individual turnout

Horsekaren

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I posted a little while ago about my horses aggression and suddenly mounting mares in a mixed herd turn out.
He has been in his own paddock about 500 meters away from the herd with an occasional gelding for company and seems ok.
He isnt alowed back in with the herd and they cant split the mares and geldings.
The solution is to keep my horse in his own paddock about 15-20 meters away from another herd. He will be able to see and speak to them but wont be able to touch/ groom ect.

What would you think of this set up?
 

ester

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I think it depends on the horse, when we have had to do it (liveries leaving) but with adjoining fences it certainly makes Frank more anxious and more clingy to those around him so it would never have been the best option for him long term.
 

Annagain

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It's not ideal but if he's that difficult with others and he doesn't seem too bothered I could live with it, especially if he could have supervised contact wiht a horse he gets on ok with on the yard. Some horses quite like being on their own. My share horse spent 6 weeks in a small section of the field electric fenced off when he was starting to go back out after 5 months box rest. We worried about him but he was happy as larry and when the time came for him to go back out again we worried about him (again!) going nuts but he spent the first hour trying to get back into his little pen before wandering off on his own!
 

Bellaboo18

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It really suits my mare :) I wouldn't expect her to be completely alone but as long as she can see other horses she's happy and content. If she's in a paddock with others she tends to get too clingy and/or picked on. It definitely depends on the horse, you'll know if he's not happy/stressy.
 

Micropony

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There are worse things in the world than individual turnout, but personally I would prefer to look for somewhere that can offer single sex turnout. Lots of people on my yard have their horses on individual turnout, but when they've lived like that for years and years it can make options for retirement or semi retirement a little more difficult.
 

Pearlsasinger

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There are worse things in the world than individual turnout, but personally I would prefer to look for somewhere that can offer single sex turnout. Lots of people on my yard have their horses on individual turnout, but when they've lived like that for years and years it can make options for retirement or semi retirement a little more difficult.


It can also make them very 'clingy' to other horses when they do get the chance to spend time with other horses. Very often when they are on their own, the reason they seem to accept it is because they shut down.
 

Summit

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We have individual turnout and dependent on rotation, there are times when my horse can’t get nose to nose but I am not seeing any problems. He’s very content. Plus if he’s the last one out or first in, the stables are a stones throw so the other horses are never out of sight. Plus he has sheep to look at too :)

I will always choose individual TO, less injuries and bonding problems. Whilst we need to Consider the welfare of our horses, we can’t ignore our own welfare issues too...
 

LaurenBay

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If he seems happy then I'd leave it as it is. If he is not happy then you will have to look at moving yards to somewhere with a single sex herd turnout group.
 

ester

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Whereas mine definitely has more bonding problems on individual turnout! resulting in aggravation of an existing injury and me shipping him elsewhere the next day after that particular episode :p.
Whereas in paired/herd turnout he has always been happy to be turned out on his own on occasion.
So it definitely depends on the horse.
 

Horsekaren

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It's hard as i dont like the thought of him being alone but he has always been a loaner. Even in with a herd he very rarely grooms or lets others horses within 5 meters of him before chasing them away.
He hasnt got at all clingy to the gelding that spends the odd day with him, he still doesnt like him too close and will boss him around.

When anything new comes into the herd he will round up all of the horses which he doesnt usually let near him and keep them away from new ones. I have had messages in the past telling me that he was pinning other horses to the ground ... i never see this but i imagine its because the water in the field hadn't been topped up when it was suppose to be. Other times ive had calls that people count get their horses out of the field as he would chase them away and guard the gate.

As for summer turn out, they do live out 24/7 so i too am worried about him being alone at night.

When i got him he was sooo placid in the field, in the last year about 10 horses have come and gone (12 horse yard) and he has slowly got higher and higher in the pecking order and is now just a bit of a bully.

Because of how he pushes the geldings around i dont know where a gelding only herd would work unless full of very dominant horses who put him in his place. An individual turnout yard could work but in a way that no different to what i am being offered where i am.

i just wish he would stop throwing these challenges at me... honestly for a first time owner i feel like i will be able to write a book about it soon hfffffft

Its not an ideal situation but if it is something others would consider in this situation then i will try and get on with it and stop worrying.
 

