Horse Overly Dominant In Field-Can I Change That?

[zojesha]

I have a 10 year old QH mare that is super dominant in the field. I’ve always boarded her and for the last month we’ve had her at our new farm. I purchased an older mare to be her companion so she wouldn’t be alone. Well long story short, she’s super mean to this older mare. The older mare tries to stay far away from her…and that means standing out in the super cold rain, not eating, and sometimes not drinking if it means having to go by the dominant mare.

Aside from completely separating them, is there a way to tune my dominant mare down a bit so this other mare can live with her comfortably? Any tricks of the trad? The older mare has arthritis so having to move quickly to get out of the other mares way sometimes isn’t feasible. Because of this, she’s been kicked and ran through fences. I’d like to beat my younger mare silly. She’s really over the top and just does it to be a jerk (because she can).

FYI: when I go in the paddock, I am the boss. I don’t take any crap and my younger mare will not come by the older mare if I am handling the older mare. She knows better.

[Scoutranger]

Mare Magic suppliment? Or she could be resource guarding… Make sure you have two water troughs, seperate hay piles, seperate feed pans, and ideally, seperate run ins or atleast very large ones. OR throw another dominant mare in there to change things up.

[Macimage]

@zojesha

The older mare has arthritis so having to move quickly to get out of the other mares way sometimes isn’t feasible. Because of this, she’s been kicked and ran through fences.

You need to separate them immediately. This is cruel.

[2DogsFarm]

How long have you had these 2 together?
Can you separate them with fenceline between?

Maybe run t-posts & (hot?) wire to cut one field into 2 smaller.
That way they can see each other & could eventually learn to get along.

[danacat]

If you want to keep the older mare – and/or returning her to her former home isn’t an option…

…there is one thing you might try. And that is:

Leave your younger mare outside and bring the new older mare into the barn and put her in a comfy stall with all the amenities. Reason for this is to create ‘seperation anxiety’ in your younger mare.

Horses DO bond in a short amount of time, even though one seemingly hates the other. So, by separating them you just might find that your nasty younger mare MISSES the older mare and thus will frantically call for her, run the fence, etc.

If this happens – which it hopefully will (fingers crossed) – you can then lead the older mare outside and up to the pasture fence so that younger mare can see her – can see that she’s not gone. I would rinse and repeat this a few times. You really want your younger mare to WANT her back. This form of seperation anxiety can do wonders – and often makes the reintroduction – turning them out together – a lot less volitile.

[Guilherme]

The short answer is “no.” The herd instinct includes a herd hierarchy. I don’t know of any reliable way to alter that hierarchy. Remember that horses are not birds, they don’t “bond” like birds do (or humans do). The herd organization is primarily pyramidal. This does not mean there are not “lateral” relationships; there are. But they are secondary to the hierarchical structure.

During periods of turnout horses revert to being “horses” not “domestic animals.” You see shadows of what they might be in “the state of nature.” You are seeing the REAL horse formed by a couple of million years of evolution vice the horse formed by a few thousand years of domestication. Darwinian theory is playing out before your eyes.

You can try the suggested period of separation, but put the younger mare into seclusion, not the older one. Make the younger mare work by round pen work, demanding work under saddle, anything to make her bend her will to yours. Do this for at least a couple of weeks, likely longer, until you get routine compliance with your will. Then try re-turning her out but make sure the older mare is in the pasture first. That tells the younger mare that there is another horse there first and they will have to adjust. Maybe the dominant trait will immediately surface and you’ll have to separate them permanently. Maybe it won’t. But this gives you “a” chance.

Good luck in your program.

G.

[zojesha]

Once I noticed that the older mare was being secluded, we sectioned off our run-in (it’s actually a run-through in the barn) and essentially made a stall for the older mare. We are planning on making this run-through into 2 stalls and sectioning the paddock so that they both can go outside but are next to eachother. As of now, I let them be together most of the time and also put them in the big pasture together (I know they are both eating what they want out in the open pasture). At night I will bring the older mare in the stall so I know she is eating all her hay and getting her water at leisure.

I know it’s cruel that the older mare is being pushed around (that is why I am looking for suggestions) but on the other hand, I want them to be able to be together also. They both have a fit when one is taken away. I guess all we can do is make the two stalls with their own separate paddocks next to each other.

ps…this has been an ongoing evolution since we’ve had the horses on our own property (one month). I’m not new to horses but I am new to farm ownership. So this is a work in progress to keep my horses comfortable.

[rockymouse]

I’m merely passing along something a rancher once told me: for two horses that did not get along, he’d put them in a trailer and take them for a ride. Doesn’t have to be many hours, but for awhile. He said the experience of trailering tends to make horses seek comfort in each other. Not that I’d expect the mares to become best pals, but trailering them for several days in a row may make for an interesting experiment.

[Guilherme]

@zojesha

Once I noticed that the older mare was being secluded, we sectioned off our run-in (it’s actually a run-through in the barn) and essentially made a stall for the older mare. We are planning on making this run-through into 2 stalls and sectioning the paddock so that they both can go outside but are next to eachother. As of now, I let them be together most of the time and also put them in the big pasture together (I know they are both eating what they want out in the open pasture). At night I will bring the older mare in the stall so I know she is eating all her hay and getting her water at leisure.

I know it’s cruel that the older mare is being pushed around (that is why I am looking for suggestions) but on the other hand, I want them to be able to be together also. They both have a fit when one is taken away. I guess all we can do is make the two stalls with their own separate paddocks next to each other.

ps…this has been an ongoing evolution since we’ve had the horses on our own property (one month). I’m not new to horses but I am new to farm ownership. So this is a work in progress to keep my horses comfortable.

Your wants the horse’s herd instinct might be at odds. If that is the case the herd instinct will win.

There’s nothing wrong with “togetherness but on opposite sides of the fence.” That sounds odd to humans but I’ve done it on multiple occasions over the years.

G.

[AKB]

When my dominant horse was hurting the other 2, I shipped him off to a neighbor’s house for 6 weeks. When he came home, he was no longer the herd leader, but was the new horse in the field. He has been much better behaved