hitting my horse

[margiegran]

my sister and myself have a horse each on a really lovely yard, when my sister called in the other day one of the other owners pulled my sister aside and told her another horse owner was helping to bring the geldings in from the field and
started really smacking my sisters horse. well my sister went mad, as that is a no no as we never hit our horses. do you think my sister did the right thing in having words with this person

 

[sandi_84]

Yes! It's her horse at the end of the day and no one should be hitting a horse that isn't theirs!
I don't mind giving my boy a slap on the shoulder for rudeness but I would go mad if anyone started hitting him!

 

[RainbowDash]

Without being witness it's difficult to judge.

I would be upset if another owner is hitting my pony for no reason - if he's being a sod and they let me know then I'd be okay with that - he is a sod in the field but otherwise very good. But unless I'd witnessed it or he acted differently with me, defensive over part of his body, then I'd say something.

 

[Shay]

Speak to the yard owner. There could be all sorts of politics behind this. It is always better to have the yard ownder deal with any issues between the liveries than to take the matter on yourself.

 

[NaeNae87]

I am fine with other people disciplining my horses. One rarely needs it as he only occasionally forgets his manners.
The other likes to test and challenge his handler, if he is not put back in his place he can be dangerous. Only certain people are allowed to handle him and I always supervise them with him for the first few weeks and advise how I correct his behaviour. Once I am satisfied they are competant enough to handle him safely then I give them the ok to do whatever they need to within my boundaries (eg; no whips-ever, when hitting him only ever do it on the chest, shoulder or rump-nowhere else), if these are not adheared to then I go off like a frog in a sock.

IMO it depends on the horse, if they are acting up and being rude sure a smack is effective but only as a corrective measure. Hitting should never be a punishment or done in anger.

 

[squidsin]

Yes. Unless the person in question had no choice but to hit your sister's horse (Ie her own safety would have been compromised otherwise) then she has no right to do so. Your horse, your rules!

 

[MerrySherryRider]

Depends how your sister spoke to the person.

If she went in with all guns blazing, then no, she was wrong. If she discussed the problem to see what happened and why, then fine.

To prevent it happening again, everyone on the yard should know how to safely take a horse out and not risk injury- and not to resort to hitting.

It isn't necessary and there are better methods. Get the YO to have a word if this person doesn't take notice from you or your sister.

 

[LaurenBay]

Without seeing what happened yourself it is hard to say. I would speak to the YO and also the woman in question, I wouldn't go in all guns blazing, I would just say something like "I heard you have been bringing the boys in and heard that .... was smacked, is that true? what did he do wrong?"

I will and have smacked other peoples Horses before if they put me OR my Horse in harms way. Wouldn't go out of my way to discapline someones Horse, but when I'm in danger then yes I would. Mine does get smacked by me.

 

[squidsin]

The YO is also out of line letting someone else do his/her job bringing in the horses if they're incompetent/angry and likely to resort to violence.

 

[LaurenBay]

Whilst I agree if the YO is being paid to bring in, she should be the one to bring in.

We still don't know the story here, it could have been because this woman felt she was in danger. You cannot assume it was out of violence or anger.

 

[squidsin]

Whilst I agree if the YO is being paid to bring in, she should be the one to bring in.

We still don't know the story here, it could have been because this woman felt she was in danger. You cannot assume it was out of violence or anger.

True - it's just that if this person was really laying into the horse, as the first post suggests, that doesn't indicate someone acting out of fear for their own safety.

Personally, I'd be mad if someone hit my horse as she's a) a good horse! and b) has fear issues from being beaten in the past. So I would probably have to hold back from over-reacting if I was in the OP's sister's shoes!

 

[hnmisty]

If it was my horse, and it had been one wallop because it was dicking about, then I would probably have done the same.

If it was repeatedly hitting it, or the horse wasn't doing anything wrong, then I'd be annoyed.

Since being at a livery yard (used to keep mine at home), I've noticed some people like to make a massive deal out of everything their horse does. Shouting at it because it shifts a leg etc. There was a teenager who had her horse waiting for the farrier the other week, it was getting impatient, so instead of getting it a hay net so it wasn't bored stupid, she started yelling at it and yanking on the head collar. Horse of course didn't like that, and got wound up...hence more shouting and yanking. I quite wanted to stick a bucket on my head.

 

[Lego]

I think that this is a difficult one without knowing exactly what happened...

My theory is that I'd rather give a quick slap to a bolshy horse than get barged or knocked over. I'd never hit in the face, and have only had to slap mine a couple of times - mostly when I first had him and he was testing boundaries. For example, tried to barge me out of the way in the stable, and when he tried to bite my arm when trotting in hand. Not acceptable - he wasn't frightened, just being a sod, and he's big enough that he can't ever think it's acceptable to shove. As a result, I have an attentive, respectful horse that anyone including complete numptys can handle without any problems...

However, I did once get a massive telling off from a fellow livery who I shared a field with because she saw me hit her horse... Made me feel like I'd been maliciously abusing him... However, I was trying to go into the field to catch my boy, and her cob kept charging me and wouldn't even let me back out the gate - hadn't even made it to my horse... Eventually made it back to the gate and was trying to open it when he lunged and bit my back - I flailed an arm and hit him...

Not saying the other livery was right to hit your sister's horse, but sometimes they need a reminder to behave...but if the horse did nothing wrong, I'd be seriously annoyed and tell them I didn't want them handling my horse again...so easy to send the wrong message. Or maybe if it's all friendly, suggest you demonstrate how you ask the horse to back off without contacting etc?

 

[margiegran]

Thank you for all your replies, really grateful. the horse in question can be a
cheeky lad but on this occasion he was tucking into his net, the girl was trying to rug him up and lost her temper with him, I have seen her hit her own horse when the poor thing has not done a thing wrong

 

[Fuzznugget]

So what's he being hit while being brought in, as you suggest in your original post, or while in stable? Bit confused. Either way, unless the other persons safety was in question, she should not have been hitting the horse.

 

[mandwhy]

If it was my horse, and it had been one wallop because it was dicking about, then I would probably have done the same.

If it was repeatedly hitting it, or the horse wasn't doing anything wrong, then I'd be annoyed.

Since being at a livery yard (used to keep mine at home), I've noticed some people like to make a massive deal out of everything their horse does. Shouting at it because it shifts a leg etc. There was a teenager who had her horse waiting for the farrier the other week, it was getting impatient, so instead of getting it a hay net so it wasn't bored stupid, she started yelling at it and yanking on the head collar. Horse of course didn't like that, and got wound up...hence more shouting and yanking. I quite wanted to stick a bucket on my head.

So true! Hearing exasperated shouts of 'stand UP!' 'get BACK!' OI!' 'GIVE OVER!' 'Pack that in!'.... Seems like such a stressful experience just getting a stable and groom/tacking up done, what must it be like riding these wild, ill mannered beasts?

I'll give my horse a smack if she is being rude, e.g. turning to bite me, and I wouldn't mind if someone else did the same for a similar reason and if the smack was appropriately timed so has an effect. Repeated smacking serves no purpose and is for the ill tempered and angry.

I would ask why it had occurred, if I didn't like the answer I would just tell the YO I didn't want that person near the horse anymore.

 

[FRESHMAN]

I really wish people would realise that if you are a livery at a yard & paying a fee. (especially to have your horse turned out or brought in) no one & i mean absolutely any person other than YO or a member of the staff should ever even enter a stable unless they own that horse. It is called Duty Care & Control. No insurance Company will entertain a claim should any person, horse, suffer injury. Or god forbid got loose & ended up in an accident with a car. This is negligence by any YO that is foolish enough to let it happen.