Horse damaging our stuff!

Traks

Traks

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We have a horse on our livery yard that is a bit of a menace and plays constantly with the horses he is turned out with, which would be ok except he gets quite rough and bites the horses rugs and has ripped numerous items!

He is now turned out by himself as he was ripping other horses rugs and they were getting annoyed with his constant demands to play, they often end up kicking out and rearing up etc. He is in the field next to mine and a few others.

Although not technically in the same field as mine, I’m finding damage to my rugs and have lost 3 headcollars over the past few months, the le mieux ones with the padded nosebands. He pulls the fleecy bits and rips them. Ours don’t get turned out with headcollars on, he is grabbing them from the gate or the ground next to the gate where they are left. Occasionally they go in the arena or turnout pen loose with headcollars on…and I’m assuming he has also been in there and tugged at them and ripped them. Yesterday I found one of my cross straps was pulled clean off my rug, and another rug had one of the buckles pulled off entirely. He also does it over the fence, I’ve seen him leaning over and pulling the other horses rugs.

I can’t prove it’s this horse but it’s 99% him, no other horses bother with rugs or headcollars. The owner just laughs and won’t accept it’s her horse doing it and the yard owner agrees that it probably is this horse…but again they haven’t seen him doing it. His owner knows it is an issue as she went through a phase of spraying anti bite stuff on his rug and offered for us to use it..and she has this funny anti bite bib thing she puts on his headcollar but she often doesn’t bother using it.

What can I do? I can’t prove it’s him, I’ve already told the YO I don’t want him with my horse and to not leave stuff where he can get access to it…but they often rush and leave the headcollars where he can get them by the gate. I suspect YO is also turning a bit of a blind eye for an easy life as she is good friends with the owner.

This woman is also pushing for her horse to come in the shared field with mine and 2 others but they are very settled as a trio and mine kicks a lot, is very mareish and I know she would lose her mind if she was in with him all the time. Turnout is limited where we are so he hasn’t really any other options for fields at the moment other than the one he is in.

I’m sick of repairing rugs and replacing headcollars! Argh!
 
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JFTDWS said:
I'd say put a temporary fence line a couple of feet inside your field to create a DMZ between the fields. However, this sounds like it might be a full livery yard where you don't have the autonomy to do that?
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Yes it is full unfortunately. The electric fence that is supposed to keep them separate is never turned on…YO has been making excuses for months about fixing the fence etc and never has
 
Get a plastic box with lid for the headcollars to live in next to gate (keeps them dry too!). Doesn’t need to be an expensive one but what he can’t reach he can’t bite.

If the rug wrecking over fence is persistent than could you run an inner electric tape fence to keep yours from getting close enough to be reached by him? This would help in establishing if it’s him or not and also help with him escaping into your field.
 
Boulty said:
Get a plastic box with lid for the headcollars to live in next to gate (keeps them dry too!). Doesn’t need to be an expensive one but what he can’t reach he can’t bite.

If the rug wrecking over fence is persistent than could you run an inner electric tape fence to keep yours from getting close enough to be reached by him? This would help in establishing if it’s him or not and also help with him escaping into your field.
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The electric is broken and YO doesn’t seem to see it a priority to fix it. The yard isn’t ideal for me for lots of reasons but we have nowhere else to go at the moment…im actively looking!

I don’t tend to go up in the mornings other than weekends so have no control where the headcollars go unfortunately x
 
Firstly don’t have fancy head collars as turnout one’s. Secondly demand the fence is fixed or look out for another yard. Constantly replacing things would be so annoying to me I couldn’t stick there.
 
Equi said:
Firstly don’t have fancy head collars as turnout one’s. Secondly demand the fence is fixed or look out for another yard. Constantly replacing things would be so annoying to me I couldn’t stick there.
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I know, we are looking but there isn’t anything within 30 mins of ours. Hard to threaten anything when YO is aware of this also! I think I maybe need to be tougher though, honestly this yard drives me mad for lots of reasons but I’m totally stuck with no other options.

Re headcollars…..my daughter who is 10 saved up to buy it, this is what makes it worse it’s her money he’s wasting! We’ve replaced it now with a cheap basic one, he also did it to 2 of my horses headcollars, hence losing 3!
 
What a difficult situation. I definitely think the horse should stay on his own, as he will either cause an injury or receive one himself as a result of his incessant playing. It is difficult when you have an ultra playful one, we had one once and he did cause a lot of strain to my older horse I had at the time. We ended up selling him, for other reasons, but it was a relief for my old horse. I think I would just get a couple of really cheap headcollars with no padding , a shame but necessary, and perhaps a rug with non adjustable single clip on the chest, such as the Amigo type, and use leg straps rather than the tummy cross straps. Is there a Shetland or something that could go in with him? Sort him out!
 
It's very annoying. I had this at one yard my geldings were at - one of their fieldmates was a terrible rug ripper and one of my geldings made friends with him and would stand and positively encourage him to play tug of war with his rug. I lost loads of straps and buckles and had rugs in shreds. There was nothing I could do but rug minimally - only a yard move stopped the issue.
 
Time for Tea said:
What a difficult situation. I definitely think the horse should stay on his own, as he will either cause an injury or receive one himself as a result of his incessant playing. It is difficult when you have an ultra playful one, we had one once and he did cause a lot of strain to my older horse I had at the time. We ended up selling him, for other reasons, but it was a relief for my old horse. I think I would just get a couple of really cheap headcollars with no padding , a shame but necessary, and perhaps a rug with non adjustable single clip on the chest, such as the Amigo type, and use leg straps rather than the tummy cross straps. Is there a Shetland or something that could go in with him? Sort him out!
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Haha good idea re the Shetland! He does occasionally go out with YO horses but the owner prefers him to be in the paddock next to ours as it has more grass.

