Horse getting narky when travelling with another – how would you manage this?

D

Darcey22

Well-Known Member
Joined
22 November 2022
Messages
153
Visit site
Looking for a bit of advice please as I’m starting to question what the right thing to do is…

I’ve taken a friend and her horse out with me and my mare a couple of times now, and whilst it’s all fine on the surface, her horse (mare) gets quite narky in the trailer and will go to bite mine. She hasn’t actually made contact and it does appear to be more "handbags at dawn", but there’s a fair bit of snaking, pulling on the rope and it does make the trailer move about a bit.

We’ve tried tying shorter, but she just leans/pulls and still manages to extend herself. My mare is very genuine and not reactive, but on the last trip she was noticeably more reluctant to load to come home, which isn’t like her at all.

I’m a bit stuck because:

  • I am doing my friend a favour taking her
  • My mare actually travels better with company generally
  • But I don’t want to create a bigger issue or put either of them at risk
I was considering things like removing haynets (in case that’s causing tension) and possibly using a bungee tie, but now wondering if that might actually make it worse rather than better?

Has anyone dealt with something similar?
Would you:
a) Keep travelling them together and try to manage it differently
b) Look at some form of head partition - although as I am doing a favour, dont really want to be lumbered with additional costs really
c) Call it a day and just travel solo

I don’t want to be difficult, but equally don’t want to undo my mare’s confidence or end up with a proper problem.

Any thoughts/experiences very welcome!
 
I'd say beware of head partitions - I had taken someone else's horse with mine in my lorry. He'd bitten the other horses' face in a trailer a couple of times, so we all thought he would be fine in my lorry as it had a solid head partition - with 1 km of leaving he absolutely loss it kicking the crap out of the lorry basically having a massive tantrum because he couldn't get to my mare. He damaged the partition and it upset my dog so much I could never take her in it again. And it wasn't the lorry in itself as he had been in it three times on his own absolutely without hearing a peep. I haven't taken anyone else's horses in my lorry since and I won't.
 
dont use a bungee-if they snap the elastic recoils with such force it can take eyes out etc
use a solid but fixed length tie (on baler twice)

and get a cheap stall guard and rig it up as a head partition-if this works ask your friend to buy a proper one?
 
Does the horse respond to being corrected? You could put a camera like a baby monitor in there end verbally do so when she gets moody, or you could have someone stand in the front of the trailer and drive slowly on local lanes or local area and make it clear what the expectations are. Yes you are doing your friend a favour but if your mare travels better with a friend, and I assume it's nice that you can do things with your friend, then it would be nice to have a good bash at making it work.
 
I would use a head partition. If it’s an Ifor trailer it should be easy to get. But if be asking the friend to pay for it. You might find one on Marketplace?
 
I had a similar situation and stopped travelling together as it's not just biting that's the issue, it's kicking the trailer sides and generally making travelling a horrible experience for my horse - can only imagine how unnerving it must be being stuck in a small space next to a bitey stressy neighbour who makes loud banging noises and the trailer shake about. Last time mine travelled with another one, he was almost cowering, so I decided enough was enough
Very annoying as makes travelling to places more expensive etc, but not worth the risk
 
Catbird said:
I had a similar situation and stopped travelling together as it's not just biting that's the issue, it's kicking the trailer sides and generally making travelling a horrible experience for my horse - can only imagine how unnerving it must be being stuck in a small space next to a bitey stressy neighbour who makes loud banging noises and the trailer shake about. Last time mine travelled with another one, he was almost cowering, so I decided enough was enough
Very annoying as makes travelling to places more expensive etc, but not worth the risk
Click to expand...
I was thinking this, you can tie them up short but would anyone want to be crammed in a small box with someone being threatening towards you. It wouldn’t be ok just because they couldn’t actually hit you.. trying to would be intimidating.
We ask such a lot of horses, loading and travelling. If it’s a choice rather than a necessity to take the extra horse I absolutely wouldn’t.
 
I would say no to your friend that you won't travel them together anymore as it's not safe. If you need to, make up a story that you've tried to take your horse out since and she was really difficult to load and you think it upset her more than you thought at the time. I take people out with me all the time but my horse is my priority, I don't mind a bit of face-pulling but I took one horse out that spent the whole time trying to murder my poor horse who spent the entire journey sat on the back bar trying to get away from him, I refused to every take it out again.

Mine also prefers travelling in company but I think he would prefer to travel solo than with something that is bullying him the whole time.
 
You have your own transport and your own horse and the ability to get out and about. I really wouldnt risk that. I had to politely decline giving lifts here there and everywhere when we got our lorry years ago. Travel and loading issues can happen easily and take ages to fix. It's not worth the risk imo
 
My mare is a snakey b**** when travelling. Doesn’t matter who she travels with she will threaten, pull faces and try to bite regardless of how short she is tied up.

It was so bad we thought she must have been in pain, so went down the veterinary route. She would even behave like this when travelling with her paddock mates.

She is a snakey mare even in the field so it wasn’t hugely out of character behaviour for her but the other horses would arrive at the destination trembling and sweating so were so scared of her behaviour.

She would come off the trailer, cool as a cucumber and be her best self at the show as if nothing had bothered her in the trailer.

What solved it post having her cleared by the vet as not being in pain, was putting a grazing muzzle on her to travel. Behaviour completely stopped. Didn’t even bother putting her ears back anymore.

She has been travelled calmly as a great travelling companion for 15yrs now - always in a muzzle.

When the vet suggested a muzzle, I was polite but thought it was ever going to work. It did, very well.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top