Pony getting badly bullied! HELP

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Chestnut123

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My little mare has always been the lowest member of the herd, but lately the bullying has become much worse. She is chased off her hay when there are many piles out. They all have their own piles but enjoy constantly kicking her off her own. She cannot have a drink without being booted off! They don't even want a drink they just enjoy booting her away. She is in a mixed field, we have tried splitting into mares and geldings but it seems the mares are even worse than the geldings! She constantly has a sad, lost look on her face and it is breaking my heart! She is loosing weight due to the constant chasing and we haven't got into winter yet! Even the Shetland we have used to keep her company has started to bully her. She is a very nervous type, previously mistreated and does not stick up for herself one bit. Her rugs are ripped from the constant biting and kicking. I am very worried about her and would love to hear from anyone else in this situation. She has 2 feeds a day and as much of a Haynet whilst stood on the yard as she can, I work full time so cannot wait for hours for her to finish her hay away from others. She is 20 years old and constantly coming up lame with cuts and swelling from the kicks. She will not stay in a field on her own, I have thought about getting another old mare as a companion but it is likely she will end up joining the group mentality and turning on her too! I am desperately worried and would appreciate any advice! Thank you olive
 
You can't keep her on her own, with one companion, bring her in to feed her hay so what do you imagine anyone else can suggest !
 
Is she out 24/7? I would consider bringing her overnight , so that she can eat in peace but really she needs a small group of similar aged companions who can't be bothered chasing each other around and will live peaceably with each other.
It is quite normal for horses to move others along to the next hay pile but as she gets older she probably won't bother defending herself at all.
 
I wish I could keep her with her companion but she is bullied by her too! It's just relentless I am just desperate for her to be able to settle and eat and drink like the other horses without being kicked off! Just wondering if anyone else has been in a similar situation that can give me some advice!!
 
If you are worried about her companions bullying her then the only thing you can do is seperate them. There is no other solution......
 
She does not settle well in a stable, however the other liveries are starting to bring in this week over night. So I'm hoping the other ponies who live out will not be such bullies without the influence of the big horses around. She is a very tricky one, but gives so much love I just wish they would be nice to her!
 
Thought of a suggestion ! You could try big bales of haylage so that there is always hay in the field and she can eat when there is space at the feeder ?
 
I treat her like one of my children, so I am as defensive over her as I would be for them against bullying. She is part of out family, but I do need to remember she is a horse and therefore does maybe not feel as bad as I think she does. She has a full belly is warm and dry everyday so her life can't be as awful as I think. I am far too empathetic!!
 
Chestnut123 said:
I do need to remember she is a horse and therefore does maybe not feel as bad as I think she does. She has a full belly is warm and dry everyday so her life can't be as awful as I think. I am far too empathetic!!
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No you aren't; you are concerned for an older animal who is being dogged by other more powerful animals constantly.

I'm most certainly no fluffy bunny when it comes to dealing with horses however I won't tolerate any horses bullying others at my farm. I'm in a great position that I have 50 horses here and I'm running 11 herds at the moment so I am easily able to keep quieter/older horses in fields with horses who are of a similar nature to them. I have a number of old horses in their 30s and 40s and I never put them in with much younger and more powerful horses; they don't need all that nonsense going on in their lives as far as I'm concerned.

If you were to get another older companion for her, would you be able to keep them both in their own field? Just the two of them without any other horses? That's what I would do if it were my horse.
 
I had different problems with my gelding...I dedicated a whole day to jumping in my car and knocking on doors. After driving round the district I came up trumps less than a mile from my own home. What im saying is rather than buying a companion , if its not possible to solve the issue where she is would it be possible to find someon e with older horses she could move in with? My ploy would be to bring the subject into every conversation I had with anyone you never know who knows someone who knows someone who can help you!
 
Is it not possible to fence off a small part of the field with electric fencing? She will still be with the others but kept apart, especially if you use the tall electric fencing. I've been in this situation with my horse who was always at the bottom of the pecking order. I've had a £2000 vet bill from a kicked hock and at another yard, even though he was separated by a low electric fence from the others, one jumped into his field. My horse jumped 3 fences to get away and was found in the road outside, his rug in shreds. We're now at a yard with individual turnout and he's much happier. He can groom and talk to the horses over the fence if he wants or keep his distance.
 
You really do need to address it, don't worry about being empathetic or not. The herd see her as a liability and horses don't support old or lower ranked animals.
I would get her in overnight and give her ad lib hay. That would do until I found a yard with a more suitable turnout set up.
 
This happened with my friends horse who was very placid. She was protected by my horse but when he died she was bullied dreadfully and not given a moments peace. She was very quickly moved to another yard and kept with just one mare and all was fine then.
 
Clodagh said:
You really do need to address it, don't worry about being empathetic or not. The herd see her as a liability and horses don't support old or lower ranked animals.
I would get her in overnight and give her ad lib hay. That would do until I found a yard with a more suitable turnout set up.
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Absolutely.
 
What about having her with just one other horse/pony and then put out four piles of hay (not too close together)? Ok the other horse/pony will be the boss but with more piles of hay than there are horses, there will always be free piles of hay for the old pony. You could also put out two water containers.
 