I think I’ll just have to nag the YO more about it and getting the electric working again…and yes I’ve got cheap headcollars now.

Just annoys me because the owner knows full well he does this and just laughs it off, it’s not fair! If it was my horse I’d be mortified
 
Not for the same reason but I leave an old head collar for the yard to use so the nice ones don't end up on the floor or in the mud. I use the nice ones myself when handling or tying up to groom.

I saw these recently for £3.50 or 5 for £10 which you could use as sacrifice head collars then a really nice one hidden away for when you and your daughter are up

jodhpurs.uk

Nylon Slide Buckle Headcollars

Soft but firm nylon web with metal fittings including a slide buckle for easy fitting, firm when in normal use but slides when the horse is panicked!
jodhpurs.uk jodhpurs.uk

I buy riding tights from this company and they are reliable
 
Pearlsasinger said:
I would be very cross if the staff were leaving my headcollar even cheap ones out in all weathers regardless of the horse's actions. Why on earth aren't they returned to the yard when taken off the horse?
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To make it easier to get them in at the end of the day, literally every yard I’ve been at they keep the headcollars outside!
 
Are there dogs on the yard at all? That could be taking the headcollars and playing with them? In any case get some cheap ones until you can move your own horse to a more suitable place for you.

As said upthread, can you and the other liveries feel the same (unclear) maybe offer to pay for extra fencing seperating them if that is allowed? It must be frustrating having rug repairs or new ones to deal with right now but doesn't sound like a lot you can personally do to change things or prove accused hooligan is the one to make YO take some action on fencing even if they know. It really doesn't sound like the other accused horse is getting an eviction notice any time soon either, YO probs trying to accomodate everyone. Hope you find somewhere that's more suitable for you xx
 
fredflop said:
Try putting the strongest foulest anti crib stuff onto your headcollars and rug.
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You can buy spray that tastes horrible. I used it when our youngster kept biting the oldies rugs. I think the one I used was called McNasty.

www.justequine.co.uk

McNasty Anti-Chewing Spray UK | Just Equine

Anti Cribbing Spray Strong combination of ingredients Protects rugs, bandages, stables Spray on fences, lorries & gates New Name & Packaging
www.justequine.co.uk www.justequine.co.uk


hyperdrug.co.uk

Leovet Anti-Bite Spray 550ml

Leovet Anti-Bite Spray is a natural and harmless way to deter horses from chewing on wood, metal, plastics, bandages, and other accessories. It creates a bitter taste that discourages horses from biting, and it's easy to use.
hyperdrug.co.uk hyperdrug.co.uk
 
As the owner of very playful geldings, I'm not sure what you expect her to do in this situation.

All losses sound like they are solely down to the yard- not fixing fencing and leaving your belongings within reach of another horse.

I'd be sitting down with YO and explaining the costs and annoyance you're experiencing.
Ask for a timeframe for the fence to be fixed.
Ask for headcollars to be returned to the yard once your horses are turned out.

Thankfully mine are now at home and only rip their own belongings- one memorable occasion, at a yard, they were playing over a concrete stable wall and knocked it down 🙈
Glad they only pee me off now!!
 
This could be mine. His favourite game is pulling tail flaps off rugs. Fortunately the rug wash doesn't charge very much to mend them and I pay for them to be fixed.
 
Cover everything with anti bite spray. It works really well. Stopped some very naughty 4yo rug rippers I had.
 
Spray rugs with cribbox and request staff put the headcollars in a a box out of the way, if they know its happening then they should be able to chuck them in a box!
 
I gave a load of my leaking turnouts to someone who had to share with a rug ripper. They went on over his decent rugs to protect them.

I saw a photo of my old rainsheet a week later and it was trashed. She had a general appeal out for anything 6'6" upwards to use as protection.

Moved yards in the end because the horse was getting damaged too.
 
I have four horses in a stable herd at home with 24/7 turn out. One rips rugs, pulls off muzzles (not his !), headcollars and generally is a pain.
I leave headcollars up by the field (as I often don't go into the yard before getting them in) They have to be miles away or they are pulled into the field and danced on.

I have actually stopped rugging the others as I was going through a rug a week at his peak. I tried all sorts of sprays - hairspray was the most effective and least disgusting to have all over rugs that you have to handle.

He has food, company, space - but his just a game. Very hard to stop.

I haven't tried a rug on any for years - maybe he's grown out of it.

I wouldn't put him in with another horse wearing anything - especially one that didn't belong to me !

OP - a yard move is really your only option if the YO won't do anything to fix fences, keep kit out of reach.
 
If the electric fencing is in place but the electric isn't working, could you get your own battery powered energiser to get it electrified? Might be cheaper in the long run than keeping having to repair rugs and it should hold it's value fairly well if you sell on secondhand.

If there's not the fencing in place, I'd possibly just pay for some fence posts and strand of tape, guessing that as it would only be for one side that it wouldn't be a huge amount that was needed?

Again you can sell on when/ if you wanted to.

Agreed you ideally wouldn't need to but it might be worth it for an easier life.

Only other thought, is that as they're in separate fields, your horse must be engaging with the naughty one to some extent to allow it to get close enough to keep ripping it's rugs, which does make it slightly less just the other horses fault? Unless there's a field set up where your horse can't get away? If they were in the same field where your horse couldn't get away then it would be a different thing.
 
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