Pig Dilemma!

[Izzwall]

Hi all, I've been a lurker on this forum for a couple of years now and finally plucked up the courage to join! Especially as I need a bit of advice!

Earlier this year a woman moved some pigs (around 10-15) in a field opposite mine and since day one they have been causing havoc for anyone riding past. They are situated next to the road, a couple of metres from a bridleway that goes up onto the moor and you have to ride past them to be able to reach the bridleway (even worse for me since they are right opposite the end of my driveway where I keep my horses!)
Unfortunately the woman who owns them also owns horses and they recognise her voice, so when she rides past them, they come running to the fence, however, now whenever any horse goes past them they do the same which is becoming a major problem with horse riders going past (like myself!).

Tonight I thought I'd brave it and take my mare down past them as I could only take her out for a short amount of time and the bridleway is only 5 minutes down the road. After a lot of coaxing her to go past (she can smell them) we got half way down past the pig field and the next thing around 10 of the pigs come belting down to the fence! In the 4 years I've owned my mare I've never seen her react in such an extreme way, rearing up three times, almost got me over and dragged up the hill (I was leading her) and running backwards at a canter! The road is a busy 60mph B road with a lot of idiot drivers so I am thanking my lucky stars no car came past!!!! She's also done her back leg in due to the state she got herself in which at her age (20) is not good! Her confidence is now in shatters and all my 3 years of hard work getting her confidence up has gone to pot

I no longer want to risk mine or my horse's life to go past the pigs but in order to get onto the moor (or even get out of my driveway) I have to pass them. What can I do? The woman who owns them has an irrational dislike of me (I have no idea what I've done since I keep myself to myself) so I'm not too sure talking to her will get me anywhere. Will it be worth writing a letter to the council regarding removing the pigs away from next to a road and thus the bridleway? I've had to help a number of riders get past them and soon the pigs will cause an accident. The land she has them on isn't owned by her either so is it worth going down and speaking with the land owner?

A bar of diary milk for anyone who reads all that

 

[Izzwall]

anyone?

 

[emmanash]

Hi there,
It might be worth writing a letter to the council and encouraging the other riders who have problems with the pigs to do the same. Not sure what they can do about it but you can try.
I totally sympathise with you and your mares pig phobia. My mare also hates pigs and we have a few pig farms around here. Luckily I can avoid them most of the time unlike you.
I hope you find a solution and maybe get some advise from someone who knows more about how to deal with it! Good luck and thanks for the dairy milk! x

 

[Spot_the_Risk]

Hi Izzwall, welcome to the forum!

I don't know of anything constructive to suggest, other than to say that my old boy had got worse and worse about pigs over the many years I've owned him, and I didn't want my youngsters to be the same. We have our own land, and decided to buy a couple of weaners. Great idea, they were about 15 feet from the horses, within view and hearing, and the horses got used to them very quickly - even on the few occasions they escaped and the whole lot ran around like idiots together! I rode the old boy out past a pig when we had ours, and he didn't even look at it, and it was about ten feet away and at horse head height, so he definitely saw it. Maybe this is an option for you. We had ours for two to three months, and then they went to Langs at Ashburton...

 

[canteron]

I feel that Spot the Risk that your only realistic option is to de-sensitise your horse to pigs.

No method is guaranteed, but it might be worth talking to your vet and seeing if any of their clients have maybe one or two pet pigs and would be willing to help you, so you can control the pig/horse interaction.

Other than that, it clearly isn't worth talking the pigs full on, so it is just going to be a long hard slog, using all your imagination and slowly getting your horses confidence up, maybe gradually getting the horse nearer and nearer the pigs. I had a horse who hated cows and I used to graze it in hand nearer and nearer the cows until they would all ignore each other. You might also try getting something which smells a bit piggy and bringing to the horses with their food at feed time, to try and get them to quite like the smell.

Apart from the BL***DY woman - aren't neighbours the pits sometimes?

 

[POLLDARK]

You could try putting a small pile of pig dung near where ever the your horse is kept (to get the horse used to a pig smell) & also play a recording of pig noise etc & play it a lot. All of this in a non threatening in environment may help when there are actually pigs.

 

[kiteman0]

you could always ask the woman if you could graze your horse wkith her pigs
this way the horse will get use to them. mine never like pigs untill i had them in the same barn as the horse and now they go up and sniff each other out in the paddock and the piglets try and jump on the back of the shetland



you could talk to the woman but you havent got a leg to stand on even if you involve the councill.

 

[Izzwall]

Thanks for all your replies!
unfortunately, the field where the pigs are is a complete mud bath and covered in ragwort so putting her in there with them is out of the question. I've lost my winter grazing this year so she has to come back to my field (only have 2 and half acres for 4 horses) so hopefully with her living opposite rather than a few metres up the road will get her used to them.
My mare is a complete stress head (typical welsh D!) and when she gets scared the adrenaline kicks in resulting in everything around her being scary, including her own shadow!

