WWYD? if you thought someone was hitting your horse

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dumpling

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As title. I've just wrote this all out and then stupid laptop decided it would log me out! Please see my previous post from around a fortnight ago to get the jist.

Basically I am on DIY livery and 'share' a field with another livery who is mentioned in my previous post. Her pony is succeptable to laminitis so has a small paddock within the field and my boy has the rest. Her paddock has been moved to the other side of the field recently and she therefore has to walk a couple of strides out her paddock and through the actual field to get to the gate. Now I was aware that at some point she would probably moan about this however I wasn't too bothered as I know my boy is well behaved and will move off if you wave your hands at him. 2 weeks on, YO tells me other livery has asked for a fence to be put up so she can get out of the field without being 'hassled' by my boy. I didn't have a problem with this, and was actually happier with it as I knew she couldn't get on to him if he came near.

On a few occassions that I have been working into the evening I have went to bring him in and he has been dripping with sweat. I thought perhaps I had maybe put too heavy a rug on him as the weather is constantly changing, however tonight I had a horrible thought . I turned up at the yard at a strange time and met other livery bringing her pony in carrying a long schooling stick. Now she has never taken a stick out with her before when her pony was in the field on its own, so I can only imagine she is hitting my boy with it :(. There is absoultely no need for her to do this as he has his own little rope gate behind his fence now which is a few feet back from the gate.

You may think it's a drastic thought but my reasoning for thinking along these lines is that last Winter a fellow livery asked her to bring her 2 quiet mares in who were standing at the gate and she went in guns blazing with a schooling stick to move them away from the gate! She is not confident at all. The result of that was that I had to go and bring them in as she couldn't catch them.

Now I'm not a violent person but if I ever catch her hitting my horse I will just perhaps combust and pin her against a wall. I cannot stand the thought of her doing this for no reason whatso ever to my boy. I obviously have to catch her doing it first. I went to get him in shortly afterwards and he jumped back at me opening his rope gate. What would you do? :(
 
I would be concerned.:( Can The YO put her in a paddock on her own?

EDT if I caught anyone hitting my mare without a valid reason (i.e. she had kicked them which she wouldn't), I would beat them from here to the next county.
 
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If she was hitting your horse and he is a calm pony the doesn't need it then I would be really annoyed, but I'm not going to lie, I carry a schooling stick when going in our fields as we have 17hh hunters who hog the gate and sometimes just me waggling the whip has much more of an effect then me physically trying to move them
 
I'd hit them back. Fortunately my mare would laugh at someone waving a lungewhip at her and probably purposely kick their head in for it.
Definately go and speak to your yard owner
 
I would ask her if she taking the whip with her to fetch her horse in to bash my horse with and if she says "yes", I would tell her that I will wrap the *******ing whip around her head the next time she hits my horse.
Job done?

If she says "No", you can maybe tell if she is lying and ask YO to shift her horse away so she cannot come into contact with yours. My general thought is that if your horse is acting differently and you are suspicious, you're usually right. Short of CCTV, you've got to go with your gut.

P.S. don't actually hit her or you may be arrested. Unless it's dark. And there's no proof it was you :cool:
 
dumpling said:
As title. I've just wrote this all out and then stupid laptop decided it would log me out! Please see my previous post from around a fortnight ago to get the jist.

Basically I am on DIY livery and 'share' a field with another livery who is mentioned in my previous post. Her pony is succeptable to laminitis so has a small paddock within the field and my boy has the rest. Her paddock has been moved to the other side of the field recently and she therefore has to walk a couple of strides out her paddock and through the actual field to get to the gate. Now I was aware that at some point she would probably moan about this however I wasn't too bothered as I know my boy is well behaved and will move off if you wave your hands at him. 2 weeks on, YO tells me other livery has asked for a fence to be put up so she can get out of the field without being 'hassled' by my boy. I didn't have a problem with this, and was actually happier with it as I knew she couldn't get on to him if he came near.

On a few occassions that I have been working into the evening I have went to bring him in and he has been dripping with sweat. I thought perhaps I had maybe put too heavy a rug on him as the weather is constantly changing, however tonight I had a horrible thought . I turned up at the yard at a strange time and met other livery bringing her pony in carrying a long schooling stick. Now she has never taken a stick out with her before when her pony was in the field on its own, so I can only imagine she is hitting my boy with it :(. There is absoultely no need for her to do this as he has his own little rope gate behind his fence now which is a few feet back from the gate.

