my poor little man is getting kicked all the time in field

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hayleymitch

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I dont know what i can do really, i am hopeing they are going to settle down soon.
I moved yards just over a week ago now n obviously he has got to make new friends .
it is quite a big herd he has been put in and its only geldings , he has been going out fine and coming in fine but everyday up to now he has been coming in with a new kick and bite.
The last one last night on the side of his leg which was quite swollen quite a good kick by the looks of it poor little man.
I know they are just sorting out the pecking order cause he is the new boy , but will it defo calm down ? feel really sorry 4 him i just hope he doesnt get a really bad kick.
is there anything i could do ?
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no way would i let my horse go through this. he needs to be put in a field (sectioned off with electric if necessary) with whoever is bottom of the pecking order, so they can pal up, and ideally be able to sniff the others over the fence, for at least a week or two.
if they're shod, i wouldn't risk him getting badly injured by a kick.
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having just moved yards could he not go out with one or three others til he finds his buddy? then into the big bunch? talk to manager about this tactfully. you could boot him up well to protect legs.
 
Have to agree with Kerilli. Our pony had her leg fractured by a kick from another pony, it doesn't take much for a serious injury to occur. I would definitely put him into a sectioned off part of the field for a week or two so they can settle down.
 
I don't like to stable much, but given the option of my horse potentially getting at worst a life threatening kick or badly injured, i would rather stable 24/7 then turn out with said horses.
Is there any way your horse can go elsewhere on the land? with other horses?
 
I had a similar problem a few weeks ago and ended up moving my boy from the "big"herd field into a smaller one. He has now had only one bite in nearly a month - when he was coming in every day with a cut, or a bad kick - i was almost on direct debit to the Vets (lol).

Some horses do not socialise very well and to be honest he is probably not helping as he is obviously "in there" else he would avoid coming in with kicks and bites.

He will either never learn and some geldings dont or you will have to ask for hibi scrub, and anticeptic cream for Christmas. Other alternatives for you to consider are keeping him in his own paddock - with horses surrounding him (last resort for me i must admit) or find a small herd, very often a mixed group is better for this type of animal. Is he young? or do you know if he has been kept with just one or two others.

Good luck
 
i realise this would be the best thing to do but i just cant win there is no chance i cn out him in electric fencing in the field i have spoe to them about it and they have said no .
I have just been thinking they will settle down , and didnt want to take him out of the field now if he has got to go back on there in the future .
Argggg but i dont want him to get a bad kick that would be a nightmare.
Its so hard though cause when ever i watch him in the field he is ok and grazing , i think he is just getting the odd kick rather than them fighting.
arrggggggg i just dont know what to do apart from just take him out of the field completely but dont want him to have no turnout . ??????
 
no he has always been in a herd but always been mixed with mares and geldings and he was always a ladys man and his best friends have always been mares really so going into a geldings field was always not the best option but as he usually gets on with anything so didnt think it would be a problem but obviously is.
yes he is only young he is 5 , and does like to play so could be getting a kick by him wanting to play with something that doesnt want to play lol.
He does seem to have a little old pony the last couple of days that he is always with when i go to get him.
 
No, long term no turnout would not be good, i really don't know what to suggest apart from move to somewhere who will cater for such problems occurring, but you have just moved, so i really dont know
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Don't put him back out in this herd. It's one thing for a bite and a scratch - but kickig is a big no, no. And at this rate you'll end up with a horse with a broken leg.
 
i know thats exactly what i am thinking i dont want to move him again but all i want is what is best for him and he is a horse that absolutly loves being turned out
 
Can you not talk to YO/YM again and stress the need to fence off for a while?
Been there done it and got told by my vet to move him or lose him as Pidge was coming in every day with a nasty kick or bite 6 weeks in to new yard when I first had him. (Had spent 2 weeks next to others) So moved him in with a mare and gelding and he was fine.
Please try to move him temporarily next to the others for his sake.
 
i can say ive seen a horse (half loaned him) get kicked in leg once horse caught him just right and shattered his leg he was PTS soon after, tell YO /YM that not all horses get on and is there a chance you could section it off as you dont want him injured o r you will have to consider moving as a yard it should be horse welfare first
 
i had to hold a friend's lovely sweet horse to have him shot when i was a teenager, i found him in the field with his hindleg swinging above the hock from a kick, and an artery bleeding. nobody else there, days before mobile phones... it was horrific.
when the huntsman came to collect the body he thought it was my horse and had a right go at me, along the lines of "you bloody girls, you all think we're hard on our hunt horses but we NEVER turn them out together once they're shod, one tap with a shoe, on bone, and it shatters."
i have never forgotten this. i haven't put shod horses out together since. even unshod they can do a lot of damage, but the shoes are the final straw.
why on earth won't the YO let you use electric fencing? it's the perfect solution.
 
Speaking as the owner of a horse who has, in the past been frequently bullied in the field and come in with all sorts of injuries, IMHO, if you have a horse who is lower down in the pecking order its just not fair on them to put them out in a herd and expect them to get on with it. Your options are to change the turnout so he's alone/paired/next to the herd, or move yards. If the YO won't accomodate you then I'd think about moving again as your risking serious injury to him ATM.

Personally I'd go for paired turnout if you can. I spent a year with my mare in a herd and there were constant minor injuries; things would settle for a week or two until a horse left/a new one arrived and then it would start all over again. She's now turned out with one companion, an elderly, slightly doddery Arab mare, and is much more content (and, touch wood, injury free). And I've gone right off the idea of herd turnout.
 
I feel for you. I recently moved my boy and he spent 2 weeks in sectioned off part, in his new herd, slowly being introduced to some of those in lower pecking order. However now he is out with the herd and he did get a kick the other morning. It was on his bum and being a connie prob the best place but in his true pony style managed to get himself out of toruble and jumped the water trough to escape being hurt. Did mean i worried all day at work about him though. I hope things look up for you, as it's hard to find yards that cater for small herds/individual turnout unless you can afford the comp yard livery fees
 
God, i wouldn't put a new horse in with an established herd within a week!! We have to separate any newbies to our lot for a good month or two (ours are a very established herd though). I know livery yards sometimes have more changes of horses going on but surely at least a few in the herd are going to be established??

It doesn't take much to section off a bit of the field with electric fence surely? God I'd go buy some myself. Introductions should be done slowly.
 
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