Yard field/worries :(

G

Grumpymoo

Well-Known Member
Joined
18 July 2012
Messages
444
Visit site
Right, I will try and keep this as short as poss so please bear with me!

I moved to a new yard about a month ago and I love it. It's just me my friend and one of her other friends both who are very lovely and helpful. When I first arrived my boy went out with their two Shetlands as there was loads of grass out in the big field where their three big horses were. All was well and everyone was happy.

Unfortunately one of the big mares had to be moved into the field with my boy as she had been playing with the 2 year old gelding and he had several bad injuries from her so vet advised to separate. Within the first afternoon my boy had been kicked so we moved the mare on her own in the same field but separated by electric fencing. She has crashed through the fencing twice and kicked my boy two further times. She very dominant and last night whilst poo picking ( I have to walk through her part of the field to get to mine) she blocked me from going anywhere and turned her back end on me several times and tried to kick me so as i was fed up with her causing drama everytime i went through the field I made the descision to move my boy into the big field (less grass now) with the 2 year old gelding and a old mare. All seemed ok....

Until this evening I tried to bring my boy in and there was no chance, the other gelding was attacking/playing and I was getting caught up in the middle of it so had to let my boy go. My friend came in (she is much braver than me) and tried to get him in but the same thing happened in the end she caught her gelding so I could get mine out of the field. Now of course that is fine but she is not there every time I get to the yard and I do not want to handle this horse at all.

So I have no idea how I will get him in every day. I could just cry. It really scares me and my boy has been so good through it all and is really coming on now so feel like I am letting him down :(

Any ideas anyone :( my only other choice is for him to go out his own but also come winter they want them all to go out together. I don't want to say anything as they have done me a favour by letting me move there and I am happy otherwise. I just feel like giving up and getting rid of him now, I've only had him about 4 months and all I've had is problems and very little fun.

Thanks if you made it this far.
 
Could you make a paddock within one of the other paddocks with electric fence but with some proper wooden posts to strengthen it rather than the plastic ones which are easy to knock over or snap? Put it where you don't have to walk through the other horses and they do not have to walk through yours section .....may need to put extra bit to keep everything separate and create a walk way.

Maybe this could be in the field with the horses that don't kick your horse, but obviously want to play?

Alternatively if money is not an issue split the fields in two permanently.

Good luck with whatever you decide.
 
come winter they want them all to go out together. I don't want to say anything as they have done me a favour by letting me move there and I am happy otherwise
Click to expand...

You are going to have to talk to them. I wouldn't be happy if my horse was going to be turned out with an aggressive horse that injured other horses and threatened me when I wanted to catch my horse. It doesn't sound as if the 'playful' gelding is making catching your horse easy either. Hopefully the gelding will settle down as you have only recently moved your boy into his field. However I would keep an eye out for other yards.
 
I would section a bit off for yours on his own. They surely couldn't dispute this if your horse is getting hurt and you are getting scared.. There is no way this mare can go out with the others - she has already proven it! She may calm down a bit in winter, but I doubt it! I would be mortified if my horse was being like that and would do everything to help the other person out..
 
It doesn't seem fair :( I know my mare is a cowbag so I make every effort to keep her from doing anyone any harm by making walkways with electric fencing so nobody would have to walk through her paddock, let alone lead a horse through there. Luckily for me we are on our own now bar one sweet cob that she gets on with (over the fence) and she does respect any type of fencing. I think its difficult when they don't care about trashing fences but it really is the other owners' responsability to at least try and stop their horses injuring you or your boy.

No real advice there but you have my sympathy.
 
oh (((hugs)))) Grumpymoo im so sorry you are feeling down today, please talk to your friends and see what you can work out for your boy-maybe section off a bit for the aggressive horse as its the one causing a problem? horse ownership does have low days but the pleasure of a warm snuggle into a mane and knowing how much they need us keeps us going
.pm me anytime for a chat.x:)
 
To be fair they have both been great. The owner of the mare was so upset and very apologetic when she kicked my boy and she is currently on holiday so is not aware of recent events.

I like the idea of sectioning him his own bit off in the big field but might be difficult to make it so I don't have to walk through where the gelding is. I'll have to have a think.

It's hard cuz they have been on their own doing what they want I don't want to start interfering and make them feel like I am taking over.

I really don't want to move as I hate livery yards and have moved twice times already since I got him. This place is great as it is laid back with no one interfering/bossing around etc.

I guess they just don't realise how wimpy I am around other peoples horses!!
 
You're not being a pain, you're just trying to find a solution to a problem...

