Horse Problem - Beat Up Horse- Horse constantly getting beat up by other horses

It took a while as she was unable to cope with horses being in view and not being with her, but this was inevitable as I don't own the other horses. She enjoys traveling in her box to shows and meets her pals on walks.

I bought a mirror and begged the other horse owners to let me play with their horses, bringing them in and grooming them, taking them for walks so my horse got used to them coming and going whilst having another with her, then progressing to short spells on her own with her pals in view. I had been practising this previously but I believe she was feeling very vulnerable losing her old pal and needed time to recover. I'm very lucky to have a little star who wants to spend time playing with me and enjoys being in the field with her pals (and having owners willing to let me use their horses to help).

Thank you for reminding me to think and think again of their welfare. I try always to keep her welfare in mind, but unfortunately it is very difficult to arrange this in every situation, but you always have to try harder.

I have one more question to ask if you are able to help!

I have a good friend at her wits end: she has a two-year-old Trakehner gelding who from the very beginning misjudged and got himself into trouble with horses. He was bought from a field where he was kept with a young yearling group with an older large gelding, so had been brought up with other horses. He then moved to his new yard and always seemed to get injured when out in the field with mixed ages and sexes.

He then had to be moved again due to the amount of horses moving onto yard, so moved to a farm with five other horses, mostly mature horses within a well established herd, both geldings and mares. He was bullied and panicked and ended up running into fences; this had never happened at this yard and was very much unseen in two of the horses who ended up being the aggressors. Due to the seriousness of the injuries, he again had to move (at this stage he recovered from his wounds and was being accepted on the outskirts of the group but the owner was living in fear he would damage himself further in the less than perfect fences.)

Twice more he moved one time as the owner found the yard owner had been leading him to the field in a chifney and admitted to hitting him on the head when he 'needed it' so it was no longer an option to stay. Finally he moved onto his previous yard with her other horse, a mature large mare, who had gotten over her initial dislike of him and settled into a fairly even keel with him and two other mares. Once spring arrived, things started to go a little pear shaped as the mares came into season and tended to bully him. He was found to be mounting the mares but they were pretty persistent, but whether he was the initiator or the victim, it was hard to say.

Now a good strong two-year-old, he was moved into a mixed field where there was more grass and different companions as the owners of older mares didn't want him in with them. (They also operate a separate sex field system). He quickly found a firm favourite and they constantly boxed and played but the other horses are very intolerant of his ignorant behaviour; he now has not got a foot square of unmarked skin and is now under vet treatment for injuries, two of which are looking like major joint injuries where there may be life long consequences. Everyone else's opinions have been: he's just young and they have to find their way, but I can't believe this can go on. I used to see an ignorant youngster reading the signs wrong and getting into trouble, but now it appears he is now just pushing his luck and chooses to ignore any reprimands from any other horse and puts himself in the firing line. She is a friend and I dearly want to help, but I haven't the knowledge to clearly advise. Whilst there was major handling problems with him, both parties have worked out a respect system around the stable handling, but there are still issues when he is lead, but he is also a large (16hh) two year old!

I do apologise if this is ridiculously long!! If you can help in any way I am sure she will be eternally grateful.

Effective Round Penning Techniques
 

My Whispering Way Round Pen Leadership DVD also teaches the art of natural horsemanship round penning visually. To learn more about and order that video: CLICK HERE

Have her do these bonding exercises after that:

Horse Whispering "Tricks of the Trade" - To relax horse, build trust & bond them to us

Then have her teach him this exercise:

Leading Problems - Horse runs over human/How to teach horse back-up cue on ground

Then have her teach him this:

Driving Horse in Circle Around You on the Ground - 4 problems, same solution

Accomplishing all the above will produce a positively transformed horse, I guarantee you, if all are done right. Do them all every time she works with the horse and within a couple of weeks she's going to see the horse start transforming all by himself out in pasture with other horses. I've seen it happen hundreds of times, so I know it works.

All of the above (and much, much more) is taught in my Whispering Way 12-Step Total Training System DVD set. Usually it helps to see this natural horsemanship art taught visually, to really understand how it is all done. You can get that DVD set here: CLICK HERE

And incidentally...my Whispering Way Complete Training Package contains all my videos and training tools that you need to train or retrain your horse yourself the natural horsemanship Whispering Way. You can check out/order the Whispering Way Complete Training Package on my web site here: CLICK HERE

Pass that to her and she should see a turnaround there and less injuries from other horses. See...when she's teaching all the above to the horse, she's posing herself as "lead mare" of his herd, but speaking in the language of natural horsemanship, and he starts to learn to listen more to this kind of "horse talk" and learn how to respond correctly to it. Once he learns all the above lessons she will teach him, he will take that back with him and out into his world with horses and be totally transformed, you'll see! Doesn't take that long either.

Just today I had a client come in with their horse, a horse I've been working with, formerly abused horse (before they got him) who used to be a real basket case, a mess, because of his past abuse. Well...as I've been fixing him, they noticed he totally transformed out in pasture with other horses. Gets along better, is happier all around, etc., etc. I hear this nonstop and see it for myself with horses I have taken in for training. Fix the inside of the horse (with the right NH training), and the outside automatically follows. Every time!

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