You may think it's a drastic thought but my reasoning for thinking along these lines is that last Winter a fellow livery asked her to bring her 2 quiet mares in who were standing at the gate and she went in guns blazing with a schooling stick to move them away from the gate! She is not confident at all. The result of that was that I had to go and bring them in as she couldn't catch them.

Now I'm not a violent person but if I ever catch her hitting my horse I will just perhaps combust and pin her against a wall. I cannot stand the thought of her doing this for no reason whatso ever to my boy. I obviously have to catch her doing it first. I went to get him in shortly afterwards and he jumped back at me opening his rope gate. What would you do? :(
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Say you obviouly dont know diddly squat about horses so please stay away from mine ... she will find herself getting kicked or trampled or cause one to get injured so its at best bad horsemanship and at worst abuse... she needs some lessons from a good instructor to help her confidence and handeling skils
 
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I turned up at my yard one day to find my boss holding a long stick in the air and swearing blue murder at a horse, and then saw that it was mine :( I told him immediately that in my capacity as an owner and not as his employee if I ever caught him hitting my horse like that again, I'd take the stick to him and see how he liked it.

He said she 'wouldn't stand still when he was putting shoes on'. Funny thay, what with her being 3 and having never had shoes on before. Even funnier when I stood and watched him shoe her (to make sure he didn't touch her again) and she completely went to sleep while he shod her...

If this woman is hitting your horse, my advice would be to stand up to her. She's a bully, and if you employ the same tactic as she has with your horse, i.e. stand up to her, she may well back down.
 
Bettyboo222 said:
If she was hitting your horse and he is a calm pony the doesn't need it then I would be really annoyed, but I'm not going to lie, I carry a schooling stick when going in our fields as we have 17hh hunters who hog the gate and sometimes just me waggling the whip has much more of an effect then me physically trying to move them
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OP just because she was carrying a schooling whip does mean she hit your horse with it, as the above post shows.
You need to try to be around and see what's going on for a while or try asking her to her face , or speak to the yard owner and say you are worried .
 
I had something like this happen with my head shy mare.

She was stabled next to a gelding who liked to put his bum under her door just out of reach of her muzzle but in her stable space. So she got grumpy and pulled faces at him to get him to move. Geldings owner ended up waving her hands in my mares face to get her to stop which then brought back the head shy issues that had been nearly done the past few years. My sister caught her doing it and had a massive go as we had told her that she is head shy please be carefull round her head. And your gelding is winding her up could you move him over a tie ring.

But no she knew best.

I would try and catch her in the act or get a second fence line up so she really can't get to him at all. Or ask YO to move him. Or get him him before she is there.
 
It depends how your horse behaved when she's trying to get hers in. Many owners thinks the sun shines out their horses backsides but they are often badmannered pushy brats to other people. Just because he moves away from an arm wave from you doesn't mean he does for her!

If you horse is crowding along the fence line, potentially biting or annoying her pony, I too would be carrying a stick and chase him off with it. The fact she's asked the YO to sort a seperate fence line suggests your horse is being a pain.

Being chased away from the gate will not be enough to get him all het up and sweaty? Is he living by himself? He's probably really stressed when she takes his only sort-of-friend away!

Maybe she is leathering his with the stick (in which case I'd be furios) but it's be suprised if she does more than swish it at him. To be honest I'd expect someone to do that to my horse is if it's barging up at the fence line, being annyoing.
 
Tbh, if someone hit one of mine, I'd go visit them in hospital. One numpty did try threatening mine with a whip. One just blanked her, has no fear of people. And if pushed would put them in their place like an unruly youngster. The other is fear aggressive, & will attack, resulting in whip waver running for their lives. Both of mine will move over, back etc for a small toddler, not lacking manners at all. But typical mares in that if some fool approaches them aggressively screaming 'get back' they won't. The older just plants, the younger attacks back. If I were you op, I'd speak to the yo.
 
Depends why they had hit him. If he deserved it and it was straight away and not over the top, then fair enough.

