Difficult situation on yard- Advice anyone?

Talent and highly strung is no excuse for his behaviour....my jumping mare and the racehorses we train can be turned out no problems and they are all extremely talented and some highly strung. You are caught for space which is unfortunate as otherwise you could suggest a paddock specially for him (obv at an extra cost) and perhaps get one of those hardy miniatures for him! they are great for outting manners on unruly ones in the paddock!
 
sad for them and sad for you and sad for pony (who will settle if given time in a field on his own then maybe introduce him to 1 other then to 2 other then to 3 other then the herd) yes it is not your duty and yes you don't want to upset the other liveries but how would you feel or the other liveries for that matter if it was one of their ponys and they were being asked to leave only to have to move pony and unsettle him again, give him time on his own and slowly introduce, unless he is a rig i guarantee you it will work, it is a pecking order thing and bonding, poor pony
 
beeswax said:
sad for them and sad for you and sad for pony (who will settle if given time in a field on his own then maybe introduce him to 1 other then to 2 other then to 3 other then the herd) yes it is not your duty and yes you don't want to upset the other liveries but how would you feel or the other liveries for that matter if it was one of their ponys and they were being asked to leave only to have to move pony and unsettle him again, give him time on his own and slowly introduce, unless he is a rig i guarantee you it will work, it is a pecking order thing and bonding, poor pony
Click to expand...

It is sad but I can only go on our experience. Our lad was not a rig and was fine over electric fencing but was absolutely awful in with anything else. We tried old, young, cob, other TBs, large, small - you name it. We tried one and two horses. He just did not play nicely. He was calm and happy next to someone else, did not like to be alone completely but was fierce about his own space to the point of attacking other horses even when they were trying to get away or submit. It was upsetting to watch and frightening for us and other owners. It was not rough play. It was out and out aggression.

We tried several times under supervision but gave up because it was unfair on the other horses and tbh he was happier in his own paddock. We had him from a 4yo and the dealer (well known eventer) we got him from advised us he "liked his own space"!:rolleyes: We bought him in the full knowledge he would probably need individual turnout. It is the owners responsibility to ensure her horse is at a suitable yard. As I said before it limits choice and adds to cost but it is all part of owning a quirky horse.

I do not believe the yard has any need to accomodate a horse that others find threatening, especially as the owner seems reluctant to see the problem. It is horrible when people regard your horse as a threat, but facts sometimes have to be faced and a yard needs to suit the majority of clients not the individuals who are unable/refuse to cooperate.
 
I would get this pony off my yard as soon as you can, dont wait for the months notice.

Sounds harsh I know but as you have stated earlier you are aware that he has caused problems at other yards so if, heaven forbid, he causes a nasty accident at yours you could, potentially, be held legally responsible.

I know its difficult to be steely hearted and ask people to go but you have what sounds like a really nice set up with nice clients, it would be a great shame if one rogue customer caused you to lose such a reputation.
 
You are in a difficult situation, the pony's owners seem to be applying every bit of emotional blackmail that they can to try to manipulate you.

Firstly you are running a business, as has been pointed out you have a responsibility to your other liveries, to ensure that their horses are not exposed to risk of injury either caused directly by this horse injuring one of them, or indirectly by damaging something, that they then injure themselves on.

You also have a responsibility to yourselves, your on horses and your business, unless you specifically offered to provide a service to help "sort out" their pony, it is complete crap that they should expect you to help sort out their horses behaviour. You cannot be sucked in to pandering to their whims and inadequacies, if you end up spending a larger percentage of your time dealing with them, than the others then you could be neglecting your other responsibilities. What is more important to you, protecting your business and keeping your other liveries, and your own horses, or pandering to this one.

Yes horses are individuals, but in a small set up like yours, if the horse isn't right for your yard, then it has to go, rather than try to re-shape your yard to fit the one.

They are ducking the issue with this pony, it sounds like it needs to be professionally dealt with and worked regularly, they dont seem to be doing this. If it is such a wonderfully talented horse it should be on a competition yard where they can pander to it a bit more and have the space and facilities to deal with it, but of course they would have to pay for that!

I think the "highly strung" "very talented" is just their way of excusing the fact that plain and simple its an arse, everyone wants to look for an excuse rather than accepting the fact that its a pain in the bum and perhaps they bought the wrong horse.

You cannot make the entire yard or your day revolve around their pony, you will go nuts or broke, I've seen it with an ex who ran a 12 box yard the amount of trouble a single owner can make by wanting to hammer a square peg into a round hole, or rather in her case, re-shape the hole to make it square..

