Horse being bullied in field at bringing in time.

Finn

Finn

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Im needing a little advice please as Im all out of idea's now. My horse is in a field with another and they get on great until its time to bring in. My horse see's me coming to get her and will whinney at me then wait at the gate but her field mate, whose owner likes his horse to stay out later, for some strange reason doesnt seem to like this and gets to the gate before my horse then its ears are flat back, she rears at my horse then double barrels her and chases her away. My horse canters off coz shes scared of her then is a nightmare to lead in from the field as shes all worked up and spooky. which isnt good for her or me. I have had a word with the other owner and he just think its funny and said that my horse needs to man up! Last weekend we split the field in 2 and its been great, no problems what so ever bringing my horse in, good as gold. Shes like a completly different horse! The other horse has now figured out though that if she barges through the electric fencing or goes under it, that she can get out so when I get my horse in and shes left out all hell breaks loose coz the other horse escapes out the field and runs riot. They used to be bought in together but because of the probs we had we decided they needed to come in seperatly. I have also spoken to the YO and asked him if I can put my horse in a field on her own to stop this problem and he said no, there are no spare paddocks. Can anyone please advise on any other solutions we could try to resolve this? They turn out together fine in a morning and drink at the same time from the water trough and everything, its only when bringing in together that theres an issue.
 
Stick a headcollar on the troublemaker and tie her safely to the fence. (Use whatever methods are approved by this forum for securing aforementioned horse safely or this thread will go off track rapidly).

Take you horse through the and tie her on other side of gate (see note above).

Close gate and remove headcollar from troublemaker.

eta: escaping horse is Owner and Yo's problem not yours (unless you let it throught the gate).
 
We have tried that and within 5 mins of un tying her or my horse leaving the field she escapes. It got so bad that at one point that I couldnt go down on my own to get my own horse in! Its better now that my horse isnt being bullied at bringing in time but the other horse always manages to escape within 5 mins.
 
She will be stressing about being left out, if she is higher in the pecking order than your boy she will think it is totally wrong your lad being brought in before her. As long as her escaping doesn't affect you personally I would leave the YO and owner to deal with that issue once you have your horse out the gate.
 
hch4971 said:
She will be stressing about being left out, if she is higher in the pecking order than your boy she will think it is totally wrong your lad being brought in before her. As long as her escaping doesn't affect you personally I would leave the YO and owner to deal with that issue once you have your horse out the gate.
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This - exactly.

The other thing is - don't starty tying horses to gates or fences. Disaster in the waiting.
 
Tallante said:
Stick a headcollar on the troublemaker and tie her safely to the fence. (Use whatever methods are approved by this forum for securing aforementioned horse safely or this thread will go off track rapidly).

Take you horse through the and tie her on other side of gate (see note above).

Close gate and remove headcollar from troublemaker.

eta: escaping horse is Owner and Yo's problem not yours (unless you let it throught the gate).
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Thanks for making me laugh with the 'approved methods' jibe.
Re: escaping horse; she's hungry and lonely poor old duck - I had one like that who would crash through post and rail:) Could you not leave her a couple of handfuls of hay or nuts to take her mind off you.
 
I have this problem EVERY winter :(. If I want to get my mare in to ride in the evening I often end up bringing everyone else's horse in too, because I can't get her past them! This is the only solution I've been able to come up with and I do occasionally end up bringing in 5 or 6 horses. I can get her out of the field earlier in the day, but if it's gone 3.30pm they all want in and she tends to just wait at the back because she doesn't like getting involved in the pushing and shoving that goes on in the mud by the gate. I'd be far too scared to try and bring her in past them because she hates being hemmed in and would kick out if something got too close to her (which they definitely would) and I don't want either of us to get hurt. It's a pain in the backside, but the quickest thing really is bringing the whole lot in! They tend to come in between 4 and 5pm in the Winter anyway, so I don't seem to be causing problems for anyone else.
 
Hiya, thanks for all your comments, Yes we have also tried leaving her some hay and have also had people coming down with me to keep her distracted by giving her treats and holding her lead rope and stuff until we get mine out the gate but it makes no difference at all as witihn 5 mins of my mare leaving shes out the field and running riot. The thing that really worries me is that there are kids fetching their own horses in around this time and if shes loose and running riot I really dont want anyone to get hurt by this horse. We cant bring them in together anymore either because if the other horse gets too close to mine she freaks out and is really naughty to lead in because my mare is really scared of her. This other horse also tries to bully the horses if they get too close to her in the surrounding fields aswell. Shes a very dominating mare and her owner isnt there to deal with it as he doesnt go down untill alot later than me. I have to bring my horse in around 5pm ish otherwise she sees all the other horses going in and gets stressed.
 
Tallante said:
Stick a headcollar on the troublemaker and tie her safely to the fence. (Use whatever methods are approved by this forum for securing aforementioned horse safely or this thread will go off track rapidly).
.
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LOL - shame some cannot read properly...

