How to deal with allegations made against your horse?

[Sophine28]

Hi, my filly has recently been accused of double barreling someone in the knees. This seems unlikely as she has never kicked before and the person in question is still walking and has given multiple different accounts of how the incident occured. Due to this incident my horse has been confined to a yard at her agistment and is no longer allowed paddock time. I feels that this is unfair as there is no proof and if it did occur then this person should have been more careful as it was unlikely to be unprovoked. Should I fight for my horse or let it go? Thanks ?

 

[Tiddlypom]

Lots more info required before anyone can answer this.

What was the person who alleges that they got kicked doing so close to your horse? Are they a member of staff? Was the horse loose or tied up? If loose, were there other horses nearby?

I presume that you are in Australia as you refer to agistment.

 

[Sophine28]

Sorry, my horse is in a share paddock and was loose at the time with one other horse who's owner is the one claiming to have been kicked. It is possible that she got between the two horses but in this case I feel my horse should not be the one at fault. Yes I am in Australia but I couldn't find anywhere locally to ask this question.

 

[Jenko109]

Whack up a line of electric fencing or similar so your horse can still have turnout without the other owner having to interact with her.

If this cannot be arranged then move somewhere else. No turnout is cruel, especially for a youngster.

 

[Pearlsacarolsinger]

I would move your horse immediately.I have never heard anything so ridiculous. I would also ask to see the bruises.

 

[HashRouge]

I would move your horse immediately.I have never heard anything so ridiculous. I would also ask to see the bruises.

I also found this odd. If she got double barrelled in the knee caps I find it strange that she seems to be walking around as though nothing happened! Even if your horse did kick her, it is not fair to punish a young horse by removing her access to turnout and company. Some people are not very sensible when interacting with horses in a herd environment. Possibly because my mare does kick (horses not people) and can be very mare-ish and overdramatic, I have always been extremely cautious when in a field with loose horses. I am always surprised by how overly relaxed some people are (e.g. my supposedly knowledgable boss, who clapped a horse on the backside with both hands when he was following it round because it wouldn't be caught. It kicked him, quelle surprise).

 

[cauda equina]

I don't see how someone could be double barrelled on the knees unless by a Shetland

 

[little_critter]

I don't see how someone could be double barrelled on the knees unless by a Shetland

Exactly what I thought.

 

[mariew]

Surely if she got double barrelled on the knees caps she'd be in plaster? Something smells off. Can you move field partners or split the field? If not your only choice would be moving yards.

 

[blitznbobs]

double barrelling at knee height is impossible unless the pony is about 8 hands high or the victim was stood on a ladder. Id move the horse cos quite frankly it's so ridiculous that the yard owner/ manager believes this that they are obviously 'playing' some kind of game with you... I'd go now before it gets even more nasty.

 

[SEL]

When mine kicked someone (she was at pains to point out she'd got between 2 horses arguing over hay) we were all shown the bruises. Most horse owners like showing their war wounds IME

 

[Aperchristmas]

Sounds like she humped her back end towards the person rather than full on double barrelled. Not acceptable to restrict turnout for a youngster so I hope you find a very speedy solution. Was the person feeding in the field?

 

[Peglo]

I also found this odd. If she got double barrelled in the knee caps I find it strange that she seems to be walking around as though nothing happened! Even if your horse did kick her, it is not fair to punish a young horse by removing her access to turnout and company. Some people are not very sensible when interacting with horses in a herd environment. Possibly because my mare does kick (horses not people) and can be very mare-ish and overdramatic, I have always been extremely cautious when in a field with loose horses. I am always surprised by how overly relaxed some people are (e.g. my supposedly knowledgable boss, who clapped a horse on the backside with both hands when he was following it round because it wouldn't be caught. It kicked him, quelle surprise).

I’m also always on high alert when I’m in the field with the horses. There’s 5 of them now and my TB especially will move the rest for absolutely no reason other than she can without any worry about my safety. And the ponies would rather go over me than get a kick from her.
I would never let myself be positioned behind back legs when they are in the herd just incase although I’d trust them not to kick me intentionally (maybe not the TB)

definitely not fair to punish a young horse like this. She will have no idea why she has been stabled so IF she kicked someone she isn’t ‘learning her lesson’. Very bizzare

 

[laura_nash]

I don't think having your youngster share a field with this person's horse is going to work out, so it's not really about defending your horse (that's just not worth it, ignore them) and more about your next steps. You can't let it go as in accept no turnout for your youngster, also if people on the yard are villifying your horse that is unlikely to end well. I would move if possible. She'd be better off with more company anyway (assuming the share paddock was always just your filly and this person's horse).

