeds eagerly, without hesitation Read More
Horse Behavior and Welfare Conference
September 01, 2002
A recent gathering of equine behavior and welfare specialists in Holar, Northern Iceland, gave scientists from around the world the opportunity to present their work and review the science underpinning management practices on the horse. The Read More
Separating Mare and Foal for Work
August 01, 2002
A young breeder asked me if she could take a mare from her foal for one hour every day. That young breeder would like to ride the mare; therefore she'll leave the foal in the box. I am not a fan of that. I told her that it would be a Read More
Determining Personality
July 01, 2002
My new horse--my first--is a 12-year-old Thoroughbred. I do not know all of her history, but I understand it has had its rough patches. She was one of a group of underfed broodmares rescued from an abusive owner. Fortunately, she was in two Read More
Controlling Cribbing
July 01, 2002
There is a new 3-year-old gelding in my barn. He cribs and wears a collar; the collar seems awfully tight to me. A respected friend says that the other horses might pick up this habit from this horse. Is that true? And how can I work with Read More
Overly Social Behavior?
June 01, 2002
Why does my son's mare seem interested in another mare in a bordering pasture? --via e-mail
Without further information, I can offer explanations for a couple of likely scenarios. If the mare is just buddying up with another mare Read More
Anti-Social Behavior
June 01, 2002
I am looking for some guidance on a horse I'd like to buy. He is an ex-racehorse, about eight years old, with no information on his history--not even a name.
The problem is that he kicks at other horses when ridden. He kicks Read More
Is He Sore, or Misbehaving?
May 01, 2002
Over the last few months, my horse has changed from a steady, reliable, and willing friend to a miserable grouch. He's an 11-year-old Thoroughbred gelding that I have owned and used just for pleasure since he was seven years old, and I knew Read More
Breeding Dummy Design
April 01, 2002
We have a Quarter Horse stallion that we will be starting in a shipped semen program this year. All of us--the stallion, our veterinarian, and our farm personnel--are new at collecting semen. We are in the planning stages for our breeding Read More
Ground vs. Breeding Mount Semen Collection
April 01, 2002
We have show pony breeding stallions, and as of last year are doing almost all shipped semen. This year we are seriously thinking about expanding our business to offer semen collection and shipping services for outside stallions, which will Read More
Narrow Doorway Aversion
March 01, 2002
My mare has a particular problem with doorways, like stall doorways, small barn doorways, and even to some extent with the round pen gate. Big, wide doors are no problem, but with anything about four feet wide or smaller she will Read More
Foal Urination and Defecation
March 01, 2002
The first urination in foals typically occurs within the first six hours for females and the first twelve hours for males. Like defecation, the first urination in foals very often occurs soon after the first nursing. Read More
