nasty horse blocking gate - im scared to lead mine out!

i wouldnt text her anymore, take it to YO - its their role to sort problems out. why should you pay extra to feed her horse. i dont believe it is a lack of food as they would all be irritated but you only mentioned the evil one xx
 
if you do put hay out you need to put plenty ideally more piles of hay than horses, they won't necessarily fight.

we have 8 in our field and they have hay put out if it snows and they don't fight, but they have a very established hierarchy, have shared the field for a long time and they all know they will get some, the big gelding has his first and everyone else lines up waiting for their pile to be put out though you do have to put it out quickly, occasionally they squabble but it is more making faces rather then being very vicious.

If you put one pile out and it is small and they are hungry then yes they will probably fight!
 
narkymare said:
ohno!!!!!!!!!!! do you think???
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It could. For such a relatively large number of horses you would either need a big round bale in a suitable feeder, or to put it out in piles with there always being one more pile than the total number of horses, which still adds up to a lot of haylage. Otherwise it could easily become a scarce resource that they will feel the need to guard / fight over.

TBH, I just don't think a horse like the one you describe is going to be ok in a field with others in a DIY livery situation as it is, as the horses have to deal with owners taking other horses in and out of the field. I would angle towards the sectioning a bit of the field off with electric tape option if possible.
 
Do all the horses in the field come in every night?
Could this horse stay out , is this an option? If so part of the field could be fenced off with this horse and a companion, that stay out 24/7.
 
I had a similar thing at my old yard.
I wrote a note to the YO, just as I hadn't seen him, as I had had enough of big horse trying to kick me as I got mine in. The horse then kicked my sharers so I tried to ring YO, as he didn't answer I left him a note saying that something needed to be done before my sharer (teen girl) or anyone else got hurt. YO took it seriously as I had given it to him in writing, and he was worried about anyone suing him.
The YO then told the horse owner to bring here horse in first, but as she refused, the YO made the horse go into his own field (which made life easier for the horse owner aswell, as the field was much nearer!)

We all know horses can be unpredictable and dangerous, but even as expereinced horse people we can't be expected to have to deal with situations that we know are dangerous all the time.
 
Can this horse not be fenced off in its own paddock within the field - say with one other horse?

Then, if the owner thinks its hungry she can give hay within its own paddock to the 2 in there?
Means they wont fight and the horse is no longer by the main gate.
 
I definately agree that you must speak to YO. I would avoid any further texts.

I would be surprised if haylage in the field helped that much, as the gate hogger will still be keen to come in. I would suggest the agressive horse coming in early for the haylage in its stable (that way you also don't all have to pay for her horse's problem)

Be clear and calm with the YO. Say you have tried to get her to bring it in early but it remains a danger. Say how worried you are about someone getting hurt.
 
muddy boots said:
I definately agree that you must speak to YO. I would avoid any further texts.

I would be surprised if haylage in the field helped that much, as the gate hogger will still be keen to come in. I would suggest the agressive horse coming in early for the haylage in its stable (that way you also don't all have to pay for her horse's problem)

Be clear and calm with the YO. Say you have tried to get her to bring it in early but it remains a danger. Say how worried you are about someone getting hurt.
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i will - i have to - its not me being stupid, i kno wnothing will get done till someone is hurt and i dotn want it to be me!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
narkymare said:
no they all have to come in
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Is this a yard rule, because of the amount of grazing?
I would say, and this is of no help, i realise, with twelve (is that right?) horses in one field , there was bound to be a problem at some point.
Ok, if they all have to be in at some point during 24hrs, could this horse and another for company, be in during the day, and out at night, that way the owner could do it before work/school in the morning, thus avoiding everyone else? Just trying to look at it from another angle, that might suit everyone.
 
yep other peopl=e complained before me - said horse was supposed to be in by 3
none of us are nasty - just not sure or able to safeley deal with angry big horse - i certainly wouldnt have text owner who i actually like and got on with if i wasnt honestly worried
 
I do so feel for you and it must be spoiling your enjoyment of your own horse.

As others have suggested, I would think that sectioning the beast off from the others with a bit of electric, would be a simple solution to your problems and would press your YO to do this.

I hope things improve for you.
 
Can't SOMEONE just get the horse in????? If I was on a yard with all this polava about getting one horse in, I'd go and get the damn animal in, by hook or by crook!! Jeepers.
 
narkymare said:
oh thats horrible!
He was put in a field on his own for a short while but owners werent happy with that either - i just darent lead him down,
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Apologies as I've only got this far in the thread and have to comment.
Owners should have responsibility for their horses management I agree one hundred percent. However that responsibility has to also cover others when you are in a community such as a Yard surely. :confused:
Was the horse happy in a field on his own? If he was then this seems to me to be the safest short term measure until the owners find ways to address his problems. Safety has always got to be the priority imo.
 
I'm so sorry to hear that you find yourself and your horse in this position on a daily basis, it's really not acceptable on so many levels. Safety is the main thing but apart from that (please always wear your hard hat and body protector if you have one), you are paying your hard-earned cash for this daliy grief!

The one thing that puzzles me more than anything is why the YO has not stepped up and offered to bring the 'gate guarder' in themselves? Is he more under control if led in a bridle? If the situation is really that serious that the YO is not confident to deal with this horse themselves then it should not be on their yard. What would happen if another horse had suffered an injury in the field and needed to be brought in but no-one could get it out of the field because of this horse?