I agree with fencing a small paddock for her off. Don't think the round bale thing will work , she's more likely to get kicked imo.
 
When piles of hay are put out to feed several at once - at least three or four more piles than horses should be put out. And of course always well spread out. That should ensure no bullying off piles.

If she's getting bullied off the water trough, I'm assuming the hay is placed near to there - so this needs to be addressed.

I'm another who would bring her in overnight.
 
It's only a matter of time until she gets badly hurt. I would not be able to allow this situation to continue, it is completely unacceptable. If there is no option to separate her at your current yard, then I would be moving her to somewhere she can have some peace. Poor mare.
 
asmp said:
Is it not possible to fence off a small part of the field with electric fencing? She will still be with the others but kept apart, especially if you use the tall electric fencing.
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This is what I've had to do with my little old mare. The others have decided she is too old and have pushed her out of the herd and bully her relentlessly. A couple of weeks ago she slipped in the field trying to get away from the others. As she slipped she fell underneath another horse which then turned and booted her hard on her side.

For her safety and my peace of mind she is now in her own little pen within the field so she can eat in peace and safety.

Edited for typos.
 
To be honest, as others have said, you don't really have an option as you need to get her out before she gets hurt. I would be looking for a new yard that has either individual or paired turnout. I wouldn't be surprised if once she and your shetland are separated from the herd the shetland stops bullying her. In the meantime, bring her in at night and make sure that there are more piles of hay than horses - and spread them out. Yes it takes longer but it's absolutely necessary for pretty much every herd of horses.
 
When we hay we put 10+ piles out for the six horses away from the water. Her pile is placed far away from others however they will come over and still kick her off, she will move onto a new pile and the same will happen like I said relentless. I plan to move her to a neighbouring field with the Shettie and hope that she is friendly away from others. I have tried electric tape and she just panicked and fence walks due to being stressed on her own. Even though she can touch others over the fence. I cannot move yard as have another 2 here who are settled i have been here years. I just want to keep her safe and happy for this winter, then next summer she will go to a local home as a companion pony hopefully with another oldie to live out her years where I can keep an eye on her. We love and care about her so much and it is breaking my heart seeing her this way! Owned her for 8 years and has never been this upset and there have been no recent changes of the horses in her field. Thank you for all advice!
 
Ok, so enough piles - but enough hay??

As for 'her' pile - you can't stipulate that, as horses will go to whichever pile they fancy. And how much spreading out are you actually doing?
 
We are getting through a large round bale every 2-3 days slightly too much I believe this early on in winter but other liveries are wanting to hay lots due to having fine tb's already dropping weight. Mine are good doers so not a problem in that department. Obviously they get through their piles quicker than her due to being a lot bigger. So maybe a good plan is to give them slightly more to last them longer so hopefully by the time they have got through there's she's at least had chance to have plenty of hers. We also still have plenty of grass which they are not bothered with at all with all the hay around. So she is certainly not going hungry just missing out on her hay which she sees as a treat. But they will be stabled this week after bonfire night. We do not stable around bonfire night! So she should have more peace with her evening hay. If not I will move her to the neighbouring field with the Shettie. So I am happy I now have a plan! Thank you.
 
I would either start bringing her in at night, so she can have food and water without being chased, or I would move yards and find somewhere she can go out with maybe one other horse, some do not cope in a large herd and will be bullied by the stronger horses no matter what, even if you put more hay out with more piles its never going to stop the other horses being nasty and it will only be a matter of time before she is hurt, so if it were me I would find another yard I wouldnt want one of my horses going through this everyday.
 
It really is awful I constantly drive past to check she is ok. She is not bullied when there aren't people around or when they are not being fed or waiting to be fed. It is all food related when they are kicking off she is in the line of fire. But like I said above I have a few options in place I am going to try before moving yards. I have noticed this morning she is starting to stick up for herself a bit and we have a 5 year old little gelding who is seeming to fight others off which mad me happier!
 
Spring Feather said:
No you aren't; you are concerned for an older animal who is being dogged by other more powerful animals constantly.

I'm most certainly no fluffy bunny when it comes to dealing with horses however I won't tolerate any horses bullying others at my farm. I'm in a great position that I have 50 horses here and I'm running 11 herds at the moment so I am easily able to keep quieter/older horses in fields with horses who are of a similar nature to them. I have a number of old horses in their 30s and 40s and I never put them in with much younger and more powerful horses; they don't need all that nonsense going on in their lives as far as I'm concerned.

If you were to get another older companion for her, would you be able to keep them both in their own field? Just the two of them without any other horses? That's what I would do if it were my horse.
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This. All day long.

I hope you find a workable solution for your lovely girl.

P
 
I really would want to get her out of the field and in a more peaceful environment asap. It's interesting how much a horses demeanour changes when it can relax and not feel it is under threat all the time. I bet there is a quieter horse in the group who would settle in another field with her and the Shetland. All the points other people have made I would reinforce apart from the bale of hay/haylage idea. That is potential for some serious fighting in a large group who are a bit aggressive anyway.. We have spilt our groups right up so we can put big bales in the field this year, ideally no more than 3 peaceful sorts per bale per field.
 
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