It is not your problem though if the other horse escapes because yours is being brought in - you can either tell the other person of the issues and say that you are worried his horse will get injured, ask him to bring in earlier or ask him to bring in both later together...
 
amymay said:
Then quite simply the YO needs to buck up and deal with it.
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This.

What a pain. :mad:

If this was happening on my yard and there was no option of moving one of the horses to another paddock the problem horse would be bought in, end of - no ifs, ands or buts.

It is an accident waiting to happen and that is what I would tell the owner.
As a YO, one really has to consider all safety aspects if we don't, and a horse, or worse, a person, especially a child, as mentioned, gets flattened, injured, or whatever, then we would get it in the neck one way or the other.

If the Owner didn't like it then sorry, but tough, they'd like it even less if the horse broke itself.

Can the problem horse be turned out earlier to give it the same amount of time out?

Is it just the two horses out together? Would adding another be possible so that you aren't leaving the one alone?
 
For the owner to laugh and tell you your horse needs to "man up' shows his complete ignorance regarding horse behaviour. He sounds an utter berk. When I had a similiar problem, my friend was the schooling whip. If the other horse starts to get bargy, a good flick with the whip, puts them in their place and gets them to back off - not ideal, but if your dealing with a uncooperative, idiot of an owner and the YO refuses you individual turnout, you have to look after your ownself and your horse.:)
 
Finn said:
Hiya, thanks for all your comments, Yes we have also tried leaving her some hay and have also had people coming down with me to keep her distracted by giving her treats and holding her lead rope and stuff until we get mine out the gate but it makes no difference at all as witihn 5 mins of my mare leaving shes out the field and running riot. The thing that really worries me is that there are kids fetching their own horses in around this time and if shes loose and running riot I really dont want anyone to get hurt by this horse. We cant bring them in together anymore either because if the other horse gets too close to mine she freaks out and is really naughty to lead in because my mare is really scared of her. This other horse also tries to bully the horses if they get too close to her in the surrounding fields aswell. Shes a very dominating mare and her owner isnt there to deal with it as he doesnt go down untill alot later than me. I have to bring my horse in around 5pm ish otherwise she sees all the other horses going in and gets stressed.
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I agree that the horse escaping is not your responsibility as the owner and the YO are both fully aware of the problem, however,

If you are that worried about the other horse, then are you able to bring him in first and then bring yours in (or if yours will stress too much then can you bring her in first as she is your priority and then go back for the other before he escapes?
 
this is why i insist that no horse is left on its own. Last but one horse out , brings last horse in as well. The other horse is panicing about being on its own and is likely to do something really stupid to get in. The behaviour she is showing to your horse is not really bullying, it is simply her way of asserting her leadership over your mare. This is totally the YO's issue, and I am a yard owner. If it was my yard I would simply give the other owner no option, his horse is not being left on its own. Then I would suggest that the two of you take it in turns to bring each others horses in along with your own, and if he says he can't get there, then I would bring in his with you each day and charge him for it. His horse is being put in danger, and by her panicing behaviour she is potentially putting others at risk. I would spend time with the other horse ensuring it can be brought in alongside yours (mine all lead in pairs coming in and going out) if necessary using a controller or chifney until she understands that she is not being left, stops panicing and walks in calmly. Go tackle your YO again and don't take no for an answer.
 
Bosworth said:
this is why i insist that no horse is left on its own. Last but one horse out , brings last horse in as well. The other horse is panicing about being on its own and is likely to do something really stupid to get in. The behaviour she is showing to your horse is not really bullying, it is simply her way of asserting her leadership over your mare. This is totally the YO's issue, and I am a yard owner. If it was my yard I would simply give the other owner no option, his horse is not being left on its own. Then I would suggest that the two of you take it in turns to bring each others horses in along with your own, and if he says he can't get there, then I would bring in his with you each day and charge him for it. His horse is being put in danger, and by her panicing behaviour she is potentially putting others at risk. I would spend time with the other horse ensuring it can be brought in alongside yours (mine all lead in pairs coming in and going out) if necessary using a controller or chifney until she understands that she is not being left, stops panicing and walks in calmly. Go tackle your YO again and don't take no for an answer.
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^^ this is spot on what I was going to say!! (apart from me being a yo cause I'm not :))
 
why is there a horse being left out by itself? we have a strict 'no horses left in field alone' policy. If you ae bringing in your own you must bring in the other if its the last one out. Your yard owner doesnt sound like he/she is taking control of the situation. As for tying horses to fences/gates please do not do this. I dont een think i need to explain why this is just an accident waiting to happen and could result in damage to the property as well as injury to yourself and the horses. Also, if I found out someone was tying my horse to a fence at bringing in time ,lets just say you would probably want to stay out of my way! See if you can get the other owner on your side and have a chat to YO, tbh the other owner doesnt sound v responsible themselves so you might be on your own. Make sure the YO understands that this is a serious problem and tell them you are frightened by the other horses behaviour

good luck :D
 
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