Field/yard politics dilemma - HELP!!

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Connielove123

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I'm a teenage girl currently producing a 4yo connie alongside my horse campaigning at novice. My 4yo is currently kept in a field with another pony, however when I bring mine in I find he is covered in bites - one of which on examination I noticed had dried blood around it, and his rug also has holes ripped in it. I don't know if I'm just being particular but I want my horse out of this field arrangement! Is it unreasonable to ask this, or are the bites just a fact of horse ownership - if it were you in my shoes how would you act?
 
Of course you are not unreasonable.
If your yard can't accommodate a change of field companion I would move yards.
My horse still has 2 scars from being bitten by a nasty field companion years ago and I wish I had put my foot down much earlier than I did !
 
I'd ask YO/YM to look into moving my horse into another field.
A few bites and marks are par for course with horses, but should not be happening everyday with an established herd.
 
I think I'd ask if a move were possible. Yes, they're part of horses and ownership - but that doesn't necessarily mean ignoring them, and different horses have different relationships, so a change may be good for both involved.
 
It's been on my mind for a while - they insist on putting out haylage which is sending my 4yo crazy and now this is the final straw!
 
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Then I would be more forgiving over the situation. For a long time I had a mare only herd and I had forgotten how roughly some geldings like to play. Then I got my gelding and he is without a doubt the bottom of the pecking order, that doesn't stop him from trying to get the girls to play 'boy games' with him though and to the casual observer he would be labelled 'dominant' when the truth is the girls quite like the attention and are very patient with him. If they do get fed up, one grumpy face is all it takes to get him to back off.

I have accepted that bite marks are part of having them together and they are in truth a very settled herd and have been together a long time now (two of them have been in the herd since they were yearlings). I believe that turnout in company is good for their mental health.

However, your horse is not mine and I have not observed your specific situation.
 
I had this with our ponies. A dominant mare was attacking them so I asked the to be moved as OH witnessed it happen and the older pony was then struggling to walk after he was bitten square on the spine. After a few weeks in another field the mare had mellowed and tey all got on well together.
 
EmmasMummy said:
I had this with our ponies. A dominant mare was attacking them so I asked the to be moved as OH witnessed it happen and the older pony was then struggling to walk after he was bitten square on the spine. After a few weeks in another field the mare had mellowed and tey all got on well together.
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He's on livery sometimes so the stable girls see the bites - he had a fresh one on his face today, looked so sore! The only thing is I don't want to offend the owned of the pony he is in with but I do feel he could be in with!
 
Whether or not the owner of the pony is offended comes down to how you approach it. If you make it clear that you understand they're just play fighting but a little too rough for your liking, there's no reason for them to take offence. The responsibility is shared between both horses, you're not accusing the pony of being vicious or the only one at fault, or insinuating the owners raised a bad pony. It's just herd dynamics, no need for anyone to get upset. (How long has it been going on? Is it possible they're still working out hierarchy issues, or has it been long enough that it's time to act on this? I'm getting the impression it's been a while.)

If it were my horse? I'd be moving him to another field, or another yard if that couldn't be accommodated. Sounds like it would be the best thing all round. We shifted fieldmates at my aunt's yard when it was necessary to match up personalities a bit better, or a new horse came in that made us rethink the arrangements so that everyone got on better. It's just a thing that happens sometimes when very different horses live together. Don't sweat it, just do what's best for your horse.
 
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I have a friend who is currently box resting her pony for a long time who was bitten (27 times) through a rug and also has a fractured pedal bone-sustained during the "attack." I would want my one moved.
 
Ive just picked up my pony from loan, one of the reasons ( apart from him being too thin) was several horrid bite marks on his back and neck, which to me would have rendered him unridable but over which she was putting a saddle. All you need with a young horse is periods you can not work him appropriately because of injury. He needs to be sectioned away from, or moved away from the other horse.
 
Whilst it is probably all in play if you are out showing regularly the last thing you need to be dealing with is trying to conceal marks/scars from field injury's. On that basis I would be asking to swap fields or sole turn out.
 
Connielove123 said:
He's on livery sometimes so the stable girls see the bites - he had a fresh one on his face today, looked so sore! The only thing is I don't want to offend the owned of the pony he is in with but I do feel he could be in with!
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If I was the other owner I would not be offended, no reflection on the owner, it is just a personality thing.
 
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