Dilema - new horse... Help?

milesjess

milesjess

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Basically I got my mare delivered yesterday. She travelled like a star, no issues at all and had mild sedation as she hadn't travelled for a few years.
Got her to new yard and as the other horses where out, new place she was unsettled in her stable so I turned her out. At this point she was great, no galloping round and began grazing immediately, however the other horses are all geldings and they all got excited. One in particular who had a good gallop round, worked himself up and I'm told he generally doesn't like mares. His owner brought him in.
Her old owner did tell me that she doesn't like been stabled and prefers to be out however she won't stay out on her own and she won't stay in on her own.
I brought her in later with the others and she wouldn't settle. She's quite bargy, box walks and pushy. Though she does listen and doesn't appear to be malicious or dangerous... Im expecting all this behaviour anyway and I knew she'd be unsettled with the whole experience and needs time to settle.

Later on whilst at home I got a call off YO who stated they weren't willing to handle her/ turnout/ bring in because of her behaviour and it's all my responsibility... So now I'm really stuck, I work shifts and it's normally first down feeds/ turns out and vice versa at night.

What do I do? I have no one else who would be able to sort her for me and it's stressing me out. I could move her elsewhere but I don't want the same problem of people not willing to handle her. I can fully understand why they aren't prepared to but I'm left it a dilemma.

Its a private and small yard where everyone helps each other out. Do you think moving her again will stress her put even more?

Please don't have a go and sorry for the long post - This is my first horse and I'm really stressed out and worried.
 
Dont worry - I am sure you know it takes a while for a horse to settle down, the day I buought my last horse, in fact the last two for the first week I was like OMG what have I done!! IS there no way you can leave her out with any other horse at all? Failing that with all new horses I take a weeks annual leave to bond and settle them in, maybe thats the answer?
good luck and hope she settles soon x
 
Thanks. Yeah had that thought last night :p
I can't leave her out as the others are brought in and she won't stay out on her own, I'm possibly going to move her to another yard with more horses on so if she's left in there'll be others around her etc...

To be honest I think she's behaving well considering the change but it's 10x's harder and stressful now. In the field she was great but it was the other gelding who went off on one, the YO also said based on that we'll have to see how it goes as she doesn't want the fields churned up... I perceived that as being if the other horse doesn't settle I'll have to go :confused: Confused me considering mine was behaving!

I've booked some time off, but do have days here and there I have to work over the next 2 weeks... One day at a time eh.
 
tangoharvey said:
Dont worry - I am sure you know it takes a while for a horse to settle down, the day I buought my last horse, in fact the last two for the first week I was like OMG what have I done!! IS there no way you can leave her out with any other horse at all? Failing that with all new horses I take a weeks annual leave to bond and settle them in, maybe thats the answer?
good luck and hope she settles soon x
Click to expand...

i totally agree with tangoharvey your poor horse has just arrived give it a chance.
taking a week off sounds like a good idea. maybe cakes at the yard will make them a little more chilled about the settling in period :confused:

congrats on the new horse im sure it will be fine :)

Nicky
 
Very early days. I think they are being unreasonable by not being willing to handle her. It is her first day and she needs to get used to the yard, the change in routine etc.
 
So your new horse arrives yesterday and just because she is behaving totally normally for a horse in new surroundings, your YO decides straight away that they won't handle her? Poor horse! It takes weeks, sometimes months for a new horse to settle into a new home and routine. Your mare obviously hasn't left her previous home for quite a while, but she will settle in time. Was the YO happy about you getting a new horse? If so, what did they expect a new horse to behave like? I totally agree with Tango - take some holiday from work, spend time with your new horse and she will settle in her own time.
 
Thats awful what a horrible YO!! I wouldnt like her(?) anywhere near my horse!!
We have new horses on our yard all the time, we have full/part and training livery so theres always coming and goings.
ALL horses take time to settle down, its natural to be bargy/restless in the stable and even gallopy in the fields, even if yours isnt.
We just had two new liveries in, and their horses galloped up and down all the time, and wouldnt eat their breakfasts and only half their teas for about a week! After that, theyre good as gold!
On our yard, we have a policy we will turn all horses out, as owners find it difficult to get down for turnouts. Infact we have some owners come saying theyre scared to turn their horses out, and they use chiffneys and they get loose etc. We have never said no to any horse yet.

Your YO isnt providing you with a service and its unacceptable to suddenly deny it to you!!

Good luck, she will settle :)
 
Have to agree with Divasmum, your YO is being unreasonable, can your mare be turned out with a quite gelding till she settles in or perhaps your YO should have said geldings only policy.
 
Sack the YO. Ideally, move to a new yard before your horse starts to make friends.
My latest horse was a complete nightmare on her arrival, she was labelled psychotic by the YO (who had to jump out of her stable over the door, poor man.) She damaged two farriers and one vet and had to have her stable door boarded up at night to stop her jumping out for the first week. Several experienced horsepeople said she wasn't right in the head.
However, I knew she was just overwhelmed and she did settle beautifully. With her, it took a quiet,no nonsense, but sympathetic approach and a regular routine. She is now probably the most perfect horse I've ever had.