 

[Berpisc]

I would be looking for a yard where the management is better. Not giving your youngster turnout for a behaviour that you have been given no sensible answer to would not be acceptable to me. All horses, especially youngsters need turnout unless for sound veterinary reasons.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

Sounds ridiculous I would find a different yard it's not fair for a young horse to not be allowed field time, they sound like complete idiots get your horse out of there.

 

[Errin Paddywack]

Strikes me that someone just didn't want her horse to share with yours so concocted this story to achieve that.

 

[Sossigpoker]

Move the horse. Punishing a horse for acting like a horse is cruel. Horses sometimes kick , whether accidentally or on purpose.

 

[Maryann]

I'm with the move your horse brigade. This person is a nutter and you and your horse need to distance yourselves.
I had a neighbour who insisted my horse had kicked his dog and injured it to the extent that thousands of pounds worth of vets bills were incurred. He was a rather unpleasant nutter with money issues and if it wasn't one thing with him it was another.

 

[southerncomfort]

When mine kicked someone (she was at pains to point out she'd got between 2 horses arguing over hay) we were all shown the bruises. Most horse owners like showing their war wounds IME

When I was kicked on the outside of my knee I had the most amazing rainbow coloured bruise that lasted weeks. I very much enjoyed showing it off!

 

[Mrs. Jingle]

I wouldn't even be bothering my head about who did or said what. A load of old tosh they are playing mind games with you. Just move your horse to a more professional yard who understand the importance of turn out, especially for young horses.

 

[Lucky Snowball]

Agree with above. If I was close enough to a strange horse to be double barrelled and wasn't injured, I'd be very embarrassed and not tell anyone !

 

[Lois Lame]

I don't see how someone could be double barrelled on the knees unless by a Shetland

LOL. I hadn't thought of that.

I would love to hear this played out on TV. A great subject for Judge Judy. (Please don't judge me for enjoying such a show.)

 

[Lois Lame]

Surely if she got double barrelled on the knees caps she'd be in plaster?

I think she'd be in plaster and agony. She wouldn't be able to speak.

 

[Lois Lame]

I had a neighbour who insisted my horse had kicked his dog and injured it to the extent that thousands of pounds worth of vets bills were incurred. He was a rather unpleasant nutter with money issues and if it wasn't one thing with him it was another.

This reminds me of a Judge Judy case where a dog owner was suing another dog owner for injuries to her dog, as there had been a bit of a kerfuffle between the two dogs. The only detail I remember is the whopping vet bill she wanted paid, which involved root canal therapy for one of the fangs in her dog's mouth. I shrieked with laughter. The judge wasn't overly impressed either.

OP, I think the only solution here is to find agistment elsewhere, or at least a paddock where this person and her horse are not.

 

[Prancerpoos]

Move. I was kicked on one knee once, collateral damage as I walked between two horses and the kicker was kicking out at the other horse. I was off work for a week with a multi-coloured knee the size of a small melon.

Sounds like a hate campaign to me, so time to move.

 

[Cocorules]

Move, young horses need turn out preferably with at least some others of their own age.

 

[Annagain]

I have ten days’ worth of photos from when I got kicked on the thigh by a horse at my riding club. I was standing alongside him, level with his saddle, talking to his owner who was on him when someone else gave him a carrot Apparently he’s very food aggressive so he spun around and kicked me. Even with a deliberate kick, he didn’t get punished like yours is.

I wore the bruises like a badge of pride. I took a photo every day to show the progression and shared them every day on my yard’s what’s app group.

I’ve also been kicked once when I got in between horses who had a disagreement. It happens, it’s normal horse behaviour and just bad luck if a human gets caught in the crossfire. I doubt the situation will change though so if find somewhere else for your filly.

 

[Peglo]

I have actually been kicked in the shin, (I mean it was an 11.1 or there abouts) went to run and catch him and fell flat on me face with a dead leg. Took about half an hour to get the leg to work again. Wasn’t a mark on me leg. As if the embarrassment of being kicked by a tiny pony wasn’t bad enough, falling flat on me face, a dead leg and no injury to show off was the icing on the cake.
That pony’s routine carried on as normal and I made sure to be more careful around the back end after that.

 

[NinjaPony]

Possible that yours aimed a kick at her, but given that I had to go for an x-ray when my horse accidentally stomped on my foot as I could barely walk, I would expect someone who had been double-barrelled to be on crutches. I’d be looking to move….