nightmare horse in the field. wwyd

charlie76

charlie76

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I have a horse at my yard that is a total nightmare. He gallops off, some times before you get the head collar off, he comes in everyday plastered in running mud where he continuely gallops. He churns up the grazing. He also goes for the other horses and we have watched him chase them up and down so they are also covered in mud. When we leave him in they stay clean! Last week he ran them round and they lost shoes. They he ran them into the post and rail and smashed it. Today he kicked my horse in the head needing stitching.
The field is a mess.
I cannot offer individual turn out, and even when he was on his own he still galloped and wrecked the field.
then to top it off you can't catch it. And if you don't catch him first he herds the other horses so you can't catch them.
I am at the end of my tether with him as its making the liFe of myself and the others owners life a misery.
Help!
 
speak to the owners about having him hormone levels tested if they come back that he is a rig then they can have injections to calm the hormone levels down and hopefully adjust his behaviour.
but if he needs individual turn out and you cannot provide it then the owner needs to find a yard that can, i would not continue to put a horse out with others if it herded them a lot/through fencing let alone the kicking-i would suggest the tests and go from there but i would not keep putting him out with the others
 
give them notice. if its your yard you dont have to and shouldnt have to put up with it. its wrecking your fields, upsetting the other horses and has caused injury. if they dont go they i think you will find the other liveries will unfortunatly :( hope everything gets sorted
 
Is this a livery?
personally if it was causing that much of a problem (which if I was in your shoes, that would be a giant PITA) and I couldnt rectify situation by turning out in a separate paddock with one 4 legged friend, I'd be giving them notice. The land I have available is precious to me, I can't have something churning it up day after day. If it's hooning round, causing other horses to follow and pull shoes/cause injuries, the other liveries would be on the warpath.
Count the cost of vets bills, farrier bills and having the field treated for the damage, and losing one livery temporarily doesnt look so bad, there are always people looking for good livery yards (ones with nice non-churned-up paddocks and tidy post and rails!)
 
Honestly I think you should get rid :(

Knowing the exact situation he is a total liability and there may be insurance implications should he injure any staff members or other liveries/horses as he has got form so to speak.

Big hugs x
 
How long has he been there? If he is new he may calm down soon.

For what its worth though I dont think 'making the other horses dirty' is a valid argument! Nor is the fact that shoes are falling off.

Kicking and issues with herding / fence smashing is a PITA
 
If you cannot turn it out alone I would give the owners one months notice, it is not worth the risk to your other horses to leave matters as they are, if it kicked a livery horse in the head next and did serious damage you are at risk of being liable.
One bad apple upsets the whole yard, I asked one to leave last summer due to unruly behaviour when out, it was just not worth the hassle when all the others are settled.
 
If you are a livery speak to your YO and ask them to deal with the situation.

If you are the YO you need to give notice, and insist that the horse is stabled until it is moved. Your fields and other clients will only continue to suffer otherwise.
 
If its your yard, then you have 2 options:
1. Give owner notice and do not turn out horse with any others again.
2. Spend out to make 'speshul' paddock for the criminal.

I have a horse that does the same - mashes up field, runs the fence line etc - its NOT mine & he is only with me under sufferance as his owner is brilliant.
I 'manage' him by giving Lovely Livery 2 paddocks for her to self-manage. The horse has electric right round the field to stop him biting anything else.
He has only been 'in' for 7 nights this winter but is otherwise wintering out 24/7 as i gave her my mobile shelter for the winter.
I dont want him in the yard much - he door-bangs for olympic gold - when he is not frantically weaving:rolleyes:

So far, after nearly a year, we are 'coping' still but have to be careful still as he WILL trash others if he can get his teeth to their rugs/parts of bodies etc, tho otherwise is a very easy horse to handle/groom, rug etc.........
 
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I don't know the full story / extent of the issue, or how long this horse has been there, but by the sounds of it you were lucky it was your horse that took the hit rather than a livery.

As a livery I would not be amused if a known problem horse continued to be turned out with mine resulting in injury, when the problem could have been stopped earlier.

(PS - sorry your horse got kicked and hope he heals up soon)

If you are not prepared to work to accomodate the horses issues, and provide individual turnout then I think a serious discussion is needed with the owner about the viability of keeping the horse on the yard
 
Tell the owners what is happening suggest he will have to go out alone, thats if you can do this if not say they will have to go sounds like a nightmare and only a matter of time before another horse gets hurt, when I ran a yard if a horse would not get on in a herd they went out alone not worth the risk.

