Hello and a bit of advice please

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munron

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Hi All

Lurked around for a while and finally joined. I have tried searching around for an answer to my little problem but couldnt find anything similar (although I am sure there is).

I am trying to word this right so please bear with me :) I got my first horse two years ago, my now 24 year old cob, and he is perfect for me in every way. He is forward going, cheeky and has been king of the herd wherever he has been. I took on a now 29 year old ex show pony to keep him company. She is a feisty old baggage and whilst I am fair game for her she loves my old cob and he is the top man in her eyes. Anyway I then got a now 5 year old shirextb, I knew at the time he wasnt the right horse for me but I wanted to give him a good start in life and sent him the to a professional yard the first year for basics as he had never had so much as a hoof picked up, he went back last year for breaking and in everyway he proved a star, the sweetest nature and a real willingness to learn and work. Since coming home he has had nothing done with him, weather, lack of time, experience etc played a part and I put him up for sale. Anyway he is still with me as, understandably, there is not much interest at this time of year. Now onto the little problem.

He always came bottom of the pecking order with my cob leader but recently he has started throwing his weight around, literally. At feeding time he would barge the others into the fence and basically acting like a lout, I separated him from the others at feeding time to ensure their safety - he does seem to respect my space and I always stand by his food for a little while after he starts eating before walking away. I am just a bit worried about the affect it seems to be having on the rest of the herd, my old top cob seems a bit more subdued these days. He did have a chill a couple of months back that laid him low for a couple of weeks and I wonder if that would have changed the herd dynamic.

Anyway thanks for reading and I am just pleased I actually made the move to ask :)
 
As the others are so old your young shire x could do them some real damage. It is a cheeky age to be when many young horses start to act up and test their strength. I would fence him off with some electric fencing so that he is next to the others but can't do them damage. Are there any others he could go in with or is it just the three of them?
 
alpha horses (herd leaders) do give up their position to a younger stronger alpha as they get older. only advise i could suggest is you keep the oldies together as they are friends and put the younger one in a paddock next to them either all the time or at feed times if the 3 of them get on ok just grazing together. feed times may always be an issue with 3. just make sure that the old boy doesnt get bullied and hurt as the young one makes a play for his lady!
 
Hi thanks for your speedy reply.

He was in one of the back fields with a welsh a for company, the two oldies are stabled at night and he lives out with the welshie. The welshie is 3 and is short enough and young enough to get out of the way. We had to bring them back down in the snow as to push the barrow up onto the hill was getting impossible. It isnt ideal hence why he is for sale.

My old cob is as fit as a fiddle and built with a real leg in each corner so that is the one thing that I find strange. They generally all get along fine it was just things I have noticed, none of them are scared of him and graze along happily most of the time it is just the change in my cob that concerns me most I suppose if I am being completely honest
 
Thanks again, I dont think he would want his lady though as she hates him and thinks nothing of double barrelling him, he seems to be scared of her but must know she isnt so good on the legs anymore, but she does pull great faces at him
 
Saw a parelli programme on horse and country tv and they did some work with a horse that was unsociable particularly at meal times, by the end of it the horse was sharing feed with another horse both heads in one bucket. Just an idea but maybe you could look into this, i have found some of their techniques to be very effective with my alpha mare!
 
Like you I have lurked in the background and here I am too!! Lol
I have horses in private land with stables that I rent, and I rent two stables to a girl with her horses. One of these is a youngster (2yrs) and we found that he was a bit overbearing with the boys. They didnt seem to bothered to put him in his place however sometimes he got to rough and wen rugs were being ripped we decided something had to be done. We were lucky that we had all geldings (as my horse can be a bit protective of mares) but still it had to be sorted. He went to stay at a livery yard for a while where he ran with quite a large herd of geldings and they soon taught him the rules. Although wen he came back he had to find his place in the herd again he is deffo more calm and more importantly conscious of their personal space. He is finding his feet and as the older horses get older then he will by law of average make there life hell. Also he is young and is in his sort of teenage years, (he would probably be binge drinking if he was human!!) If moving him to a place where he will be a small fish in a big sea (so to speak) on a temporary measure is not an option then I would probably fence him off some land so he can see them but not get near to cause them any upset. Some of it will be rough play which another youngster would willingly take part in but even during this he will be pushing the boundaries. Good luck
 
Thanks Sam, yes I wish I could put him with a big pack of similar sizes to teach him some manners. He isnt a bad lad though in others ways, I do always separate them now at feeding times at least. Will keep an eye on the situ, the old cob goes out and plays with the youngsters and I am kinda loath to take that away from him as it keeps him going
 
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