Spot_the_risk, do you know a place called Lydford Station Stables? They are just a few metres up the road from there!

Do you think it's worth asking to maybe put up a separate fence so they can't run up to the fence by the road? Izzi is very set in her ways and she also has a massive phobia of motorbikes which I tried desensitising her to as some of my friends have motorbikes but still she freaks whenever one comes past her on the road. Gahhhh!

 

[BigRed]

Unfortunately, as horse riders we cannot expect to ask that every scary thing is removed from our environment in order to make our horses happy, but in this instance, the use of a bridlepath - which provides a safe route for horses to get access to more safe off road riding - is being compromised because there are pigs grazing close by.

I would suggest you try to contact your local BHS bridleways officer if you have such a thing, and definately speak to the council byways officer. Try to be reasonable and see if the pigs can be pushed away from the path, rather than insisting they be removed altogether. Let the council officer do the asking, which removes you from the equation. Suggest to the council the name of the landowner to see if there is an alternative field they can be moved to.

 

[AmyMay]

I would write to the council.

We had a situation similar to this last year, whereby it was planned to put pigs in a small field that ran parallell to a bridle path and road. The land owners were actually great when I explained my concerns (bridle path exited on to a pretty main road - so disaster waiting to happen) and put sheep on the land instead.

However, I did also phone the council and bridle path officer to tell them of my concerns etc. To be honest they weren't interested, until I asked them which of their offices I sued should I or my horse become injured through panic caused by the pigs. They were soon prepared to spring in to action.

So my advice (after my long ramble) is to phone the council and your bridleway officer in the first instance and see what they can suggest - after that take a legal route.

I am a firm believer that our horses should just 'get on with it' however, where pigs are concerned this attitude simply doesn't work.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

De-sensitizing is possible, as our horses had a few pigs kept next to the menege for a while. After the initial WTF reaction, they became quite fond of them..the cob especially had great respect for them when he realised that they loved food as much as him.
My lot will pass the pig fields here without bother. Pigs and horses can get used to each other if given the chance.
Do you have any nice pig owners near you who would allow you to bring your mare over to introduce her in a safe environment ?

 

[AmyMay]

De-sensitizing is possible, as our horses had a few pigs kept next to the menege for a while. After the initial WTF reaction, they became quite fond of them..the cob especially had great respect for them when he realised that they loved food as much as him.
My lot will pass the pig fields here without bother. Pigs and horses can get used to each other if given the chance.
Do you have any nice pig owners near you who would allow you to bring your mare over to introduce her in a safe environment ?

I definately agree with this - up to a point.

The yard where my last horse was kept actually had a piggery with a number of pigs penned, and loose outside. And no, the vast majority of the horses did not bat an eye lid once they'd got used to the sound and smell.

However, pigs are a particular fear of horses. And what may be deamed ok in one environment may cause panic in another. And it's the one situation I'd really never take for granted.

 

[Izzwall]

I have no pig farms around me at all only the ones across the road from me. If we are coming back from a hack and they are over the hill so she can't see them she just jogs up the hill like a ticking time bomb but the moment one comes into view she panics and blind bolts and we've nearly been hit by a caravan once. I think the thing that sets her off the most is when they all come running over to the fence, if they ignored her I think she will eventually get over her fear but because they now associate horses with food it's becoming impossible to go past without up to 15 pigs belting down the hill and towards you which, if I was a horse is a pretty terrifying thing to come across! The funny thing is though, my other 3 guys (2 of them under the age of 6) are absolutely fine with them and my youngest loves them but my eldest (Izzi) just freaks. I've tried going past them in company with other horses who don't mind them but she still reacts the same way.
I don't have the land or the money to have pigs in my field so that is out of the question too. If they weren't situated next to a busy main road I would try and desensitise her to them but people drive like idiots and do not slow down for horses and also the pigs are situated near a blind corner so it's just too dangerous

 

[jendie]

I sympathise. Would the best way forward be to try to de sensify her to the pigs? We have two and at first our ponies were terrified on them, now they don't bat an eyelid when they meet and even nose up to them to say hello. Pigs make strange noises when they run (at least mine do!) and they look and sound quite alarming as they fly up and down the paddock.

I just wonder if you could borrow one and keep it in your paddock for a few weeks, initially in a penned area and later free range, your mare would get used to it, realise it wasn't a threat and ignore it.

 

[Izzwall]

I don't have enough land or facilities to house pigs at my place and I know certainly the 'rents would say no especially as they said no to putting a few sheep in there to get rid of some the weeds. If I had more land I would seriously consider housing a few but because I only have 2 and a half acres and not the best of grazing either its just not doable especially with winter coming up