I would never have a horse on my yard that I couldn't handle.
 
Red Nosed Fany said:
What you are doing is interfering with the herd hierarchy. The "angry dangerous horse" is obviously herd leader and therefore is demanding to be first brought in. It is natural, if somewhat annoying, behaviour.
FDC
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I have to disagree!!! the dominant member of the herd is usually very quiet... its those members on the upper end of the pecking order, just below him that tend to throw their weight around more - usually in order to protect their leader.

Gate hogging is one thing that I can't stand but it is usually simply because said horse REALLY wants to come in for his dinner - we have one who simply LOVES being in.

OP has three options:

1) offer to bring problem horse in - a nice friendly option which ok, will add a few minutes on to your chores but will at the end of the day help fellow livery out, who may return the favour sometime...
2) complain to y/o and horse owner - but what will that achieve?
3) perhaps fence off a coral around the gate so that you can get your horse out of the field safely without others escaping. leccy fencing is great for this as you can use it to waggle at the offendng horse to get them to move awaywhile you get your horse out.
 
Sorry. just read the whole thread and would have to agree this horse needs to be seperated from the herd and put in a padock on his own until his issues have been resolved. I would insist to the yard owner that this ust happen for everyone's safety.

The owner herself is cleary exasperated by the whole situation too and you do have to feel a little sorry for her so show her some sympathy and she may warm to your sugestions of help in the mean time. If you have any books on handling techniques, it may be worth lending them to her to have a read at her leisure too.

As for the horse - poor devil - mustve gone to an absolutely horrendous place to be tainted so badly. horses dont jus change peonalities like that!!
 
Just a thought but we're all assuming this horse wants to be the first one out. Is there any possibility he is behaving because as herd leader, he doesn't want his herd taken away from him? This could explain why he doesn't come in easily either... he doesn't actually want to leave his herd behind. He may not have been ill-treated when he was away, he may just have quietly worked his way up the ranks in the field to leader and is now doing his job.

Just a thought....
 
domane said:
Just a thought but we're all assuming this horse wants to be the first one out. Is there any possibility he is behaving because as herd leader, he doesn't want his herd taken away from him? This could explain why he doesn't come in easily either... he doesn't actually want to leave his herd behind. He may not have been ill-treated when he was away, he may just have quietly worked his way up the ranks in the field to leader and is now doing his job.

Just a thought....
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Tbh I don't think what his herd 'rank' may or may not be is relevant in this situation. He should be trained so that he will move away from the gate on request in the long term imo. In the meantime while I'm sure it's a very distressing situation for the owner she HAS to take responsibility and act before someone is hurt. The YO as well has a duty of care to all her liveries and horses and shouldn't allow owners to dictate in cases of danger imo. It sounds like everyone wants to help and sort out this situation but nothing is actually being done to resolve it. Sitting around doing nothing but blaming others is not going to change this situation and the chances of someone being hurt seems high. I personally don't feel anyone should be having to lead an unsafe horse because of yard routine etc. the owner needs to stop feeling sorry for herself and act for everyones, especially the horses, best interests.
Why can't everyone pull together and support rather than allowing a dangerous situation to continue and starting to blame each other. :confused:

Lol rant over. Horses would be fine if it weren't for us humans! :p
 
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I don't have DIY on my yard for precisely this kind of reason. I have found this is always a problem because horses should ideally come in in their pecking order. This horse is obviously the boss, but stressed out because members of his herd are being insubordinate by coming in before him and so he has to get angrier and angrier. He does not understand that the only reason they are coming in is because their owners are making them. At the same time the lower ranked horses are getting more and more stressed by being forced by their owners to disobey the herd leader. See what I mean? Chasing him away and using whips etc will just stress him even more and push him into doing someting more dangerous. He must be brought in first.

Could you do a deal with the owners to take turns bringing the horses in? That way the boss horse can be brought in by you first and then you can go back and get yours in safety. The next day, the other owners could bring yours in. Would thabe a possibility for you?

Although I never have this problem at my yard because the horses come in in their pecking order and all is calm, I did once have a very aggressive gelding that would corner other horses and kick hell out of them. I told his owners that they had a choice of leaving, or paying £10 a week extra for individual turnout. They chose the latter and are still here two years later, peace restored.
 
amandap said:
Tbh I don't think what his herd 'rank' may or may not be is relevant in this situation. He should be trained so that he will move away from the gate on request in the long term imo. :p
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I completely disagree. This horse should be brought in first. He will then start to calm down of his own accord. It is obvious that he is behaving this way because he views the other horses as being insubordinate. This increases his aggression because his more subtle signals are being ignored. He doesn't see a human forcing the other horses to jump the queue. He sees the others as being defiant and so his aggression will continue to grow until someone or some horse gets badly injured. Believe me, I have vast experience of this common situation. Yes, you might get him to back off from te gate but he will harbour that resentment against what he views as the offending horse and reassert his dominance when the horse is unprotected. Also, you still have the problem of the lower ranked horse often shooting dangerously quickly through the gate to get out fast, trampling their owner or injuring themselves on the gate lever or catch as they do so. The only real solution is to bring horses in in their natural pecking order.
 
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