If it was for no reason or too violent, the red mist would descend and I would probably punch them in the face :)
 
Kallibear said:
It depends how your horse behaved when she's trying to get hers in. Many owners thinks the sun shines out their horses backsides but they are often badmannered pushy brats to other people. Just because he moves away from an arm wave from you doesn't mean he does for her!

If you horse is crowding along the fence line, potentially biting or annoying her pony, I too would be carrying a stick and chase him off with it. The fact she's asked the YO to sort a seperate fence line suggests your horse is being a pain.

Being chased away from the gate will not be enough to get him all het up and sweaty? Is he living by himself? He's probably really stressed when she takes his only sort-of-friend away!

Maybe she is leathering his with the stick (in which case I'd be furios) but it's be suprised if she does more than swish it at him. To be honest I'd expect someone to do that to my horse is if it's barging up at the fence line, being annyoing.
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In regards to this post by Kallibear ^ . I'm not daft, I have worked with various horses over the years and don't get me wrong, I will go in myself with a stick if there's a lot of big bolshy horses and I'm at the risk of being in between them. He is not the type to 'crowd' the fence line, nor try and bite out at the other pony, he his far too interested in stuffing his face or sleeping! The fact she has asked for a fence to be put up is purely because that is what she's like. Every yard she has been at she's had to have her own field or her own line and gateway to get into it. There is sufficent room in her 'pathway' to drive a tractor down so no need to whip him to get away from biting hers.

And actually, I do believe it is enought to get him sweaty. He will get wound up within himself and perhaps run about a bit and get himself in a panic. And he can see horses in opposite field so not worried in that sense and never has been a worrier on his own if ever left.
 
I think you are jumping to conclusions! I know plenty of people who might carry a stick with them in those sort of situations, I might if your horse was crowding but I wouldn't hit him, its just an arm extension to guide as I don't see a stick as something to be used as a weapon. I used to carry a stick when I had a feed shed in the same field as where I had a share horse and the other horse was extremely bolshy, his owner could give a slight wave and he would stand on the spot but he sure wouldn't with me. I didn't want to get trampled but I wouldn't have hit him either. I might have prodded him if he was on top of me though!

If she has the separate gate set up then maybe the stick is for her own horse being silly?
 
Goldenstar said:
OP just because she was carrying a schooling whip does mean she hit your horse with it, as the above post shows.
You need to try to be around and see what's going on for a while or try asking her to her face , or speak to the yard owner and say you are worried .
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Very true, but I would then ask, what else could she possibly be doing with it?
 
Kallibear said:
It depends how your horse behaved when she's trying to get hers in. Many owners thinks the sun shines out their horses backsides but they are often badmannered pushy brats to other people. Just because he moves away from an arm wave from you doesn't mean he does for her!

If you horse is crowding along the fence line, potentially biting or annoying her pony, I too would be carrying a stick and chase him off with it. The fact she's asked the YO to sort a seperate fence line suggests your horse is being a pain.

Being chased away from the gate will not be enough to get him all het up and sweaty? Is he living by himself? He's probably really stressed when she takes his only sort-of-friend away!

Maybe she is leathering his with the stick (in which case I'd be furios) but it's be suprised if she does more than swish it at him. To be honest I'd expect someone to do that to my horse is if it's barging up at the fence line, being annyoing.
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This, there are a few on my yard, 'oh she is a doll to get in', said horse has kicked 3 people who are all quiet and nice when trying to bring her in, she is a cow, unless mummy is there!

I also know that mine is good for me but has had others skiing down the track on the end of a lead rope.

If it were me I would try and be up there when she brings hers in and watch her and your horse, out of site mind so your horse behaves as it wold and she behaves as she would.

However I would be livid if I caught someone hitting my horse with no reason.
 
I don't care what the situation is or why and how, if my gut feeling is not good about this, I'd have a stern conversation with this person and the barn owner together and get it resolved. I would also warn her of your thoughts about if she has hit your horse in the past or ever does in the future. Whips can leave marks, find them. I would also consider a companion for your gelding so that he is not at such a loss when she is taken out.
Fend this situation off from the get go and get it resolved. Only you truly love your horse and only you can advocate for him. Start now.
 
dumpling said:
Very true, but I would then ask, what else could she possibly be doing with it?
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Waving it at him ?
I mean a free horse in a field would have to be very thick or very bargy and rude to get more than one smack from a person on the other side of a walkway because it would just take itself away it's not like she can trap him somewhere and hit him .
 
