Turnout worries

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Gorgeous George

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I posted yesterday about George fighting in the field with another horse, well it seems that quite a few horses have been coming in with cuts and grazes (unbeknown to me) since George arrived, so it is probably reasonable to assume that he is either starting fights or causing them to escalate
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I have got myself into a terrible state as I really love the yard and love my boy to pieces but the yard owner isn't sure what to do. She is ever so nice and is sure that a solution of some sort can be found, but this could mean him going out on his own for just a few hours perhaps when the others come in
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I am worried that if I ever did have to move yards that I would have real problems if I had to say he wasn't used to being turned out with others. I have spoken to his previous owners who I know and trust and they said they never had any probs with him, although he was only turned out with 2 others and there are now 5 or 6 of them out in not a huge field.

Sorry I know this is nothing in the grand scheme of things when we are worrying about F&M and many of you have poorly horses but I am really upset about it all
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Oh no
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How long has he been at the new yard?

It's quite normal for them to squabble a bit before they settle down. When Finnus went in his new field he came in with some nasty cuts and bruises but now they all get along fine.

Hang in there
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this is a support network so dont apologise for asking advice.

Could the problem be he was so used to been out with a small group of horses he got on with and they had established pecking order?

If its a new yard and new horses he may well be finding out where his place is.
 
I think you and YO are worrying too much.

you havent had him long, he is still finding his place in the herd, if horses were coming with real injuries then yes I would agree sometjhing needs to be done, but cuts and grazes are nothing!

If you havent seen him do it for all you know other horses could be ganging up on him, espec if they are an established herd, and he could just be defending himself.

I think seperating him is far too extreme and not fair on him if he was chasing them around the field terrorising them then yes, but he isnt.

Beau comes in with different nicks and cuts every day it seems, he is trying to be boss, let them get on with it and sttle down I say.

Mine are out in a mixed herd of 9 and there has never been one serious injury, ever.
 
How about spending an afternoon out in the sun / shade with a good book, in the field, to keep an eye on them so that you can see what actually happens? It may be that the problem is then very easily sorted.
 
I agree with st bernard, i know its hard but just try to relax and give them some time. As I said yesterday my mare was kicked when she moved to new yard recently and there were a few fights however now they all get along fine.
 
Yes it is a new yard and a new horse, we have been there for 2 months and George is my first horse! My problem is that the field arrangements are not my decision, so I have to go with the YOs decision and I'm too inexperienced to offer much advice although I know that I want George to have as much turnout as possible. I am going to spend some more time down at the field tomorrow as with my book to see what he gets up to.
 
Good idea, thing is the YO may be getting moaned at from other liveries who's horses are coming in with cuts, and if you are quiet she might just think the easier option is to seperate George for a quiet life but this might not be the best thing all round, so dont be frightened to stick up for yourself.
 
I agree with happihorse. If you can sit and observe you will find out whats actually happening. Also its quite normal for squabbles between a herd of horses whilst they find their pecking order, and then just when you think its all settled, a new livery comes in and it all starts over again. I think removing him from the others is a bit extreme over a few cuts and grazes. Good luck.
 
hi as i said yesterday i was in the same position as per your post yesterday, whereby mine was being bullied when he first went out and i stressed so much i nearly had heart failure and moved yards on the spot, mine is turned out in a huge field with 13 - i was told that was too many and again, panicked - i still do tend to think its too many BUT he is now so so happy i cant get to him for admirers! honestly george will settle down. i moved my boy into a field on his own and he fretted and winnied and escaped! i put him back in and yes as some others have said about theirs, he still comes in with cuts n grazes and i still dislike that but ive been told even if i moved him with only 1 other and cotton wool for fencing he will still come in with cuts and grazes. the long and the short of it? if your yo is not concerned, and your yard friends are not concerned, even tho you think it is george instigating it (prob not, prob just causing a stir being the new kid on the block) then give it another week or so before you jump ship, thatll only unsettle george more. hope any of this made sense and / or helped reassure abit. i think you and i got our boys at the same sort of time so are worriers together, nothing wrong with that!
 
I don't want to jump ship at all and won't even if George has to go out alone for a while as I don't want to unsettle him (or me), the problem is that the YO and owner of the horse that got 'beaten up' understandably want them separated, I think we should just let them settle down (in my novice opinion), but the YO is worried that there might be a serious injury..............?
 
my apologies i misread the tone of your post. hmmm if yo worried, do you know which ones george is "safe" with and pen him off with 1 or 2 of the other - if they are happy to be segregated? see how that goes? if it was mine that was asked to be penned off with george i would be more than happy, i prefer the least number of horses in 1 field as possible but have no choice where i am and too many good points to counteract this one bad (imo) point.
 
thanks twh I think that may be the answer as the owner of one of the horses I know George gets on with hardly comes up to the yard and probably won't be too bothered about him going out with George, I just want to get things sorted as at the moment George is only getting a couple of hrs turnout.
 