You could electric fence a section off for you, and a walkway in front for you to pass by the gelding, or have them pass through your section so that you are nearest to the gate...

When he is on his own and behaving, go and spend a little time with the other gelding so he doesn't scare you so much.
 
Thanks Archiepoo. I will email you when I get the chance :) and yes once I got my boy in we had a hug and he cheered me up.

Faracat - I've worked with some horrible horses in the past and it never bothered me but since I had a break from horsesI've lost the confidence and can only cope with the easier ones. To be fair the owner of the mare is having a terrible time with her herself but that's a whole other story!

Honey - I think I will have to go up when the others are both around and have a chat and see what they say and stop feeling sorry for myself!
 
From your original post it would seem that at least 3 horses in the scenario need groundwork lessons, as do their owners - to me this include you and your horse, the aggressive mare and the gelding mentioned keeping you from your horse.

I do not say this to be rude - however this is a health and safety issue, especially concerning the aggressive mare. If the horses do not understand that when you are there you are the boss and therefore shouldnt be interfered with then there is going to be an accident. I seriously think you should all have a IHRA out - as a non biased set of eyes to help you with this.

http://www.intelligenthorsemanship.co.uk/specialist-horse-training.html
 
Confidence is easy to lose and hard to build up. We've all had our wobbles, some big, some small but it does get better.

I hope that it all gets sorted out as you obviously like the yard very much. :)
 
Firstly don't be worrying, life is far to short and this is just a hurdle which you can resolve. Worrying will just cause you to stress more and make yourself sick, plus worrying will not sort it... So smiley face on and come up with a plan to resolve it :)

Second, sit down with the others and discuss options. You say they are happy to separate the others so this can easily be the case here, you just need to re-arrange the herd so they suit each other and more importantly you. There's no fun entering a field with a dominant horse and you shouldn't have to feel scared or at risk of harm... But that horses owner should take responsibility IMO.

Speak with the others, have a cuppa and sit down and chat.

In the mean time keep your boy in with the gelding so he doesn't get booted again by the mare and there's no immediate risk to him.

Good luck :)
 
... And also don't give up on your horse and feel like selling him. Once you establish a routine and get him settled it'll be fine but it takes time.
 
I have to say, if that mare was going for me when I went into her field and she turned her backside on me and threatened to kick, I'd make sure I always took a nice, short crop with me with one of those flat paddle bits on the end. When she turned her arse on me I'd crack her good and proper right across her backside. Cheeky, rude little cow. Is she like it with the owner?
 
Box_Of_Frogs said:
I have to say, if that mare was going for me when I went into her field and she turned her backside on me and threatened to kick, I'd make sure I always took a nice, short crop with me with one of those flat paddle bits on the end. When she turned her arse on me I'd crack her good and proper right across her backside. Cheeky, rude little cow. Is she like it with the owner?
Click to expand...

Personally, I would rather use a lunge whip if things came to that, short crops don't give you much room to avoid a pair of heels in the face do they?

OP it is no fun when this scenario happens, for anyone, as others say, sit yourselves down and plan how you can re-fence the grazing with walkways, preferably with the troublemaker at the furthest reaches so that you don't have to walk other horses past her.
 
At our old yard there used to be a pony who could be aggressive to us when we were bringing in. Unfortunately he belonged to YO & could do no wrong in her eyes. We kept a lunge whip by the gate & when he was being a problem we found just cracking it on the floor was enough to keep him away. A couple of days of this & he would keep away for the next 3-4 weeks.
 
Tiger tail - yes you are correct and both the other owners have someone coming out to help them with ground work. The mare has got a bigger issue going on and i really feel for her owner :(. I am also planning to do the same more to help build my confidence if anything else and to be fair my boy was very good yesterday and was just trying to avoid being beaten up.

Thanks everyone else for your advice and support. I spoke to the owner of the gelding this morning and she said I can put him in one of the back fields ( the fence is broken but I can get my husband up there with the electric fencing at the weekend) and move the Shetlands back in with him as there is no other horses around there. Just hope it works and they can stay like that through the winter!! Now I just need the weekend to hurry up so I can get him moved.
 
Grumpymoo said:
Tiger tail - yes you are correct and both the other owners have someone coming out to help them with ground work. The mare has got a bigger issue going on and i really feel for her owner :(. I am also planning to do the same more to help build my confidence if anything else and to be fair my boy was very good yesterday and was just trying to avoid being beaten up.
Click to expand...

It might be a really good idea for you to ask if you can sit in on the lesson to get some tips in how they are planning on handling her so if you need to handle her you can do so in a manner consistent with everyone else. Really positive you are all getting help, and hopefully it will be resolved soon :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top