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Discussion on HELP!! My Horse is getting hurt
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New Member:
rtmicucc
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 18, 2016 - 11:09 am:
Hello! I am fairly a beginner and new to all of this. My gelding is 11 years old, he is a trail horse. I found a place to board him, the woman has 2 mares, one is sweet about 20 years old and the other is a rescue, she is about 7 and was abused and still aggressive. I was hesitant on boarding him there because of her. Well its been a week and he has 4 marks on him because of her. this last one he got last night is really bad. She keeps them all in the same paddock and makes light of this. When we tried to ride him today for the first time he was lazy and just not what we expected after riding him the first day we got him at a different place. I don't know if I should just get him out of there, or what to do. If this other mare is bullying him and biting and kicking him, would that make him uninterested in being ridden?
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Member:
moxshi
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 18, 2016 - 12:08 pm:
Traci, did you have the gelding vet checked before you bought him? He may be coming down with a cold or other illness, or if his feed changed, he could have indigestion/colic.
Watch him to be sure he is acting normal. I'm sure he doesn't like being picked on. When a new horse is brought in, it is most common to put them over the fence from the other horses or one other horse until they get acquainted . . . and, then, put them together for a short time under supervision until you know they are "okay" in the group or with their new friend.
He may have gotten kicked, and if he was chased all night, he may be very tired today and not ready to be ridden. Usually, one doesn't ride the new horse as soon as he gets to the new place. Give him some time to adjust and just take him on long leadline walks around the property so he can get used to the sights and sounds of the new place. It will help when you ride him, too, if he is already somewhat familiar with the layout and trails at the new boarding facility. If you have any doubts about his health, have a vet come and check him over. There are so many different things that can make a horse feel low. Depending on where you got him, he could have pneumonia or strangles, too. Read as much as you can on this site and in other reputable publications. Hope your horse will be happy . . . If he isn't happy, you will want to look for a place where he can be happy. 
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Member:
lsweeney
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Posted on Thursday, Aug 18, 2016 - 1:19 pm:
With horses that are kept together, it is important that they can get away from each other. Otherwise, the dominant horse may be able to corner the horse and run them around all night long. Typically, once they have established the pecking order, this kind of behavior settles down. That said, horses can injure one another. So it is a risk you take putting them together.
Also, 3 is not a great number. I had 2 horses that were together for 10 years. I could camp with them in the same pen. They would share feed. I got a 3rd horse, a yearling, and all hell broke out. I now had a "herd". The herd now needed a leader and a pecking order. The two horses that were best of friends could no longer be penned together and sharing feed was out of the question......over night. The dominant mare was almost dangerous if you were caught in the middle. Once everyone knew their role, things settled down, but if the dominant mare flicked her ear, everyone went running.
So your horse may also not be getting its feed. I had my older mare penned up, and she would not eat if the dominant mare was glaring at her from outside the pen. How far is the feed set apart when they feed? If they are putting it in one big pile, then your horse may be odd man out.
When you move a horse under the best of circumstances, it is stressful for them. They worry about their surroundings and you may have a change in feed. Also, if you are riding him in new surroundings, he may not want to leave the other horses and the "safety" of what he knows about this new place.
When I was 12, we bought a green broke horse. She had always been at one stables. I could ride her around these stables. It was safe and comfortable in her mind. We then moved her to a new stables close to our home. She would refuse to move more than 10 feet from her paddock - terrified of her new surroundings.
See if it makes a difference if someone goes riding with you.
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