Would your YO let you electric fence off a bit of the field? That way George could still see the others, but there would be a bit of distance between him and them. If YO is getting moaned at by other liveries, it would be in her interests to allow you to do this. I think some people get a bit precious about their horses sometimes - we should all expect the odd nick and graze from time to time, and not necessarily caused by another horse! My lad manages to scrape himself quite frequently, and he's in an individual paddock!
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Its not fair of the YO to only allow George a few hours turnout, if he was an evil nasty bully out for the kill, then yes, but he isnt, from what I gather he is a very sweet horse, he is just finding his place.

Jealousy is rife in livery yards and I wouldnt be surprised if some people were having a whinge because you have such a lovely horse.

Dont be bullied into letting your horse be unhappy, its summer, he should be out as much as you want him to be, you are paying for a service just like everyone else.

Dont discredit your own opinion just because he is your first horse, a lot of it is common sense, if every horse was seperated because there were a few cuts when a new horse was introduced, practially every horse in the country would be having individual turnout!
 
Thanks everyone, I'm sat here crying because I am so frustrated and maybe stupidly worried about what is going to happen and I don't have any horsey friends to talk to. You are right George is a lovely horse and certainly in the yard I have never seen him lay his ears back or even lift a leg, but I'm not so naive to realise that may not be the case in the field. I think that the YO is talking about partitioning the field but doesn't have any spare electric fence at the moment, so for now the restricted turnout is fair enough. The other liveries aren't moaning to my knowledge, but I'm not making a song and dance as I don't want them to think George is nasty. Most of the horses on the yard are really expensive (don't get me wrong though the horse's owners are really lovely and down to earth) so I think that is why the YO is being over cautious.
 
You poor soul, big hugs to you ;-)
Try not to stress I am sure everything will be fine, dont let your mind run riot thinking of worst case scenarios. I know exactly how you feel

xxx
 
((hugs)) Trish please dont let it upset you! I know its easy to say but really, its nothing for you to get upset about.

Im sure if you had a chat with your YO and told her just how worried you are, the she will put your mind at ease.

I can tell you for a fact if George was at our yard the YO would just be saying, let them get on with it, they wil sort it out between them.

And I agree!

We have some valuable horses too, but they all go out together, Beau was a right nightmare with the others when he first came, woldnt let anyone but Lance get any hay for a month! The others only got a look in when he had his fill!

They are all happy as larry now though, he was just seeing how bossy he could be!

George doesnt even sound like that, I highly recommend you sit and watch them for anfternoon, and I bet that its the other perhaps trying to have a go at George, and he is just asserting himself.
 
I'm going to go against the grain here and disagree with most of what other people have said.

I would expect him to be more or less intergrated now with his field companions - and if he's not after two months then I don't think he's going to be.

In your shoes I would be discussing alternative turnout arrangements and companions for your horse. It is not satisfactory for him to be only turned out for a few hours a day on his own. And if there is not another field he can be tried in, with a different bunch of horses I'm afraid I would be looking at another yard. One that perhaps has more flexibility in it's turnout arrangements.

I have had my new horse for seven weeks now. He tood quick a ribbing from one field mate in particular - but thankfully is not a fighter, so thankfully was not being kicked. It settled down pretty much after 5 weeks - but the situation was never such a concern that you would want to separate them. It was just a question of new kid on the block.

Your's sounds a little more than that. And whilst it's true that a new horse will take time to settle and be accepted I would have expected all the problems to have settled after two months.
 
I would have thought To have some cuts and scrapes from the field was normal.... but then I have 2 accident prone TB's who are always getting cuts and scraps.
Sounds a good idea to go and field watch, then you can get a better Idea of what is going on.

Are all the horses in the same field or are they in different fields?.... I was just wondering if there can be a swop around so that george is out with those he gets on with and then no ones is damaged
 
Let us know today please thinking about you cos I know what its like, please dont cry again though, look at the weather, look at your beautiful boy and look at what youve got, if a move is in the planning then go with it and you have got horsey friends to talk to WE ARE HERE!
 
Just out of interest but are there mares anywhere near..... Merlin is fine turned out with geldings or with a mare but if there are mares next to him when turned out with geldings then he is not a happy boy.... he spends the whole time beating the others up for looking at his ladies..... we are back to geldings only now and he is sooooo chillled!!!
 
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