GRRR! What would YOU do???

TheEquineOak

TheEquineOak

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I'm well and truely pee'd off :mad:

I am on a very small livery yard. The owner has 7 horses, I have one and then there is another livery. I love this yard, it is owned by someone that has a wealth of experience, they have a full time groom, acres of turnout and so on and so forth.

This second livery came to us in September after another yard restricted her horses turnout.

This horse is shredding my horses' rugs. I have had 3 damaged, one of them beyond the point of repair. These are quality, expensive turnout rugs and I simply cannot afford to keep fixing/buying them!! Nor do I feel I should have to when it is not my horse damaging them. All (but the alpha) horses are also coming in with bite marks, one recently was so severe the vet had to be called.

What would you do? I don't want to restrict my horses' turnout, nor do I want to restrict the other horses' turnout. They do have another paddock right next to the large one but this makes the other horse very stressy. Alternative days? No turnout? Are there any 'tips' I can give his owner to improve his behaviour? (horse is a 5yo WB)

I don't want my horse in with this one - I feel my horses' health and safety are at risk - as is my wallet!!!

Suggestions?

Thanks ;)
 
tbh if my horses safety was an issue then id move yards or move fields

not your problem the other horse is stressy.... priority is your horse... :)
 
Spray the areas on your rugs where this other horse is biting with Cribbox or human nail biting prevention stuff. Or any foul tasting susbstance provided it's not arsenic or cyanide lol. Hopefully a mouth full of bitter yuk that lasts for hours will make him think again. If that doesn't work, as others have said, go to the YO, explain the problem, point out the insurance/safety/veterinary issues and ask that this other horse is moved to a fenced off bit of field where he can see the other horses but not injure them. Sounds like the reason the other yard restricted the other horse's turnout was the same.
 
If it becomes a veterinary issue then you have to question the safety of the other horses. Soft muzzle it. The owner HAS to take an element of responsibility or start facing some very large bills. Not her fault her horse is a bit of a thug in the field - horses will be horses, but she does need to take responsibility and take steps to make recompense or prevent it happening. JMHO
 
I agree with ChristmasFriesian. A grazing muzzle would probably be the best option, though Box_of_Frogs idea would be great if it was only the rugs being damaged.

Maybe speak to the owner and see if they'd be willing to do this?
 
If its the new horse causing these issues the owner has to take responsibility and accept that maybe he cannot go out in the same paddock as the others at the same time. Sounds like he should be tried in the next door paddock for the moment - he may calm down once he has tried it for a bit. No reason why yours should get bitten or your rugs trashed (I would be livid - one is an accident but three ?!). I think you and YO will have to explain that the situation cannot continue so something new has to be tried. I can see the difficulty is that this person obviously wants the horse out as much as possible - this is largely emotive on her part as the horse will be fine either way but that does not mean she will see it that way.

My horse is a thug with others and will chase them about and nip so he goes out alone. It may mean less turnout but I dont want him kicked nor do i want to take responsibility for him taking a chunk out or terrorising others.
 
I should imagine that is why her previous yard restricted the horse's turnout and she had to move to your yard. I would have a quiet word with your YO and bring this to her attention. It is unlikely to have just started on arrival at your your yard and the owner knows full well what her horse is like.

I have an idiot of a horse that grabs tail flaps and generally annoys his field mates. He appears to have a dead spot in his brain where his social skills should be. I tried sprays but found the best thing was protocon as it is very visible and he would go to bite but be put off plus it is not too annoying if you get it on yourself.
 
Speak to the YO and tell her of your concerns.

I'm sure she doesn't want her horses comming in with injuries either, and I guess it's only a matter of time before the new livery is asked to move.
 
Turn the offending horse out in a flash noseband. Make sure it allows him to graze but not bite. After a while it will break the habit. This worked wonders on my mare. Now she desn't need the noseband. It took 2 - 3 weeks to break the habit.
 
Why can't the horses be split in half and the field be split... put him with one of the big bosses..... I can't see why that would stress them out apart from obviously being a change to the routine but they will get over it in a few days
 
ChristmasFriesian said:
I think at this point we can assume that is the case :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Why? :rolleyes: Ok so it started happening when this new horse arrived, but has it actually been seen to bite, wreck rugs? Or has it just changed the dynamic of the herd

I had this when i moved onto a yard at uni, my horse got the blame, after sitting with a video camera and filiming a 12hh who had been on the yard donkies years and never done this before, pull, rip, bite rugs, it is not ALWAYS as simple as must be the newbie.......
 
Caz89 said:
Why can't the horses be split in half and the field be split... put him with one of the big bosses..... I can't see why that would stress them out apart from obviously being a change to the routine but they will get over it in a few days
Click to expand...

That's what I'd do, we had a rig join the herd at our yard and he had to be separated for his own and other horses safety. We put him in with the dominant gelding (who's a shetland!! Lol!) and after a few weeks he was allowed back in with the main herd and he'd learnt manners and the correct behaviour.
 
spray your rugs in 'Yum Yum' but dont get it on your hands then put your hands in your mouth. Its tastes fowl for hours after lol.
 
Thank you everyone for your replies - some very good suggestions, I'll speak to the other owner when I return home on Friday. The YO is aware of the situation, it was her horse than had to have vetinary attention!!


lexiedhb said:
I'm guessing you have concrete proof that it is ONLY the new horse causing all the damage?
Click to expand...

YES! I wouldn't post about it otherwise. I have seen him trash one, my other half saw him trash another and the Groom was present when the third was done. Other rugs have been trashed (as have other horses') but I can only comment on what I have seen. I had to laugh at one of the times. This horse ripped the rug all the way down one side and then stood there trying to eat the fluff out of it!! Tinker

Caz89 said:
Why can't the horses be split in half and the field be split... put him with one of the big bosses..... I can't see why that would stress them out apart from obviously being a change to the routine but they will get over it in a few days
Click to expand...

There are only 10 horses. 3 mares are out together, then 2 injured horses are out together, and then these 5 geldings.

The geldings are in a 20 acre field, they range from 17hh to 18hh - so he is already in with the big ones!! I worry for the other horse as well. I've seen him take one hell of a beating in the field
 
Ive had an identical problem to this at my yard, but as no other owners were bothered that their horses/ rugs were being wrecked I was seen as being overly fussy.

Result is, MY horse is now having to be turned out on his own, with no other horses near by. Cribox etc didn't work, and the other horse threw him around so much he burst the METAL buckle on his rug!!!
 
if it was me and the owner had seen it herself then i would give her the repair bill and tell her - you horse did that heres how much it cost.
failing that if the YO doesnt do anything move off - not worth having your horse upset and potentially seriously hurt when the rugs come off! xx
 
put a grazing muzzle on the other persons horse although they may not be happy but it is the best idea i can think of
 
you need to speak to YO and owner of the horse at the same time so there is no chinese whispers.
Hope the owner will be good enough to get your rugs repaired/replaced, and is happy for her horse to have a small area sectioned off and go out on his own or in with the apha male
 
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