# Horse and New Buddy Not Getting Along



## 5kiddos (Nov 15, 2012)

I have only had my horse for a few months, and he is my first horse. Currently he is in an individual pen at a boarding facility. Recently, they moved a mare in with him and she has quickly become the dominant one. My horse is getting kicked, bit and chased around. He gets pushed from one feeding area to the other constantly. When I return him to the pen after he has been out, she treats him like any angry wife; chasing him and kicking him into the shelter. He has several bites and one pretty nasty cut with a lot of swelling already on one leg from being kicked. 

I realize that this is normal behaviour, but worry about him being constantly stressed and picked on by the mare. He tries to avoid her, but the pen is not that large, so he hasn't really got anywhere to go. Some say I should ask for him to be moved to his own pen, others say to let it go, give it more time, it's normal. 

What do you all think I should do?


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## PaintHorseMares (Apr 19, 2008)

It is always best for introductions to be done with a fence between them. Once together it usually takes a week or so for things to calm down. I wouldn't start with them together in a small pen, though ( we use our riding ring... 100x200). Feeding time/food will bring out the "boss" even more.
Mares take the pecking order very seriously....and there are always scrapes, bites, and cuts.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

It may never change. Do you have the option of moving him?
That does not sound like a very good situation to me. Don't be surprised if he loses weight and ends up looking like a battlefield survivor. Poor guy.
The facility may be short on space but they still need to offer each horse a safe environment. You may need to look for another place.


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## 5kiddos (Nov 15, 2012)

I am trying to get him moved. Waiting to hear if they have another pen available or if they might be able to pair him up with a different horse. 

I read another post about Horse Getting Picked On, and it sounds like my guy. He definitely is not aggressive and does not fight back. He will only end up hurt, or at least, with ulcers or some other stress related issues. I don't want either, so I am moving him.


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## churumbeque (Dec 20, 2009)

Mares should be with mares and boys with boys. although I've had a mare and gelding get along just fine any horses are going to fight over food and that is going to be an issue
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## dbarabians (May 21, 2011)

I have always pastured my mares and geldings together and will continue to do so.
Everytime you take your horse out of the pen for longer than an hour or two the mare is going to assert her dominance over him each time he returns.
How small of a pen is it? 
If it is not enough space for 2 horses to avoid each other then I would insist on moving him.
If they are in that pen together 24/7 then things should settle down. If however you stall them at night apart then every morning she is going to make sure he understands she is the boss. Shalom


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## Palomine (Oct 30, 2010)

Move him. Now.

I am having to face putting Kola down, because of other horses getting to him last year.

The barn should NEVER have put a horse in with yours, if it was your area for your horse. And imagine they are not lowering price.

Your horse will get hurt, and you will either have severely injured horse, or a dead one.

And while some of this is normal? There are simply some horses that are too much of a bully to ever stable with another horse safely.


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## Sunnylucy (Jul 3, 2012)

I feel bad for you and your horse. Move him, insist on it. They may have put the mare with him because they were running out of options on who to put her with if she is like this with all horses. Why should your horse suffer especially not being able to feed, that's a big problem. Did they even consult with you before putting them together? Are you supposed to have and paying for individual turn out? Is the paddock big enough for two horses? I'd move him before it costs you in vet bills.


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## Casey02 (Sep 20, 2011)

I agree with palomino..my horse got the snot kicked out of him by another ladys mare. The mare would come running across the pen if mine was at the waterier and start kicking him, chasing him constantly, and wouldnt leave him alone . That mare was insane though. I think the mare was bored myself, she has no job. I understand that horses do this to each other but when my horse was coming back with kick marks two inches under his eye and a bald butt...I said enough enough. I put him in a smaller pen with my friends mare who gets along with him way better and we haven't had any problems with her. Though the owner of the crazy mare used to put my horse in with hers when she felt like it... lets just put it this way she leave my horse alone now. Oh I should also add this is self boarding place.. so everyone figures everything out themselves


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## Skyseternalangel (Jul 23, 2011)

That isn't normal... I would have tied my horse outside and gone in there to chase her down her the halter, a whip, some rocks.. you name it. That's not cool!

Move him out of there.


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## KountryPrincess (Oct 23, 2012)

I would say at my barn, the hardest thing for my BO is arranging the small herds that go into the turnouts. I board at a place with a 28 stall barn, the stalls are 12 x 24 pipe corrals under a long rooftop, and each end and the back of the barn are enclosed to cut down on wind. The horses stay in their stalls at night, and when it is raining. During the day, they are turned out in small herds. There are seven turnouts of varying size. The herds range from 2-6 horses, and, unfortunately, at the beginning of the month when we have new horses come in, sometimes for training, some for long term boarding, my poor BO has to kind of rework the turnout groups to accomidate the new horses.

She is pretty particular in the way the horses are introduced. First off, we almost never have mare and geldings turned out together. It is just more trouble than it is worth to deal with that.....although many of us (myself included) have kept mares and geldings together succesfully, they are trickier to pair up. Typically the mares are more high strung and dominant, exactly like what you are describing.

Second, the horses are introduced slowly. The herd members have their stalls together in the barn, so the horse going into a herd will get a stall next to their new potential herd mates so they can visit. During the day, she will use the outdoor arena, which has a pipe corral attached to it, to let the horses continue to socialize. The new horse goes in the pipe corral and the others hang out in the arena. She watches them and if they seem good, the next day they all go into the arena together. That way they can be watched. If they start really getting into it, help is close by, and she and some of the staff will run in and separate them as soon as it is safe, and they will try the new horse with a different group. If they get along reasonably well, the following day they go out to their regular turnout. BTW, we have a huge covered arena and miles of trail access, so people don't mind when the outdoor arena is used to introduce new horses.

If this sounds like a lot of trouble, it is because it is , but it is the safest way to manage new herds and changing herds. My BO will not hesitate to change the herd groupings if a horse is getting picked on, and she can tell you what positon each horse holds in their particular herd because she watches them so closely. She is a gem. 

The bottom line IMO is that horses can get badly hurt or even killed in the wrong herd, and it is too risky to keep horses that are not getting along, together. I think your horse needs to be safe, and that means probably moving the mare.


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## Dustbunny (Oct 22, 2012)

KountryPrincess...your barn sounds like a very nice facility, and your BO is a gem. Lucky horses to live there.


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## KountryPrincess (Oct 23, 2012)

Dustbunny said:


> KountryPrincess...your barn sounds like a very nice facility, and your BO is a gem. Lucky horses to live there.


Yes, I am very lucky and I know it. It is frustrating though that my what my BO does seems absent in a lot of facilities, because what she does is simply the right way to introduce horses and manage them in a herd. It would be terribly hard to deal with a place like the OPs that just throws new horses together without introduction, and then not separate them when it is clear they aren't getting along. Unless the BO wants to pay my vet bills, I expect normal care to be given when turing my mare out with other horses. Accidents can always happen, but if you are careful, you can minimize risk.


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