Aggressive horse in field

Roasted Chestnuts

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well unless you know the horse well the one i spoke about had a bad up bringing so put 2 and 2 together thought would be getting a beating and protected its self when it seen a whip horse was mine and had never caused trouble before it was not even him that was the problem but woman flipping a whip around and he reacted friendlyest horse ever has never kicked or been a problem before or after just a freak accident he reacted to the whip flying about

If it had never caused a bother before then why was a person trying to move it away with a whip? Must have had previous form for a person to feel like they needed it moved out of their space. So the statement of never done anything before doesn’t quite ring true to me.

I stand my by experience.
 

adamntitch

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If it had never caused a bother before then why was a person trying to move it away with a whip? Must have had previous form for a person to feel like they needed it moved out of their space. So the statement of never done anything before doesn’t quite ring true to me.

I stand my by experience.
was a diffrent horse they chased away he just happed to be near by at the same time she had known him for years as well was just a complete accident she went to scare other horse off and ended up between a few and he reacted
 

Arzada

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We're on heavy clay soil so any hay would just get trampled into the mud.
We spent one wet winter on heavy clay. We used a round sheep feeder and filled it once a day for 5 horses. Yes some hay circled outside the feeder but this had benefit of getting the front feet off the clay. Relocated the feeder periodically.
 

Highmileagecob

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Yes, sounds familiar. We have a mare exactly like this, and she has caused a bad accident. Farmer/landowner refuses to get involved, so life has been made rather uncomfortable for the mare's owner and she is moving on after Christmas. Think this will be her third move in eighteen months....
 

Pinkvboots

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There's still some grass, they're not out there with nothing.
A little bit of grass in winter is often not enough remember they are standing in a wet muddy cold open field, they need hay to keep them warm and content so they get frustrated and just want in at the earliest chance, some horses will express that with aggressive behaviour which is dangerous.
 

Arzada

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There's still some grass, they're not out there with nothing.
Ours had some grass last year. They kept going to the gate of their winter field which wasn't open. They needed more than the grass available to them and they also weren't getting enough hay. It was a horrible time. It is the only time in 12 years on the yard that I have seen one of the little herd get hangry and go for his buddy. Finally round about this time the winter field was opened and all was calm again.
 

Petalpoos

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As others have said, this is not for you to resolve. You should not have to risk injury to get to your horse and the YO should sort it out immediately, i..e. the new mare should be removed from the field now and not put back in there. It does not sound like this livery is suitable for that horse.
 

Honey08

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If hay will get trampled into the muddy clay ground, how can there possibly be adequate grass to support a herd, day after day?
Because wherever you put the hay there will be a lot of feet and it will quickly churn up, whereas feet covering the whole space doesn’t..

Some horses are just thugs, sometimes they’re a bit riggy, other times they have been allowed to become that way. Hunger is just one of many possible reasons. In our case it was mid summer on lush grass.
 
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Roasted Chestnuts

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Some horses are gate aggressive no matter the season. Some horses just decide that they have to be in first regardless. It may be that this horse doesn’t want to be out at all, some horses don’t want to be in a winter field period and be it 30mins after turnout or 4hrs they want in. You can’t really know for sure what the reason is but this needs dealt with one way or the other and sometimes putting hay in a field can make the situation worse as unless you are putting out multiple bales there will always be more aggressive horses that hog the bale and then there isn’t a whole other fighting issue to deal with.

Also been there done that.
 

dorsetladette

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Sounds like the mare needs bringing in before other liveries arrive, hay needs to be provided (somehow) in the field or the mare needs separating. Or a combination of all.

Definitely a job for the YO to sort and quickly. Heavy clay means it's near on impossible to get yourself out of the way if feet or teeth are flying.

Is the owner of the mare not concerned for her horses change in behaviour?
 

TheOldTrout

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Sounds like the mare needs bringing in before other liveries arrive, hay needs to be provided (somehow) in the field or the mare needs separating. Or a combination of all.

Definitely a job for the YO to sort and quickly. Heavy clay means it's near on impossible to get yourself out of the way if feet or teeth are flying.

Is the owner of the mare not concerned for her horses change in behaviour?
Doesn't seem to be. I told her about the biting and the answer was 'I've never known her to bite '. To be fair, I don't think the owner witnesses the aggression. Horse is coming in from the field when she sees it so behaving itself.
 

JoannaC

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We had this at a previous yard, the mare who was a big girl wasn't get nearly enough hay when stabled and she was very hangry. One time I threw myself under the fence as she came for me and trying to catch your horse was very stressful. Eventually the YO would bring her in at 2 so the rest of us could safely get our horses. I used to be last up in the evening and she would have finished her hay by then.
 

dorsetladette

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Doesn't seem to be. I told her about the biting and the answer was 'I've never known her to bite '. To be fair, I don't think the owner witnesses the aggression. Horse is coming in from the field when she sees it so behaving itself.
I'm sure there is another thread on here about a similar situation.

Something needs to change. Can you ask the YO to come and witness or one evening leave your s out until mares owner turns up so she can see for herself.
 

Amymay Again

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Doesn't seem to be. I told her about the biting and the answer was 'I've never known her to bite '. To be fair, I don't think the owner witnesses the aggression. Horse is coming in from the field when she sees it so behaving itself.
Well hopefully the yo has this in hand now and the situation has been resolved.
 

midnight2025

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move your horse if you don’t feel safe not trying to be rude but most yards owners are aware if they have horses like this they turn a blind eye or don’t care but chances it wouldn’t be resolved because the horse wouldn’t be in the yard if owner of the yard weren’t happy with the behaviour . If you complain it will just make your life harder in the yard just from story’s I have heard from other people.
 
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