Don't be too disheartened, take a bit of time off and see if you can find a new yard with supportive people around you. Being the owner of an Asbo horse is demoralising if your horse is blamed unfairly for any upset.
 
As a YO i would say your mare is totally acceptable - but the YO behaviour is not. All new horses can get stressed, life has changed completely, they are unsettled, their routine has changed and so has their owner. If your YO can;t handle her behaviour then I suspect she is not much cop with horses. I have never yet had one I coud'nt cope with and have never yet had to resort to a chifney. I would be very tempted to find another yard, have a good long chat with the YO and see how clued up they are with dealing with horses. Also my yard tends to chill horses out, the atmosphere is very calming and all the horses here are very very chillled, so when a new horse arrives the others rarely get wound up, they just have alook, and a quick dash round then the serious business of eating starts. But then the paddock I would put a new horse in is small and only has a view of the other horses, no touching allowed.
 
Try nt to worry too much,if its a small yard maybe they are not too experienced with this, some yards like to get to know horses first or just handle plods -trying to explain in a easy way not technical one small yard i was on said they just wanted quiet horses and would ring prev livery yards to check !Try and take a week or two off either hols or on the sick <shh> and chill out and be around , get to know people and handle your horse
It might be worth thinking of moving to another yard if they are not confident , and with it being your first horse im afraid people sometimes like to make you feel unconfident about things without realising it so girl, chest out stand tall and im sure your horse will settle i hope you see a bit of difference within a few days/week , good luck keep us posted x
 
Your horse is acting normal - I can't believe the hostile reception you have been met with. If it was me, I would be keeping a look out for another yard with more friendly people. I also took a week off work - it was definately worth it.

In winter we have the option of having ours stabled at night or out 24/7. For those that are in at night, we normally just open the gate and let them run up - field is at the bottom of stable block. Could this not be a short term option?
 
It is so early for her. It's slot to take in. We have had beanie for 8 years and she can be just the same when she moves somewhere new. The YO is being totally unfair. Look for a new yard and be honest about the situation. Find somewhere that will help not hinder. If they know what they are about they will be pleased to help you out. If you do move her, don't leave it too long. You don't want her to get settled to be shifted again.
 
Like many others, I think that the YO is being very unfair. It's totally normal for a new horse to be unsettled, and if the YO is in the business of offering livery then they need to accept that this is part of the job.

Personally I would move - if the YO is being this unprofessional so early on, it will probably only get worse. Would any of the other liveries be willing to lend a hand? They may be more experienced or better at handling horses than the YO?

I did briefly end up on a yard which looked nice from the outside but which had a dictatorial YO. I hated it and my horse hated it. I got out of there as fast as I could, which was definitely for the best.
 
Oh for gawdsakes, that's a bit extreme isn't it! YO deffo over-reacting! Grrr!
Give her a couple of weeks to settle down, get used to the new place, horses & routine and I'm sure she'll be just fine.

Sometimes I do wonder about YO's ....... too many appear to have a very clueless approach ....... :p
 
I used to have the yard ASBO horse and was told by everyone he was psycho (SP?) and no-one would handle him, it was purely stress and anxiety over his recent experiences, before I bought him he'd been through a market then with a scummy dealer, then I bought him, he just couldn't cope so became bulshy and bargy, super stressy in the stable, rearing at the door, although he always had a kind eye and never threatened to kick or bite, it took me a few weeks but he soon settled down and became the yard gentleman, in fact everyone wanted to ride with me as he would go absolutely anywhere so if their horses were nappy or scared of something he would lead them through it, moral is, give her time bet she'll be the best thing youv'e ever had - good luck ;)
 
I know just to well how you feel and I agree it's so upsetting when your horse is blamed and called some kind of nutcase, when in all honesty it is just doing what comes naturally.

There is still only two people on my yard that will bring in my stressy mare and it has been the same on other yards before too. It makes me laugh really because she is a sweetheart who I, and also my OH who suffers MS by btw, bring in quietly and dragging behind us on a 12 ft line:rolleyes:. The difference between ourselves and others that are not willing to try, is that we bring her in first and don't trail all the other horses past her gateway winding her up and then try to get her in after she's become hysterical! She's a fab girl and just worries, so I give her nothing to worry about.
Some people unfortunatly seem to think all horses should all be the same.........ploddy:p

I love her and she means the world to me and I would never change her, not for the best and most boring yard in the world.

It's a case of sensible horse management. Get that right and you'll be fine.
Good luck with her. Enjoy!
 
I would move yards tbh. What does she actually do when being turned out/brought in? I'm assuming she's a bit of a handful, stressy and bargy but not dangerous?
I would take her somewhere where the staff are used to settleing horses and are competent and willing to handle them when they are less than perfect.

My late mare was a right old pain in the neck when moving yards, she was a sensitive soul and would take a good 4 weeks to settle. She would also hate being in/out on her own and would work herself in to a right state. Lots of horses are like that. Mine was fine though at being handled as long as people were sensible and people who would turn her out or bring her in just got on with it. She was a fab horse just sensitive.

You sound like you have common sense, you just need to find a yard now run by a proper horsie person who also has common sense! I mean why can't they turn her out 2nd and bring her in 2nd so she's never anywhere on her own?

Hope you get it all sorted :)
 
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