Help please im having a nightmare with my mare

[Perfectpaddy2020]

hi all
I have recently bought a new horse a 16.1 gelding. I have turned him out with my 23 years young mare a little Welsh. She spent over 10 years with my geling Shetland but sadly he had to be out to sleep. I am having a nightmare catching her in the field. I had to pen her in using electric fence to put fly sheet on her but tried the same tactic the other day to tidy her sheet up but she went mad and barged through the electric fence.. her behaviour is rubbing off on my new horse now and I'm getting really anxious on what to try next.. i want to be able to take my boy out safely but her behaviour is out of control and my field is by a main road so scared of him playing up when im leaving the field. I also need to be able to catch her to groom etc.

 

[angrybird1]

Have you got a stable you can use to bring her in? If so can you bring her in for a feed? A calmer supplement may help. Losing her field mate has changed everything she knows and a new horse will also have changed things. Horses do grieve for their herd mates. Are there any other horses near by?

 

[Meowy Catkin]

I will look back through my posts and pop a link on here for you to read as I had my old girl get a little bit crazy when some new horses moved in next door. I was very worried but I am glad to report that she is back to normal and just need time to settle down again.

Unless your mare has sweet itch, she can manage without the fly rug. It is hard but make things as safe as possible for them and just let them settle. If I had tried to take my old girl away from the new horses while she was so wound up I think she might have run back to them and that is completely out of character for her. So I think that just leaving he be for those few days was safest.

ETA. https://forums.horseandhound.co.uk/...w-neighbours-any-advice.789216/#post-14277334

The grey did get dragged into the excitement at one point but that all didn't last long either thankfully.

 

[be positive]

My first thought is that she may feel intimidated by being in with a big horse after years with a shetland, if she is a bit fearful she will not be relaxed and behave normally.

I have just moved and my sec a mare has been turned out with my 16.2 for the first time, they have known each other from a bit of a distance but I was a little concerned she would feel threatened by him, she is certainly respectful moving quickly out of his way and not as easy to get near as normal but in general is fine, I am watching but not interfering as she is younger than yours and fast enough to get out of his way and he is not being nasty in any way.

I would watch how they are when you are not doing anything, if she is moving away, looking nervy, stopping eating to see where he is or numerous other subtle signs to show anxiety that may have a bearing on her behaviour, you may have to give her a separate area for a while, try not to put the blame on her, it could well be him causing her to overreact without you being aware, little mares can be feisty but also very sensitive.

 

[MiJodsR2BlinkinTite]

Your poor old gel has just lost her pair-bond and is obviously not dealing with it.

Perhaps the new boy is being a bit "fresh" towards her?? It might pay you to observe their behaviour in the field; is he being a big "riggy" and making her feel defensive?

Also, I just wonder whether possibly she, in her own mind, is "defending" YOU as her Herd Leader against the "invader" (new boy). I had a Welsh D mare and she was a real dragon, bless her. Mares can be very possessive over their Humans and also very sensitive. Yours has had two unsettlements: she's lost her pair-bond AND she's had another new horse to cope with, all at once!

I think to do nothing in this situation is not an option; you may have to separate her and your new boy, at least for a bit, until things calm down. As someone else has suggested, a calmer supplement might be helpful.

 

[Ruth89]

I would try separating the field with electric fence and going in each day with a little bit of feed or carrot in bucket to give them each. When doing this give strokes and scratches. I have an old mare and sometimes she will absolutely not let me catch her to groom (normally when she has lots of nice new grass!!) Maybe she is just feeling a bit intimidated or competitive with the new horse xx

 

[Pearlsasinger]

Did you introduce the two horses who are new to each other over a fence? If not, I would go back a few steps and do that, wait until they are settled alongside each other before opening the field up again. I would also build an electric fence 'pen' inside the field gate so that you can get safely in and out of the field with or without a horse. As bp said, unless the amre actually has sweetitch, leave her without the fly rug. I would keep to a strict routine and otherwise leave them to settle down together, although I would keep an eye on what is happening without being involved in any way.