Help - Mare turned into a raging demon - also in Vet

[Sophiesmum]

I'll try to keep it short. We have owned Mare A for 20 years (she is 22), she is usually only turned out with 1 other horse (also ours), and she is always most positively dominant, but not horrid. She has been on her own, in a strip paddock, since we lost our last horse (4 months ago). She has a lone gelding one side and a mare and gelding the other side. We just bought a new horse (mare), and after stabling next to each other and hacking out together tried to put them together. New mare went to geldings side of field and is in season, and the old mare went ballistic! She was absolutrely furious and chased Mare B away. Then she chatted to the gelding and then galloped from the top of the field to the bottom to have a go at Mare B. In the end I separated them and have put the mares next to each other, and swapped them around so they were out at night with no other horses near them. This morning the old mare is still being evil, and trying to get the new girl over the fence. She squealed her way in as she bounced along behind me. Mare A has always had what I consider more stallion tendancies - she always poos in one place, and yesterday when Mare B had a poo, Mare A went over and pooed on top of it.

Has anyone tried any of the stroppy mare type feedstuffs with any positive results?

Any other advice?

I am off out now but will check back tonight.

Thanks

 

[shellonabeach]

My friend and I share a yard. When we moved to the yard we had 3 horses between us, her cob mare and elderly shetland cross mare and my gelding. All 3 lived together and got along fine, me gelding was the "boss" but very passive in leadership.

When I bought my 2nd horse, a 16.2 mare, my friends cob mare really did turn into a demon. She would try to double barrel my mare through the electric fencing, try and keep my gelding from talking to my mare over the fence and kept the shetland in the corner at the bottom of the field as far from the new mare as possible. My new mare was also a bit fiesty herself and would also try and kick my friends cob through the fencing - I didn't think they would ever be able to go in a field together. My friends cob also started making a pile of droppings against the dividing fence (not her normal toilet area).

Obviously I had a bigger group than you have but the upshot was that it took 2 months with the new mare being separated from my friends cob before ours settled enough to let them in together. Once settled she and my friends cob became close friends!

Sounds like your old mare is trying assert her authority and that it will take time to get her to accept mare B. As mare A seems to be jealous over the gelding maybe it would be worth when putting them together in a field so that neither of them can speak to him over the fence until they are settled. Best to take your time introducing them to one another rather than risk an injury.