Best of luck...hope it turns out well, dont take it personally and dont let them tug at your heartstrings
 
I completely agree, we have tonight given them thier notice and advised them to find a place for him that is far more suitable to his 'talents and highly strung behaviour' if on three calmers (which is crazy) and being in the rest paddock on his own cannot control his aggression then he really needs somewhere that he has total isolation from other horses whilst turned out. We have suggested he should go to someone for some intense schooling (as he has never had this) or and as well as be on a yard where he can be schooled properly day in day out. But I think the expense is what's putting them off. We have done everything we possibly can to help / advise them but they don't seem interested in taking any of it on. It's sad for the pony as he deserves the right knowledgable home to be as content as possible as he is clearly stressed and has been for sometime. Our yard is a very peaceful place with very calm horses and owners, we have a mixture of types, 3 shetlands, a few welshies (1 is my 20 yo mare) a huge ID and a TBx and my 4yo Warmblood competition horse (who is very sane) it's just very unfortunate for the owners as we know it won't be easy for them to find a suitable yard for him, I just hope they will take advice sooner rather than later for the sake of thier pony.
 
I wish you luck...

My gut instinct is that he's the wrong pony for their budget, if he is that talented then he would surely benefit from a more active regime.

If they aren't willing or able to pay for a regime more suited to him then in my opinion they should get rid of him and look for something more appropriate to the environment in which they plan (or can afford) to keep him in.

I know its emotive and bloody hard and stressful for you, in my opinion you deserve a gold medal for your patience, if only all you had to do running a livery yard was to manage the land and look after the horses lol.

Hopefully it will be a distant memory that you can learn from for the future...best of luck
 
Such a shame the owners forced you into this, but it's your business and you can't let one pony ruin it for the others. As someone whose horse was PTS after a kick in the field broke his shoulder, I'd be terribly upset if my YO allowed a badly behaved horse to be turned out with mine.

How will you manage this pony til he goes?
 
i have to agree you have done the right thing. I saw a horse have to be pts also in a livery yard as it got kicked in the paddock by another horse. Far worse for both owners than simply bad feeling so very glad you have given them notice.
Yes, many "tallented" horses need a lot of stimulation and training and sounds like the wrong horse for those owners. I hope it doesnt end in tears at their new yard.
 
Thank you all for your honest and great advice, been a real help! He is stabled unless the owners are around when he is allowed to be turned out in the rest paddock (under complete supervision) as we cannot have him stabled 24/7 especially as he is young and full of energy. He is turned out whilst the other horses are put to bed. The owners aren't being very friendly since but actually we have a huge feeling of relief since doing it and have told them it really isn't anything personal. But he definitely isn't the right horse for them. I too hope it dosent end in tears at his new yard, fingers crossed for him and them! I jut hope they are honest with the new yard (wherever they go) about his requirements.
 
Well done you.
I am the owner of a horse that isnt nasty or aggressive but he would spend more time playing than grazing. I had him on a large DIY yard at first but after loads of injuries from other horses basically saying 'sod off' I got the chance to move him to a small private yard where he shared a field with 3 other geldings injury free for about 3 yrs. The playing with his best mate got rougher and one day I found him with a fractured leg. He is now on his own in the same field as the others but seperated by electric fencing. I hate this but he and the others are safe. It has really limited my choice of yards as I know I cant just chuck him in with a load of other horses for everyones sake but I respect that and wouldnt want to do that. Fortunately my yard can accomodate him.
I think you have definately done the right thing for everyone concerned.
 
The only problem is that the next yard he goes to won't take him if told the whole story.... My boy got in to a bad behaviour mode last year, but I was able to identify the cause, . a sort of jealousy. I have now moved yards, and he is in with a new friend, hopefully there will be no more incidents, he is due to go in to a big field with more horses today, I don't anticipate trouble as his bad behaviour came after I had owned him with no problems for three years. He will be out 24/7 in summer at least, and I may keep him out all winter if there is any indication of bad behaviour, it all happens when he is first turned out. He is barefoot and will be kept unshod until I am sure all is settled. Any misbehaviour and he will be left unshod behind.
 
ofcourseyoucan said:
i would ask them to get the vet to test it and see if it is a rig. behaviour sounds quite coltish.
Click to expand...

That was my thought too when reading your post.

Does he respect electric fencing? If so, and you want to keep them as a livery, then it might be worth fencing a small paddock off in the field he used to be in and reintroducing him that way.
 
He sounds very much like my old horse.
It was really driving me nuts! He was at on DIY livery so much of the time i saw the damage before the y/o! and did my best to fix it or return him/others to their rightfull places.
We tried calmers including a mild long lasting sedative injected by a vet. He was not a rig and wasn't gelded late it was just the way he was!
We solved the problem by moving him completely away from mares. My y/o bless her allowed him to be turned out with a few youngsters on grass livery who were kept the other side of a track and hedge from the "livery" paddocks.
It worked brilliantly- never had a problem from that day on.

Although he wasnt rig there was something about mares that drove him nuts!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top