His already kicked yours which sounds nasty I wouldnt want my horses out with it again, hope he heals soon x
 
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Given you are unable to separate this horse from the rest of the herd, I would have thought you only have two solutions either turn it out when the other horses are in (your fields will be trashed but at least the other horses will be safe) or tell the owner they need to look for another yard which has suitable turnout for the horse.

Although annoying that your fields are a mess, I would be more concerned about this horse seriously injuring one of the others. So far it is has put horses through a fence and kicked another in the head and it required stitches. What next?

Maybe also look at feed and exercise. Did this horse behave like this at its previous home? Is it used to being turned out?

Good luck
 
Sounds liike this horse could benefit from permanently living out and/or having his feed looked at.

If it was my yard I'd ask them to leave.
 
That's a difficult one!

I don't know how your yard is set up, but if you have a few fields, are the mares next to the geldings? And if so, can they be kept a field apart as that can make a real difference.
Could you try turning it out with a different group as it may be more settled with different horses?
In my opinion, a good yard will always try and manage problems, rather than just getting rid or ignoring the problem - so it's good to hear you are trying to manage it :)
Feed and excercise are also something to be considered. If its overfed and bored it will be way more likely to cause trouble!
Is there no way an area could be sectioned off so it can go out alone? At least then you are giving the owner an option, and if it is not satisfactory for them, then it is there decision whether to stay or go.
Hope you get it sorted x
 
charlie76 said:
I have a horse at my yard that is a total nightmare. He gallops off, some times before you get the head collar off, he comes in everyday plastered in running mud where he continuely gallops. He churns up the grazing. He also goes for the other horses and we have watched him chase them up and down so they are also covered in mud. When we leave him in they stay clean! Last week he ran them round and they lost shoes. They he ran them into the post and rail and smashed it. Today he kicked my horse in the head needing stitching.
The field is a mess.

Help!
Click to expand...

This horse has been a problem for how long and you STILL turn him out with other horses KNOWING he chases and herds the others.
Last week you had a warning which you didn't heed......and this week you have a big bill and an injured horse because of it.
He would be turned out alone if he were mine or on my yard.
 
TBH this sounds like a very unhappy horse, and I'm surprised the owners haven't considered that he might be happier in a different yard. Some horses simply will not settle in certain places and the obvious solution is to try a different location, different herd and different regime. I might suggest that to the owners, if I were you :)
 
If you're a yo and you have other liveries you need to say goodbye if no individual turnout. Better to lose one pain horse than good ones when they get booted in the head and that's the last straw for them.
Out of interest are you insured and the horse. If horse isn't I'd not be turning out again with others.
 
I would suggest putting it in a different field with a companion that has a quiet influence on this horse.

If this isnt an option, and the horse cant be turned out alone (either because you dont have the grazing to do so, or the horse cant be on its own) then perhaps you may have to ask them to leave.

At the end of the day its not fair to put yours and other horses at risk due to one individual, and if this horse is unhappy maybe the usual checks i.e. teeth, back etc etc should be carried out to eliminate any physical pain that maybe causing this.
 
If you absolutely cannot offer this horse individual turnout, then give them notice to leave and make temporary arrangements such as turnout in the manege until they leave.

I have a dangerous horse here that will run down others and kick them to bits. I told owners they had to have individual turnout (and pay an extra £10 a week) or leave. They chose to stay and pay the extra. He goes out at 7 am for a couple of hours in the winter before the others. In the summer he has his own paddock. Not fair on the other liveries to turn him out with their horses.
 
He sounds a bit of a liability and needs to go and live in a private rented place with one other well chosen companion by the sounds of it. He certainly doesn't sound suited to a livery yard.
 
Im surprised the other liveries have not objected , I would separate or ask to leave. Sounds like a disaster waiting to happen.
 
Im sorry but you need to get rid asap before he does anymore damage it could be alot more serious next time! good luck with it.x
 
Have you tried him in a different group? If this is not an option - I would remove the horse from the field and either put him out on his own or ask the owner to leave.

If my horse was turned out with him and this behaviour was going on (i.e chasing) I'd be expecting you to do something - or I'd leave.
 
I wouldn't turn him out. Is he galloping for fun or because he hates being out? I'm guessing the latter?

We have/had a few livery horses who hate going out in winter, so I have a talk to their owner, and now most are in 24/7 in winter and then out 24/7 in summer. They are much happier, so is the owner (no worrying about injury or wrecking the field) and I'm happier.
 
I would worry that other liveries could sue you if one of their horses is injured by this lunatic horse. I think there is a term "Duty of Care" when you are being paid for a service and I think turning an aggresive horse out with others definitely contravenes that.

Is there no possibility of putting him in his own little paddock (the owners should be asked to pay for the electric fencing). He may have a permanently muddy half acre, but that's the owners problem.
 
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