Summit

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It's hard as i dont like the thought of him being alone but he has always been a loaner. Even in with a herd he very rarely grooms or lets others horses within 5 meters of him before chasing them away.
.

I know it’s not the same but my dog is a loner, lovely dog but doesn’t appreciate mixing with other dogs, likes his own space. Goes for horses too....
 

Horsekaren

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I'd move. It probably will work ok but its not ideal. Given the other issues with the horrible school surface, no hacking and concerns about dust and sleeping it wouldnt be worth it to me.
Its hard because as the yard is 2 mins walk from my house i get to do so much with him, even if it is just sitting by his field watching him graze. If i moved i would need services which worries me as he can be a beast if allowed. Plus i'd have a 20 - 25 min drive there/ and back every day. So it is a case of it really has to not work. The school is the only flaw and will eventually be the thing that i move because.
 

Alibear

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Round here its pretty much impossible to find livery that does mixed turn out. It's all individual. There's about 20 liveries on the yard and all seem happy enough.
 

Squirily

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If he is happy in his own paddock, can see other horserses and there is nothing else at the yard that is bothering you then I would stay. Livery yards that I have been on have always had individual turnout and its never been a problem, in fact it was a lot easier and safer. I have my own field now and the boys are in a mini heard, yes it is nice to see them having a groom, but actually it can be a pain in the bum sometimes and I always feel sorry for the one at the bottom of the pecking order
 

ihatework

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For me it’s not the ideal, but sometimes necessary. There is no doubt about it, that it makes managing competition horses easier.

Round here people look at me as if I have 2 heads if I mention my horse being turned out with company 😂

I’m coming to accept individual turnout for the working horses, but do insist they can chat over the fence and do support them having a proper holiday turned out with others - my current horse is just coming towards the end of his 8 week ferel stint!

I’d never do it to a non working horse though.
 

Auslander

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I usually avoid individual turnout, as I prefer them to be able to interact and do horse stuff - but my views have changed a little bit since having a few complicated liveries. Currently have two on individual turnout - one is a 28yr old TB who is very doddery, and would not cope with being picked on. He's next to the mares, and perfectly happy as long as he can have the odd scrap over the fence with them! The other one is fairly new, and also elderly - he is one of life's irritating personalities, according to the others, and either gets pasted, or bullies the others - so he's next to them. They groom over the fence, and he hangs out right next to them, again seems pretty content.
If yours was at my yard, I wouldn't really want him out with the others, with the behaviour you describe. If he 's happy on his own, then that seems to be the solution
 

Caol Ila

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My horse has to be on individual turnout because she doesn't play nice with others. She chases them, she tries to pin horses in corners and kick the crap out of them, she claims a horse as "hers" and will fight viciously to keep others away from it, and she will chase "her" horse away from its owners if they have the daft idea of catching it. Much like what HorseKaren describes!

I wish she could have a 'normal' life but I believe she wasn't properly socialized when she was young (in the US). Her first owner bought her from the breeder as a 2-year old. I have no clue what the breeder's set up was like, but the first owner had her own place with only one other horse, and the two were kept in individual pens. Which is common in the US. Unfortunately, I think 2 is where they learn a lot about being horses. I bought her as a 7-year old and blithely chucked her in a herd of 13. She caused chaos for about a year -- we did give her time to settle and learn -- but then I moved to uni where everything was on individual turnout. She was much more settled and easier to deal with. In hindsight, throwing her into the herd of 13 wasn't smart. She was a dominant, opinionated mare who hadn't properly learned how to deal with a big group, and decided aggression was the way to go. I should have tried her in a herd of two to three at that stage. But who knows if that would have made a difference. She is what she is now, and at 25, I doubt she will change.

It seems as though it is easy to find yards in England that provide this arrangement. In Scotland -- or around Glasgow anyway -- it's a bloody nightmare.
 
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