Goldenstar said:
Waving it at him ?
I mean a free horse in a field would have to be very thick or very bargy and rude to get more than one smack from a person on the other side of a walkway because it would just take itself away it's not like she can trap him somewhere and hit him .
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From experience of her, she doesn't do waving, it would be contact because as she's said many a time 'she doesn't have the time to deal with it' and thats in regards to anything whether it be horses, driving, people at her work, you name it.

Fair enough about the only takes one time. I'm not saying it was every night, as majority of nights I bring him in before her.
 
Tonibird83 said:
I would ask her if she taking the whip with her to fetch her horse in to bash my horse with and if she says "yes", I would tell her that I will wrap the *******ing whip around her head the next time she hits my horse.
Job done?

If she says "No", you can maybe tell if she is lying and ask YO to shift her horse away so she cannot come into contact with yours. My general thought is that if your horse is acting differently and you are suspicious, you're usually right. Short of CCTV, you've got to go with your gut.

P.S. don't actually hit her or you may be arrested. Unless it's dark. And there's no proof it was you :cool:
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^^ this... you can tell when someone is lying, they often take a quick glance to the left before speaking....
 
showaddy1 said:
^^ this... you can tell when someone is lying, they often take a quick glance to the left before speaking....
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Thanks, I do like this however, she is not speaking to me at the moment for reasons stated in my post a few weeks ago. When she was speaking to me, she did not take a stick out to the field! Sounds insane!
 
Having seen my best friend get her wrist concertina-d by trying to get her horse out the field and another horse kicking him making him squash her against the gate I can understand if she had the whip in a field full of horses but if your boy isnt in with her horse and is behind another fence then Id be smacking her with the whip.

If my horse was chasing others when they were coming in then I wouldnt mind people seeing him off as long as they didnt bash him (ubkess he was going over the top of them (but highly unlikely as I instill manners in all my horses) but if hes nt and folk are chasing hi with a whip they would be wearing it or eating it im afraid.
 
The fact that your horse was sweating would be because he was to hot and/or if she had brought the pony in he was charging around because his mate was gone.

The fact that the woman is nervous would make him more likely to hassle her and if she was carrying a whip does not mean she used it and if she did then he was to close to her for her to be able to reach him.

I agree to ask the YO for a different set up.
 
I find it quite bemusing that so many people are hanging this woman for carrying a stick when bringing in, you said yourself you haven't seen her hit him. Maybe she is carrying it for her own horse? Maybe your horse is being a git and she needs it for safety? Maybe maybe maybe. All because your horse has been sweaty when coming in, a horse who has been rugged when it has been unseasonably warm and you said yourself that it could be that.

Find out for sure before you accuse someone, or as I am sure you will say you haven't directly accused her, infer that she might be hitting your horse.

If you do find out for sure THEN hang her.
 
I agree Batgirl! I think its all a bit over the top when there is really no evidence to suggest she has hit the horse and if she had, the horse would run away and not come back more than once, the sweatiness would be down to companion going away and/or unexpectedly warm weather I am sure.
 
Thank you for your replies. I'm not looking for a 'yes youre right she's hitting your horse' response, I appreciate everyone has reasons why and what could be happening and I'm willing to take them on as a consideration and hoping that perhaps that is the fact.

I've had my pony brought in by many people over the years and he's never been a problem for anyone. On one of the yards I've been at, children could go in and catch their pony without the fear that they'd get attacked by mine! To add to the bag, he is fully clipped and been out with a lightweight rug on, it's only now that temperatures have dropped up here that he's out with 200gm. If I hadn't seen the way she behaved last Winter I don't suppose I would've thought along these lines, but the mere fact I have makes me think something's not right. My YO even laughed when she asked for a fence up because she knows what shes like and what my boy is like.
 
If I personally saw ANYONE raising their hand to my horse I would report to local SPCA! however if you havent' seen it happen its hard to prove!! One of the horses my Mare is turned out with knows I bring treats up with me to catch her & she is about 17hh & has at times tried to barge my mare out of the way to get to my pockets!!! Would never tream of touching her though - the fecker gets an apple launched at high speed across field so she goes running after it!
 
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